On this date in 1937, a program that would soon become the number one radio show in the nation premiered over the Red network of NBC. The Chase and Sanborn Hour was big-time radio: it featured the ...
Happy Birthday, Francis “Dink” Trout!(Post)In the Golden Age of Radio, actors were often called upon to play “meek” individuals—or whatever nickname you prefer: wimp, nebbish, milquetoast, etc. The gold standard for these portrayals might ...
Review: Gildersleeve’s Ghost (1944)(Post)One thing you can say about Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (Harold Peary): his political ambitions are boundless, and in the 1944 film comedy Gildersleeve’s Ghost he’s determined to advance from his ...
Happy Birthday, Eddie Green!(Post)If what I’m hearing are the familiar strains of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”—then we’ve apparently stumbled into old-time radio’s most famous watering hole, Duffy’s Tavern:ARCHIE: Eddie, uh…get me ...
Happy Birthday, Burgess Meredith!(Post)Two iconic roles immediately come to mind when discussing the career of the actor born Oliver Burgess Meredith on this date in 1907. One is his deliciously over-the-top portrayal of The Penguin on ...
Happy Birthday, Stacy Harris!(Post)Before embarking on his long career as a much-in-demand actor on radio, TV, and in the movies, Stacy Harris—born in Big Timber, Quebec, Canada on this date in 1918—was the dictionary definition of ...
Happy Birthday, Shirley Booth!(Post)There’s an oft-repeated observation that purportedly came from Oscar-winning actress Hattie McDaniel on the controversial topic of her satisfaction with playing subservient domestic roles througho ...
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’ ...
The Strangest of Puzzles(Post)Walter Brown Gibson leaned back in his chair for a well-deserved stretch after spending a number of hours hunched over his trusty Corona typewriter. He had just put the finishing touches on his l ...
Happy Birthday, Amzie Strickland!(Post)One of radio’s most prolific character actresses was born in Oklahoma City on this date in 1919: Amzie Strickland. That first name is pronounced AIM-zee, by the way, and during her lengthy show b ...
The blog post you’re about to read is true…(Post)Radio actor Jack Webb was fortunate in that he had just landed a small role as a lab technician in a 1948 Eagle-Lion film noir entitled He Walked by Night…and in between takes, he would find himself ...
“Ladies and gentlemen, to depend on your judgment and to fulfill mine own obligation, I submit the facts…”(Post)Even after taking home a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her breakout performance in 1949's All the King's Men, actress Mercedes McCambridge continued to work in the medium that she loved dearly ...