Old Radio

December 12: Happy Birthday, Edward G Robinson Edward G Robinson could attack a role and make it not only his, but perpetuate a level of expertise that would keep others from having the same effectiveness in the casting. Born in 1893, this Romanian-American cast a spell over Hollywood with his dynamic approach to serious acting that transcended the industry. Most people remember his as Ricco in Little Caesar and the too-ambitious dathan in The Ten Commandments. In his 50 years of acting, Robinson was cast in more than 100 motion pictures and a sampling of stage. His voice was used in a few on-air radio characterizations of hit dramas. Besides being an ardent actor, Edward G. participated in politics during the 30’s and 40’s as a die-hard opponent of buying German made goods. Robinson, however, became entangled in the 50’s congressional witch hunts of communist sympathizers, which Robinson was able to keep his name clean. However, like many an actor during that period of our ...

October 19, 1937: Big Town , the classic radio show, was aired on CBS for the first time. The show starred Edward G. Robinson as the star reporter at Illustrated Press with Claire Trevor as his sidekick Lorelei Kilbourn.  "Tell the Story" was the show's theme song . Big Town was presented by Ironized Yeast tablets and Lifebuoy soap. Due to its popularity,  Big Town   was adapted to film and television, and even was made into a comic book.