Golden Age of Radio

Radio’s New Top Gal, A Modern Jenny Lind May 30, 1942 By Dorothy Roe Pretty,- brown – eyed Dinah Shore , the girl soldiers write during their off-duty hours, is having a wonderful time singing for servicemen all over the country and out of it. The little southern girl has been warbling since she was 10years old, but has been recognized as a top flight singer for only a few years. Today Dinah is known as the modern Jenny Lind, and her most recent title—the Elsie Janis of World War II “EXCUSE me, please. It’s the navy.” Dinah Shore rose from the table and followed the head waiter to the door, where an embarrassed young sailor waited with apparent eagerness. We had been talking about life in Tennessee , where she was born, about the war and the songs the soldiers like. I had been asking her questions, because I wanted to know the real girl behind that moody voice on the radio, that voice that forms a link with home for American soldiers and sailors from Iceland to the B...

THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL—SCREEN and RADIO          Sunday, April 4, 1943 In a Forthcoming movie, radio’s Dinah Shore will not only sing, she will dance and she will act. Dinah’s a favorite with the soldiers Oh, Dinah—Is There Anyone Finer? By Janice Gaines KNARAVELLA is Dinah Shore ’s cool. She receives a salary of $28 a week. She gets all day Sunday off, half day Wednesday, half day Friday and occasionally when she wants to do some shopping she gets a few hours here and there. “But Knaravella is worth that to me,” says Dinah Shore , the singing radio beauty, “because I’m strictly a home girl and she’s a good cook, and any sort of cook is hard to get these days.” Knaravella has had two raises in three months. She started at $21, mentioned defense work a month later, was raised to $25, was caught looking through the Lockheed want ads, she was jumped to $28. She does not know it set (and you must not send her this column), but Dinah wou...

The Milwaukee Journal – Nov 1, 1942 What Gets Russian So Mad? By BCL ON THE Eddie Cantor program exists one of those cases where a stooge is a much funnier than the boss comic. Such a comic— Bert Gordon, the “Mad Russian” —often causes listeners to remark: “Why doesn’t  that guy get a show of his own? He’d  kill ‘em!” Well, as near as we can find out from a survey of expert opinion, the answer is that “The Mad Russian” is “spot” comic, good only for a few minutes at a time. The idea is that Bert’s excruciating accent which makes any word he speaks funny, would in large doses tire the listener. So, too, it is suggested, would Jerry Colonna ’s style wear out—Colonna of the unmatched timing and delivery. The above does not detract from the Gordon charm. When he opens up at 8:30 every Wednesday with his “How do you do?” Eddie Cantor’s show, otherwise pretty dismal except for the singing Dinah Shore , takes on new life. Gordon is actually anything but ...