“I was a 14-year-old boy for 30 years,” Mickey Rooney once jokingly observed of his show business career, which spanned stage, screen, television and radio. He had one of the longest runs in enter ...
Happy Birthday, Clark Gable!(Post)In Hollywood, he was reverentially referred to as “The King.” William Clark Gable, born in Cadiz, OH on this date in 1901, would celebrate an acting career that spanned over 35 years—23 of them w ...
Happy Birthday, Ann Sheridan!(Post)In Tinsel Town, she was known as “The Oomph Girl.” Ann Sheridan—born on this date in 1915—loathed the nickname. “Just being known by a nickname indicates that you’re not thought of as a true act ...
“There’s something about the sound of my own voice that fascinates me…”(Post)On this date in 1943, CBS premiered The Jack Carson Show: a half-hour situation comedy starring the comic actor famous at that time for such films as Love Crazy, The Male Animal and The Hard Way (wit ...
Happy Birthday, Gertrude Warner!(Post)In his invaluable reference book The Great Radio Soap Operas, author Jim Cox opines that Gertrude “Trudy” Warner—born in Hartford, Connecticut on this day in 1917—“may have played the leads or fem ...
Happy Birthday, Raymond Edward Johnson!(Post)He was a respected Broadway thespian who depended on radio to pay the bills…and for Raymond Edward Johnson, born on this date in 1911, his contributions to the aural medium would make him immortal ...
Happy Birthday, Lucille Ball!(Post)One hundred and four years ago on this date in Jamestown, NY, the woman who would become virtually synonymous with television situation comedy entered this world as Lucille Désirée Ball. October 1 ...
Happy Birthday, Art Carney!(Post)No one could have possibly seen it coming. On the night of April 8, 1975, as the live telecast of the 47th Academy Awards was calling it a wrap for the evening, the Best Actor Oscar was handed ou ...
Happy Birthday, Pat O’Brien!(Post)The man born William Joseph Patrick O'Brien in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on this date in 1899 was frequently referred to in the press as “Hollywood’s Irishman in Residence” during his lengthy motion pi ...
Voice of the Whistler (1945): “I know many strange tales…”(Post)Voice of the Whistler (1945), the fourth entry in Columbia’s popular B-movie series based on the CBS West Coast radio show, marked the return of future schlock director William Castle to the franc ...
The Green Hornet (1940): Coming to a Saturday near you!(Post)Since the days of the nickelodeons, serials (or “chapter plays,” as they were also called) entertained motion picture audiences by spreading out a story over several installments, generally 20-30 ...
Radio’s home folks(Post)It’s difficult to describe the sublime joys of Vic and Sade—which premiered over NBC Blue on this date in 1932—to anyone unfamiliar with old-time radio. Come to think of it, it’s not easy with peo ...