Old Radio

We wish a Merry Christmas to all our readers, and, simultaneously, a happy birthday to the mysterious, urbane songstress, Marlene Dietrich .  As Marie Magdalene Dietrich , she entered the world on this day in 1901. While her icy stare may not have played well on the radio, her voice certainly did.  She turned in sensuous and beguiling performances in such episodes of Lux Radio Theater as "Song of Songs," "Manpower," and "The Legionnaire."  She also appeared on Martin and Lewis and Burns and Allen . An anti-Nazi voice and USO participant, Dietrich died in Paris at the age of 90.

Whether it was his irascible personality in various motion pictures or as an animated host for playful reindeer, people instantly knew who Burl Ives was. Mr Ives had the voice that played to the radio audience because of its intrinsic calming quality and valued variance of intonation. Born June 14 of 1909, Burl Ives captured the American stage, movie and radio enclave with an almost operatic enhancement. One could say his first public performance was of him singing to a group of old soldiers. His uncle asked him to sing before the group and immediately his talents were noticed. His early days had him partnered with the Boy Scouts of America as a spokesman and a former scout. Radio was a big part of Burl Ives , beginning with his first 1940’s radio program called The Wayfaring Stranger, where Ives first heard the news of WWII . Mr Ives continued to work on radio guest-starring on programs such as Bing Crosby , Martin and Lewis and Command Performance . He continued to parlay his h...

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...

November 23: Happy Birthday, Boris Karloff Unlike a lot of radio stars who would go on to careers in television or film, Boris Karloff was a star of the silver screen before embarking on a radio career. He is best known for starring as Frankenstein 's monster in the 1931 opus Frankenstein (as well as in some sequels). He would later cross over and appear in many radio shows. He hosted The Boris Karloff Show in 1957, with episodes such as "The Vampire's Grave," " Shakespeare 's Hometown," and "The White House." Shows on which he appeared as a guest include " Bergen & McCarthy ," " Inner Sanctum ," " Lights Out ," " Martin and Lewis ," " Jack Benny Program" and more. To these shows he lent his distinctive, deep, slow, spooky drawl. Later in his life he would play many voice roles, including that of the narrator of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas ." Karloff's birth...

April 17: Happy Birthday, Hans Conried Perhaps best known for his voice-over role as Captain Hook in the 1953 version of Disney's Peter Pan , Hans Conried was also a show-hopping radio actor. He was a consummate comedian whose niche was zany doctors and other professionals. Conried's regular gigs were on My Friend Irma , The Burns and Allen Show , and the dramatic programs Suspense and Mercury Theatre on the Air . He made occasional or one-time appearances on Martin and Lewis , Lux Radio Theatre , and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy . A very fun fact about Conried is that his villainous growl caused him to inspire the character "Robot Devil" on the TV show Futurama . Conried fans will also enjoy this anecdotal story with famed director and author Arch Oboler .

March 12: Happy Birthday,  Gordon MacRae Broadway fixture Gordon MacRae made a name for himself with appearances in Oklahoma! and Carousel. Just before he'd attained that level of stardom, though, he hosted several installments of radio's Texaco Star Theatre in 1948. Episode titles during his reign include "When The Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along," "June Is Busting Out All Over," and "Top hat, White Tie and Tails." He also hosted the very popular The Railroad Hour in which he and his fellow cast members performed abridged versions of Broadway productions. Do you remember his guest appearances on: The Big Show , Guest Star Radio , Martin & Lewis , The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy , and The Railroad Hour show? Take a listen!