Mailbox
This month in Mailbox: Response to Radio Prague's programmes, QSL cards, listeners' quiz. Listeners/readers quoted: John Noto, Robert Huisman, Mary Lou Krenek, Colin Law, Li Ming, Syed Khizar Hayat Shah, Sri Debaki Ranjan Biswas, Ian Morrison.
John Noto from North Carolina responded to last week’s Sunday Music Show in which Jan Richter introduced The Orff Brothers’ award-winning album “Šero”:
“Orff Brothers'. Really excellent music. Thanks for the article and show. I enjoyed listening very much.”
Robert Huisman from New Zealand is a long term shortwave enthusiast:
“For many, many years I was a shortwave listener but many of the stations I used to listen to are no longer on shortwave or no longer broadcast in English so I find myself listening to WRN more often. One of the major parts of my SW hobby was collecting QSL cards. I know radio Prague verifies reports on its online broadcast (including on WRN) with QSL cards and was wondering if knew of other stations other stations that also verify their online programs with QSLs.”
I’m afraid we do not have that information regarding individual radio stations but for those of you who are interested here are two lists of shortwave radio clubs.
www.dxzone.com/catalog/Shortwave_Radio/Clubs/
Indeed Radio Prague does send out QSL cards in exchange for internet reception reports. This year there are eight beautiful cards featuring natural monuments of Bohemia and Moravia.
“It was disappointing to read about the widespread corruption in the Czech Republic and the European Union. Have politicians and business people forgotten what it means to be a Czech and the values the culture holds dear? In the spirit of the Velvet Revolution, the Czech people demonstrated they can rise above the norm and peacefully change the nation. Why have people strayed away from this ideal and fallen into an abyss of corruption? It is not the Czech way to follow human nature and resort to this type of activity. The Czech culture and its people are better than this and should continue to be an example of a civilized nation.”
Thank you very much for your feedback and now it’s time to read from your answers to our monthly listeners’ quiz:
The mystery lady we asked about is neither Chita Rivera nor Cloris Leachman but none other than:
“Kim Novak, born Marilyn Pauline Novak, born on February 13, 1933 in Chicago, to Joseph and Blanche (née Kral) Novak,” writes Colin Law from New Zealand.
“Both parents were of Czech descent but I could not trace how many generations since their ancestors came from Europe. ... Marilyn worked in modelling as a teenager and in a summer job she modelled refrigerators, becoming ‘Miss Deepfreeze’. Through that job Marilyn and three other girls went on a tour across USA, ending in San Francisco. From there they went on the Los Angeles where a Columbia Pictures production assistant introduced her to a talent scout. A screen test resulted in a meeting with producer Harry Cohn who wanted her to use 'Kit Marlowe' for her screen name to avoid her ‘foreign’ surname. They compromised on Kim Novak and she made her film debut in ‘Pushover” in 1954...
“Kim Novak had a ranch where she raised horses and one night in 1974 she called for a vet and Robert Malloy arrived. That almost by chance meeting led to their marriage in 1976. They moved to Oregon two years later where they now raise horses and llamas. Although acting kept Kim from her childhood desire to be a veterinarian, her marriage to a vet was certainly an adequate fulfilment of the dream.
Li Ming from China writes:
“The person you are looking for this month is Marilyn Pauline Novak. Novak was born February 13th 1933 and is a Roman Catholic of Czech descent. Novak's blonde good looks won her a contract with Columbia, and she debuted in two films in 1954. She then quickly became a popular star.”
Syed Khizar Hayat Shah writes from Pakistan:
“Did you know that the personality about which you asked in Mailbox is also a photographer, poet and artist who paints in watercolor and oil while also making sculptures and designing stained glass? Yes, this personality is Kim Novak.”
Sri Debaki Ranjan Biswas from India wrote:
“Her name is Kim Novak or Marilyn Pauline Novak. She began her film career in the year 1954 with her debut in the film entitled ‘Pushover‘. She was in the limelight in 1955 with her prominent role in the film named ‘Picnic’. She won the ‘Golden Globe‘ award in 1955 for the first time and again two years later in 1957. She was given the honorary ‘Golden Bear' award at the Berlin film festival in 1997. In the year 2010 it was learnt that she had acquired cancer, but this time also she recovered quickly and was declared out of danger and cancer free by the attending doctors. May God grant her a long life.
Ian Morrison from China adds:
Thank you once again for taking part in our little quiz and this time the lucky winner is Syed Khizar Hayat Shah from Pakistan. Congratulations and your parcel is in the post.
The rest of you can give it another try as here is a brand new question for the coming weeks.
This time we are looking for the name of the industrial designer and graphic artist who was born in 1908 and died in 1986. He worked for Czechoslovak car manufacturers such as Tatra and Škoda and collaborated on the design of Tatra 87 Diplomat, Tatra 600 and Tatra 603 cars, Tatra trolleybuses and popular Tatra trams.
Please send us your answers to the usual address [email protected] by March 19th. Your questions and comments are always welcome either by e-mail or on Facebook. Mailbox will be back in four weeks’ time so until then, happy listening.
