Golden Age of Radio

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 ...

The Lone Ranger and “The Stagecoach Caper”  Prologue There are many stories of lawmen and outlaws in the Old West. Some have become legend. The Lone Ranger was such a man. Lawmen in Texas would tell of his adventures with pride as an example of how the law will always prevail over the outlaws. With his two-gun lightning draw and unerring accuracy the Lone Ranger was feared by outlaws throughout Texas. There was one story that no lawman would tell. That was the story of an outlaw band led by Larry Johnson and his encounter with the Lone Ranger . This story was repeated with laughter by the outlaws and quickly spread throughout the Southwest. This is that tale of the Lone Ranger ………... A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty "Hi Yo Silver!" The Lone Ranger . "Hi Yo Silver, away!" With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains, led the fight for law and order in the early west. R...

There have been a handful of reasons why some films are successful in the box-office and some are not. Some films make a lot of money in movie theaters because either they get big stars, or they get rave reviews from the film critics, or even both. But there have been many films which, despite getting praises from critics, failed miserably in the box office race. Take So This is New York , for example, which was released in 1948. Despite the rave reviews it got from many critics, it was not able to pull off a successful run in movie theaters. The highly satirical movie was based on the novel by Ring Lardner, The Big Town . The assemblage of some of the film industry's finest talents did not help the film make an impression from the movie-going public. The film was written by Carl Foreman who went on to write the screenplays for The Men , High Noon , and Champion . Richard Fleischer (who also directed other famous films such as Fantastic Voyage and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea...

When Jack Benny signed off the air for the summer 1943, his last words stirred the nation.  Many people have written to him for copies of his little speech.  Here it is at last, and we repeat it for what its worth to you.  "Today Valley Forge and Bull Run and Gettysburg and Chateau Thierry come marching out of the past and we see them clearly again ... because marching at their side are the men of Bataan and Pearl Harbor and Corregidor and Wake ... and the mean who fell there are still a living part of it.  And their spirits has given new life to all men who have died since 1776.  Some time will erase the pain of the memory of Bataan and Pearl Harbor as it one erased the pain of Verdun.  But tonight the gold stars are too bright and new, the wounds in our hearts too fresh and the pain too sharp to forget.  And, thus, Memorial Day becomes more than a roll call of our honored dead and a roll call more of the living.  And the living must step forth ...

St. Joseph Gazette- Apr 27, 1982 Don Wilson, radio – TV figure, dies -AP Don Wilson dead PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP)—Don Wilson, the rotund foll of Jack Benny ’s comedy routines on radio and television for more than 30 years, has died at the age of 81. Wilson was found unconscious Sunday at his home in Cathedral City and was taken to Eisenhower Medical Center. Doctors at the hospital were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead at 6:51 p.m. The cause of death was listed as a cerebral vascular accident or stroke. He joined the Jack Benny radio show in 1933 after working as a sports announcer for NBC . He was initially only the program’s announcer, but Benny soon worked him into the show as a regular character. His wife, Lois Corbet, also eventually became a character on the radio and television shows, along with Eddie “Rochester” Anderson. Dennis Day , Phil Harris , Mary Livingston , Artie “Mr. Kitzel” Auerbach, Mel Blanc , Bea Benaderet , Verna Felton, Fran...

Sgt. Preston of the Yukon (originally called Challenge of the Yukon) was by far the longest running Mountie series, and definitely the most popular one to be broadcast in the U.S. A vast array of premiums were distributed by the Quaker Company in connection with this radio series. The best one was when the company bought a small parcel of land in the Yukon, divided it into one-inch square sections, and then distributed "official deeds of title" to each tiny square by putting them in boxes of Quaker cereals. In fact, 21 million such deeds were printed and distributed for free in cereal boxes and the resulting publicity was enormous. Today, over half a century later, Quaker Oats still receives hundreds of inquiries from people with these deeds, asking about their "property" and its value. But, the "Klondike Big Inch Land Company" no longer exists. Sadly, Quaker's parcel of land was reclaimed by the Canadian government many years ago for non-payment of...

The Milwaukee Journal – Jan 28, 1945 Unveiling  DUFFY’S TAVERN “ DUFFY’S TAVERN , where the elite meet to eat, Archie the manager speaking . . .” That’s Ed Gardner, Archie himself, who has got himself and his tavern into the movies after winning nation-wide laughter as a radio comedian (7:30 p. m. Fridays, WTMJ) Gardner is a former WPA worker who mangled English so intelligently that the radio industry figured he really was worth $5,000 a week. Hollywood raised the ante so the tavern, with its characters and free lunch, is now before the cameras at Paramount. Everybody from the radio show is there except Duffy himself, the disembodied voice who calls Archie on the phone. And it includes Clifton Finnegan, the well known moron; Eddie, the waiter, and the enchanting Miss Duffy herself. To give the hangout a little style, Paramount has chipped in with Bing Crosby and the four Crosby kids, Dorothy Lamour , Veronica Lake, Eddie Bracken , Victor Moore, Barry...