June 14: Happy Birthday Cliff Edwards

What did Disney’s Jiminy Cricket and Cliff Edwards have in common? The answer is that they were one in the same. Born in 1895 in Hannibal Missouri, Edwards would eventually become the voice of the famous conscience of Pinocchio in 1940. Cliff Edwards spent an incredible part of his career as a voice actor for varied formats. He was also a singer of many of the popular hits of the day, such as “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” and “Singin in the Rain”. Edwards, or “Ukelele Ike”, became involved accompanying himself with the ukelele and was involved with the Ziegfeld follies. He turned that smallish string instrument into a popular item during the 1920’s. Throughout his few decades of working in entertainment, Clifton Edwards would appear in a number of movies as a character actor and a few Broadway performances. One of his friends of the day was the very creative Buster Keaton. Mr Keaton worked with Edwards in a few of his major motion pictures of the day. In 1932, Clifton Edwards got his first shot at national radio with CBS. Before he gained popularity for television with his 3 times a week variety show, named after him; Edwards spent a number of years hosting radio programs. He was married three times and unfortunately spent most of his fortune paying alimony. Sadly, Cliff Edwards passed away in 1971 with very little fanfare or public notice. Walt Disney Studios payed for his headstone that adorns his gravesite to this day.

June 13, 1913 Bob Bailey was born

On this day in 1913, Bob Bailey was born.

May 31, 1894 Fred Allen was born

On this day in 1894, Fred Allen was born.

May 30, 1908 Mel Blanc was born

On this day in 1908, Mel Blanc was born.

Old Time Radio Easter Shows

"Easter Story" (Episode 34)

With beautiful choir music celebrating the Resurrection and Eastertide, this program features a dramatized monologue for Easter . A fictional German minister gives a sermon about the meaning of Easter during wartime. He prays that we are merciful to the Jews during WWII.

Click here for more free Easter Recordings to enjoy today!

March 28, 1912 Frank Lovejoy was born

On this day in 1912 Frank Lovejoy was born.

March 4, 1952: President Truman dedicates the Courier

 

March 4, 1952: The first ever maritime broadcasting vessel, the Courier, was dedicated by President Harry S. Truman in Washington, DC.

The Courier, known as 'Doddridge', would sail away and perform many duties, including reporting. After Truman's dedication, she became known as 'The Vessel of Truth'.

February 18, 1908 Staats Cotsworth was born

On this day in 1908, Staats Cotsworth was born.

February 12, 1924: First Presidential Political Speech Heard on Radio by 5 Million Listeners

Today in 1924, Calvin Coolidge, known by many as the 'Silent Cal', made the first presidential political speech on radio. The speech originated from New York City and was broadcast on five radio stations. Some five million people tuned in to hear the President speak.

Calvin Coolidge 1924 Speech

 * * *

This country needs every ounce of its energy to restore itself. The costs of government are all assessed upon the people.

This means that the farmer is doomed to provide a certain amount of money out of the sale of his produce, no matter how low the price, to pay his taxes. The manufacturer, the professional man, the clerk, must do the same from their income. The wage earner, often at a higher rate when compared to his earning, makes his contribution, perhaps not directly but indirectly, in the advanced cost of everything he buys.

The expenses of government reach everybody.

Taxes take from everyone a part of his earnings and force everyone to work for a certain part of his time for the government.

When we come to realize that the yearly expenses of the governments of this country...the stupendous sum of about 7 billion, 500 million dollars -- we get...700 million dollars -- is needed by the national government, and the remainder by local governments.

Such a sum is difficult to comprehend. It represents all the pay of five million wage earners receiving five dollars a day, working 300 days in the year. If the government should add 100 million dollars of expense, it would represent four days more work of these wage earners. These are some of the reasons why I want to cut down public expense.

I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government -- and more for themselves.

I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom.

Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earnings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.

These results are not fanciful; they are not imaginary. They are grimly actual and real, reaching into every household in the land. They take from each home annually an average of over 300 dollars -- and taxes must be paid. They are not a voluntary contribution to be met out of surplus earnings. They are a stern necessity. They come first.

It is only out of what is left, after they are paid, that the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter can be provided and the comforts of home secured, or the yearnings of the soul -- for a broader and more abundant life gratified.

When the government affects a new economy, it grants everybody a life pension with which to raise the standard of existence. It increases the value of everybody's property, raises the scale of everybody's wages.

One of the greatest favors that can be bestowed upon the American people is economy in government.

February 7, 1950 Night Beat made its radio debut

On this day in 1950, Night Beat made its radio debut!

February 6: Eddie Cantor made his radio debut.

On this day in 1931, Eddie Cantor made his radio debut on Rudy Vallee's The Fleischmann Hour.

January 28, 1905 Howard McNear was born

On this day in 1905, Howard McNear was born.

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.