Old Time Radio Shows

Technically, all of the players we hear on radio are voice actors. Except for the more frequent use of computer generated "synthetic speech", when ever we hear a voice without seeing and actor, the role has been filled by a voice actor. This will apply to radio players, animation, video games, amusement park rides, even the voice warning us to "mind the gap" as we step onto the subway. Professional voice actors are justifiably proud of their craft. This is especially true in traditional animation features, where the voice of the character was simply part of the character, and the voice actor's role remains in the background. A small degree of resentment against the current trend of bringing in A-list actors to voice the starring characters in major releases, is understandable. Certainly the added celebrity of using A-List players in Pixar and Dreamworks animated features can help to sell a feature film. One of the few voice actors to achieve celeb...

The initial radio frequency modulation (FM) system was developed by Major Edwin H. Armstrong. A veteran  of the World War I, U.S. Signal Corps, Armstrong received 5 patents for his system on December 26, 1933. Shortly thereafter, he began to experiment with different megahertz (MHz) frequencies and wattage. In 1935, Armstrong sent an experimental broadcast through a transmitter located on New York’s Empire State Building and in 1938; he began broadcasting from his own station W2XMN. The station eventually broadcast several hours of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) programs several hours a day. Broadcasting continued until his death in 1954.  January 4, 1940 is usually accepted as the date of the first network broadcast. On this date, a one-hour broadcast was transmitted from station W2XCR Yonkers, New York to W2XMN in Alpine, NJ. The broadcast was then received by the Meriden, CT station W1XPW and W1XOJ in Paxton, MA, before it finally terminated with the Yankee Network ...

A listener writes in looking to find an episode of John Nesbitt's Passing Parade which he heard around 1950 on the radio - probably a filler on a Sunday concert program. It concerned a counterfeiter in Spain who briefly lifted the Depression in Spain.  He bought a bank and forged an order to print a new issue of Spanish currency by the British printer who always printed it. With new money he made loans to the locals which revived the economy.  He retired the new issue currency as he received deposits of legal currency.  As prosperity flowed out from his community a sharp eyed banker in another city noticed that some currency in circulation had never been authorized and was thus illegal.  An investigation found him out, closed his bank, declared the money counterfeit, and plunged Spain back into Depression.  The banker was subsequently consulted on finance in his jail cell for his brilliance in finance. The story has stuck in my mind these 60+ year...

Detective drama  (1945-1950) Enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend. Chester Morris plays  Boston Blackie , "a modern Robin Hood, a little on the gangster side, wise to all the tricks but always reversing to do a lot of good. Boston Blackie  is especially apt at slipping the rug out from under them and making the police look like foolish lollygags. Smart Boston always solves the  mysteries  before his arch nemesis, harebrained Police Inspector Faraday. Master sleuther and smooth talker, Boston can always slip in some time between crime scenes for his gal Mary Wesley (played by Lesley Woods). For more hard hitting detective action, don't forget to call on some of the most popular detectives:  Phillip Marlowe ,  Richard Diamond ,  Let George Do It ,  The Saint , and   The Falcon .

A rendition of  When Irish Eyes are Smiling  plays in the background and Archie answers the phone with the  show’s trademark signature, “Hello, Duffy’s Tavern, where the elite meet to eat.” The program always opened with a call from the owner of  Duffy’s Tavern . Never seen, the boss would check up on his manager, Archie via phone. Although Archie never had direct supervision, Duffy knew he had to keep tabs on Archie.  Duffy’s Tavern  premiered March 1, 1941 on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) network. Created by Ed Gardner (no relation to Ava Gardner ), the show centered on Archie and his relationships with the local bar customers. Gardner, a veteran radio director had prior success with  Ripley’s Believe it or Not!   and the  Rudy Vallee Hour . Ironically, Gardner professed that he never touched alcohol. Nevertheless, his imaginary bar enjoyed success for just over a decade.  By 1942, the show moved to the National Broadcas...

--> A counter part to the Smart-Aleck Kid, a staple character in Family Sit-coms, is the Big-Hearted Blue Collar Oaf. Both are interesting characters to build a show around. The SAK is typified by the long time comic page regular, Dennis the Menace, and immortalized on Radio by such favorites as Henry Aldrich , My Son Jeep, and Leroy from The Great Gildersleeve . The modern incarnation of the SAK is Bart Simpson. Fox TV's The Simpsons is unique in that it features the adventures and misadventures of both a SAK and a BHBCO. Fox made a minor splash on Sunday nights beginning in the late 1980s with a pair of BHBCOs, Both Homer Simpson and Al Bundy from Married With Children . Married pays backhanded homage the original BHBCO, Chester A. Riley from Radio's Life Of Riley . While Married With Children often pushed the boundaries of bad taste, Life of Riley was wholesome family fun. Riley was originally intended as a radio vehicle for Groucho Marx (the Riley ...

On December 27, 1932, Radio City Music Hall opened its doors to a packed house of 6,000 people. Billed as  “The Showplace of a Nation,” Radio City Music Hall enamored the audience with over 500 performers on its opening night. Some notables included dancer/choreographer Martha Graham, vaudeville actor/film star Ray Bolger, the newly formed Rockettes and a performance by a military band.  Unfortunately, the programming lasted much longer than expected, causing half the audience to exit midway through the event. Subsequent events and programs were fine-tuned and changed. In 1933, Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) pictures began to sponsor and premier films on a regular basis. Over the years, entertainment would extend to symphony orchestras, stage productions and beginning in the 1970’s, rock and pop concerts.  At 60 feet wide and 100 feet deep, the Great Stage of Radio City Music Hall has supported thousands of performers over a span of nearly eighty years (which includes t...