Old Radio

  March 30, 1936: The radio serial Backstage Wife for the first time aired by NBC and continue to air for the next 23 years. Previously, The  serial  Backstage Wife   was aired by Mutual Broadcasting System before it transferred to NBC. Backstage Wife ’s story revolved around Mary Noble, a girl who travelled from Iowa to New York to search for her future. Originally, Mary was portrayed by Vivian Fridell, until it was taken over by Claire Niesen. Mary’s life is a Cinderella-like story. She was able to meet Larry Noble, a handsome millionaire and a well-sought actor. After the two got married, the story now focused on how will Mary live as a wife of a famous star.

March 29, 1937: The first debut of Our Gal Sunday series was aired on this day. The radio serial was lasted for next 22 years latter with its popular dialogue  "Can this girl from a small mining town in the west find happiness as the wife of a wealthy and titled Englishman?" The series featured the story of a girl named Sunday, who was adopted and raised by miners named Lively and Jackie. When Sunday grew up, she married the rich and handsome English Lord Henry Brinthrope. The series focused on the couple's struggle to remain faithful to each other, as there were lots of women running after Henry and men trying to get Sunday's attention. Our Gal Sunday    was based on a 1904 Broadway production entitled "Sunday."

March 28: Happy Birthday, Paul Whiteman Paul Whiteman was a Jazz bandleader who brought his genre of music to a million or so listeners who may not have otherwise enjoyed it. He was commercially successful and panned by critics, who felt he wasn't playing "real" jazz. To this minor controversy, he added fuel by calling himself "The King of Jazz." It's worth a mention that his band had room for such great musicians as Red Nichols , Tommy Dorsey , and Eddie Lambert. A couple of decades into his disputed run as "King of Jazz," Whiteman was tapped to host the radio show Kraft Music Program, which he faithfully did from '33 to '35. He then performed on the Chesterfield Hour and finally Paul Whiteman Presents. We radio devotees owe Whiteman an additional debt due to the fact that he worked as ABC radio's music director for several years. He capped his radio career by hosting, from Philadelphia, Paul Whiteman 's TV Tee

March 26: Happy 90th Birthday to Bob Elliott today! Ray Goulding (left) and Bob Elliott (right) of Bob and Ray fame The comedy duo of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding spent most of their careers under the radar. The pair had numerous famous characters that became landmarks of old time radio. Both Elliott and Goulding began their careers as radio announcers in Boston with their own separate programs on WHDH. Their banter became so well known throughout the station that they were called upon to fill in when Boston Red Sox games were rained out. The pair would spend the time improvising comedy routines and joking around with the studio musicians. In 1946, they earned their own weekday show, Matinee with Bob and Ray . They continued performing on the air for over four decades on NBC, CBS, and Mutual networks. Elliott and Goulding had many recurring characters that appeared frequently to parody the world of radio broadcasting. Some of Elliott’s most famous characters included Wal

March 25, 1943: Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore appeared for the first time on radio, and the pair remained on the air waves for the next 4 years. The duo took the place of the famous Abbott and Costello after Lou Costello suffered a heart attack. Durante and Moore, a comedic duo, started their careers by appearing in Camel Comedy Caravan , where Moore was the “straight man” (serious) and Durante was the comedic foil. Camel Comedy Caravan was a comedic show with music that featured six comedians, including the newcomer, Moore. In the 1940’s, Moore decided to leave the radio showto enter the big screen. Durante chose to stay in the radio industry.

March 24, 1932: A radio variety show hosted in a moving train by Belle Baker, the first of such heard over radio. This program came from a Baltimore and Ohio train which made its rounds of the New York area and was aired over WABC , New York City. Belle Baker was actress, singer who made performance  on stage, in Vaudeville, in motion pictures and on television. She was featuring  "Atlantic City" 1944, "Charring Cross Road" 1935, and "Song Of Love" 1929. The most precious moment in Baker's career was when she made broadcast from moving train. History noted that She was the first person in the united states who was aired from a moving train.