August 12: Happy Birthday, Cecil B. DeMille

People can debate whether it was "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup," or "I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille," but there can be no dispute over the fact that the film director was also a huge figure in oldtime radio.

Cecil DeMille was a regular actor and frequent host of The Lux Radio Theatre, working alongside such greats as Loretta Young, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, and Geraldine Peck. His run on the show stretched from 1936-1945.

DeMille was amazing in his ability to adapt to media after media. Born--today--in 881, he began as a stage actor and writer. He met the new medium of film and began directing silent films in 1914. When radio began crackling over the airwaves, he became a virtuoso in that form, also becoming a legend in talkies--motion pictures with sound.

We salute a paragon of versatility, a man known as a filmmaker whose legacy also includes great work in front of the microphone.

January 6: Happy Birthday, Loretta Young

January 6: Happy Birthday, Loretta Young

Born as Gretchen Young on January 6th, 1913, Loretta Young was a famous American actress. After the separation of her parents, Loretta moved to Hollywood along with her mother and sisters at the age of 3. She quickly started acting, playing a small role in The Primrose Ring as a fairy at her young age.

The name “Loretta” was given to her by actress Colleen Moore, who explained that it was the name of her favorite doll. The newly dubbed Loretta Young was a highly prolific actress who made as many as nine movies a year starring alongside big name actors. In 1935, she starred in Gone With the Wind alongside Clark Gable, who she would later have a secret love affair with. The tryst ended up begetting a child, Judith Young.

Loretta won an Oscar for her performance in The Farmer’s Daughter, and she also had starring roles in The Bishop’s Wife and Mother is a Freshman. Eventually, Young’s career moved to television, where she became the host of the Loretta Young Show.

Young made numerous guest appearances on radio programs, including many production of Lux Radio Theater.

Loretta Young passed away on August 12th, 2000 from ovarian cancer.