Skip to main content

William Spier: Director of Philip Morris Playhouse & Sam Spade

Image
By Old Time Radio Shows


William Spier

Director of CBS’s Radio Shows: Philip Morris Playhouse and Sam Spade

A beard veteran of twenty years in radio William Spier, director of the  Philip Morris Playhouse, heard Fridays at 10 P.M. EDT over CBS, is generally rated radio’s top-notch creator of suspense-type dramas.
Born in New York City, October 16, 1906, he began doing things upon graduation from Evander Childs High School. When nineteen, following a series of small jobs, Spier went to work for the Musical America magazine. Deems Taylor was then editor of the magazine and it was under his watchful eye that Spier rose to the position of chief critic during the five years he remained with the magazine.
Spier’s next important assignment was that of producer-director for the Batten, Barton. Durstine and Osborn Agency in New York City. During his years with BBD & O, leaving there in 1941 to join CBS on the West Coast, Spier produced such radio programs as the Atwater Kent Radio Hour, General Motors’ Family Party, Bond Bakers, Ethyl Tune-Up Time and many others. His outstanding dramatic radio achievement, other than four years spent at the production helm of Columbia’s Suspense series, was the direction and partial writing of the March of Time which enjoyed more tan 450 performances on the air.
During his work on the March of Time, he brought to the mike, and to subsequent greatness, Orson Welles, Agnes Moorhead, Joseph Cotton, Nancy Kelly, Ellis Reed. What many people don’t realize is that man behind  Sam Spade  and therefore the one who brought Howard Duff to his present eminence, is also Bill Spier. Currently the  Sam Spade radio program is part of his weekly activity.
Bill Spier has been referred to as a juvenile Monty Woolley because of the Capillary effusion that hangs from his chin, and by some of the people who work for him as “The Old Man,” but Bill, though he’s spent twenty years in radio, and incidentally those are the twenty years that radio itself has been part of the American scheme, is only forty-two years old.
Spier is a talented pianist and composer; his record collection is one of the most complete in Hollywood. It has been said of him that he knows Bach, Beethoven and Brahms as well as he knows the composers of modern music and they’re all included in his collection.
Married to June Havoe, star of stage, screen and radio, Spier lives quietly with his wife in Brentwood.

1939

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Was Jack Benny Gay?": The Amount of Weight In Jack Benny's Loafers

By Jon
While doing research for an article I came across an unexpected search result: "Was Jack Benny Gay?" There was no more than the question as previously stated from the original poster, but the replies made for interesting reading, ranging from: Jack Benny Celebrating his 39th Birthday "Of course not, he was a well known skirt-chaser in his youth, and he was married to Mary Livingston for many years" "Sure he was, everyone in Hollywood with the possible exception of John Wayne was and is homosexual!" "Part of Benny's "schtick" was his limp-wristed hand-to-face gestures. He was not gay, but emphasized what his fans observed as "acting like a girl" for humor. While heterosexual Benny tried to gay it up, many really gay actors or comedians in those days tried to act as "straight" as they could muster." "... the idea behind his character was to have him a little on the ambiguous side. His charact...
48 comments
Read more

OLD TIME RADIO ACTORS AND THEIR ROLES, AND OLD TIME RADIO PROGRAM

By Jon
Old Time Radio Actor's Name, Character Played, Program Aaker, Lee Rusty Rin-Tin-Tin Aames, Marlene McWilliams, Lauralee Story of Holly Sloan, The Abbott, Judith Lawson, Agnes Aldrich Family, The Abbott, Minabelle Sothern, Mary Life of Mary Sothern, The Ace, Goodman Ace, Goodman Easy Aces Ace, Goodman Ace, Goodman Mister Ace and Jane Ace, Jane Ace, Jane Easy Aces Ace, Jane Ace, Jane Mister Ace and Jane Adams, Bill Cotter, Jim Rosemary Adams, Bill Hagen, Mike Valiant Lady Adams, Bill Roosevelt, Franklin Delano March of Time, The Adams, Bill Salesman Travelin' Man Adams, Bill Stark, Daniel Roses and Drums Adams, Bill Whelan, Father Abie's Irish Rose Adams, Bill Wilbur, Matthew Your Family and Mine Adams, Bill Young, Sam Pepper Young's Family Adams, Edith Gilman, Ethel Those Happy Gilmans Adams, Franklin Mayor of a model city Secret City Adams, Franklin Jr. Skinner, Skippy Skippy Adams, Franklin Pierce Emcee Word Game, The Adams, Guila Mattie Step M...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Time Radio Shows "Transcribed" Explained

By Jon
What does it mean on old time radio shows when you hear the show is "Transcribed"? During the Golden Age of Radio , "transcribed" programs were recorded and sent to stations or networks on a disc running at 16 rps. The discs are larger than 33 1/3s. "Transcribed" means it was recorded on a disc. "Recorded" was a term that was known, of course, but not used very much in Radio's Golden Age. During the era, it was also considered very important to distinguish which shows went out live and which were recorded (transcribed), so if a show was transcribed it was announced as such.  "Transcribed" was a colloquialism of the era. One reason they came up with it was because there was still enough skittishness about recording that "pre-recorded" sounded a little obscene inside the industry. CBS and NBC were live through the '30s and '40s. Yet line transcriptions were made for either the sponsor or its ad agency. ...
8 comments
Read more