Golden Age of Radio

SAY HELLO TO . . .  FRANK DANE – one of those versatile actors whom you’ll probably hear a couple of times today without knowing it. On Arnold Grimm’s Daughter he plays Jim Kent, and on The Story of Mary Marlin he’s “Never-fail” Hendricks. Frank is Danish, but came to America as a child. He says that his biggest handicap as an actor had been learning English and getting rid of his Danish accent. He began his career on the stage, and still is enough of a stage actor to have one important mannerism in front of mike—he always needs enough room to swing his arms. He made his network debut in 1928 and has benn on the air ever since.

ON THE AIR TONIGHT: Elmer Davis and the Ne ws, on CBS at 8:55 P.M., E.D.S.T., tonight and every night in the week. Through all the exciting and frequently horrifying events of the last year, CBS listener have learned to appreciate the quiet, logical news analyses of Elmer Davis. This quiet, middle-aged man never gets hysterical, never lets the horror of the day’s happenings betray him into illogical conclusions. In a world gone crazing, he usually makes sense, and that’s something to be thankful for. Davis’ broadcast comes to you tonight from a small studio just off the busy CBS news from in New York . He has an office there, with a large colored map of Europe on the wall, where he spends most of his time, keeping a watchful eye on all the news that comes in over INS and UP wires. News despatches that he thinks are important, he puts aside, and makes notes from them for his broadcast. He almost never uses a script, and occasionally doesn’t even have time to jot down rough not...

Dorothy Day AS FAMOUS for her fashion comments as for the top-drawer “names” she interviews, lovely Dorothy Day, the WINS-WLW glamor-gal commentator, is easily one of the top personalities in her field. In between writing and conducting two programs a day, five days a week, over WINS (one of her programs is also piped directly to Cincinnati’s WLW), dynamic Dorothy does fashion commentaries for the country’s leading designers. Recognition of her topflight position in the field was further evidenced by her selection for the somewhat demanding task of conducting a fashion show before 22,000 people at last year’s Israel Orphan Asylum benefit at Madison Square Garden. Dorothy attends all business luncheons and women’s expositions gathering material for her radio programs, all of which she herself writes. Her daily program over WINS from 10:00 to 10:30 A.M., A Woman’s View of What’s New, is a well-balanced combination of fashion, budget menus, home-decorating and music, plus stim...

LOUIS DEAN . . . is from down in Alabama. Valley Head is the town. He’s 32 years old, five feet eleven, weighs 160 pounds. Eyes are blue and hair is dark brown. Yes, he’s single. Likes double-breasted suits and is awfully neat. Likes, too, to dance and golf and read good books. He’s the fellow who announced Col. Stoopnagle and Bud. 

PETER DONALD—has spent most of his life in show business. Born in Bristol, England, he played his first part at three; attended the Professional Children’s School in New York; modeled for thousands of ads; and has appeared in several Broadway productions. He made his radio debut in 1928 and at thirteen was the youngest emcee in radio. He is now on Talk Your Way Out Of It, heard on ABC.

PAUL DOUGLAS . . . a six-footer, with blue eyes and dark brown hair, is the fellow who runs the children’s show at Columbia. Announces lots of other shows, too. He’s 26 years young, tips the scales at 195 (but doesn’t look it) and is married. Philadelphia is the old home town. Paul is an extra friendly fellow and everybody’s friend in the studio and out.

Morton Downey 11:15 Tues.-Thurs.-Sat. WINS-MBS. Morton Downey is back on the airwaves for his favorite soft drink at 11:15 P.M. three times weekly, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, over the Mutual Network coast to coast. In a program which is entirely different from the homespun songs and poems which he used to broadcast during the daytime, Downey is now specializing in what he calls his own kind of sooth-singing: soft, sentimental ballads and tunes. With Downey on his new program are a quartet of male singers who provide soft, melodic background for Downey’s silvery voice, and an intimate orchestra of right under the skillful baton of Carmen Mastren. Born in Wallingford, Connecticut, the son of the local fire-chief, Downey is probably the Nutmeg State’s most famous good-will ambassador and most popular citizen. Nutmeggers remember him as the kid who used to sing at Elks’ benefits for nickels, accompanied by a friend who played the accordion. And they also st...

Howard Duff __struggles to appear as hard-boiled as he sounds when he plays the private detective of The Adventuresof Sam Spade , a creation of Dashiell Hammett which is heard over the Columbia Broadcasting System on Sunday evenings at eight o’clock, EST. He’s from Bremerton, Washington, and had spent six years with Seattle Repertory Theater, including Shakespeare, before he turned his talents toward radio.