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 ...
“Personal notice: danger’s my stock-in-trade…”(Post)While attempting to make a name for himself as an actor in motion pictures, Bob Bailey did a little freelancing in radio. Though under contract to 20th Century-Fox, he discovered that he enjoyed ...
Happy Birthday, Don Diamond!(Post)The actor born Donald Alan Diamond in Brooklyn, NY on this date in 1921 was in real life a rather nondescript individual…but that is precisely the quality you want when you’ve decided you want to ...
Happy Birthday, Lionel Barrymore!(Post)It’s become a true holiday tradition, spending time with Lionel Barrymore–who was born Lionel Herbert Blythe in Philadelphia, PA on this date in 1878. One of Barrymore's iconic film roles was the ...
“…we love the Halls of Ivy/That surround us here today…”(Post)From the moment writer Don Quinn first met vaudevillian Jim Jordan at the studios of Chicago’s WENR in the early 1930s, the success of the two men in the burgeoning medium of radio was assured. Do ...
Happy Birthday, Anne Whitfield!(Post)At the height of The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show’s popularity, radio audiences were often curious to know whether the children on the program—based on the couple’s real-life offspring, Alice Faye ...
“Across the rugged Indian Territory, rides a tall young man on a mission of mercy…”(Post)With the introduction of Gunsmoke to audiences in April of 1952, the “adult western” soon began to come into fashion on radio. Gunsmoke would soon be joined by The Six Shooter, a Western drama tha ...
Radio’s laugh novelty(Post)Writer Goodman Ace made a solid living in the early 1930s reviewing plays and movies for The Kansas City Post for a $75-a-week salary. To supplement this income, Goody hosted a radio show on Kansas ...
Happy Birthday, Fred MacMurray!(Post)With his first credited film appearance in 1935’s Grand Old Girl, it didn’t take long before Frederick Martin MacMurray—born in Kankakee, IL on this date in 1908—became one of the silver screen’s ...
Happy Birthday, Don Ameche!(Post)Dominic Felix Amici was born on this date in Kenosha, WI in 1908. When Dominic changed his name to Don Ameche, however, that’s when any number of doors started opening for one of show business’ fo ...
Happy Birthday, Kenny Delmar!(Post)The man born in Boston, Massachusetts on this date in 1910 would soon make a big name for himself as the long-winded stooge for a well-known radio comedian who also had roots in the Boston-Cambrid ...
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 ...
Happy Birthday, Eleanor Audley!(Post)The epitaph on the headstone adorning the final resting place of actress Eleanor Audley reads: “A Kind Friend to All.” And while it’s undeniably true that Audley—born Eleanor Zellman on this date ...
“Who knows…what evil…lurks in the hearts of men…”(Post)My introduction to old-time radio came about in the 1970s, when the “nostalgia boom” was well underway. WOUB, Ohio University’s FM radio station, had a feature that aired every Monday night entitled ...
Review: Trapped by Boston Blackie (1948)(Post)The headline in the morning newspaper proves most distressing to reformed jewel thief Horatio “Boston Blackie” Black (Chester Morris) and his sidekick The Runt (George E. Stone). Their friend Joe ...
Happy Birthday, Philip Rapp!(Post)Comedy writer Phil Rapp was born on this date in 1907, and during his long show business career he would probably become best known for creating a constantly squabbling couple played on numerous s ...