January 1: Happy Birthday, Dana Andrews

Dana Andrews is appropriately called “The Face of Noir.” Born on January 1st, 1909, Dana traveled as a young man to Los Angeles in 1931 to try to make it as a singer. The next nine years of his life were spent working numerous different jobs while he studied opera and acting. He was sometimes best known for his radio role in I Was a Communist for the FBI.

Finally, Andrews was offered a contract by Sam Goldwyn in 1940. His first roles included The Westerner, Ball of Fire, and The Ox-Bow Incident. One of his most famous roles was an obsessed detective in the movie Laura, a part he would reprise on radio on both Lux Radio Theater and Screen Guild Players. He also starred as a crooked cop in Where the Sidewalk Ends and as a soldier returning home in The Best Years of Our Lives, a part he played again on the radio program Screen Directors' Playhouse.

Alcoholism took hold of Dana and his career in the 1950’s, He was relegated to mostly B-movies. Andrews would make several more guest appearances on radio, and even star in the program I Was a Communist for the FBI for over 70 episodes.

Andrews was finally able to get his alcoholism under control thanks to the discipline of fellow actor Ronald Reagan.

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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 .

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

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