Old Radio

July 4, 1951: Jack Webb  did a combined seasonal program,  Pete Kelly's Blues , with Dragnet . Pete Kelly’s Blues on NBC, based on a radio series, was a stand-in for Halls of Ivy , which featured the  husband and wife duo of Ronald Colman and Benita Hume. Pete Kelly’s Blues  starred  Jack Webb   in the lead role, Janet Leigh as a wild child, and Peggy Lee as an alcoholic singer. Once the radio show moved onto television, Jayne Mansfield took on a small role.

  July 2, 1946: Arthur Godfrey was hired by CBS to do a weekly night time show. His nickname was the Old Redhead. Arthur sang, announced, and played the ukelele. His show was a famous radio broadcast of the era.

A baritone that could sweep the hearts of bubble gum chewing teenagers to older women was Nelson Eddy . Born June 29, 1901, this classically trained crooner led four decades of entertaining people through radio, movies and live concerts. Most people will remember him for his time spent filming a number of movies opposite Jeanette MacDonald. The first notice of Eddy singing (besides early years being fired for crooning on the job  Nelson Eddy would hit the Hollywood scene and contract with MGM to make almost 20 motion pictures. His on-screen performances were as well received as his nightclub performances. Eddy made over 600 on-air radio appearances. ) was a tenor in a church boys choir. During his teens he became a trained singer of the opera genre. His talent drew him attention when he won a singing competition in Philadelphia. Throughout the 20’s and into the early 30’s, Eddy could be seen in some of the more impressive opera houses around the country. By 1933, Nelson Eddy