Golden Age of Radio

The Milwaukee Journal – Feb 13, 1938   ‘Actors Are Not Egotists’ A Radio Comedian Turned Screen Actor Here Gives You His Evaluation of His Co-workers and, in the Benny Manner, Emerges With All Banners Flying in His Defense of This Maligned Profession By Jack Benny Jack Benny , as everybody but an unidentified man in French Indo-China knows, appears on NBC Sunday nights with his radio troupe. His next film for Paramount is called “Never Say Die.” HERE is something I’ve wanted to get off my chest for years, I expect to be given arguments about it. There will be many snorts of “Oh, yeah?” But a Benny never falters for mere snorts. He’s faced too many dead-on-their-seats audiences. I say actors as a class aren’t nearly so sold on themselves as nonprofessionals think. Here’s what I mean. An Irishman named Mike wanted to go for a sleigh ride but he didn’t have a sled. His friend Pat did Mike thought over the situation and he said to his wife “Sure it’s

Listening to old time radio is in a way its own way to time travel.  Hearing live news events unfold take you back to 60+ years ago.  Additionally, the following old time radio episodes are time-travel themed you may enjoy: Buck Rogers Some old time radio listeners would debate Buck Rogers radio show  is not time travel story. The origin of Buck Rogers, the premiere broadcast, wouldn't be considered a time travel since he himself never "traveled." Buck was put into suspended animation which is considered by die-hard sci-fi buffs as a medical procedure to slow down the heart rate and other physical functions to: One, perform medical procedures such as heart surgery and Two, for long-term interplanetary travel (i.e. Planet of the Apes ). Some fish are capable of being frozen and re-animated after appearing lifeless for a few days in a block of ice. There have been debates regarding whether suspended animation would be considered time travel, but since they cannot go b

Monday Night COMES TO LIFE Fibber McGee takes a simple shortcut to change his Monday broadcasting period to 9 o’clock Eastern, 8 o’clock Central Standard Time, NBC . Thus, listeners get a more convenient hour, and he gets what he usually gets—the works. “I’ll tell you a show everybody’s listening to in Hollywood—it’s Fibber McGee and Molly .” Reporters caught this from Jack Benny , star of NBC ’s Sunday night Jell-O program, the other day in Chicago enroute from Hollywood to New York. One hundred weeks ago, sponsored by Johnson’s Wax, this new radio comedy team came strolling down the airlanes. Amazingly soon they became required hearing to millions of Monday night radio listeners. Without benefit of intensive Hollywood fanfare or Broadway ballyhoo, Fibber McGee and Molly have become firmly—and fondly—intrenched in America’s receptive heart. “We’ll have to tell you later” . . . this gay gaballero is, by his own admission, pretty hot stuff with smart quips and witty

The Milwaukee Journal – Nov 1, 1942 What Gets Russian So Mad? By BCL ON THE Eddie Cantor program exists one of those cases where a stooge is a much funnier than the boss comic. Such a comic— Bert Gordon, the “Mad Russian” —often causes listeners to remark: “Why doesn’t  that guy get a show of his own? He’d  kill ‘em!” Well, as near as we can find out from a survey of expert opinion, the answer is that “The Mad Russian” is “spot” comic, good only for a few minutes at a time. The idea is that Bert’s excruciating accent which makes any word he speaks funny, would in large doses tire the listener. So, too, it is suggested, would Jerry Colonna ’s style wear out—Colonna of the unmatched timing and delivery. The above does not detract from the Gordon charm. When he opens up at 8:30 every Wednesday with his “How do you do?” Eddie Cantor’s show, otherwise pretty dismal except for the singing Dinah Shore , takes on new life. Gordon is actually anything but a mad Rus

Another great advertisement from Fitch on Shaving Cream and their sponsored old time radio shows: Which kind of beard do you have . . . TOUGH? WIRY? LIGHT? All come off clean . . . comfortably . . . with Fitch’s NO-BRUSH Yes! No matter what type of beard you have, try Fitch’s No-Brush. It delivers a close, easy shave even in cold or hard water. The instant you apply it, the special “skin conditioner” ingredient goes to work to prepare even the most sensitive fact for a mighty sweet, smooth shave, Fitch’s No-Brush gets right next to your skin . . . holds those whiskers up until the razor mows ‘em down! Leaves the face with a frosty cool feeling that lasts for hours. Whether yours is a “problem” beard or the ordinary “garden” variety, you’ll find solid comfort shaving once you've  SWITCHED TO FITCH. BRUSH USERS! Ask for Fitch’s Brush Shaving Cream, it also contains the special “able conditioner” and gives an abundance of Laches. LISTEN TO “ FITCH

I thought I would create my own list of  best books on Old Time Radio . The Top 10 Books on OTR: On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, John Dunning (1998) The Jack Benny Show, Milt Josefsberg (1977) Raised on Radio, Gerald Nachman (2000) Heavenly Days: The Story of Fibber McGee and Molly, Charles Stumpf (1987) The Great American Broadcast: A Celebration of Radio's Golden Age.  Leonard Maltin (1997) Remember Radio, Ron. Lackmann (1970) The Big Broadcast 1920-1950, Frank Buxton Speaking of Radio, Chuck Schaden (2003) Treadmill to Oblivion, Fred Allen (1954) Sunday Nights at Seven: The Jack Benny Story, Jack & Joan Benny (1990) *Honorable Mention* The Shadow Scrapbook, Anthony Tollin Fibber McGee's Scrapbook, Charles Stumpf Much Ado About Me, Fred Allen What would YOU pick to be on a list?

The Milwaukee Journal – Nov 22, 1942 A Composer Turns Into Comedian By Robert Myers HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) When Dr. Albert Coates, distinguished Brit- Meredith Wilson perform as a radio comic, he got up and walked out of the studio. “I played your ‘Missions of California’ symphony in concert because I considered you one of the most promising of the young America composers,” Dr. Coates told Wilson afterward. “But when I saw you doing that . . . that slapstick with Frank Morgan , it was just too much. I was horrified.” Versatile, affable Wilson, who would have been called a heretic a few years ago by the lovers of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, laughed. “I try to enjoy everything I do. It is fun to do comedy lines. And I don’t believe this outlet has in any manner injured my reputation in the field of music.” Wilson, tall and easygoing, is proud of several things. One is his home town of Mason City, Iowa. Another is his versatility. He was written two symphon