January 31, 1892 Eddie Cantor was born

On this day in 1892, Eddie Cantor was born.

November 28, 1925: Debut of The Grandle Ole Opry on WSM

On this date in OTR: The "Grand Ole Opry" debuted on WSM in Nashville Nov. 28, 1925. NBC carried a 30-minute segment of the program 1939-1957.

March 27: Happy Birthday, Richard Denning!

Richard Denning, of My Favorite Husband fame,  was born on this day in 1914.

March 8: Happy Birthday Claire Trevor

Back on March 8, 1910, the beautiful "Queen of Film Noir" Claire Trevor was born. Playing roles as a husky-voiced blonde and seemed to fill the role of gun-moll, seductress or tough minded career woman with aplomb.

Feb 20: Happy Birthday, Gale Gordon!

Gale Gordon - the undisputed master of the slow burn - was born on this day in 1906. 

January 16: Debut of "I Love a Mystery"

On this date in OTR: "I Love a Mystery" debuted Jan. 16, 1939, on NBC's West Coast network.

 It moved to the full network in October of that year. Carleton E. Morse's stories focused on the adventures of three detectives in the Hollywood A-1 Detective Agency. The program ended Dec. 26, 1952.

About Old Time Radio's Premiere Broadcast Series "Escape"

How do you describe a program that placed the listener in the actors skin? What could possibly pass beyond the adventure being portrayed...as a deeper message? That answer has to come in the form of listening to the program at hand. each storyline was always different on Escape.

The results maybe the similar, but never identical. Escape brought the message intent home through a different form each week. The message might be a moral conundrum or a realization of our humanity. The stories that Escape chose to air were either popular or new, but never dull.

"Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure!" was the calling card of this weekly episodic. It performed beautifully the mission of driving out the patterns of routine and created a world of intrigue and adventure. Escape capitalized on the dream of every man, woman and child to go to the far off reaches of this globe or to taste the excitement of breaching the envelope. It was never about showcasing the voice talents of the notable of the day...it was about executing the message to perfection.

February 6: Night Beat made its radio debut with Frank Lovejoy

65 Years Ago Today:

February 26, 1950, Night Beat made its radio debut. 

You can stream a free episode of the series (starring Frank Lovejoy) by visting NightBeat Old Time Radio!

April 4, 1938: The Debut of Kate Smith's First Noontime Talk show

 

April 4, 1938: Kate Smith started her debut on a new noontime talk show after 7 years she sang on the airwaves.

Even when she was a kid, Kate Smith already love to dance and sing. She used to perform on theaters and nightclubs before she was discovered by Ted Collins in 1930. Collins was Columbia Records' Vice President who became Smith's partner and manager. He put her on a radio show in 1931 where she experience a huge success. Seven years later, due to the popularity of her radio show, she was also given another one, a day daytime talk show entitled Kate Smith Speaks-- a news and gossip radio program.