Old Radio

Ray Milland won an Oscar in 1946 for his work in Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend.  He also starred in Dial M For Murder, Close To My Heart, and Reap the Wild Wind. But who are we kidding?  You and I love Ray for his role in the CBS blockbuster radio program Meet Mr. McNutley .  The series ran from '53-'54, and starred Ray Milland and Phyllis Avery.  Mr. McNutley was, as his name might imply, a warm-hearted, perhaps absent-minded professor at Lynnhaven College for Women.  The show ran simultaneously on the airwaves and the tube. Plots include Peg buying a new outboard motor for Ray; Ray trying to divine the gender of a new parakeet; and an O. Henryesque miscue involving a mink coat. Milland appeared as a guest on Lux Radio Theatre , Safari, Camel Screen Guild Theatre , and Suspense .

January 1, 1923: KHJ in Los Angles broadcast the Rose Bowl for the first time. The Rose Bowl was presented by Vizio for sponsorship purposes. The contest was an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on the 1st of January every year. The broadcast of the game on January 1, 1923, dubbed the East vs West Football game, was confirmed by Jim Hilliker from a contemporary account in the Los Angeles Times. The game was the first game hosted at The Rose Bowl stadium. Previously, Rose Bowl games were hosted at Pasadena's Tournament Park, Click here for other radio sports recordings .

December 31, 1947: 'King of the Cowboys' ( Roy Rogers ) and ‘Queen of the West’ ( Dale Evans ) tied the nuptial knot. They spent more than fifty years together in this relationship. The pair, married in Davis, Oklahoma, were an on- and off- screen couple starting from 1946 until Rogers' death of congestive heart failure in 1998. They had only one child, Robin Elizabeth, who suffered from Down's syndrome and died before reaching the age of 2.

December 30, 1936: The famous debate between Jack Benny and Fred Allen was started on this day. After a 10 years old violinist finished his solo performance on the Fred Allen Show , Mr. Allen said older violinist should be a shame to the that boy who play better than the older violinist. Jack Benny was replied quickly, and the humorous debate was continue for some time on those comedian's show

  December 28, 1941: Lipton Tea dropped their sponsorship of the program The Helen Hayes Theater as it prepared for shortages in tea imports from India. The show on CBS was referred to as the first casualty of World War II . The Helen Hayes Theater was a drama anthology that lasted for less than a year. The Lipton Tea Series became the show's longest, and also best, forum. Helen Hayes herself supervised the production of the series. She even appeared on a commercial for the tea. Nevertheless, just weeks after Pearl Harbor was bombed, Lipton Tea announced that it would stop sponsoring the show due to tea shortages that they were expecting to happen during those times.

December 27: Happy Birthday, Cathy Lewis Cathy Lewis (December 27th, 1916-November 20, 1968) was best known for her numerous radio appearances. Lewis moved from her hometown of Spokane, Washington to Chicago and found work on The First Nighter Program. Eventually, Lewis moved back across the country to Hollywood , where she had starring roles in the Pasadena Playhouse productions of Stage Door, Winterset, and To Quito and Back. In 1943, Cathy met and married Elliot Lewis, a radio actor and writer. They both became staples of the vintage radio scene, regulars among the group known as Hollywood ’s Radio Row. The pair appeared both together and separately on programs such as The Whistler . Together they co-created the respected anthology series On Stage and helped to steward the popular mystery's program Suspense . Cathy and Elliot began to be billed as “Mr. and Mrs. Radio.” Cathy is most remembered for her role as Jane Stacy, a sensibly droll woman that roomed with Irma Pe

December 25, 1931: Radio came to the  Metropolitan Opera  House in New York City with Lawrence Tibbett as the feature vocalist on this date. Hansel and Gretel was its first opera and it aired over the NBC network of stations. Olin Downes, the moderator, conducted a quiz in between acts of the opera by asking the celebrity guests questions pertaining to the opera. One interesting fact is that Milton Cross, who was the host/announcer in the program, did his job out of the Met's Box 44. The performance of the Hansel and Gretel Opera on Christmas Day was the beginning of The Met’s own live Saturday radio broadcast series on NBC.  The Opera's sets and costumes were designed by John Macfarlane, with the lighting designed by Jennifer Tipton. The Opera won over audiences and critics in Cardiff. The popularity of Hansel and Gratel earned it an Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production in London. The Met presented a stellar international cast, featuring mezzo-soprano Alice Coot