The pairing of Dick Haymes (who had made his name as a popular singer) and George Fenneman (one of radio’s smoothest announcers) as actors in an adventure series was unusual. As Crane, Haymes played a...
The opening signature was vivid and long-remembered, with a thrilling theme and a gusty Voice of the Law giving the hero’s credo: Mister District Attorney! Champion of the people! Defender of truth! G...
The Hummerts perfected a soap formula that was best explained by Erik Barnouw. A series of narrative and dramatic hooks was woven into a three- or four-week main storyline. Before the main crisis was...
THE BILLIE BURKE SHOW, situation comedy.
Mr. and Mrs. North was conceived for radio as it had begun in literature: as a light comedy. When he wrote the original stories for the New Yorker in the 1930s, Richard Lockridge made them light domes...
Lillian Randolph, who had also played a maid on The Billie Burke Show and eventually took the lead on Beulah, was at her peak as Birdie, playing the role all the way. Birdie was perhaps the most endea...
Joseph Kearns as the Crazy Quilt Dragon. Hanley Stafford as Snapper Snitch the Crocodile. Howard McNear as Samuel the Seal and as Slim Pickins the Cowboy. Elvia Allman as Penelope the Pelican. Elliott...
It seemed the whole world loved Gracie: her wacky, innocent way with a quip, her ability to make the most ridiculous comment seem almost logical. She captured the nation’s affection in that first seas...
In fact, she was Hildegarde Loretta Sell of Milwaukee, Wisc. Her persona was almost total fiction, concocted with the aid of her friend and agent, Anna Sosenko. Sosenko was relentless in promoting her...
In another incident of show-must-go-onsmanship, DeMille was transported to the theater in an ambulance. He was recovering from surgery, and was said to be performing against doctor’s orders. He spoke...
In a speech at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, he attacked by name some of the nation’s most prominent advocates of right-wing politics. He was most vocal about Father Charles Coughlin, the radio prie...
His wit surfaced early: once, reviewing a vaudeville act, he noted that the performer could not be heard beyond the third row and advised patrons to request seats at least four rows back.
His reputation rests on his standing as the wit of his day, though his shows are seldom cited as the funniest in radio. His humor has paled, and today he plays to a tougher audience than he ever faced...
Hildegarde was a singer of uncertain nationality, the product of an intense publicity campaign to give her a deliberate international flavor. As her Current Biography entry noted, she was known as the...
He studied everything on the air, listened to radio until it was coming out of my ears, getting the feel of it. This was a brand new ball game: it wouldn’t do any good to roll your eyes or clap your h...
He had been angered by Mussolini’s son Vittorio, then on duty with the Italian air force, who described blowing up a group of horsemen during a bombing run as exceptionally good fun. Corwin’s response...
Gambling retired in 1959 and died in 1974. He left his show to his son, John A. Gambling, who had first appeared on Gambling’s 1934 Christmas Eve broadcast. John A. retired in 1990, leaving the show t...
GLENN MILLER, the epitome of big bands, a group that burst on the scene in 1938, reached the heights, and spent its primary career in five years. Miller was a trombonist, unable to match the technical...
For several months McNeill wrote out his scripts by twisting news events into cornball humor. He wore out two jokebooks in the hunt for fresh material. Then the show passed a plateau: about three mont...
For NBC’s grand opening on Nov. 15, 1926, the network was able to pull in the bands of George Olsen, Vincent Lopez, Ben Bernie, B. A. Rolfe, and Fred Waring from various locations. All were then natio...