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May 29: Happy Birthday, Bob Hope

I don't know, I think Leslie Townes Hope would be a great name for a comedian and all-around show biz icon. LT Hope, perhaps. But we know the man born on this day in 1903 not by his birth name but as Bob Hope . Self-effacing but razor-sharp, wholesome but with a racy edge, Hope had wide appeal and will go down in history as one of the top comedians of the twentieth century. Like all the big stars of the Depression and World War II eras, Hope was versatile enough to thrive in various media: film and radio, and later television. His biting monologues sizzled on the airwaves to American homes on The Pepsodent Show . He then began broadcasts on military bases, entertaining overseas troops, something for which he would go on to be best known. 1943 would take Hope into perilous locales in Sicily, Ireland, Africa, and England, with his USO troupe made up of Jack Pepper, Tony Romano, and Frances Langford . In the upcoming years, he'd entertain servicemen and servicewom

May 28, 1931: Broadcast of The Witch's Tale on WOR Radio Station

May 28, 1931: The Mutual Broadcasting System, through its flagship station, WOR radio in New York City, first aired " The Witch's Tale ". The program was enjoyed by listeners until 1938. " The Witch's Tale " was a radio masterpiece of  Alonzo Deen Cole. It was a horror-fantasy radio series and aired on WOR and Mutual and in syndication from 1931 to 1938 . Old Nancy was assigned as the host of Cole's spooky show.  Adelaide Fitz-Allen played the role of Old Nancy. After Ms Allen's passing the role was taken by   Miriam Wolfe , and Martha Wentworth who was also heard as Old Nancy on occasion. Cole himself hive his voice for role of Old Nancy's cat, Satan. Cole's wife, Marie O'Flynn,assigned as lead female characters on the program, and the supporting cast included Mark Smith and Alan Devitte. The shows were recorded live during broadcast and distributed to other stations. But later in 1961, Cole destroyed these recordings, only a fe

May 27: Happy Birthday, Vincent Price

Imagine a dozen voices singing "Happy Birthday" in a sepulchral, raspy Vincent Price voice.   Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was born on this day in 1911 and would forge a career in broadcasting, television, and film. The gothic ghoul who oozed cool graced the airwaves of such programs as Lux Radio Theater , Suspense , Escape , and Hollywood Star Playhouse . Check out the titles of the programs brought to life by Price's mid-century appearances on Suspense : "Fugue In C Minor," "Hands of Mr. Ottermole," "Rave Notice." He also starred in literary chillers "Occurrence At Owl Creek" and Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum." The Yale-educated Price started his acting career in Broadway and didn't waste much time busting into film, starring in the 1953 flick "House of Wax" alongside Frank Lovejoy and Phyllis Kirk. Price may be the only person born today who has won a "Grim Reaper Award" and

May 26: Happy Birthday Al Jolson

Al Jolson was one of the most famous Broadway performers of his day. He was spontaneous and daring, improvising at will and giving audiences long segments of his song and dance stylings. He is, of course, known to history for his blackface routines, which have suffered disrepute, widely considered racist. Jolson's early alter ego, was Gus, a wily underdog who survived on his wits. Jolson played Gus in such revues as "The Honeymoon Express" and "Dancing Around." Off stage, Jolson was known to bet on the ponies and on boxers. He was known for his volatile personality. Jolson lit up the radio airwaves with appearances on Bing Crosby 's Chesterfield Show and Kraft Music Hour . He also had a brief run with his own Al Jolson Show .

May 18: Meredith Willson Musical Revue

Meredith Willson was a band leader and conductor who then became a radio star and host of his own show. Meredith Willson 's Musical Revue aired from 1935 to '53. The road to this distinction passed through work in the trenches. Willson served as the musical director for Tallulah Bankhead 's " The Big Show ." He also gained some notability as a songwriter, the author of "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas," and the Beatles hit "Till There Was You." His was an All-American story, one of a smalltown boy who would travel to New York City wanting to break into show business. Meredith Willson was born in Mason City, Iowa in 1902. Though far from the lights of the big city, he did have a musical environment. His mom taught music lessons, and a childhood friend of his joined him for flute duets. Later, he would use this environment as the inspiration for Music Man . His style became dubbed "Chiffon Swing." Today we

May 17, 1939: NBC and MBS broadcasted Glenn Miller Orchestra's performance at the Glen Island Casino

May 17, 1939: Both NBC and Mutual carried the event of a memorable dual-network radio broadcast  of Glenn Miller and his Orchestra. The scene of the event was the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, NY. It was attended by 1,800 people and took place at the casino ballroom. This event, which lasted until August 18th of the same year, was a part of the orchestra's three-month summer season engagement at that casino. The recordings was broadcast by both NBC and Mutual which  greatly helped make the  Glenn Miller Orchestra   become even more popular.with record-breaking attendance.

May 15: Happy Birthday, Eddy Arnold

Quick! Name a big country singer from the 40's 50's and 60's! A lot of people would answer Johnny Cash , Hank Snow--even Hank William's Jr .'s music was huge after his death. But Eddy Arnold topped them all in terms of number one hits. You may remember some of his smashes, "Bouquet of Roses," "Anytime," "Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way)," "Please Help Me I'm Falling," and "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain." He was thought of as an urban cowboy, a crooner more than a hillbilly, and he made big contributions to the world of radio. Before his 1946 string of number one hits, Arnold hosted Checkerboard Fun Fest , a hootenanny of a radio variety show featuring Rod Brasfield, Curle Fox, and The Cackle Sisters. On the other end of his halcyon days as a C&W star, in the 1960's, he hosted a series of public service announcements for Social Security, on which he strummed songs such as "