April 30: Happy Birthday Eve Arden!

On this day in 1909, Eve Arden of Our Miss Brooks fame was born!

April 28: Happy Birthday, Lionel Barrymore

Lionel Barrymore's 61st birthday celebrated at MGM with a few of his friends! Norma Sheaerer on his right and Rosalind Russell on his left.  In back of him he has Mickey Rooney, Robert Montgomery,  Clark Gable, Louis B. Mayer, William Powell and Robert Taylor. 

Known to have been a reluctant performer in a family full of them, Lionel Barrymore is much loved for his annual performance as Ebenezer Scrooge on various old time radio programs. His biggest gig was in The Story of Doctor Kildare, in the role of Doctor Gillespie. Gillespie was the older doctor who graciously mentored Kildare.

He was the mayor of the town Mayor of the Town, a 1940s radio series, and made many appearances on Lux Radio Theatre, Command Performance, and Kraft Music Hall.

He would go on to shine as a screen actor in such movies as It's a Wonderful Life and A Free Soul, winning an Oscar for the latter. Ask your friends if they know who was born today in 1878. Tell 'em Lionel Barrymore -- that's who!

April 27, 1931: Debute of Lum and Abner on NBC

April 27, 1931: Lum and Abner debuted on NBC.

Lum and Abner was created by Chester Lauck and Norris Goff. The program was a American radio network comedy program  and was aired from 1931 to 1954. Lauck and Goff grew up in the small town of Waters, Arkansas. They made a fiction story base on their life experience since they were in their home town. The show attracted most of audience and became one of popular program at that time.

Lauck and Goff had known one another since childhood and attended the University of Arkansas together where they both joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. They performed locally and established a blackface act which led to an audition at radio station KTHS in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Before the audition, the two men decided to change their act and portray two hillbillies, due to the large number of blackface acts already in existence. After only a few show in Hot Springs, they were picked up nationally by NBC. Lum and Abner was sponsored by Quaker Oats and ran until 1932. Lauck and Goff performed several different characters, modeling many of them on the real-life residents of Waters, Arkansas.

April 25, 1955 Debut of X Minus One

April 24, 1955: On this day in 1955, the old time radio sci fi series, X-Minus One, made its on-air debut.

With adapted short stories by sci fi authors including Philip K. Dick, Fritz Leiber, J.T. McIntosh, Robert A. Heinlein, Frederik Pohl and Theodore Sturgeon,  X-Minus One was arguably the best sci-fi old time radio show from the golden age of radio.

April 24, 1959: One Man's Family' airs for the last time