October 23, 1932: Fred Allen Performance on CBS

October 23, 1932: On this date, Fred Allen appeared for the first time on radio on the CBS transmission, where he was later joined by his wife, Portland Hoffa. Allen first presented comedy show The Linit Bath Club Revue which came to be known as The Salad Bowl Revue on NBC. It was later renamed to The Sal Hapatica Revue in 1933, The Hour of Smiles in 1934, and Town Hall Tonight in 1935. It was finally changed to The Fred Allen Show in 1940.

Fred Allen’s career on radio lasted for seventeen years. He always wanted to make everything perfect. The need to present the perfect performance made him change his sponsor several times during the show's run. Town Hall Tonight helped him to settle down, which made into a radio star.

The show would have a huge influence on radio and, much later, television by the way of news satires. Allen's "Mighty Allen Art Players" were referred to during The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson through "Mighty Carson Art Players" who appeared on the show. They also satirized other famous shows and films of the time. Town Hall Tonight show was the longest-running hour-long comedy-based show in classic radio history.

Comments

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 .

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.

October 28, 1922: The First National Radio Broadcast of College Football

October 28, 1922: A collegiate football game was aired by WEAF in New York City, coast to coast for the first time on this day. The football radio broadcast saw Princeton matched against the University of Chicago. They played at Stagg Field in the Windy City with the of score 21-8 in Princeton's favor. The broadcast was transmitted via phone line to New York City where it was then transmitted by radio. The first football game ever broadcast on the radio was witnessed by 32,000 fans. The game was an important moment in history of broadcast because for the first time AT&T, the owner of WEAF, introduced advertising. In addition, college football games in the 1920s generally were aired without charge for airing rights even as the radio station collected funds from advertising that they aired during the games. The WEAF broadcast of the game was one of the most important moment that affected development of radio and college sports. It was apart of the nationalization of foo

Old Radio

Search This Blog