John Dunning Quote
The show would bring together the elect of the entertainment world to discuss in a heavily scripted but spontaneous-sounding hour anything under the radio sun: poetry, music, drama, death, taxes, fur coats—all the topics that might be expected to come up naturally at a social gathering of such luminaries. Colman and Grant were obviously cerebral talents; Lombard and the Marx Brothers, though popularly known as madcaps, were keenly respected intelligences among the Hollywood elite. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, the unlikely sponsor, would budget more than $2 million for the first year, with the stars each earning $2,000-$2,500 a week. There would also be at least one major guest on each show, who might be a singer or a musician able to fit into the dialogue as well as perform.
The show would bring together the elect of the entertainment world to discuss in a heavily scripted but spontaneous-sounding hour anything under the radio sun: poetry, music, drama, death, taxes, fur coats—all the topics that might be expected to come up naturally at a social gathering of such luminaries. Colman and Grant were obviously cerebral talents; Lombard and the Marx Brothers, though popularly known as madcaps, were keenly respected intelligences among the Hollywood elite. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, the unlikely sponsor, would budget more than $2 million for the first year, with the stars each earning $2,000-$2,500 a week. There would also be at least one major guest on each show, who might be a singer or a musician able to fit into the dialogue as well as perform.