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Actor Paul Douglas Got His Big Break By Being Fired

Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh in Angels in the Outfield (1951) The nicest Christmas present Paul Douglas ever received was a neat little typewritten notice informing him that two weeks from date his services would no longer be required. For he walked right out of radio station WCAU in Philadelphia, where Santa Claus brought him the odd gift, into the offices of the Columbia Broadcasting System, and there, in the short space of a year, won his way into the front rank of big league radio. For the ... (read more)

How Ed Wynn Spent His $5,000-a-Week Radio Salary

Radio comedian Ed Wynn, star of The Fire Chief It certainly looks easy. All you have to do is walk into a studio, tell a few jokes, or sing a few songs, and walk out with five thousand dollars. Think of it: $5,000 for a half hour's work. Pretty soft! But is it? Is this business of being a radio star as easy as it looks? Is that whopping big weekly fee just so much pure gravy -- or does it take a lot of time and money to get up to the table, and is a lot of the gravy spilled on the way back? ... (read more)

Radio Broadcast of 1934 America's Cup Crossed the Globe

A model of the Endeavour, challenger in the 1934 America's Cup Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent, months of work have been devoted to obtaining and perfecting equipment -- all to the point that the greatest maritime sporting event on the yearly calendar, the America's Cup (International Yacht Races), may be brought to radio listeners in complete and thrilling detail. From the air, reporters will give accounts of the races as they circle above the competing yachts. On the water, ... (read more)

What Happened on Radio Soaps in December 1952

Augusta Dabney and William Prince in the TV series Young Dr. Malone (1958) Aunt Jenny: Two girls in love with the same man create a situation that can not help but lead to trouble for someone. In a recent story, Aunt Jenny told of a triangle made even more complicated by the fact that the two girls were identical twins. The Stillman girls not only looked alike, but acted alike and had led identical lives -- until Larry came along. What unexpected changes did love make for all three of them? ... (read more)

Last Call for Radio's Grand Central Station on CBS

Grand Central Station producer and director Hiram Brown in 1943 After more than 16 years of good entertainment, the voice of Grand Central Station on CBS is no longer heard in the land. What stilled it was not any sudden drying up of human interest drama in Manhattan's great railroad terminal, but rather the fact that Grand Central on the radio just couldn't compete any longer with the overwhelming force of TV playhouses. No doubt about it, the radio theaters are dwindling. Which is too bad ... (read more)

George Hall and His Orchestra, Live from the Hotel Taft

George Taft and singer Dolly Dawn George Hall leads the popular dance orchestra in the grill of the Hotel Taft. His band broadcasts 11 times a week -- which means that it is heard more often than any other band on the air. Noon, night and morning its rhythms and harmonies are carried into all the cities and all the towns and the smart country hamlets where the Columbia Broadcasting System bears romance and inspiration to the organdied girlfriends of tuxedoed youths. It is a very good thing ... (read more)

Book Covers All 1,693 Episodes of Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons

Bennett Kilpack, star of Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons on CBS In his previous books, author Jim Cox has written about two of radio's most prolific producers (Frank and Anne Hummert's Radio Factory), the last decade of the golden age of radio (Say Goodnight Gracie) and several radio programming genres (Radio Crime Fighters, The Great Radio Audience Participation Shows and The Great Radio Soap Operas). In his current book, Jim focuses his considerable research and writing talents on a single ... (read more)

When Wendell Niles Moved to Pine Ridge, Arkansas

Wendell Niles and Marilyn Monroe on NBC Radio in 1952 Radio announcer Wendell Niles worked on several radio series at one time; by the 1939-40 radio season he was featured on not only the Al Pearce Show, in which the rotund comedian Pearce portrayed Elmer Blurt, a reticent door-to-door salesman ("Nobody home, I hope I hope I hope"), but also on Gene Autry's brand-new Melody Ranch program (for "healthful, refreshing Doublemint Gum."). By 1942, Niles had landed his longest-running stint, ... (read more)

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll Created Amos 'n' Andy

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll perform Amos 'n' Andy on radio Amos 'n' Andy are two of the best known radio characters in America, and in the last six months -- the time they have been on the National Broadcasting Company networks -- they have made radio history in broadcasting at least 150 times, which is the equivalent of three years on the air for an ordinary program. Amos 'n' Andy operate the Open Air Taxicab Company in Harlem. Each night a microphone picks up the highlights of their ... (read more)

Morris Littmann Brought the World Mountainville True Life Sketches

The Mountainville train station in around 1900 Out "thar" in the hills lies Mountainville. It is an ordinary village, nothing unusual about it -- it is just Mountainville! So typical was this quiet little hamlet nestled way up in the hills that Morris Littmann, owner of the Littmann Stores in New York City, sought to give the public in general a chance to see into this homey clump of houses and little businesses. Littman spent his last summer's vacation in Mountainville to get the trend of life ... (read more)