THE GREEN LAMA, adventure drama, based on novels by Richard Foster.
Sinatra’s final radio days were filled with minor quarter-hours and one full-length series in which he was relegated to the role of a disc jockey. By 1950 people were writing his professional obituary...
On April 6, 1934, Don Wilson became the new announcer. Wilson would remain with Benny to the end of the TV show in 1965. His deep, rich voice was one of the show’s trademarks, and the role he played—a...
Mr. District Attorney was for many years the nation’s best-liked crime show. It was inspired by the exploits of Thomas E. Dewey, New York’s racket-busting DA of the late ‘30s, whose front-page war aga...
Marlene Dietrich breezed in and, after snubbing the entire cast, announced that there would be no dress rehearsal because she was not in the mood. Woodruff told her calmly that we haven’t got time to...
Kieran was particularly alert when Fadiman asked what political leader was a bastard’s son. Levant thought it might be Adolf Hitler, né Schicklgrüber, an answer challenged by a woman in the audience w...
Just Plain Bill was one of the biggest (and first) successes of daytime radio, enjoying a run of more than two decades. It exploited a favored theme of producers Frank and Anne Hummert: life in a smal...
Jim Jordan as Fibber McGee of 79 Wistful Vista, teller of tall tales, incurable windbag. Marian Jordan as Molly McGee, his long-suffering wife. Marian Jordan as Teeny, the little girl who dropped in f...
Irene Rich had been a notable star of the silent screen in the 1920s, playing opposite Will Rogers, Dustin Farnum, and Wallace Beery. But a disagreement with Warner Brothers sent her into a new career...
In this scenario, Jethro Dumont was made a lama because of his amazing powers of concentration. He chose the color green because it was one of the six sacred colors of Tibet, symbolizing justice. His...
In the storyline, Judy’s father Melvyn owned the Foster Can Company. Her mother was a typical radio housewife. Her brother Randolph had a large vocabulary and a supreme distaste for girls (Radio Life)...
Gracie Allen wasn’t as dumb as she seemed on the air. She proved that in 1939, appearing on the intellectual quiz show Information, Please, and holding her own with the experts. It takes a keen intell...
From that moment, The Amateur Hour belonged to Bowes. He was launched, a national figure overnight, and the flood of humanity began. It was a tide to rival the great migration of workers from Oklahoma...
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was heard often on radio beginning soon after her husband’s inauguration in 1932. To stem inevitable criticism, all fees from her commercial broadcasts were donated to cha...
Far more important was the arrival of Phil Harris on the first show of the new year, Oct. 4, 1936. Harris was the fourth cog in the Benny formula, a swaggering blowhard whose demeanor might have been,...
FORT LARAMIE, western drama. BROADCAST HISTORY: Jan. 22–Oct. 28, 1956, CBS. 30m, Sundays at 5:30. CAST: Raymond Burr as Lee Quince, captain of cavalry at Fort Laramie, on the Wyoming frontier. Vic Per...
Each episode began and ended in trouble, wrote Erik Barnouw. Sunny stretches were in the middle. A Friday ending was expected to be especially gripping, to hold interest over the weekend. A serial was...
Dr. Kildare was about battles with silly hospital administrators, conflicts with ignorant patients, medical dilemmas building to personal crises. Sometimes it seemed that Blair was peopled with eccent...
DR. KILDARE, medical drama, also known as The Story of Dr. Kildare, based on the Metro Goldwyn Mayer films.
Cantor’s 60-minute C&S shows were largely carried by himself, Wallington, and violinist Dave Rubinoff, with occasional guests. Rubinoff supposedly led the orchestra. It was typical early ’30s variety:...