Skip to main content

December 11, 1943

Image
By Old Time Radio Shows

December 11, 1943

The Whistler for one, a number of big musical shows like Hollywood Showcase, a number of quizzes, amateur shows and dramas, and are always readying  new ones. Right now they have a Jane Plakens quarters-hour Ladies in Waiting, with Ellen Drew, Jane Pickens and Patay Moran coming up. WAPI, Birmingham, with Kimmy Willson, as program manager, is the latest addition to the radio sales type of program operation. This outlet is still building. It’s still too soon to look for results, but it is adhering to the modus operandi that has clicked in other towns. WBT, Charlotte, N. C., is perhaps the most interesting story of the lot. They had practically no professional talent in the community and a peculiar audience problem. The Carolinas are one place that people do not leave and do not move into. They are mentally, morally, socially and economically self-sufficient. Cotton, tobacco and furniture are their industries, and folk music—not hillbilly—is the prime favorite.
Carolinans want talent that they know, local people over out-of-staters. Announcers in these parts work seated, not standing. And stations have a maintenance problem because so much of the talent is a local citizenry that comes in from the fields to do a show and then back to the plow.

Local Boys Make Good

To provide this type of performer, WBT has Charles Crutchfield, with long and varied small-station experience in this area. He is also an expert in folk entertainment and has recruited talent from all parts of the surrounding territory. Typical are two local favorites. One is Grady Cole, a former with a Will Rogers type of humor. He romps all thru the schedules with anecdotes, stories and farm news. The other is the Johnson Family, five chicken breeders and dealers who do folk times, hymns and instrumentals. They drive up to the station with a truckload of chickens, park the truck, go do their above and then back to work.
The over-all approach is to weld the station to local tastes, find, build and stick with local favorites. And it’s paying off if this list of national advertisers is any criterion: Ethyl Corporation, Wildroots, Noxzema, Groves, Vicks, Major B. Vitamins, Flex-o-Glass, Ponds, Ward Bakingand Melville Shoe.
Radio sales in New York and on the Coast has doubled its program sales; elsewhere program sales have tripled. Re-stills are the answer, and these are the results. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Was Jack Benny Gay?": The Amount of Weight In Jack Benny's Loafers

By Jon
While doing research for an article I came across an unexpected search result: "Was Jack Benny Gay?" There was no more than the question as previously stated from the original poster, but the replies made for interesting reading, ranging from: Jack Benny Celebrating his 39th Birthday "Of course not, he was a well known skirt-chaser in his youth, and he was married to Mary Livingston for many years" "Sure he was, everyone in Hollywood with the possible exception of John Wayne was and is homosexual!" "Part of Benny's "schtick" was his limp-wristed hand-to-face gestures. He was not gay, but emphasized what his fans observed as "acting like a girl" for humor. While heterosexual Benny tried to gay it up, many really gay actors or comedians in those days tried to act as "straight" as they could muster." "... the idea behind his character was to have him a little on the ambiguous side. His charact
48 comments
Read more

OLD TIME RADIO ACTORS AND THEIR ROLES, AND OLD TIME RADIO PROGRAM

By Jon
Old Time Radio Actor's Name, Character Played, Program Aaker, Lee Rusty Rin-Tin-Tin Aames, Marlene McWilliams, Lauralee Story of Holly Sloan, The Abbott, Judith Lawson, Agnes Aldrich Family, The Abbott, Minabelle Sothern, Mary Life of Mary Sothern, The Ace, Goodman Ace, Goodman Easy Aces Ace, Goodman Ace, Goodman Mister Ace and Jane Ace, Jane Ace, Jane Easy Aces Ace, Jane Ace, Jane Mister Ace and Jane Adams, Bill Cotter, Jim Rosemary Adams, Bill Hagen, Mike Valiant Lady Adams, Bill Roosevelt, Franklin Delano March of Time, The Adams, Bill Salesman Travelin' Man Adams, Bill Stark, Daniel Roses and Drums Adams, Bill Whelan, Father Abie's Irish Rose Adams, Bill Wilbur, Matthew Your Family and Mine Adams, Bill Young, Sam Pepper Young's Family Adams, Edith Gilman, Ethel Those Happy Gilmans Adams, Franklin Mayor of a model city Secret City Adams, Franklin Jr. Skinner, Skippy Skippy Adams, Franklin Pierce Emcee Word Game, The Adams, Guila Mattie Step M
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Time Radio Shows "Transcribed" Explained

By Jon
What does it mean on old time radio shows when you hear the show is "Transcribed"? During the Golden Age of Radio , "transcribed" programs were recorded and sent to stations or networks on a disc running at 16 rps. The discs are larger than 33 1/3s. "Transcribed" means it was recorded on a disc. "Recorded" was a term that was known, of course, but not used very much in Radio's Golden Age. During the era, it was also considered very important to distinguish which shows went out live and which were recorded (transcribed), so if a show was transcribed it was announced as such.  "Transcribed" was a colloquialism of the era. One reason they came up with it was because there was still enough skittishness about recording that "pre-recorded" sounded a little obscene inside the industry. CBS and NBC were live through the '30s and '40s. Yet line transcriptions were made for either the sponsor or its ad agency.
8 comments
Read more