Golden Age of Radio

The Milwaukee Journal – Oct 4, 1942 She’s Really Anything but a Dope By Carlton Cheney DOWN through the ages countless millions of words have been uttered or written about the manifold advantages of being smart. But one may look in vain to the advice of sages and pundits for single observation , a friendly tip extolling the manifold virtues of being dumb. This, it appears, is a gross and deplorable omission which we right here and now set about to correct, being moved to the effort by a visit we paid the other day to the home of Gracie Allen , that darling dunce of the air waves , on the eve of her return to radio with husband-partner George Burns . Gracie and George , as you no doubt know, have been taking a summer vacation, but they will be back on the ether Tuesday night, again supported by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra; Jimmy Cash, the Arkansas Singer; Bill Goodwin, announcer and stooge, and Clarence Nash as Herman the Duck. White the show this season w...

Morton Downey 11:15 Tues.-Thurs.-Sat. WINS-MBS. Morton Downey is back on the air-waves 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 eight under the skillful baton of Carmen Mastren. Born in Wallingford, Connecticut, the son of the local fire-chied, 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 als...