Old Radio

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Vass You dere, Sharlie?  That was the question, at least from Jack Pearl 's Baron Munchhausen character to the straight man, Charlie, brought to life by Ben Bard and the Cliff Hall, who didn't always believe the good Baron's tall tales. Pearl, born in one of the world's show biz capitals, New York City, started in Vaudeville and took his comedy act to radio in 1932 on The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air .  It was on that program that the outlandish German caricature, Baron Munchhausen, was born.  Let's recall, though, that he also starred as the host of The Lucky Strike Hour from '32-'34. Today we celebrate the 1894 birth of the comedy star Jack Pearl.

October 27, 1947: Radio soap opera   This is Nora Drake  debuted on NBC. The show mainly revolved around solving domestic, communal, and child upbringing issues. The program reached its end in January of 1959. Airing for over a decade, This is Nora Drake  featured the story of Nora, portrayed initially by Charlotte Holland and then later by actresses Joan Tompkins and Mary Jane Higby.

October 26: Happy Birthday, Winston Churchill One of the most quotable men of all time, Winston Churchill , contributed to old time radio with his amazing speeches. One such speech came on the occasion of Hitler 's invasion of Russia on June 22, 1941. " Hitler is a monster of wickedness," Churchill intoned into BBC microphones, "insatiable in his lust for blood and plunder. So now, this bloodthirsty gutter snipe must launch his mechanized army at the new fields of slaughter, pillage, and devastation." Also broadcast on the BBC were speeches that go by the titles "War of the Unknown Warrior," "Give Us the Tools," and "These are Great Days," "We Shall Never Surrender." Some rumors hold that it wasn't Churchill himself who delivered the speeches, but an actor, perhaps Norman Shelley, who did actually claim to have done so. In either case, it was Churchill who wrote the inspiring words. The Prime Minister&#

The lovely Joan Fontaine led a colorful and unusual childhood, alternately living in California and Japan. As soon as she struck adulthood she began auditioning for Hollywood film roles, racking up a spree of parts in B-movies.  A breakthrough role was in Hitchcock 's Rebecca, in which she co-starred with Laurence Olivier. The radio producers new she even sounded pretty, and snapped her up for parts in adaptations of contemporary dramas.  In this capacity, she appeared on Lux Radio Theater , Screen Guild Theater , and Theater Guild on the Air . Born in 1917, Fontaine is now an American treasure.

Ohhh, do we gave a good one today!  If you're a knowledgeable devotee of radio's yesteryear, you live for a figure like Carleton Young.  He was the star of a strange, obscure and short-lived radio series called Whisperer .  If you remember this one, you're doing well!  Young's character was the lawyer Philip Gault, who'd gotten into a car accident in which his voice had been reduced to a creepy whisper. He figured while he was at it, he'd infiltrate organized crime cells and lead them to the police. As interesting as that sounds, Young's output as an actor across his career was just as colorful, including parts it a panoply of projects included Jules Verne 's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Reefer Madness , the original (1937) Dick Tracy , and From Here To Eternity.  We wish a happy birthday to Mr. Young, who got started on this day in 1905.

Today marks the day on which, in 1907, " What's My Line " regular Arlene Francis was born. Francis was a New York native and a Finch College graduate, who achieved a relatively painless entry into show business. Her first big play appearance was when she was a mere 21, and she would go on to act in 25 Broadway plays. Radio-wise, the fetching starlet joined the cast of the intelligent and challenging game show " What's My Line ?"  The show was hosted by John Charles Daly and featured, along with Francis, high-brow personages such as Bennett Cerf and Dorothy Kilgallen . One thing to recall about " What's My Line ?" is that in addition to the main guessing game, the panelists also attempted to divine the identity of a mystery guest at the show's end.  MG's included Jimmy Stewart , Orson Welles , Marlene Dietrich and a host of others. Thanks for the memories, Arlene!