Posted on February 12, 2019, 8:00 am, by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr., under
Birthday,
Classic movies,
Classic television,
Radio adventure,
Radio comedy,
Radio crime,
Radio drama,
Radio horror,
Radio mystery,
Radio sci-fi,
Radio variety,
Radio western.
In the 1950s, with technological strides being embraced by the dying medium of radio, the Columbia Broadcasting System started using Hammond electric organs for “fill music” on their broadcast programs. The Hammond was smaller and far less expensive, and it would allow CBS to rid itself of a colossal Wurlitzer theatrical organ the network already had on […]
Posted on December 30, 2018, 8:00 am, by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr., under
Birthday,
Classic movies,
Classic television,
Radio adventure,
Radio comedy,
Radio crime,
Radio drama,
Radio mystery,
Radio variety,
Radio western.
Actress Jeanette Nolan—born in Los Angeles on this date in 1911—met future husband John McIntire while working on a West Coast radio program in the 1930s. John was the announcer for a show on which Jeanette was appearing, and as she told Radio Life in 1945: “Right then, I thought he should be acting as well as […]
Posted on November 28, 2018, 8:00 am, by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr., under
Birthday,
Classic movies,
Classic television,
Radio adventure,
Radio comedy,
Radio crime,
Radio drama,
Radio horror,
Radio mystery,
Radio variety,
Radio western.
“Elliott Lewis was the greatest actor of them all,” declared veteran radio scribe E. Jack Neuman in an interview with Leonard Maltin. “He could break your heart with a word; his timing was impeccable.” Now, we should point out here that Neuman’s praise for the acting talents of the man born in New York City on this […]
Posted on October 22, 2018, 8:00 am, by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr., under
Birthday,
Classic movies,
Classic television,
Radio adventure,
Radio comedy,
Radio crime,
Radio drama,
Radio mystery,
Radio variety,
Radio western.
It would become one of radio’s most beloved weekly rituals in the late 1940s: comedian Fred Allen would venture into “Allen’s Alley” to ask its inhabitants a topical question about a recent event in the news. The first door he knocked on was the residence of a windy Southern politician (Senator Beauregard Claghorn) who demonstrated […]
Posted on October 2, 2018, 8:00 am, by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr., under
Birthday,
Classic movies,
Classic television,
Radio adventure,
Radio comedy,
Radio crime,
Radio drama,
Radio horror,
Radio mystery,
Radio western.
Despite the fact that radio’s I Love a Mystery had closed up shop over CBS Radio on December 29, 1944, Columbia Pictures wanted to adapt the popular “blood-and-thunder” melodrama for the silver screen…and did so by paying creator Carlton E. Morse a princely sum for the rights for a three-picture deal in 1945. Since Morse had written the third […]
The man born Thomas Hezikiah Mix in Mix Run, Pennsylvania in 1880 became a Western legend during the 20th century…and he did it using the same good old fashioned skill as Buffalo Bill Cody: salesmanship! Tom Mix would be recognized as a genuine cowboy and soldier of fortune — even though some of his exploits were a bit exaggerated. […]
Posted on September 18, 2018, 8:00 am, by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr., under
Birthday,
Classic movies,
Classic television,
Radio adventure,
Radio comedy,
Radio crime,
Radio drama,
Radio mystery,
Radio variety,
Radio western.
In 2009, Bear Manor Media published Did You Grow Up with Me, Too?: The Autobiography of June Foray. The titular performer—born June Lucille Forer in Springfield, Massachusetts on this date in 1917—collaborated on the book with cartoon historians Jerry Beck and Earl Kress. (At the risk of being facetious, we’re surprised that the tome – it’s 164 pages – isn’t the size of ten […]
Posted on August 29, 2018, 8:00 am, by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr., under
Birthday,
Classic movies,
Classic television,
Radio adventure,
Radio comedy,
Radio crime,
Radio drama,
Radio horror,
Radio mystery,
Radio variety,
Radio western.
“The First Lady of Radio.” That’s the fitting appellation given to actress Lurene Tuttle, born Lurene Susie Tuttle in Pleasant Lake, Indiana on this date in 1907. Lurene was, without question, a consummate character performer, achieving fame in the aural medium, in films and on TV. She even used her acting gifts to coach others so that they perfected their craft. […]