Old Time Radio

Follow these links for stories about Old Time Radio.

John Hodiak: From Hamtramck to Hollywood

Radio and film actor John Hodiak in The Sellout (1952) It was the church plays, the high school dramas and John Hodiak's eagerness to spout speeches that got him hipped on the radio acting idea which finally paid off way out in Hollywood. Hodie had worked up such an oratorical rep around Hamtramck that when a campaigning candidate for Michigan's governorship hit Hamtramck, he stumped the place for him and got votes galore. "When I'm elected, son," promised the grateful statesman, "let me know ... (read more)

2022/11/04

Sandy Becker, Young Announcer with an Old Voice

WNEW ad promoting radio star Sandy Becker Radio listeners are getting accustomed to learning that their favorite air personalities don't look like their voices sound. But Carolinians can't quite hide their amazement when they see Sandy Becker, WBT announcer. Sandy tips Father Time's scales at 22 but to hear his voice you'd expect the years to hang heavy on his shoulders. It is a booming, full voice that sounds as though its owner had spent years training it to perfection. It's a voice filled ... (read more)

2022/11/03

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)

2022/11/01

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)

2022/10/31

With Canada's Mounted Dramatized on Radio by T. Morris Longstreth

Canadian Mountie on the Saturday Evening Post in 1933 The real story of the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, written by the official historian of the group that always gets its man, will be dramatized in a new series of programs to begin over an NBC network this Monday at 9 p.m. T. Morris Longstreth, who claims the distinction of being the only person outside the organization ever to have been granted access to complete records, will write the continuity for the program, to be known as With ... (read more)

2022/10/30

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)

2022/10/29

Jolly Joe Kelly Flooded with Letters from Pet Pals

WLS kids host Jolly Joe Kelly in 1935 "Tie a little string around your finger, so you'll remember me." Thus Jolly Joe Kelly to his Pet Pals each morning at 7:30 a.m. CST. And throughout the country, Joe's Palsie Walsies do remember him. From Tennessee to Ontario and from West Virginia to North Dakota, untold thousands of children start their days with Jolly Joe. That they love him goes without question. They write him wagonloads of mail. Through Joe's program, they exchange pets of all kinds ... (read more)

2022/10/28

Radio Announcer Reed Browning Makes a Spectacle of Himself

Reed Browning hosting Beat the Record on ABC radio Folks visiting Hollywood -- or those who live there -- have three easy and pleasant ways to meet one of the friendliest and most cheerful emcees in show business, Reed Browning. Anyone appearing in the vicinity of Sunset and Vine any weekday morning or afternoon is quite apt to become an active part of Reed's two all-around-good-fun shows: Beat the Record, heard locally over station KABC, or the Reed Browning Show, heard over the ABC network. ... (read more)

2022/10/27

Obituary for Radio Drummer Roy C. Knapp

Drummer and percussion teacher Roy C. Knapp Roy C. Knapp, a network orchestra musician during radio's golden area in Chicago and a highly respected percussion teacher in the city for decades, died June 16, 1979, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He was 87. The cause of death was not released. Knapp was a longtime resident of Chicago's Near North Side. He was born on Oct. 26, 1891, in Waterloo, Iowa, where his father operated the town's first movie theater. Knapp could play several ... (read more)

2022/10/27

The Marriage of Don Ameche and Honore Prendergast

Don Ameche and his wife Honore Prendergast on the Queen Mary in 1938 The debonair movie and radio star Don Ameche was only married once during his lifetime. He wed Honore Prendergast in 1932, they had six children and the union lasted until her death in 1986. That sounds like a storybook romance, but the following paragraph in her obituary from the Des Moines Register indicates it was a bit more complicated: Don Ameche appeared in several radio productions, including a starring role in The ... (read more)

2022/10/21

Read More Entries