Golden Age of Radio

Morton Downey 11:15 Tues.-Thurs.-Sat. WINS-MBS. Morton Downey is back on the airwaves for his favorite soft drink at 11:15 P.M. three times weekly, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, over the Mutual Network coast to coast. In a program which is entirely different from the homespun songs and poems which he used to broadcast during the daytime, Downey is now specializing in what he calls his own kind of sooth-singing: soft, sentimental ballads and tunes. With Downey on his new program are a quartet of male singers who provide soft, melodic background for Downey’s silvery voice, and an intimate orchestra of right under the skillful baton of Carmen Mastren. Born in Wallingford, Connecticut, the son of the local fire-chief, Downey is probably the Nutmeg State’s most famous good-will ambassador and most popular citizen. Nutmeggers remember him as the kid who used to sing at Elks’ benefits for nickels, accompanied by a friend who played the accordion. And they also st...

He was the most popular member of Jack Benny 's supporting cast. He was a fixture of American popular culture for more than thirty years. He was one of the wealthiest African-Americans of his generation. And, he was a pioneer in promoting racially-integrated employment in the United States defense industry. He was Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, a man of many accomplishments who is practically unknown to anyone under the age of forty-five...unless they happen to be Old Time Radio enthusiasts. Eddie Anderson never set out in life to be a pioneer in anything. All he ever wanted to do was entertain, and that was an ambition he came by naturally. His parents had greasepaint in their blood -- his father was a minstrel-show comedian of many years' experience, while his mother was a circus acrobat, specializing in tight-wire tricks. Even his older brother Cornelius earned his show-biz spurs as a singing comedian. Eddie might have thought about being a singer himself, had ...