Golden Age of Radio

St. Peterburg Times – Jan 31, 1950                   RADIO IN REVIEW Phil Harris es Re-Estimated, And the Verdict Is ‘Good’ By JOHN CROSBY Probably no show in radio ever started out less auspiciously than the Phil Harris – Alice Faye operation back in the Fall of 1946. Radio critics everywhere shuddered in rare unison. Looking back through my yellowing clippings on this program, I discover that first few episodes were largely kissing games, which immensely simplified the task of the writers. Either Phil was kissing Alice. Or both of them were kissing the children. What little dialogue there was revolved around this osculation, more or less reviewing it. “Ya ain’t giving, honey,” Mr. Harris would mutter, a bad notice for Miss Faye. Or he’d exclaim –there’s no more exclamatory comedian in the business than Harris—“You blond beautiful bundle of dynamite! Put your arms around me and tell me how...

NO SUPERMAN —BUT GOOD For a long time, the American Broadcasting Company’s Terry and the Pirates—Monday through Friday from 5 P. M. to 5:15 EST—a show ostensibly for the kids, has been up among the most adult programs on the air. Terry—the leading character—has been carrying on a relentless fight against fascism, a fight started months before the actual war began and now, continuing with sensible warnings against the enemy which has not been completely routed everywhere, nor completely conquered. Terry is played by Owen Jordan, a medium height young man, with dark, curly hair and grinning brown eyes. And, in a way, Owen is a kind of perfect choice for the part. He’s really interested in children. Last fall, for instance, he appeared at some seventeen high schools in and around New York, lecturing to students of the drama on the possible use of radio in child education. His lectures were based on more than the dramatic aspects of radio, too. He’s been a teacher and made use ...