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, 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, 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 ...
“Howdee, Straight Shooters! Howdee!”(Post)The man born Thomas Hezikiah Mix in Mix Run, Pennsylvania in 1880 became a Western legend during the 20th century…and he did it using the same good old fashioned skill as Buffalo Bill Cody: salesm ...
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, Sir John Gielgud!(Post)Sir John Gielgud made his cinematic debut in a 1924 silent film, Who is the Man? Yet the celebrated actor, born in South Kensington, London on this date in 1904, really didn’t commit to a movie c ...
“Friendship, friendship…just a perfect blendship…”(Post)The Golden Age of Radio was always welcoming to dizzy women who marched to the beat of a different drummer—Gracie Allen (with her “illogical logic”) and Jane Ace being two primary examples. But b ...
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 ...
Oh, my Papa…(Post)Every third Sunday in June, we celebrate Father’s Day—a national holiday recognizing the importance of fatherhood, paternal bonds and really, the societal influence of fathers in general. Here at ...
“And now, let’s see what’s going on down in Pine Ridge…”(Post)On this date in 1931, radio listeners paid their first visit to the sleepy little Arkansas hamlet of Pine Ridge to sit around the stove at the general mercantile known as “The Jot ‘Em Down Store.” ...
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, Phillips H. Lord!(Post)Triskaidekaphobia. I didn’t make this word up; it’s the technical term for fear of the number “13.” The man born Phillips Haynes Lord in Hartford, Vermont on this date in 1902, however, pooh-poohe ...
Happy Birthday, Dick Powell!(Post)Born in Arkansas on this date in 1904, the man christened Richard Ewing Powell would prove to be one of show business’ true chameleons. His career is highlighted by a series of reinventions—both ...
Happy Birthday, Nigel Bruce!(Post)If we can suggest a word association exercise for the old-time radio devotees and classic movie fans who drop by the blog on occasion…what would be the first thought to come to mind upon the menti ...
Happy Birthday, William Boyd!(Post)The man responsible for the motion picture career of actor William Lawrence Boyd—born in Hendrysburg, Ohio on this date in 1895—was without question Cecil B. DeMille. The famed director-producer c ...
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 ...