When radio actress Cathy Lewis—born on this date in Spokane, Washington in 1916—married actor-director-producer Elliott Lewis (who would later become known as “Mr. Radio”) in 1943, she didn’t even ...
Happy Birthday, Ted de Corsia!(Post)If you’ve seen this popular character actor’s mug in any movie on Turner Classic Movies I guarantee you it’s a most familiar one. He’s the sneering, Brylcreemed thug from a countless number of fil ...
“You’re durn tootin’, Hoppy!”(Post)The August 11, 1941 broadcast of CBS’ Forecast marked the first time the character of Hopalong Cassidy was offered up to radio audiences as a potential series, much in the same manner as fellow B- ...
Happy Birthday, Frank Lovejoy!(Post)The actor fondly remembered by old-time radio fans as the reporter who covered the “night beat” for the fictional Chicago Star was born on this date in 1912. OTR devotees take pride in being able ...
Happy Birthday, Sammy Kaye!(Post)It was at a Cleveland, Ohio venue known as The Cabin Club where Sammy Kaye—born Samuel Zamocay, Jr on this date in 1910—would acquire the slogan that would make him and his orchestra famous. The ...
Happy Birthday, Harold Peary!(Post)Fans of old-time radio might get a kick out of watching an old Perry Mason rerun, “The Case of the Lover’s Gamble,” which turns up on Me-TV every now and then. At the risk of spoiling the ending, t ...
Happy Birthday, Victor Moore!(Post)In the 1945 Warner Bros. cartoon Ain’t That Ducky, Daffy Duck encounters a most unusual hunter: a sportsman who looks and sounds like veteran comic actor Victor Moore. As you can probably guess, t ...
Happy Birthday, Ozzie Nelson!(Post)In 1930, Oswald George Nelson—born in Jersey City, New Jersey on this date in 1906—graduated with a law degree from Rutgers University and was ready to hang out his shingle for business. Sadly, t ...
Happy Birthday, Les Damon!(Post)Lester Joseph Damon—born in Providence, RI on this date in 1908—was memorably described by my Radio Spirits colleague Elizabeth McLeod as “the prototype of the radio actor on the go.” From his ea ...
“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, Joan Banks!(Post)In 1949, at the height of the success of radio’s My Friend Irma, actress Cathy Lewis—who originated the character of roommate Jane Stacy on the popular sitcom—was forced to briefly hand over the r ...
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 ...