Old Time Radio Shows

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Let's Pretend

By Old Time Radio August 10, 2026

It was simple concept, but it made for a revolutionary format in children's radio. If the stories were for children, kids should be reading them. That was the concept for Nila Mack's Let's Pretend, and the show aired for two decades. Let's Pretend started radio life as The Adventures of Helen and Mary in 1934 when it was transformed by Nila Mack into the show that would last for two decades until 1954. Mack believed that, if the stories were for children, then children should tell the story. Nila Mack used a core of regular children's actor's including Sybil Trent, Arthur Anderson, Jack Grimes, Miriam Wolfe , Gwen Davies and Michael O'Day. Anderson went on to write a book about his time on the show called Let's Pretend and the Golden Age of Radio. Mack died in 1953 and the show lasted one more year under the direction of Jean Hight. The Peabody award-winning show was broadcast with an audience full of children beginning with Uncle Bill Adams'...

Singin Sam "Barbasol Man"

By Old Time Radio August 10, 2026

When we study the personalities of Old Time Radio, every once in a while we encounter the story of what appears to be a very happy man. One such person was Harry Frankel, better known as Singin' Sam . Harry was born in Ohio in 1888 to a men's clothing merchant who soon took the family to Danville, Kentucky. The family business would take them to Richmond, Indiana when Harry was nine, but by this time the "Old Kentucky Home" had a hold on the lad. For the rest of his life, Harry was a Son of the South. In 1908, Harry joined Al G. Fields' Minstrels and began his vaudeville apprenticeship. In 1930, an offer from the Great States Lawnmower Company allowed Harry to leave the hectic life of vaudeville, and he settled in Cincinnati, to sing over WLW as Singin' Sam, The Lawnmower Man. Exposure on WLW led to an opportunity to move to New York to become Singin' Sam, the Barbasol Man. Life in New York was not happy for the confirmed Son of the South, and he ...

Man of a Thousand Voices when One was Enough: William Conrad

By Old Time Radio July 08, 2026

The movie hero generally fits a specific physical type. Not necessarily handsome in the classic sense, he has a manly, rugged appearance, tall, with a V-shaped torso, tapering from wide, solid shoulders to a narrow waistline. In classic films, he may not have the chiseled "six-pack abs" which are the trademark of modern leading men, but there is an undeniable masculine toughness about him. Fortunately, Hollywood has nearly as many of this type running around as it does pretty girls. On the radio, the equivalent of broad shoulders and a narrow waist is a commanding basso profundo voice. Several actors were blessed with such a commanding voice, but few were able to use it to the degree William Conrad did, especially when we consider how far Conrad was physically from the leading man type. William Conrad was born in Lexington, Kentucky, 1920, where his parents owned and operated a movie theater. Little Bill was babysat by the flickerin...

How Rochester Helped Win The War

By Old Time Radio July 03, 2026

Eddie Anderson was incredibly well suited for his role as second banana. This is reflected in the long term success of the Jack Benny Program , and the fact that Eddie was one of the best paid second bananas in Hollywood Radio. Although there were a few listeners who objected to someone of Eddie's race achieving so much success, few could argue the fact that Eddie's success, even beyond his Rochester character, was well earned. And well enjoyed. Eddie was born into show business. His mother was a tightrope performer and his father performed in minstrel shows. His brother Cornelius was a song and dance man, a path Eddie probably would have followed if he had not ruptured his vocal cords as a boy. He could and did still dance, and he developed a terrific sense of comic timing to go with his gravel voice. Rochester became one of the most recognizable and well loved characters on radio, and Eddie Anderson enjoyed the fruits of his success. He bought a large home for his fami...

Calvin Coolidge, the first US President to do a radio address 2-22-1924

By Old Time Radio June 12, 2026

Today in 1924, Calvin Cooldige became the first president to do a radio address . Although his 1924 address doesn't appear to be in existence, please enjoy a short 1928 excerpt of Coolidge bestowing a medal on Charles Lindberg. Coolidge went on to help create the Federal Radio Commission a few days later. It later became known as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar and the Greatness of Radio Entertainment

By Old Time Radio June 11, 2026

Bob Bailey , Radio Voice of Johnny Dollar If there was any one show which proved just how great Golden Age Radio could be, it was Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar . The stories about "the man with the action-packed expense account" became historically important because of a scheduling fluke which made Johnny Dollar the second-to-last broadcast of the Golden Age on September 30, 1962 (followed by the last broadcast of Suspense ). Although it is ultimately a matter of opinion, it is safe to say that Johnny Dollar was not "the best" show of the era or even the best detective show. In a genre which had become increasingly predictable and formulaic, the fabulous freelance insurance investigator brought a refreshing, almost cheery take on the sometimes seedy and noir -ish world of the Private Eye . During the period when Network Radio was losing popularity and sponsor support, Johnny Dollar explored new and different ways to deliver stories to the audience. ...