Old Radio

October 13: 1951 Debut of the Television Series I Love Lucy ‎"Lucy, you got some splainin' to do!" Well, it's easy to understand, Desi! Lucille Ball appeared on My Favorite Husband radio show .  An adaptation of the popular radio show moved to television.   On radio, Richard Denning starred as  Lucille Ball 's husband but he was replaced with Lucille Ball's real husband, Desi Arnaz, as the TV husband -- and the rest is history.  I Love Lucy debuted 62 years ago today in 1951. Many thanks to My Favorite Husband on the radio for making  I Love Lucy  possible!

On this day in 1911, Lucille Ball was born.

If he were alive today, actor Richard Denning would be a 101! He was born on this day in 1914. In that year, the first airline flight cruised from St. Petersburg to Tampa; Ford Motor Co. began paying $5 for a 9-hour day; Charlie Chaplin played The Little Tramp, and George Washington Carver began experimenting with peanuts. Radio was a technology rather than a broadcast medium, and silent films were sweeping the nation. After he'd toiled for years in many small film roles, Denning became a movie star and then dived headlong into the shimmering pool of radio. He starred alongside Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband from 1948-1951. This program allowed Denning to work with, in addition to Ball, character actors such as Hans Conried and Gale Gordon . After that, he got "married" to Barbara Britton , starring as a husband in a much different spouse program, Mr. and Mrs. North . He became the third Jerry North on the long-running series, stepping into the lineag...

Today we commemorate the birth on this day in 1920 of charming and lovely screen actress Ann Miller. No flash in the pan or overnight success, Miller paid her dues and toiled for years before becoming a major film star. She is reputed to have been discovered by Lucille Ball during a nightclub song and dance act, and went on to spectacular musical roles in such films as "Small Town Girl," "On The Town," and "Kiss Me Kate." The versatile performer made a few, memorable radio appearances. Many of these were on the shows devoted to entertaining the WWII troops, including G.I. Journal and Command Performance . In 1940 , she appeared in Forecast a series highlighting notable people from a particular state. Her episode took a look at Texas's Sam Houston. Happy birthday, Ann Miller!

Bios of Lucille Ball abound, and most people know at least a little bit about the famed comedienne. But on the occasion of her birthday, we get a chance to look at her contributions to oldtime radio . Her first big break was the chance to star in the radio program My Favorite Husband along with Richard Denning . The two played a Minneapolis couple, with Lucille's character Liz, being a goofball housewife. She signed each time with a cordial "Jell-O, everybody," to plug the sponsor, General Foods' Jell-O. The show would later make the jump to television. But what a lot of people may not realize is that she also made the rounds as a guest on just about any radio show you can name: The Kraft Music Hall , Screen Guild Theatre , Mail Call , The Campbell Playhouse , and The Gulf Screen Guild Theatre to name a few. Many things to many people, Lucille Ball was a giant of old time radio . Happy birthday, Lucille!

When Joan Davis was born on June 29, 1907, America was blessed with talent that would encompass all avenues of entertainment. This young comedian was going to make her mark on television, radio, vaudeville and in the movies...not in necessarily in that order. he first arena for performing was in vaudeville with her comedian husband Si Willis. One of her enterprising talents was that of a physical comedian; her size and lanky build was suited for the making the slapstick variety of visual humor. In 1941, Joan Davis entered the radio arena by appearing on the Rudy Vallee Show , where she would become a regular a few months later. When Vallee left to serve during WWII in 1943, Davis and Jack Haley became co-hosts of the program, The Sealtest Village Store. In 1945 she moved over to CBS and did a radio program centered around owning a tea room. In 1947, the show changed placing her name on the title still with the focus of the tea room and the happenings in Smallville, running un...

March 16: Happy Birthday, Jerry Lewis It isn't easy to write a short entry on Jerry Lewis. Doing so can't capture his kinetic energy, his flowing and sprawling brand of physical humor. Nor is it adequate for discussing all the things he was: director, comedian, radio personality, fund raiser, winner of many prestigious awards. Maybe we should just focus on radio! The Martin and Lewis Show leapt onto the airwaves in 1949, starring Lewis and his partner Dean Martin, a popular nightclub act. With Martin as the butt of Lewis's jokes, the two provided zany and energetic comedy while also hosting guests. The program did not skimp on talent, with guests including Lucille Ball , Peter Lorre , Henry Fonda , John Carradine, Jane Russell , and many others. On the air or live, the two were the biggest comedy act of the early 1950's. As was the case with many radio stars, their show had more than one incarnation with more than one sponsor. In 1951, they took the ai...

February 10: Happy Birthday, Jimmy Durante Actor, personality, voice-over expert and owner of a famous "schnozzola," Jimmy Durante was born on this day in 1893. Jimmy's calling card was his raspy, urbane voice. He hosted the Durante-Moore Show with partner Garry Moore and went solo with The Jimmy Durante Show in 1947. "Dat's my boy dat said dat!" was a catchphrase on the first iteration of the program. Like many shows of the era, The Jimmy Durante Show featured comedy and music. Do you remember guest appearances by: Lucille Ball , Victor Moore, Bing Crosby , and Al Jolson ? After his radio career, Durante voiced the Narrator of the 1969 cartoon special "Frosty the Snowman." He died in Santa Monica on Jan. 29, 1980.

February 1: Happy Birthday, Clark Gable Both before and after his epochal role in 1939's Gone With The Wind, Clark Gable made more than a dozen appearances of popular radio shows including Lux Radio Theatre , Cavalcade of America , and Good News . One of his earliest roles was in a 1936 performance of "The Legionnaire and the Lady" on the Lux Radio Program . This was an adaptation of the film Morocco, and starred, in addition to Gable, Marlene Dietrich . On May 5, 1937, Gable starred with Josephine Hutchinson and Jack LaRue in a Lux production of "A Farewell To Arms." On May 5, 1938, he starred in "Manhattan Melodrama" on Good News . In all, Gable's radio performances allowed him to work with Ginger Rogers , Bob Hope , Lucille Ball , Lana Turner , and Judy Garland . We honor the King of Hollywood for his sterling on-air performances.

January 22: Happy Birthday, Ann Sothern The Adventures of Maisie crackled from radio speakers nationwide from 1945 to '52. It starred the vivacious Ann Sothern , who was born on this day in 1909. Star of film, television, and radio, Sothern may be best known for her Maisie character. Maisie originated in the 1939 film of the same name. Maisie is a New York dancer who finds herself in adventures in Wyoming. The movie spawned a few sequels and then Sothern got to play the role in a radio adaptation of Maisie Was a Lady, produced by Lux Radio Theatre . A small empire was born, and the comic actress became a radio staple. Like many talented lookers of the day, Sothern entertained the WWII troops and appeared at military hospitals. Reportedly, a plane was named Sothern Comfort in her honor. She was a good friend of comedienne Lucille Ball . Ball once remarked, "the best comedienne in this business, bar none, is Ann Sothern ." Late in her life, Sother...