Golden Age of Radio

ARNOLD STANG —goggle-eyed, 5’4’’, 120-pounder has been playing comedy parts for fourteen of his twenty-five years. A native of Chelsea, Mass., he acquired his radio experience in Let’sPretend , The Children’s Hour, and The Goldbergs in which he created the role of Seymour which later emerged as the hapless Gerard, mirth-provoking addition to The Henry Morgan Show.

VERSATILE ART, DIALECT EXPERT, CAN BE CHARACTER ACTOR OR MIMIC ONE OF A KIND ART CARNEY IS THE ONLY NETWORK STAFF ACTOR ART CARNEY is a young man with a job that many a free-lance actor would give his eyeteeth and ten years of his life to have. It is the only position of its kind existing in any of the four large networks. Art is the only actor who is a regular salaried staff member of the Columbia Broadcasting System . As anyone who has gone through the exhausting throes of becoming a radio artist can tell you, the hardest part of attaining prominence  is getting established with the network producers. It is a long tale of auditioning, getting interviews with producers and directors, and beating out a shoe leather symphony between advertising agencies and network offices. After some small encouragement, you spend all your time and ingenuity reminding the producers that you exist and are available for a little work. When you are in demand there is a vas

St. Petersburg Times – Jul 15, 1945 ‘ Plantation Party ’ Opened Doors to Radio Success A few year ago, a series called “ PlantationParty ” ended a four-year run over NBC , out of Chicago. Throughout its run, the show enjoyed a good rating . . . and subsequent developments have proved that there was a good reason for it. Two of the latest proofs are offered by Curt Massey and Marlin Hurt, both of whom are starring in new shows of their own. Curt Massey, with Carol Bruce and Harry Sosnik’s orchestra, has the spotlight on the new “Sunday on the N-K Ranch” series. Massey, following a few guest appearances on the Andrews Sisters show, was so widely hailed as the next male singing, sensation, that he was signed as headliner on the replacement series while famous Andrews threesome entertains overseas. On “ Plantation Party ,” Curt sang, played trumpet and violin, with his sister, Louise Massey, and her Westerners. Hurt, multiple-voiced comic who is Beulah , the colored maid,

LIFE WITH LUIGI : Mr. Basco, Citizen This is a great day for Luigi—no longer an immigrant, but a working partner in these United States! “Dear Mama Mia: Tomorrow is gonna be one of the most important days of my life—I’m going to take the test for my first citizenship papers. Already I look more American . Is hard to explain exactly how I feel, Mama.” Cy Howard is the creator of Luigi, the Little Immigrant, and is also the producer and director of the Life With Luigi show. Life With Luigi is the story of the everyday experiences of Luigi Basco, an Italian immigrant who has come to—and loves— America , land of equal opportunity for all who are willing, as he is, to work for it. Luigi is a new kind of comedy-program character. You laugh with him, not at him, as you listen to his struggles to learn the new language, the customs so different from those of his native country. Cy Howard, responsible for MyFriend Irma , is “father” of Luigi, too. J. Carrol Nais

Those crazy Scandinavians! Those of us who were born after the Golden Age of Radio can still appreciate the sentiment from Garrison Keillor telling us about the bachelor farmers in his native Minnesota. Those crazy Scandinavians! Our latest arcane contribution from Scandinavia to the world of radio enjoyment is not anything very new, but it is fun, and a lot easier to appreciate than lutefisk. We recently came across a reference to Radio Kaka, or Radio Cake, on the Swedish Wikipedia page (please don't ask what we were looking at Swedish Wikipedia for...) Radio cake is not only a simple to make and tasty treat, but it has a delightful story, as well. Radio cake was a staple of Swedish cookbooks for decades. Several bloggers have commented on seeing the recipe in their grandmother's cookbook collection. There are two popular stories of how the confection got its catchy name. The more staid version was that the treat of biscuits covered in chocolate could be enjoyed whil

The Milwaukee Journal – Jan 14, 1945   Wow! $10,000 Every Week HOLLYWOOD , Calif. (AP) Edgar Bergen his earning 10 grand a week for his radio show Sunday nights at 7. That is pretty nice moola for talking to one’s self for approximately 20 minutes. Pressed for confirmation of this amazing stipend, the shiny domed parent of Charlie McCarthy replied: “Yes, I guess it’s true although I never see the dough. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t seem any different than when I was earning $1,000 a week.” The NBC ventriloquist reflected that he was none too happy about his success, although he admitted a bit of the ham entered into this statement. “I have to be nice to so many people—sponsors, agents, producers, directors, and—”   he added with a grin—“newspapermen. In the old days when I was playing night clubs. I only had to be nice to the manager, and if I didn’t like, I could move on to another date.” “And back in those days, I could take a rest whenever I wanted,

The Milwaukee Journal – Apr 22, 1947 Quiz Master Kills Intruder Firs at Prowlers in Kitchen; One Escapes; Other an Ex-Convict Chicago, III. - (AP) – Joe Kelly, quizzer of the famed radio Quiz Kids , shot at two prowlers in the kitchen of his apartment Monday night, killing one. Andrew Aitken, deputy chief of detectives, said the dead man was identified from fingerprints as Harold C. Fransen, 25, an ex-convict who had been paroled to the army, saw service, as a paratrooper overseas, and was released as psychoneurotic in 1945. He died in a back yard adjoining that of Kelly’s apartment building after leaping a four foot fence with .38 caliber bullet wounds in his back and neck. A trail of blood indicated the other burglar had been wounded. Kelly said he, his wife, Mary, and their son, Joseph, jr, were sitting in the darkened living room of their apartment discussing the son’s November wedding plans when a noise was heard in the kitchen. Joseph, jr.,