On this date in 1900, the man who enjoyed an association with comedian Jack Benny for over thirty years was born in Lincoln, Nebraska—a man we know as Don Wilson. As Jack’s announcer, Don rhapsodi ...
“M-O-L-L-É…”(Post)It is interesting to note that one of radio’s most popular mystery anthologies—The Mollé Mystery Theatre, which debuted over NBC Radio seventy-two years ago on this date—did without its identifyin ...
“…there you will find…The Man Called X!”(Post)Before his long, distinguished career as a stage and motion picture actor, Herbert Marshall embarked on a variety of jobs (including accounting) that led up to his enlisting in the first World War ...
Review: After Midnight with Boston Blackie (1943)(Post)Jewel thief “Diamond” Ed Barnaby (Walter Baldwin) has just been paroled from prison, and his loving daughter Betty (Ann Savage) is anxious to make a new life with him…but “Diamond” Ed has a few lo ...
Happy Birthday, Wilms Herbert!(Post)The actor born Victor Herbert Erpelding on this date in Chicago, Illinois in 1908 put his hobby of collecting rare, tropical birds to good use in his brief but prolific radio career. Wilms Herbert ...
Happy Birthday, Truman Bradley!(Post)Automobile magnate Henry Ford was anxious to locate an announcer for his Sunday evening symphony program, known to radio listeners as The Ford Sunday Evening Hour. Ford listened to nearly a dozen ...
Happy Birthday, Nelson Eddy!(Post)When asked one time why he refused to watch any of the nineteen motion pictures he appeared in between 1933 and 1947, the man born Nelson Ackerman Eddy on this date in 1901 was refreshingly honest: ...
Happy Birthday, Joe DeSantis!(Post)On this date in 1909 in New York City, Maria Paoli and Pasquale DeSantis welcomed Joseph Vito Marcello DeSantis into the world. The shorter version of that name is Joe DeSantis, a man who would be ...
“He hunts the biggest of all game! Public enemies who try to destroy our America!”(Post)In the annals of radio broadcasting, Detroit, Michigan’s WXYZ was a truly remarkable station. It would introduce one of the medium’s larger-than-life heroes (and a genuine pop culture icon) in The ...
Happy Birthday, Jackson Beck!(Post)Though he personally considered himself foremost an actor, radio veteran Jackson Beck—born in New York City on this date in 1912—remains best known for announcing in his unmistakable, deep voice: ...
Happy Birthday, Richard Crenna!(Post)The go-to actor for radio’s squeaky-voiced adolescents was born in Los Angeles, California on this date in 1926. Richard “Dick” Crenna established his bona fides in the aural medium with co-starri ...
Happy Birthday, Lamont Johnson!(Post)I’m certainly not the first person to observe that the best directors—whether they work in film, television, theater, or elsewhere—are often those with an extensive background in acting…and today’ ...
Happy Birthday, Richard Kollmar!(Post)From 1941 to 1949, Columbia Pictures entertained devoted moviegoers with a series of films based on a character created by author Jack Boyle in 1914. The Boston Blackie franchise was comprised of ...
Happy Birthday, Paul McGrath!(Post)On May 29, 1945, radio’s popular Inner Sanctum Mysteries welcomed inside “the creaking door” a new host to replace the departing Raymond Edward Johnson. The new master of ceremonies who welcomed ...
Happy Birthday, Artie Auerbach!(Post)It was a cold January day in 1946 when Jack Benny, attending the Rose Bowl game, made the acquaintance of a hot dog salesman who enthusiastically peddled his wares with a cry of “Pickle in the mid ...
Happy Birthday, Charles Farrell!(Post)Unless you’re like me and have turned all of your extracurricular activity hours over to watching endless episodes of TV reruns, the name of actor Charles Farrell might not be an immediately famil ...