January 14, 1906 William Bendix was born

On this day in 1906, William Bendix was born.

January 8, 1939 The Screen Guild Theater airs for the first time

On this day in 1939, The Screen Guild Theater premiered on radio. This long-running CBS anthology series featured leading Hollywood stars preforming adaptations of major motion pictures.

January 7, 1926: The Wedding of Famous Comedian Duo

January 7, 1926: This day is the wedding anniversary of the famous couple George Burns and Gracie Allen. They were married in Cleveland, Ohio by the Justice of the Peace.

Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo. They performed together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio, and television. The couple had great success in entertaining their fans for over four decades.
Burns and Allen met when they performed together at the Hill Street Theater in Newark, New Jersey in 1922.

Jan 5, 1982: Passing of Hans Conried

On this date in OTR: Hans Conried died Jan. 5, 1982. His old time radio credits include:

•  "Life with Luigi"
• "The Mel Blanc Show"
•  "Alan Young Show"
•  "My Friend Irma" 
• "Wrongway Feldman" from Gillian's Island
• Captain Hook/Mr. Darling from Peter Pan. 
• 1970s Rankin Bass version of "The Hobbit" with Conried as Thorin
• "Dr. T"in"The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr.T"with Mr.& Mrs.Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy and Mr.Tommy Rettig
• real estate agent in The House in Cypress Canyon and the killer in Sorry Wrong Number

... to name but a few.

The rumor goes that he also went on as Jack Barrymore a few times when Jack was... "indisposed."

He was born April 15, 1917.

January 2, 1950 Hopalong Cassidy airs for the first time

On this day in 1950, Hopalong Cassidy premiered on radio. William Boyd starred as the beloved Western hero on radio, in films, and on television.

December 27, 1939: CBS Airs 'The Glenn Miller Show'

 

December 27, 1939: CBS began airing the 15 minute, twice a week Glen Miller Show. Sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes, the show was commonly referred to as 'Music that Satisfies' and was broadcast for more than 3 years.

Initially, the band was a featured artist during a 15-minute broadcast for Chesterfield cigarettes with Andrew Stevens three times a week. Later on, the band starred on their own show until 1942.

December 25, 1934: The Premier of Christmas Carol on CBS

 

December 25, 1934: For the first time, CBS broadcast the reading of the classic tale from Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. Lionel Barrymore read the tale on The Campbell Playhouse. Since then, the reading of the tale became an annual radio annual event for years.

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and one of the greatest novelists in history. His works continue to exist until today.

Lionel Herbert Blythe was known as Lionel Barrymore  the great-uncle of Drew Barrymore. He starred in many movies, such as The Mysterious Island (1929), Grand Hotel (1932, with John Barrymore), Captains Courageous (1937), You Cannot Take It with You (1938), Duel in the Sun (1946), and Key Largo (1948). He was featured on the AFRS Concert Hall Radio Show, circa 1947

Lionel Barrymore had broken his hip in an accident, hence why he played Gillespie in a wheelchair; later, his worsening arthritis kept him in the chair.The injury also precluded his playing Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1938. MGM film version of A Christmas Carol, a role Barrymore played every year, but only on the radio from 1934 through 1953.