Old Radio

Mr. Perry Como  was born on this day in 1912. His show biz career spanned half a century, including his exploits as a singer and also as a radio and TV personality. In 1943, Como signed on with RCA Victor records and began churning out an amazing string of hits, such as "When You Were Sweet Sixteen," "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now," "Because," and "Forever and Ever." Radio played a big part in Como's life, and not just for playing his songs. He'd begun as a singer in a traveling band led by Ted Weems. When he became a family man, Como decided to quit the road life and was set to begin a middle-class life as a barber. However, an offer of a CBS radio show was what kept him in show business. The RCA recording contract would come not long after. Radio also made Como the highest paid performer at that time--he earned this big salary as the host of Perry Como 's Kraft Music Show . We're glad he didn't become a

  May 15, 1933: Scripted and produced by Irna Phillips, the radio soap opera ‘ Today's Children ’ debuted on NBC. Creditted for writing many of the first American soap operas , Irna Phillips was a talented American actress and writer. After working as a writer on a day-time talk show, Irna Phillips penned the soap opera , Painted Dreams . She tried presented the serial series for airing over Chicago’s WGN during daytime broadcasts. The WGN Manager, Henry Selinger, matched the original daytime serial with sponsors that that offered products for women. Phillips continued to write the radio soap opera scripts and starred in the first episode. Disputes about ownership of Painted Dreams serial forced Philip to moved to station WMAQ. Later She changed Painted Dreams to Today’s Children . Philips received fame and criticism regarding Today's Children scripts.

Only so many screenwriters become the subject of biographies, and John Michael Hayes is one of them. He was the subject of Steven DeRosa's Writing With Hitchcock which chronicled his screenwriting work for the famed director in the 1950s. In radio's golden age, the medium attracted the best talent, and  Hayes  was no exception. When not writing Hitchcock movies,  Hayes  wrote for such radio smashes as The Adventures of Sam Spade , Inner Sanctum , and Sweeney and March. He wrote an episode of Spade called "The Chargogagogmanchogagogchabunamungamog Caper," the name purportedly coming from a river in Webster, MA. We salute Hayes on the day of his 1919 birth. Thanks for the scripts, John!

"Can't act. Can't sing. Balding. Can dance a little." So read the RKO screen test of none other than...Lassie! No, not really. We're talking about today's birthday boy, Fred Astaire , who soft-shoed into the world today, 1899. Astaire  went into the world of dance with his older sister on the Vaudeville circuit. By 1917 the duo was appearing in big-time musicals on both sides of the Big Pond. Fortunately for all of us, his sister married a British aristocrat and decided there'd be no more professional dancing for her. This left the little brother to re-invent his career. He landed work in a Cole Porter musical, Gay Divorce . From there--failed screen test aside--it was on to celluloid. As far as the world of radio, in 1936 he hosted the Packard Hour , whose colloquial name was "The Fred Astaire Show." He also graced Bing Crosby 's variety program late in his career. Let's salute Fred Astaire !

May 9, 1936: After months of their debut on Rudy Vallee 's program, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy broadcast their own show on NBC. With help from W.C Fields , Don Ameche and Dorothy Lamour , the show was one of the top old time radio hits. Edgar Bergen was an actor and a radio performer best known for his superb skill of being a ventriloquist. Along with Bergen,  Charlie McCarthy, his dummy puppet , rose to fame from their radio performances. Following his legal change of name from Berggren to Bergen, Edgar and Charlie were spotted performing at  a New York Party where they were offered a guest appearance in  Rudy Vallee’s radio show .  Their first appearance in 1936 was so successful that they were offered their own show as part of  The Chase and Sanborn Hour. Their success in the radio often puzzles the critics since the radio audience cannot  the dummy (Charlie) or even Bergen’ ventriloquist skill. The  radio ventriloquist  duo is best remember for their hilarious qu

Lux Radio Theater was one of the chief homes of the radio work of Western film star Gary Cooper . On the legendary program, he starred in adaptations of his hit films "The Virginian," "The Pride of the Yankees," and "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington." Mr. Cooper lent his talents to Screen Guild Theater with adaptations of "Sergeant York," "A Farewell to Arms," and "Along Came Jones." In 1947, the actor appeared on The Charlie McCarthy Show. In the same year, he also graced Philco Radio Time, hosted by Bing Crosby . The debonair screen star showed that he could shine on more than one medium. Let's give props to the star, born on this day in 1901.

May 6, 1937: On this day, the  unforgetable recorded explosion of dirigible, Hindenburgh at Lakehurst,NJ was broadcast coast to coast by NBC Red and NBC Blue network from New York City. That event was reported by NBC's broadcaster, Herbert Morrison . Herbert Morrison's eyewitness report of the Hindenburg Disaster from the actual site of the disaster was the most famous broadcast of that event. His report was actually aired the day after the event took place. One thing that was well-remembered about his report was his phrase "Oh, the humanity!" which became a part of the popular culture back then. His very passionate reporting, along with the breathtaking footage of the incident, caused the public and other industries to lose their faith in huge passenger airships. Hindenburgh Disaster recordings can be heard on Old Time Radio's Great Moments Collection .