There’s a classic Jack Benny Show telecast from the 1960s (but really…aren’t they all classics?) where Jack, having ordered a “Shirley Temple” (a non-alcoholic drink made with ginger ale and grena ...
Happy Birthday, Sydney Greenstreet!(Post)Despite appearances in only two dozen films in an eight-year time span, Sydney Hughes Greenstreet—born on this date in 1879—remains one of the motion picture industry’s best-remembered character a ...
Happy Birthday, Florence Halop!(Post)A September 1935 edition of Radio Mirror spotlights child stars on the radio in one of its articles, mentioning such talents as Walter Tetley and Billy Halop. Billy wasn’t the only member of the Ha ...
Happy Birthday, Leslie Charteris!(Post)Before becoming the creator of one of the literary world’s most famous sleuths, Leslie Charteris—born in Singapore (at the time, a British colony) on this date in 1907—jokingly “couldn’t hold down ...
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, Chester Lauck!(Post)On April 26, 1936, the small Arkansas town of Waters officially changed its name to Pine Ridge. It wasn’t because they were on the lam from the law or ducking creditors, however—the inspiration c ...
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, Norman Macdonnell!(Post)One of old-time radio’s most important—and inarguably, most creative—director-producers was born on this date in 1916. A native of Pasadena, CA, Norman Macdonnell would use his experiences during ...
Happy Birthday, anybody—here’s Morgan…(Post)Henry Lerner Van Ost, Jr. brashly entered this world in New York City on this date in 1915. We know him better as Henry Morgan…and it’s a good thing he was persuaded to change his name once he dec ...
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, Jack Kruschen!(Post)Character great Jack Joseph Kruschen was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on this date in 1922. A dues-paying member of the “Hey! It’s That Guy!” show business fraternity, you’ve seen Jack in scores o ...
Happy Birthday, Blake Edwards!(Post)If I enlisted you into playing a word association game and started the ball rolling by uttering “Blake Edwards”—chances are that you would respond with “Pink Panther”…for it was indeed Edwards who ...