October 20, 1930: The First Holmes' Show on Radio Featured by William Gillete

October 20, 1930: Among one of the most unforgettable radio shows, The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes, made its debut airing over NBC Red network on this date. William Gillette, in the role of the famous detective, was featured in the show's first entry of "The Speckled Band". New York audiences met Holmes through Gillette on the stage as early as 1899.

The stories of Sherlock Holmes were very popular as adaptations for the stage, film, and television.
Created by the Scottish author Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (1859-1930), the Sherlock Holmes stories were a major innovation in crime fiction.

With each adaptation of these stories, the actors brought their own spin to the character. William Gillette was the great popularizer of Holmes who took the role to a new medium. The program continued off and on since Gillette's rendition on a variety of networks: NBC (1930-33) (1934-36) (1955), Blue Network (1939-42), Mutual Network (1943-46), (1947-49), ABC (1946-47) (1949-50) (1956), BBC (1954, and many more years), and BBC-WFMT Chicago (1959-69).

One of more famous radio appearances starred Orson Welles as Sherlock Holmes in an adaptation of one of William Gillette's plays. This was broadcast in September 1938 as part of the ""Mercury Theater on the Air"" series on CBS Radio.

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1946 Great Crepitation Fart Contest

Not for the faint of heart, here is the remarkable 1946 Crepitation (Fart) Contest (part of the 1946 News Broadcasts Collection ). You'll enjoy the fart-off between champion Englishman Lord Windsmear, and challenger, Australian Paul Boomer who had stowed aboard a cabbage freighter. The hilarious comedy recording was apparently created a spoof by two Canadian radio sportscasters in 1946, but this 15 minute recording definitely has some gems in it. Apparently they made several copies, but it was not for distribution. The recording was copied again and again on disc and reel to reel tape. It was distributed underground and played in dark rooms and back alleys around the world. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element This recording is available with many other delightful treats on Random Rarities #7 available on MP3 CD , Audio CD , and instant download .

April 27, 1932: The First Performance of Ed Wynn on Texaco Fire Chief Show

April 27, 1932: Ed Wynn , the Texaco fire chief, graced the airwaves for the first time on Texaco Star Theater. Wynn, who enjoyed popularity as a vaudeville performer, gave as a condition to his switch to radio, that a live audience react to his humor.His condition was granted by the network and so began Wynn's career as the first true superstar of radio. Ed Wynn was hosted a popular radio show on Tuesday nights for most of the 1930s. The radio show was heard in North America and sponsored by Texaco gasoline. On the show Wynn played as the " Texaco Fire Chief ". He was often seen wearing a fireman's helmet. For this show, Wynn would turned down the offer form The Wizard in MGM's adaptation of The Wizard of Oz , to play a role on that show.

January 27, 1948: Wire Recording introduced the 'Wireway'

January 27, 1948: The first magnetic tape recorder was introduced by Wire Recording Corporation of America. ‘Wire Way,’ as it was called, had an integrated oscillator and was sold for $149.50 at the time.

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