Golden Age of Radio

SAY HELLO TO . . . AL GOODMAN —who is back on the air after too long an absence, directing the music for Fred Allen’s program on CBS tonight. Al used to be the late Flo Ziegfeld’s favorite musical comedy maestro, and broke into radio when Flo brought his shows to the air. Since then he’s led the orchestra for virtually every singing star in opera and concert. Al is short, stocky and genial. He manages to get along with only four or five hours of sleep and does most of his work at night. He was born in Russia, but fled from there when he was a boy, hidden in a load of vegetables in a cart. His family settled in Baltimore. 

Say Hello To- RICHARD GORDON—who plays “The Bishop” in tonight’s serial on NBC-Blue, The Bishop and the Gargoyle. Richard started his career in 1898 as a reporter and cartoonist for a Bridgeport, Conn., paper. In 1900 he switched to the stage, and began a long succession of increasingly important Broadway roles. In 1930 he joined NBC’s staff of actors, and won fame as Sherlock Holmes —but after a while he refused to play the part any longer for fear of being typed. He and his wife (she was his leading lady in 1905) live in Piermont, N.Y., in a home with a big basement where Richard pursues his hobby of carpentry.