Old Radio

October 5, 1930: On this day, CBS broadcast the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time form Carnegie Hall. To broadcast the Sunday afternoon concerts, CBS paid $15,000 for the entire season. The radio broadcasts continued  for 38 years without interruption. The orchestra was founded by the American-born conductor, Ureli Corelli Hill, in 1842 and was officially known as the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York. In 1909, in order to provide financial stability, the Philharmonic, was changed from a musician-operated cooperative to a corporate management structure bringing Gustav Mahler as conductor. In 1921, the  New York Philharmonic merged with New York's National Symphony Orchestra  (no relation to the present Washington, D.C. ensemble) and later in 1828 came the final and most important merger with the New York Symphony Society. Arturo Toscanini became the sole conductor and in 1930 led the group on a European tour that brought immediate international f

Another star born on this day--in this case in 1878--is Arthur Hopkins.  As is apparent, Hopkins lived to adulthood before Marconi's marvelous invention began broadcasting content into homes. He entered the world of theater as a press agent and began writing plays.  Late in his life, he endeavored to bring high-quality drama into American homes and thus produced and hosted Arthur Hopkins Presents.  The program brought to life such classics as "The Philadelphia Story," "The Deluge," "Mr. Pim Passes By," and "Our Town." Actors and actresses who contributed were Katharine Hepburn, Wendell Corey , and Helen Hayes . We salute the contributions of this author, producer, and host.

Happy Birthday, Bob Burns ! Bob Burns was a radio comedian was best known for playing his "bazooka".  After a stint in vaudeville, he  came into comedy radio starring on the Rudy Vallee Show and Kraft Music Hall .  He ultimately had his own program, "The Bob Burns Show" with  fake hillbilly relatives characters including Uncle Fud, Grandpa Snazzy and Aunt Doody.

Perhaps not quite as funny as George Burns or Jim Jordan; not possessed of the voice of Orson Welles ; maybe not as bracing a presence as Vincent Price.  But then again, Jimmy Carter never tried to be a radio star.  He wanted to make a difference in the lives of the poor, the working class, Americans in general and humankind across the globe.  He was the 39th U.S. President, deep into the tradition of the weekly radio broadcast and a couple of decades before Twitter. In March of 1977, Carter used the existing technology to try to anticipate the immediacy and open access of today's social media.  He hosted a live radio program entitled "Ask President Carter," allowing everyday folks to ask him unscreened questions.  More people seem to remember the Saturday Night Live parody starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. Available recordings of Carter's speeches include remarks of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran, and i

September 27: Happy Birthday, William Conrad ! A great voice that during an era seemed to be everywhere on radio including the the role of Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke , and appearances in Escape , Lux Radio Theater , Suspense , This is Your FBI , Nightbeat , and Suspense . An amazing voice actor, his radio roles were most memorable when he toned his "deep, tough-guy voice down", and when he played an effeminate Emperor Nero in Crime Classics  or a Chinese merchant in Escape 's Misfortune Isle. Although he missed his shot to be Matt Dillon on TV, he brought us Cannon and Jake and the Fatman and his narration of The Fugitive with David Janssen and Rocky & Bullwinkle voice-over.   He was so much more than that fat detective, with a phone in his Mark IV, named 'Cannon' on TV.  He was quite versatile. He was a heavy in the movie THE KILLERS and did the voice of the Steward of Gondor in the Rankin Bass animated RETURN OF THE KING.

  September 25, 1933: The Tom Mix Ralson Straight Shooters  went on air for the first time on NBC and remained on the air waves until the mid-1950's. Thomas Hezikiah Mix, otherwise known as Thomas Edwin ""Tom"" Mix, was an early American western movie actor.  He was featured in 336 films between 1910 and 1935, nine of those being silent features. He was the first of Hollywood’s great Western actors. In 1933, Tom Mix made his radio debut. He was granted by Ralston-Purina  to produce his own radio series. The series was titled Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters . The series was popular throughout most of the 1930's through the early 1950's. Tom himself never performed on the series. His character was played by several different radio actors: Artells Dickson (early 1930's), Jack Holden (1937), Russell Thorsen (early 1940's) and Joe ""Curley"" Bradley (1944). Supporting cast included George Gobel, Harold Peary , and Willard W