Old Time Radio Shows

 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'...

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 ...

  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...

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...

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).

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. ...

  World War II was a time that opened up technological advances in machines, weaponry and other equipment. The manpower involved in Europe and the Pacific Theater was incredible in terms of time and money. Ships, tanks, places, guns, uniforms, radios, training, food, and a vast array of other economic expenditures required the money to pay for everything. taxes xcould not be relied upon because a good portion of the country was gone fighting and taxes were being used for domestic issues. So where did the green come from to pay Uncle Sam for maintaining the war necessities? War Bonds. These paper goods put out by the government was an investment into the “now” of the 1940’s with the dividends to become payable later on down the road. Newsreels were a mainstay in getting the word out to Mr and Mrs. America to buy bonds, but not the only means. Old Time Radio played a huge part in reaching people from sea to shining sea (makes me want to break out in song) about the importance in su...

 When most people think about the Second World War, their minds will probably go to films like Saving Private Ryan (1998), The Longest Day (1962), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Inglourious Basterds(2009), or Schindler's List (1993). These were all great films which show a similar message, that the Good Guys would wipe up the floor with the Nazi goons. What they do not convey is that there was just as much importance, just as much bloody fighting, and just as much drama happening on the other side of the world. For many Americans, the War started on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese snuck up on us at Pearl Harbor, and then we proceeded to kick Hitler's butt. Roosevelt and Churchill had agreed on a "Europe First" strategy from the get-go. The Allies would share the fight with the Japanese after things were settled on the continent, but for now, the Pacific Theater would be a "holding action". Unfortunately, the Empire of Japan was not interested in waiting for a ...

  There is a lot more going on than long plotlines capturing the imagination of lonely housewives, the Soaps raised important social issues as well. At the beginning of Commercial Radio, daytime broadcasting was treated like a commercial wasteland with no money to be made. After all, Radio was family entertainment and during the day Dad was at work and the kids were in school. Put the effort into winning the prime-time when the whole family was home to listen to the big stars, just play some music and public service programming during the day. However, it was not very long before someone realized that housewives were at home during the day and they depended upon their radios to keep them company. Not only were housewives a dependable audience, but it also turns out that they did most of the shopping for the family. The first industry to come to grips with this economic reality was the manufacturers of household cleaning and beauty supplies, so the entertainment form that their mark...

Billed as the "Battle of the Century", comedians Jack Benny and Fred Allen began long running faux feud . This is the opening of the on-air brawl, the broadcast of the Jack Benny program from March 14, 1937: On the Red Network (KFI, Los Angeles) and sponsored by Jell-O, this program originates from The Grand Ballroom of The Hotel Pierre, New York City. "Bing" Shlepperman (Sam Hearn) offers to substitute for Kenny Baker, who's back in California and Mary sings! Jack sings the Jell-O commercial, but is interrupted by guest Fred Allen. Jack and Fred start an argument and wind up reminiscing about their days in Vaudeville and then sing a duet.

Fort Laramie Radio dramas of the forties saw the rise of the Hard-Boiled detective . These independent heroes appealed to the returning WWII veteran who might have been craving a return to the excitement he had experienced while serving in the military. The fifties were the time of the Adult Western, perhaps better labeled as "Cowboys and Injuns for Thinking People". The mature-person's Westerns did not replace crime thrillers, but they did provide a choice of entertainment with a little less murder. Thoughtful Westerns reached a high point with the gritty reality of Gunsmoke in 1952. Created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston, the genesis of Gunsmoke was a desire expressed by CBS boss William Paley for a " Philip Marlowe in the Old West". U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon was every bit as hard-boiled as the most noir -ish Private Eye , just with dust and horses instead of urban grime, and many critics consider Gunsmoke to have been a high...

Think ventriloquism needs visuals? Not in the golden age of radio! While you couldn't see Edgar Bergen and his quick-witted dummy Charlie McCarthy, you certainly heard them. Their Sunday night show became a national sensation, proving that a master of voices could create a world of hilarious interactions just through sound. Bergen's secret? Giving Charlie such a distinct voice and personality that listeners completely bought into the illusion. The humor wasn't just in the clever lines; it was in the absurdity of a man seemingly bickering with a block of wood - an absurdity your imagination made even funnier! Besides Edgar Bergen, lesser known radio ventriloquists include: Peter Brough, a British ventriloquist with a hugely popular 1940s and 50s radio show. His radio success prompted a move to TV in 1956, which killed his career when his fans realized you could see his lips moving. A later critic wrote "Ventriloquism on the radio - I could have done that." Th...

Best known for The Grand Ole Opry, WSM Nashville also created Sundays Down South , a delightful combination of Southern gentility and Protestant religiosity. There is a tendency to think of network radio as being a "Big City" thing. The Red and Blue Networks were centered around WEAF New York and WJZ Newark (which would soon transfer facilities to New York City). A good deal of programming, especially Soap Operas , were originating from WBBM, WGN, WLS, and other Chicago stations, and Los Angeles with all its film studio talent was always important. As important as these urban markets were, the majority of the American population still lived in rural areas. The capital of Tennessee, Nashville, was an important trading port on the Cumberland River, a tributary of the Ohio, and was a hotspot of the growing Jazz movement as well as a hotbed of post-Civil War Confederate Pride. It was also the home of the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, whose company m...

  When we hear about a so-called overnight success, it is easy to assume that it happens to an act which came out of nowhere. On the evening of December 17, 1936, Edgar Bergen was a relative nobody, standing in the NBC Studios in New York City , waiting for his introduction to appear on Rudy Vallee 's The Royal Gelatin Hour . In just a few weeks, he will become one of the biggest things on radio, in fact in all of show business, but right now he is just another vaudevillian who is appearing on an otherwise routine episode of the popular variety show. On the lineup for that night's show includes Cornelia Otis Skinner giving a monolog about Christmas, Douglas Montgomery and Shirley Booth present a sketch entitled "Three Diamond Bid", and Rudy interviews successful party-planner Elsa Maxwell. Edgar and Charlie McCarthy are not the evening's only firsts, musician "Sleepy" Hall will introduce the world to the wonders of the electric banjo. It is som...