Old Radio

January 7, 1950: Ernst Tubb made his debut in Nashville, TN at the Grand Ole Opry . After that, he did a daily fifteen minute show which turned out to be so famous that he was able to procure the radio station KGKL, located in San Angelo, Texas, to continue hosting his show. Tubb usually mocked his own voice after a tonsillectomy and became well-known for writing songs. He was arrested after trying to shoot a man in a production office while he was drunk.

On this day in 1916, Cathy Lewis was born.

On this day in 1915, Frank Sinatra was born.

On this day in 1903, Bernard Lenrow was born.

November 14: Happy Birthday Dick Powell ! Richard “Dick” Powell was born on November 14th, 1904 in Mountain View, Arkansas. Powell’s original success came as a musical comedy performer, but eventually transformed himself into a man who could play much darker roles. Even during his film career, he kept a strong presence on radio. He appeared as a star on several of the of the top radio shows during the 1930’s. He performed on Lux Radio Theatre over a dozen times. Powell was the first actor to play private detective Philip Marlowe on the radio, and also played the private detective Richard Rogue in the radio series Rogue’s Gallery . From 1949-1953, Powell played the lead role in the NBC production Richard Diamond, Private Detective . Powell died on January 2nd, 1963 at the age of 58.