December 25: Happy Birthday, Humphrey Bogart

December 25: Happy Birthday, Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart, born December 25th, 1899, was an American actor dubbed the greatest male star in the history of American cinema by The American Film Institute. Bogart attended a prestigious academy in Andover, Massachusetts as a young man, but he was eventually expelled from the institution. With no other options, Humphrey joined the Navy. While serving, he was injured in the bombing of the USS Leviathan. The partial facial paralysis that resulted from the attack gave him the signature vocal and facial style that he became famous for.

Many people identify Bogart as a film actor, but he actually made numerous radio appearances after moving to Hollywood. Both Lux Radio Theater and Screen Guild Players featured famous actors in their starring roles, and Bogart made numerous appearances on these programs. He also performed on Command Performance, a post World War II program that let Bogart chat with Lauren and Frank Sinatra. In addition to his regular positions, he also had several guest appearances on shows such as Jack Benny.

Bogart, a heavy smoker and drinker, was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in January of 1956. On January 14th, 1957, weighing just 80 pounds, the legendary actor passed away at the age of 57.

“Here’s looking at you, kid” - Casablanca

February 26: Happy Birthday, Dane Clark

February 26: Happy Birthday, Dane Clark

Dane Clark's career proves that if a law degree doesn't get you anywhere, and if you can't find work as a construction worker, boxer, or model, try acting!
Not long after Clark ditched modeling for acting, he found himself working with the likes of Bette Davis, Cary Grant, and Humphrey Bogart--in fact, Bogey gave Clark his stage name.

In the mid-50's, Clark landed the starring role of Peter Chambers on the program Crime & Peter Chambers. This series was based on crime novels by Henry Kane. The protagonist in these pulps, Peter Chambers, was in the mold of the swinging playboy whose sidekick was Miss Amanda Foxworth.

Clark died on September 11, 1998.

September 25: Happy Birthday, William Faulkner

If ever an author's words were tailor-made for the airwaves, it was those of William Faulkner, whose lyrical phrasings with their attention to rhythm were meant for the ear.

Faulkner, born on this day in 1897, is, of course, one of the greatest American authors who ever lived, the creator of timeless classics such as As I Lay Dying, Go Down, Moses, Light In August, and The Sound and the Fury.

Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Anne Diamond all got a chance to bring Faulkner stories to life on such radio programs as NBC Theater and Lux Radio Theater.  Wild Palms, Honor, and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam were all adapted for radio.  It's another way the words of this brilliant writer touched a nation.

June 26: Happy Birthday Peter Lorre

László Löwenstein, better known as Peter Lorre, was born in present day Slovakia in June of 1904.

Lorre’s early years were rather dismal having lost his mother, not getting along with his stepmother and his father suffering a long-term illness. This all during the years preceding and including WWI.

However, at the age of 17, Lorre began a career in entertainment with a renowned Viennese puppeteer. In the early 20’s, Lorre moved to Berlin and began his work in film by starring in a couple of moving pictures. However his work in the German made film “M” would bring him to the attention of Alfred Hitchcock.

Some of his more notable film work was as the Japanese detective, Mr Moto, that ran in a few film episodes. During the 1940’s, Lorre made a number of motion pictures with names, such as George Raft and Humphrey Bogart, that carried through the troubled American period of war. After that world war, Peter Lorre spent time doing some projects for radio.

 The “creepy foreigner” was more than a voice, it was a caricature of who he created on radio. That is how it was for Mystery in the Air. One of the hallmark points of Lorre’s career was to gain the first ever villainy role in a James Bond production.

Through the 60’s, he would guest star in a number of television shows and make radio appearances. His one child, Catherine, died of diabetes complication in the mid 80’s. The master of intrigue and mayhem would pass away in 1964 due to a stroke. The beloved hunchback rang his last toll.

May 2: Happy Birthday Hedda Hopper!

If Hedda Hopper looks like someone who should host a gossip show on the radio, chalk that up to one instance of order in the universe.  From 1939-'47 she did that very thing on a couple of networks with a few different sponsors.  The former actress and gossip columnist was nimble-tongued and clever, a good fit for the airwaves.

Later, she would turn her show into Hedda Hopper's Hollywood, a variety show with guests such as Bob Hope, Audey Murphy, and Humphrey Bogart.

Hopper's radio gossip began as a series of segments on Rudy Vallee's show.

April 5: Happy Birthday, Bette Davis

Rumored to have intimidated--and insulted--Marilyn Monroe on the set of All about Eve, Bette Davis is one of the icons of the 40's and 50's. Known as a diva among divas, feuding with Joan Crawford and Humphrey Bogart and flicking her acerbic opinions into the air like so many ashes from her ever-present cigarettes, she was much more than a doe-eyed princess.

She first hit the airwaves in 1935 on an episode of Shell Chateau. From there, Bette Davis appeared in Command Performance, Calvalcade of America, and many episodes of Lux Radio Theater. Her most regular gig was on Whispering Streets, in 1958.