One of old-time radio’s most important—and inarguably, most creative—director-producers was born on this date in 1916. A native of Pasadena, CA, Norman Macdonnell would use his experiences during ...
Happy Birthday, Lionel Stander!(Post)Lionel Stander, the character actor best remembered by fans as chief-cook-and-bottle-washer Max on the TV detective drama Hart to Hart, also had a lengthy radio career—notably playing “stooge” to ...
Happy Birthday, Andy Williams!(Post)It’s one of those Hollywood myths that refuses to die: that crooner Andy Williams—born Howard Andrew Williams in Wall Lake, Iowa on this date in 1927—is the individual who provides the singing voic ...
Happy Birthday, Jack Carson!(Post)If you’re familiar with the career of the comic actor born John Elmer Carson on this date in 1910, you’ve no doubt heard Jack Carson constantly joke about the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jack ev ...
Happy Birthday, Rex Stout!(Post)He became famous for creating Nero Wolfe—a character memorably described by an author at The Thrilling Detective Website as a “{m}assively overweight, a cranky, agoraphobic and sedentary gourmet ...
Happy Birthday, Mae West!(Post)It’s a textbook example of how a mediocre movie can be redeemed by the appearance of a personality whose mere presence dominates the motion picture screen. In an otherwise dreary 1932 film entitl ...
Happy Birthday, Jack Moyles!(Post)While attending high school in his native San Francisco, actor Jack Moyles–born on this date in 1913–was quite the athlete, excelling at baseball, football, and tennis. But when he learned that a p ...
Happy Birthday, Tony Barrett!(Post)An item in a November 1945 edition of Radio Mirror will give you an idea of just how busy the actor born Martin Lefkowitz on this date in New York City in 1916 was in the aural medium. As Tony Bar ...
Happy Birthday, Alan Reed!(Post)Whether you know him as Teddy Bergman (his birth name) or Alan Reed—an identity he adopted to separate his comedic roles from the dramatic ones (as well as downplay his Jewish heritage)—you certai ...
Happy Birthday, Marie Wilson!(Post)The actress born Katherine Elizabeth (Marie) Wilson on this date ninety-eight years ago in Anaheim, California is an example of what show business types like to call an “overnight sensation.” And ...
Happy Birthday, Fanny Brice!(Post)Show business’ original “Funny Girl” was born Fania Borach in New York City on this date in 1891. As Fanny Brice, she dominated the worlds of stage, screen and radio: as a major headliner with the ...
Happy Birthday, Norman Corwin!(Post)The man born Norman Lewis Corwin on this date in 1910 is universally recognized as “the poet laureate of radio.” Norman Corwin wrote and produced many of the most memorable broadcasts in the aura ...
Happy Birthday, Lou Merrill!(Post)An item in the September 25, 1939 edition of The Van Nuys News trumpets the motion picture debut of actor Louis Merrill—born in Winnipeg, Canada on this date in 1912. The blurb is a little hyperb ...
Happy Birthday, Bill Goodwin!(Post)There are announcers…and there are personality announcers. The latter were integral to the success of any comedy program during Radio’s Golden Age; not only did they dutifully promote the sponsor’ ...
Happy Birthday, Rosa Rio!(Post)In Leonard Maltin’s old-time radio memoir The Great American Broadcast, veteran announcer Jackson Beck recalled a most amusing anecdote involving today’s birthday celebrant. “There was a time Ros ...
Happy Birthday, Chester Morris!(Post)Chester Morris starred in several Boston Blackie movies during the 1940s (Alias Boston Blackie, Boston Blackie and the Law, etc.). In a number of these films, Morris allowed his character Horatio ...