famous radio personalities 1940s

For example Fred Allen sometimes told jokes about the "Full Moon Nudist Colony." As Germany's aggression in Europe became increasingly evident, Coughlin lost some of his popularity, however, for much of the Depression he was a significant voice in American radio. typical "household hints" programming that was de rigueur at the time for female radio personalities In 1937 a reporter captured his reaction to the crash of the Hindenburg. So you would never be famous. Radio programming shifted away from drama, comedy, and variety shows to other formats including music, talk shows, and news. In the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, the advertising partnership with "Little Orphan Annie" was lampooned as the message in the long-awaited decoder ring turns out to be "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." ." Famous Radio Personalities. Radio was how America got its news and how it was entertained. We also became convinced that the only way to avoid a repetition of those dark days was to have a government with power to prevent and to cure the abuses and the inequalities which had thrown that system out of joint. By 1944 it had been renamed the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The complex drama was both criticized for its racial insensitivity and lauded for showing a humanistic portrait of a particular subset of society (from Charles J. Correll and Freeman F. Gosden. While some programs were more adult, some programs were specifically designed to appeal to children, such as "Jack Armstrong, All American Boy." Comic strips had long provided a shared form of entertainment in America. On October 30, 1938 a radio musical performance was interrupted by a reporter. January 21, 2013, . These famous radio personalities were the stars of their time, and their shows were appointment listening for millions of Americans. 3. In the 1930s, Father Coughlin was one of the most influential public figures in the United States. The husband and wife comedy team of George Burns and Gracie Allen became representatives of the desired everyday world in American culture. (Virtually all broadcasts during radios peak years were in AM, or amplitude modulation.). As CBS News Vice President and Director of Public Affairs, Murrow remained uncomfortable as an executive and returned to reporting in 1951. Known as an American DJ, music historian, radio personality, and actor, he was the host of several music radio countdown programs, notably "American Top 40" from 1970 until his retirement in 2009. The 1940s were a decade of tension and transition. 1. Some critics called it "bread and circuses," a narcotic for the masses to keep them from fully comprehending the situation in which they found themselves. Advertisers were creative in positioning products. The amazing growth of radio programming during the Depression established all of the major genres in television: dramas, comedies, variety shows, soap operas, talk shows, news commentary, and more. Douglas, Susan Jeanne. Murrow's broadcasts during the Battle of Britain were often accompanied by air raid sirens or bomb explosions. Some of the early big names in radio moved on as TV stars, such as Dick Clark, Wolfman Jack and Casey Kasem in the 1960s. Read; Edit; View history; More. Not everyone approved of the escapism of radio. Bolino, August C. From Depression to War: American Society in Transition1939. "Cookie Vejar Killing," an episode of the police drama series Calling All Cars; airdate December 27, 1933. Andy: Yere's de well right yere. Germany was mobilizing to occupy a large portion of Europe and much of the world was moving towards what would come to be known as World War II (19391945). Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Radio was a burgeoning and competitive field. Listeners waited impatiently for each new episode to discover what troubles would befall the mishap-prone twosome. Body crumples) There; now he'll be quiet for a minute. Mark Levin. The number of programs and types of programming for radio grew astonishingly quickly. In the early 1930s the phonographic record player was a standard appliance in many middle class American households, but as the Depression continued fewer people could afford the steep price of $.75 per record, resulting in the decline of record sales. There were eight major transmitters and as many as sixty smaller transmitters. Men were often out of work, stressed by their situation, and maybe even on the road for long periods looking for job opportunities. 122123). Millions of Americans listened to his weekly radio broadcast. This program provided a key opportunity during the Depression when many could not afford to go to movie theaters. ZACKBENNETT ZACK BENNETT. Jean Colbert (?1995). Even during the Depression, major radio stations turned a profit. 35. The specialists had to be very creative to discover ways to communicate and support the actionthe sound of walking, breaking glass, a door closing, a train whistling. Another firm that measured audience response was the A.C. Nielsen Co., which provided thousands of listeners with a mechanical device called an audiometer. Variety shows lampooned racial preconceptions, theater on the air challenged ideas of war and peace, and comedies provided a humorous critique of Middle American values. London and Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. The "Adventures of Superman" went on to both television and film success. Singing commercials became popular. In effect, four Justices ruled that the right under a private contract to exact a pound of flesh was more sacred than the main objectives of the Constitution to establish an enduring Nation. Politicians and critics used the media to comment as well as to convince. A license would be issued only if the public interest, convenience or necessity was served. Music programming was the most prevalent throughout the decade, and despite the growth in news, dramas, and comedies, by 1940 music still provided 50 percent of radio programming. Between 1936 and 1941 Orson Welles participated in over one hundred radio drama productions as writer, actor, and director. . From 1922 to 1925, Herbert Hoover, then secretary of commerce and in charge of radio policy, convened four national conferences, each of which petitioned Congress to replace the only existing (and obsolete) laws regarding broadcasting, which had been established in 1912 to regulate ship-to-shore transmissions. A selection of shows from American radios Golden Age is presented in the table. Everyone in America knew Jack Benny and his foibles. Available from the World Wide Web at: http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs/390921.html). Radio had become a powerful and influential media for the expression of opinion on an international basis. It was "The Golden Age of Radio.". I know whut I'se doin'. In the 1930s music was the foundation of radio and America's favorite escape from the Depression. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. Historic Events for Students: The Great Depression. Isolationist beliefs, opposition to the United States entering the war, made even the mention of the possibility of war controversial, but the airing of the program resulted in a thousand favorable letters being sent to CBS. President Roosevelt used the radio for regular "fireside chats" with the American people, explaining the major events of the time and his response to them in a calm and reassuring voice. Arch Oboler produced "Lights Out" on NBC, and "Air Raid" by Archibald MacLeish and "War of the Worlds" by writer and performer Orson Welles, which depicted the growing fear of war. In 1932 NBC posted a profit of $1 million and CBS posted a profit of $1.6 million. I ain't goin' do it. The success of this show established Hollywood as a major centre of radio production. A Tower of Babel: A History of Broadcasting in the United States, Volume I, to 1933. Programs became fixed in quarter-hour and half-hour blocks and featured a wide variety of formats. An episode of The Bob Hope Show, starring Bob Hope and featuring Les Brown and His Band of Renown; recorded at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, January 9, 1951. As the reporter broke into the performance several times over the next few minutes, he described strange flying vehicles landing in various parts of the United States and strange creatures emerging from them. By the time the infant son of national hero Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped and murdered, the role of communication in radio had become so important that the 1935 verdict in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial was broadcast over radio. Goebbels and other German leaders knew it was the most effective way available to reach the greatest number of people with propaganda and other information. By Amie Tennant. Radio, however, had a rocky start in America. He also provided the voice of Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise from 1969 to 1997, and again from 2002 until 2009. View More. Many of the production companies employed correspondents who wrote back with suggestions. Here are the Top 10 Famous People from Idaho. . Originally sponsored by Alka-Seltzer, the series was first broadcast on NBC from Chicago, June 28, 1940, airing as a summer replacement show for Alec Templeton Time. Programming turned political when Pres. Initially all stations in the United States had to operate on a single frequency, 833 kilohertz (kHz), and stations in the same area were forced to share time so their signals did not interfere with each another. The dramas were called soap operas because manufacturers of the major brands of soap, including Proctor and Gamble and Lever Brothers, sponsored them. Fireside Politics: Radio and Political Culture in the United States, 1920-1940, by Douglas B. Craig "Remembering the LadiesA Salute to the Women of Early Radio," by Donna L. Halper, "Popular Communications," January 1999. In 1937, she joined the CBS radio network and continued until 1941. George Burns (18961996). Radio then morphed into radio formats . "On the Planet Mongo," an episode of the children's science-fiction series Flash Gordon; airdate April 27, 1935. Earlier radio stations had a limited sphere of influence, but these clear channel stations, operating at 50,000 watts on a frequency unique to their outlet, could be heard across a significant part of the country, and so some early radio personalities gained a measure of regional or national fame. As a result there was vigilance to keep off the air anything that might be interpreted as supportive of these politics or in opposition to government efforts to bring about economic recovery. German Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels was reportedly very sensitive to the enormous impact that radio could have. While in London Murrow brought together several exceptionally talented newsmen, known as "Murrow's Boys.". Writer-producer-director Norman Corwin, one of radios brightest talents, ruefully made the point that radios most creative era was the shortest golden age in history. During its brief heyday, however, dramatic radio thrived and was a vital part of American culture. 1940s: TV and Radio. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds by Orson As for WLS and WCFL and their deejays, Kittleson sums it up simply by saying, "Good stuff. Originally employed as a print journalist, McBride hosted an extremely popular daily radio program during the late 1930s, the 1940s, and the 1950s. Swing represented decadent America, and jazz was seen as antithetical to the purity of the Aryan race, which was a term for the non-Jewish white population. Called the "Radio Priest," Father Coughlin began broadcasting weekly sermons in 1926. Many of the comic-strip-based programs that became popular radio shows during the Golden Age of Radio are still part of American culture at the start of the twenty-first century. Since most radio soap operas were only fifteen minutes long, many could run in one day. "Guiding Light" first aired on radio in 1937 and continued on television into the twenty-first century. Hilmes, Michele. The National Association of Broadcasters created standards of performance and objectivity that spawned discussion and that evolved throughout the rest of the twentieth century. In 1936, however, radio transmitters reached most of the population of Spain. In 1937 Welles became the voice of "The Shadow." Amos: He tol' you to milk de cowhe didn't tell me to do it. Amos: I wuz sittin' yere dreamin' 'bout Chicago an' 'stead o' puttin' de milk in de bucket, I put half of it on de ground. Although he was wary of television, he made the transition with See It Now the first television newsmagazine. The conventional, amplitude modulation (AM) form of radio signal proved limiting in broadcasting, producing much static at times. Many peopleespecially womenlooked to soap operas for advice on how to deal with the situations life presented to them. The series was based on the novel Mr. and Mrs. Cugat (1940), written by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the Paramount Pictures feature film Are Husbands Necessary? Originally broadcast as "Sam 'n' Henry" in 1926, the show was renamed when it changed networks. American women considered how their favorite characters dealt with the challenges of life. The hot drink Ovaltine and "Little Orphan Annie" were partners for many years. A new era in radio dawned with this broadcast. "The First Radio War: Broadcasting in the Spanish Civil War, 19361939." Two types of music were banned when Adolph Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933: swing and jazz. However, the record company soon sold its shares to a group of financiers that included Leon Levy, whose father-in-law was cigar magnate Sam Paley; before long, Paleys son William decided to invest his own million-dollar fortune in the new network. Cleveland's radio industry in the 1980s was still largely in turmoil, with programming shifts, personality changes, and the rapid purchase and . Richard Diamond began in 1949, and took off as one of the most popular private eye shows on network radio, right up there with Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Phillip Marlowe, Private Eye. Many advertisers made themselves known by eventually adopting the practice of combining their name with the name of the star or the title of the program, as with Camel Caravan, sponsored by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, or A&P Gypsies, sponsored by the largest American grocery-store chain at the time. Fred Allen (born John Florence Sullivan, May 31, 1894 March 17, 1956) was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show (19321949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio. The show, which began slowly and calmly at first, steadily built to a frantic pace, giving the impression of hours passing in minutes. Throughout the 1930s, as the world careened toward war, America debated the appropriate response to the emerging conflict. His plan was to make radios affordable and to bring music into the home by way of wireless technology. In 1949, he wins the National Leagues Most Valuable Player Award. 1940. Although the characters on the show seem insultingly stereotypical by todays standards, the show was hugely popular with both white and black radio audiences of the time, with theatres often having to interrupt movie showings and push a radio on to the stage for the evening broadcast. Rather than performing on stage in vaudeville or nightclubs requiring steady travel, they could reach the entire nation from a small studio, week after week. The stock market crash of 1929 and the Depression that followed, however, really spurred the growth of radio. official reviewing the program material and determining what might be morally or politically objectionable to the public. Text is available under the Creative Commons . This is Jocko" was one of Doug "Jocko" Henderson's signature phrases on the radio when he worked for WDAS in Philadelphia back in the 1950s-70s. By 1948, his program received higher ratings than Fred Allen or Jack Benny. Radio, with its thrillers and mysteries, classical theater and musical performances, and slapstick and silliness, provided a means of escaping the dreariness of life. As censorship became stricter toward the end of the 1930s, the networks ruled that there could be no more jokes about nudity. Roosevelt would use radio to not only lobby for public support of his programs, but also to inform the public of important events and perhaps most importantly reassure the public through his unique personal character that faith in the future was warranted. As more world leaders and their opposition realized that, they were able, increasingly, to take advantage of it to reach millions of prospective supporters for their programs and causes. In black-appeal radio, the disc jockey role was pioneered both locally and nationally by Jack L. Cooper, who began playing . The radio had become such an integral part of the lives of Americans that it instigated panic throughout the country. Another example of the growth of radio news was the presence of tabloid reporting, which emphasized sensationalized topics. In the 1930s specialists in radio sound effects emerged to provide that critical element of escapism for those many listeners hoping to escape from the daily problems of coping with the Depression. In response the Communications Act of 1934, one of the regulatory foundations of Roosevelt's New Deal, which was a group of policies focused on relief and reform, provided for the establishment of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). "Apache Peak," an episode of the western series Tales of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCrea; airdate July 22, 1950. Networks competed to hire famous conductors, orchestras, and soloists. A new Federal Radio Commission established by the law would define what the public interest meant, though broadcasters would be held responsible for the content they provided. The 50 Most Influential and Most Listened-To Streaming Talk Show Hosts. June 25, 2020. Our story begins in the 1920s, when networks began to sponsor a few hours of weekly programming for Black audiences, including live musical and theatrical performances. By the mid-1950s American radio had moved beyond its Golden Age to modern formats such as Top 40, alternative or underground FM, talk shows, and public-service programming. The Halls of Ivy is an NBC radio sitcom that ran from 1950-1952. Best, Gary Dean. The 1950s was a decade of change for radio. Through four decades,, Radio Address Roosevelt's Defense of the New Deal, Radio Broadcasting, Station Programming and, http://www.old-time.com/otrlogs/390921.html, https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-and-education-magazines/radio-1929-1941, Compare the growth in and uses of radio during the 1930s with the growth and use of. Nationally distributed magazines had been the key medium before the rise of radio and national broadcasting networks. Butterfly McQueen's first role would become her most identifiable as Prissy, the young maid in Gone with the Wind, uttering the famous words: "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!" Actually, Powell had made the pilot episode for the Marlowe show, but luckily for all concerned, he passed it up and did the Richard Diamond show instead. It was almost too late . Photo of Santos Ortega as Inspector Queen (father of Ellery), Hugh Marlowe as Ellery Queen and Marian Shockley as Ellery's asistant, Nikki, from the radio program The Adventures of Ellery Queen. Encyclopedia.com. As a result, NBC decided to sell its Blue network in 1943. Orson Welles Actor | Citizen Kane His father, Richard Head Welles, was a well-to-do inventor, his mother, Beatrice (Ives) Welles, a beautiful concert pianist . In 1933 Edwin Howard Armstrong produced the first FM transmitter and receiver, although it was six years before an FM station would air. While much of his message regarded a type of economic populism, which emphasized the common person, he regularly attacked prominent Jewish people. Jackie Robinson. Amos: Well, whut you goin' do 'bout it? He spoke with clarion clarity, his voice an elocution . Later when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the tragedy of the attack and the President's response to it was quickly broadcast to Americans around the country. Adam Carolla (; born May 27, 1964) is an American comedian, radio personality, television host, actor, podcaster, and director. Have von (H.V.) Many of the major newscasters of the century got their start in radio during the Depressionincluding H.V. Some stars and programs from the last years of American radios Golden Age successfully transferred to televisionfor instance, the comedians George Burns and Gracie Allen, the soap opera The Guiding Light, the situation comedy Father Knows Best, the police drama Dragnet, and the western Gunsmoke. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Radios were in almost every house and some Americans even had radios in their cars.