Old Radio

January 31: Happy Birthday, Tallulah Bankhead Darlings, Tallulah Bankhead was a hilarious star of stage and screen and the host of NBC's The Big Show from 1950-1951. The ostentatious Alabaman introduced each week's lineup of spectacular stars ( Ethel Merman , Fred Allen , Groucho Marx , Martin and Lewis , Rosemary Clooney , you name 'em) and jousted with them in witty exchanges. The ambitious and extravagant extravaganza was hosted in the 3,000-seat Center Theatre. Each show opened with the theme song  "A Hand Full of Stars," Bankhead's monologue, and then the wide array of guest stars singing, dancing, or performing sketches in an ensemble. The indomitable Tallulah, who, legend claims, smoked about a hundred and fifty cigarettes a day in rehearsals, was sometimes a bit thorny with guests. It was mostly all in good fun, but sometimes a bit uncomfortable. For example, Jose Ferrer showed reluctance at being called, by Bankhead, the day's be...

Today marks the birth--in 1899--of Alfred Hitchcock .  One of the greatest American film directors of all time, Hitchcock also turned in some magnificent performances on oldtime radio .  Highly versatile, Alfred did radio work as a director, writer, and guest. In 1950, he appeared on Screen Directors' Playhouse , introducing the story, "Lifeboat," and interviewing the actors afterward.  In 1956, he co-starred with Doris Day on a Close To Your Heart edition entitled " Alfred Hitchcock Presents Doris Day ."  Also of note is an interview show on Philadelphia's WCAU radio's The Talk of Philadelphia (Mar. 26, '63), on which the director answered two women's question of what he looks for in a woman.