rand’s esoteric otr

I have a few pieces of old time radio memorabilia in my collection, so here’s another non-audio bit of otr for you to enjoy.

This is a sales brochure for “Good Morning, It’s Knight”, a program originating at WJZ in New York.  It tells an unusual story about a contest promotion on the show that has to do with Paul Whiteman, a rooster, and picketing women from the Hollywood Model School.

WJZ was the flagship station for the Blue Network of the National Broadcasting Company until the formation of ABC in the mid-1940s.  WJZ changed its call sign to WABC in 1953.  (WJZ is currently the name of a Baltimore radio station.)

The brochure is undated, but is likely from around 1947 - the dates mentioned for the contest match up to a 1946 calendar.

 Ebook: Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (124)

Periodically over the next few months, I’ll be posting some curious local shows that came to me in a single group of laquers.  These all date from December, 1947 and January, 1948 from different stations around the country, so I think they may have been entries in some type of competition for an award or connected with some other event.  The first disc in this set, “Mystery Castle“, a local kid’s show from Ohio was posted last month on the blog.

In this post, we hear a curious little sports program from WXYZ, Detroit, “The Sandlotters”.  This episode was broadcast January 21, 1948; the show includes local scores and a short drama about a sportsman’s unusual war experience.  The show includes commercials for a Detroit-area lumber company.

The show was transferred from an original American Broadcasting Company/WXYZ lacquer dub transcription.  It appears to be a previously lost/uncircualted show.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (77)

“Hollywood Star Time” seems to have been one of those ubiquitous drama anthology series that were on the air in the late 1940s with different guest stars each week in little half-hour playlets emoting in front of the microphone.

Originally broadcast March 31, 1946 on CBS, and rebroadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Services as program 2 in the series, we hear “Strange Triangle”.  Lloyd Nolan stars in this noir suspense drama bout a femme fatale.  It sounds like a script that might have been recycled from “Suspense” or “The Whistler”, but it’s actually based on a 1946 Twentieth Century Fox programmer of the same title.

The music is by Hollywood composer Alfred Newman.  Our show was digitized from an original AFRS vinyl transcription.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (83)

Well, this week we wrap up the unusual five-minute syndicated musical soap opera, “Dick and Jeannie”, from circa 1947, with the last episode in my collection.

In program 6 of the series, Jeannie wonders why Dick didn’t take her to dinner.  Meanwhile, Dick frets about not having enough money to woo his girl.  The featuring song on the show is “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”.

Our mp3 was transferred from original vinyl WOR - Harry Jacobs Productions transcription, matrix number WOR 6-9961.

It’s too bad I wasn’t around when this was on the air - I would have loved to have done a parody of it where Dick and Jeannie spend five minutes walking through a revolving door as casual passers-by remarked on how strange it was to see two people singing in public and always traveling around with an organist.  And the organist would get caught in the doorway.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (60)

Harry “Singin’ Sam” Frankel had a popular program in the thirties, singing “oldies” - songs that were popular hits of the day at the turn of the century and assembled a remarkable collection of original sheet music that he drew upon for obscure material for his program.

“Reminiscin’ with Singin’ Sam” was a syndicated series Frankel produced in the 1940s, just a few years before he passed away.  Program 108 in the series kicks off with “When That Midnight Choo-Choo Leaves for Alabam” and features other old songs with new arrangements provided by the Charles Magnante Trio and the Mullins Sisters.

Our mp3 was transferred from an original Transcription Sales, Inc vinyl disc, matrix number L-19676-A1.  This one’s been through some click reduction since the original disc had been stored without a sleeve for many years.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (62)

We return once again to Centerville and “American Family Robinson”, syndicated in the mid-1930s by the National Industrial Council (actually the National Association of Manufacturers) to promote conservative government economic polices.

For those of you that are new to the show, it’s a particularly interesting little piece of history - the series was heard on over 300 stations and was the subject of a Congressional inquiry since stations weren’t revealing what entity actually paid for the program.  When NAM first scripted the show, they tried to buy time to get it on both CBS and NBC and the networks turned them down, deeming the material too political and propagandistic.

Program 60 finds the Robinson clan fighting to save the family newspaper.  Bob Robinson, practicing his sales pitch as he goes out to sell subscriptions, intends to prove to Betty that “scientific methods” can be used for selling.

The show comes to us from an original World Broadcasting Inc. acetate transcription, matrix number 9355-3

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (60)

Long-time NBC sportscaster Jimmy Powers steps up to the mic again this week to narrate “The Grantland Rice Story”, a syndicated Thesaurus program from the mid-1950s based on the memiors of the famous sportswriter.

Program GRS-18 is “Granny’s All-Time Baseball Team”, sure to be a treat for you otr fans who get a kick out of baseball history.  The show was digitized from an original RCA Thesaurus 12″ vinyl transcription, matrix number F7-MR-5151-1

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (57)

We continue our weekly look at “American Family Robinson”, a quarter-hour dramatic serial syndicated in the mid-1930s by the National Industrial Council (aka the National Association of Manufacturers) as a propaganda piece against FDR’s liberal, anti-business New Deal policies.

As our story continues in program 59, the Robinson kids gather with Mrs. Robinson to strategize a big subscription and advertising drive to bring in enough money to save the newspaper.

The show was transferred from a acetate World Broadcasting Inc transcription, matrix number 9248-2.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (87)

I have to admit that I was a bit too young to grow up during the classic Old Time Radio period.  So, I never experienced a personality like Arthur Godfrey first hand.  Listening to him in recordings from the era, though, there’s something that creeps me out about him.  He reminds me of that annoying creepy uncle in everyone’s family who is always trying to be funny but sounds a bit spaced out or something.

He’s best remembered today for his work in fifties television, including “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts”.  Here we offer a sample of his work on the show, which was originally simulcast on CBS radio and television on November 28, 1949, and broadcast as program 14 in the “Arthur Godfrey” series on the Armed Forces Radio Service.

In the series, average people would appear on the program and introduce someone they knew who was talented in some way and audience applause determined who was crowned the winner and got a chance for a showbiz contract.  Contestants on this episode include a wonderful harmonica player, Harry Breen, singer Andrea Lee and Bill Blockson and a quintet called the White Guards.  Something a bit unexpected happens during the contest, but I’ll let you listen in and find out how it turns out.

This previously lost episode of the series was digitized directly from a vinyl AFRS transcription.  The date is from the disc matrix.

By the way, Goldin lists an episode of the series featuring contestant Lenny Bruce, introduced by his mother.  I’d love to hear that one.  (”You should hear my son Lenny - he’s so funny!  I keep telling him he should be on the radio!”)

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (139)

Here’s a new series on the blog that’s not particularly well known and likely for good reason. At one time, programs of poetry readings weren’t uncommon on radio, but they seemed to fall by the wayside after War, at least on the national networks.  You’d still find them on local stations for several years.

“Words With Music” was the Armed Forces Radio’s attempt at the genre.  Organist Milton Charles provided the background music and various starlets would step up to the microphone to try their hand at Shakespeare, Keats and the works of other poets.  You might be surprised who turns up on some of the programs.

Program 1 of the series is a previously “lost” program in the series and features Merle Oberon.

Milton Charles had a long career starting in the silent movie days and later on records and radio.  According to a LA Times article, he passed away in 1991 at the age of 94.  Merle Oberon, of course, is best remembered for her work in classic films like “Wuthering Heights” and “The Private Life of Henry VIII”.

The show was transferred from an original vinyl War Department Armed Forces Radio Service transcription that is undated, but is likely from the early War period.

I’ll drop in a few of these rare shows on the blog in coming months featuring a few stars you might recognize.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (97)