Old Radio

November 19: Happy Birthday, Alan Young ! Before his well-known role opposite "The Famous Mr. Ed," this British actor starred in a radio show bearing his name. The Alan Young Show took the air in 1944, a radio summer replacement . This NBC show was a sitcom, featuring Alan Young trading quickfire burns with his girlfriend, Betty, played by Jean Gillespie and then Louise Erickson. Jim Backus would eventually join the cast, playing Hubert Updike III. Episode titles include "Books," "Raising Rabbits," "Landscaping," "Cucamunga Killer," and "Alan, the Movie Star." The action took place in a little cottage in Van Nuys, CA. advertisements for the 7:30 Friday shows promised "FUN!" Raised in Scotland and Canada,  Young  became enamored of radio when he was bedridden with acute asthma. Reaching adulthood, he broke into the business on a Canadian show called "Stag Party." Later, after starring in T

November 15, 1926: On this day, 24 radio stations were aired for the first time from the National Broadcasting Company. The program was broadcast from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City for 4.5 hours continuously. This day is known as the birthday of network radio. Announcing the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. ads were published in numerous publications in September, 1926. The network's debut broadcast followed on November 15th. The new NBC had an advisory board that consisted of nationally prominent citizens. The advisory board  held an initial meeting on February 28, 1927, discussing concepts for the first steps of the company. These meetings were recounted in a privately published Memorandum of Minutes.

Happy Birthday to the famed US General, George S. Patton! Known as "Bandito", "Old Blood and Guts", and simply "The Old Man", George S. Patton was one of the most successful and notable commanders of WWII. His incredible drive and lust for battle he told troops as they stormed Normandy , "Keep on advancing… whether we go over, under, or through the enemy." He was known for colorful language and motivating fighting men when they needed it most. He said, "Courage is fear holding on a minute longer." Enjoy this 1945 broadcast of These Are Our Men about "Old Blood and Guts"

November 11, 1938: On this date, Kate Smith recorded the American patriotic song "God Bless America" for the first time and later became closely identified with this song. The lyrics were written by Irving Berlin twenty years before  Kate Smith   sung them on the radio. Kate Smith  was best known for her rendition of this song, which was written by Berlin while he was working for the US Army. Five years later, due to the popularity of this rendition, it was featured in the musical show entitled "This is the Army,"  which  featured other songs also composed by Berlin.

  November 7, 1937: The Vaseline sponsored  the radio show Dr. Christian premiered on this date on CBS. Jean Hersholt starred in the leading role of caring  Dr. Christian   remaining on air until 1954.  His assistance nurse, Judy, was played by Rosemary De Camp, Laureen Tuttle, Kathleen Fitz and Helen Kleeb. The theme song of the series was "Rainbow on the River." Dr. Christian   was a radio series broadcasted on CBS until 1954. It starred Jean Hersholt as the title character, a physician who worked in the small but peaceful town of River's End. Hersholt's role as Dr. Christian was so popular among people that some of them actually sent mails asking for medical advice.  The series inspired the making of six films and one television series.

Leonard Franklin Slyke, better known by his stage name of Roy Rogers , was born on November 5th, 1911 in the Midwest city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Slyke began his career by moving to California to sing, performing in the music group the Sons of the Pioneers. After making his first film appearance in 1935, he steadily worked in western films. While working on a film with Gene Autry in 1938, Slyke was rechristened Roy Rogers after Autry walked out on his contract. Roy came from a shortening of Leroy and Rogers came from the last name of Will Rogers, an American cowboy and humorist . His radio show, The Roy Rogers Show , ran for 9 years before moving to TV from 1951-1957 and starred his wife, Dale Evans . Over the years it changed its format. Originally it appeared as western music and variety show. There was always an element of action in the programs, and usually the episodes are broken up with songs, performed by The Sons of the Pioneers. Rogers, “King of the Cowboys,” passed away on

In the world of show biz bios, you can either be a lower-working class kid from Bumble Bluffs, Illinois who hopped on a tomato truck and rode out to L.A. hoping to make it big, or you can come from one of the big cities and be drawn to the entertainment world around you. Burt Lancaster wasn't from Bumble Bluffs.  He was born in New York City and was very affected by Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney in the 1927 silent film The Unknown.  From there it was a stint working for the circus (OK, maybe he was a bumpkin from the corn belt), Hollywood, and eventually his huge roles in Elmer Gantry, Atlantic City, and The Birdman of Alcatraz. If you were a radio listener at the time and you wanted to hear Burt's voice, you could tune in to The Bob Hope Show , Hedda Hopper 's Hollywood , Lux Radio Theatre , and The Cavalcade of America .