Snippets and Interviews From Breaking Walls

Los Angeles, 1935. It’s the heart of the great depression, with glitz and glamour right next door to misery and suffering. It’s the kind of world where those with money don’t want to share it and those without it have no idea how to get it. It’s the kind of world where Philip Marlowe will take a case he’ll regret, but will he get to live with them?

Author Raymond Chandler set his first Marlowe novel, The Big Sleep, in (then) present-day 1936, but who was Marlowe before The Big Sleep? In A Man Named Marlowe, we’ll find out.

It’s a story with an empowered woman, back room deals, gruesome murders, hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold, and two long-dead gunmen who teach us that heroes can live forever.

A Man Named Marlowe: An Original Six-Part Audio Drama

Launched in the summer of 2014 and hosted by James Scully, Breaking Walls is the podcast on the history of American network radio broadcasting.

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting

New York 1835: A City at its tipping point. It’s ten years since the completion of the Erie Canal. New York City’s population is now over 270,000. Most of these people live below Fourteenth Street in wooden or brick buildings no taller than five stories. The gap between rich and poor is rapidly expanding as each week thousands of new men and women pour onto New York’s dangerously overcrowded streets. Many come to earn an honest living. Others for more nefarious reasons. Several historical lives converge in this scripted audio fiction series about the fastest growing city in the world, and the opportunists who shaped it.

Burning Gotham—The New Audio Drama Set in 1835 New York City

In Breaking Walls episode 116, it’s June of 1955 and network radio is in uncharted territory. TV’s encroachment has the entire industry looking for new ideas. We’ll focus on the launch of one of the most successful—Monitor—which will air in some form or fashion until January of 1975. 

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Highlights:
• The Changing Network Radio Landscape
• Who Is Sylvester “Pat” Weaver?
• Monitor Origins
• Building the Team
• Radio Central
• The Soft Launch
• An Auto Tragedy at Le Mans
• Going to San Quentin Prison 
• Lots of Tunes in Remote
• A Potential United Automobile Workers Strike
• Dave Garroway Interviews Marilyn Monroe, live on Monitor
• Fibber McGee and Gildy Too
• Here’s Henry Morgan
• Monitor’s Last Hour
• Miss Monitor Finally Makes an Appearance
• The Full Launch
• Looking Ahead in Time and Space

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The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

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The reading material used in today’s episode was:

On the Air - By John Dunning
Monitor: Take 2: By Dennis Hart 
Network Radio Ratings — by Jim Ramsburg

Articles from:
Broadcasting-Telecasting Magazine
Monthly Labor Review
The New York Daily News
The New York Times
Newsweek
Printer’s Ink 
Variety

As well as the websites:
http://accordions.com/ for their interview with Art Van Damme
Dennis Hart’s http://monitorbeacon.net/
http://tipsontables.com/

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On the interview front:
• Pat Weaver was interviewed for Fred Allen’s May 29th, 1956 Biography In Sound.

• Ben Grauer was interviewed for NBC’s 50th Anniversary and Westinghouse’ 50th Anniversary.
 
• Dave Garroway and Willard Waterman spoke with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats at SpeakingOfRadio.com.

• Jim Jordan was with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. Hear this full interview at Goldenage-WTIC.org.

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Selected music featured in today’s episode was:
• Shangri-La — By the New Spike Jones Band
• Maris’ Farewell — By George Winston
• Moon Moods — By Les Baxter & His Orchestra

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Special thanks to:

The Fireside Mystery Theatre
https://www.firesidemysterytheatre.com/

The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society
https://www.ghoulishdelights.com/

Twelve Chimes, It’s Midnight
https://www.twelvechimesradio.com/


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Subscribe to Burning Gotham—the new audio drama set in 1835 New York City. It’s available everywhere you get your podcasts and at BurningGotham.com.

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A massive thank you to Gordon Skene and Dennis Hart for their contributions to this episode. Gordon maintains a tremendous sound collection. You can visit his site at PastDaily.com.

Dennis Hart is the preeminent Monitor researcher. If this subject interests you pick up Monitor: Take 2, or go to MonitorBeacon.net.

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Thank you to:
Tony Adams
Steven Allmon
Orson Orsen Chandler
Phil Erickson
Briana Isaac
Thomas M. Joyce
Ryan Kramer
Gary Mollica
Barry Nadler
Christian Neuhaus
Aimee Pavy
Chris Pilkington

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WallBreakers Links:
Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers
Social Media - @TheWallBreakers

BW - EP116: The Launch of NBC’s Monitor (1955)

This November, experience New York City like you’ve never before.  Will you make the right deal? Or fall to greed? But whatever you choose, just make sure you get out in time. 

Coming This November to your favorite podcast app, Burning Gotham — The new audio fiction soap opera about the fastest growing city in the world, and the opportunists who shaped it.

Subscribe anywhere you'd get a podcast and find out more at BurningGotham.com

Burning Gotham: Coming November 2022

BURNING GOTHAM 001: MOVING DAY
May 1st, 1835 — It’s a cold and rainy Moving Day. Every renter in New York is out on the street looking for lodging. Most of the city’s quarter-million live below Houston Street in buildings four stories or smaller, but construction is booming. 

New people are pouring onto New York’s dangerously overcrowded streets by the thousands. Rich and poor, many come to earn an honest living. Others for more nefarious reasons. It’s the perfect place to begin.

Aaron Columbus is an illegitimate son, desperate to make his fortune. Together with Aaron’s brother Wyndham Bowen—an African man born in Europe—they involve themselves in backroom deals, Abolitionism, potential war with France, and City politics. 

Aaron has struck an illegal import deal with John Jacob Astor, America’s richest man. The import? Two exiled Russian Countesses; Sorina and Raisa Zubov, and their inheritance—eleven pounds of diamonds.  

The two women have just arrived in New York.

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Download Episode Transcript

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Written By:
Olga Lysenko & James Scully

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Cast:
Eirik Gislason
Kacie Laforest
Roland Lane
Mary Murphy
Anna Pirogov
Nancy Pop
Matt Roper
James Scully

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Music:
The Hesperus Early Music Ensemble
The Itinerant Band

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Engineer:
Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio

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Director & Post-Producer:
James Scully

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Support Burning Gotham on Patreon

Burning Gotham 001: Moving Day

On November 18th, 1969 Ozzie and Harriet Nelson were guests of Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. During the segment, Ozzie told a funny story about the couple visiting Rutgers (his alma-matter) for a centennial parade.

Ozzie Nelson Tells a Funny Story About Being Handed a Lit Joint at a Rutgers Parade

On February 24th, 1953 Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis played host on their radio show to Marilyn Monroe. All three of the entertainers were on the rise. Martin introduced the play she'd perform in as, "Tonight's play is the story of a cold-blooded newspaper editor who has no friends, but who is loved by Marilyn Monroe, entitled, 'So Who Needs Friends?"

Both Dean and Jerry were on their game, and Marilyn plays ditzy, sultry, and sensual to the t. 

Breaking Walls, Episode 83 will feature the era of radio after World War II and be available on September 1st, 2018 wherever you get your podcasts and at TheWallBreakers.com

Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis with Guest Marilyn Monroe—02.24.1953

In early 1943 Orson Welles was in production alongside Joan Fontaine with 20th Century Fox for Jane Eyre.

Although Welles enjoyed acting for the screen, he preferred live radio. In March, when Jack Benny took ill with pneumonia, Welles filled in as host of The Jack Benny Program.

Jack returns on April 11th, but Orson isn’t quite ready to let go.

(Photo: Actors Mickey Rooney, Jack Benny, and Orson Welles talk things over before going on the air in a recent broadcast here in connection with the March of Dimes for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.)

Jack Benny Program: Orson Welles Guests as Jack Returns from Illness—04/11/1943

After Fred Allen passed away on St. Patrick's Day in 1956, the entire radio community mourned. That May 29th, in honor of what would have been his 62nd birthday, NBC Broadcast a Biography in Sound on Fred Allen. As part of the broadcast lyricist, writer, and TV producer Mort Greene shared a story about Fred Allen and a pan handler named The Whistler. Within the industry, Fred Allen was known as "the easiest touch on Broadway" due to his generosity.

Songwriter Mort Greene Shares a Fred Allen Story About A Panhandler Named Whistler

In 1939 the just-heard Mel Allen became the New York Yankees radio announcer. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama on February 14th, 1913. While attending the University of Alabama he became the public address announcer for the Crimson Tide football team. 

In 1933, when radio station WBRC asked Alabama coach Frank Thomas to recommend a new play-by-play announcer, he suggested Allen. Allen graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1937. Shortly after he took a train to New York City for a week's vacation. While there, he auditioned for a staff announcer's job at CBS. CBS’ top sportscaster, Ted Husing, had heard many Crimson Tide broadcasts. Allen was hired for forty-five dollars per week. 

Although he was calling Baseball, Allen continued to announce other shows on the Network. He was CBS announcer for the Duffy’s Tavern pilot, which aired on Forecast July 30th, 1940. 

After Ruth and Gehrig retired, Joe DiMaggio became the next Yankee legend. The Yankees main rival, the Boston Red Sox, were led by fellow future Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams. Norman Corwin riffed on this rivalry during his production of “Between Americans”, for Screen Guild Theatre which aired the night of December 7th, 1941. Both players missed three seasons in the mid 1940s while at war. Ted Williams missed most of two more during the Korean conflict.

BW - EP138—003: Baseball Memories From Radio History—Mel Allen

Tuesday, April 15th, 1947. 12:30PM. It’s damp and overcast. We’re at Ebbets field in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. The visiting Boston Braves are playing the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day. We can smell hot dogs, pretzels, popcorn, knishes, and beer. 

Manager Leo Deroucher has been suspended by MLB’s offices for conduct detrimental to the team. He’ll have to sit out the whole season. Burt Shotton, known to be calm and steady, is managing the Dodgers. They’re expected to contend.

Red Barber is up in the press booth calling the action for CBS and Gladys Gooding is on the organ. Here with us are stadium celebs like the Dodgers Sym-phony and Hilda Chester the Cowbell Lady, along with more than twenty-six thousand others. These men, women, and children are wearing Dodgers caps, windbreakers, flannel jackets, letterman’s sweaters, sport coats, and suits. They’re Italian, African-American, Jewish, Irish, Polish, Norwegian. 

At 12:45 the melting pot stirs as the Dodgers trot out of the clubhouse. There’s Second Baseman Eddie Stanky, Center Fielder Peter Reiser, Catcher Bruce Edwards, and pitcher Joe Hatten. Hatten warms up as one by one the rest of the Dodgers starters come out. Right fielder Dixie Walker. Left Fielder Gene Hermanski. Third Baseman Spider Jorgensen, Shortstop Pee Wee Reese. 

There’s an audible buzz as the Dodgers first baseman and final starter comes out. This man was born in Cairo, Georgia. The youngest son of a sharecropper, he was a four-sport letterman at UCLA, and an Army second lieutenant in World War II. His name is Jack Roosevelt Robinson and he’s the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues since Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884. 

Robinson tosses infield practice until Home Plate umpire Babe Pinell signals for the start of the game. 

Robinson smooths the dirt in a playing path by first base and sets himself, knees bent, slightly crouched. His glove is on the ground and open. Boston’s Shortstop Dick Culler digs in. Brooklyn’s lefty Joe Hatten winds and delivers the pitch. Culler swings and slaps a ground ball towards third base. He digs out of the batter’s box as Spider Jorgensen charges in and fields the ball on a high hop, throwing slightly off balance towards first base. Robinson, right foot on the bag, stretches as far as he can, catching Jorgensen’s throw and getting Culler out by a step.

And just like that, a fifty-year old gentleman’s agreement between changing owners and the commissioner’s office, that had barred any dark skinned men from playing in the league, was dead. It died here in Flatbush at 1PM, on Tuesday April 15th, 1947 as twenty-six thousand people looked on, and wildly cheered.

Later, in the bottom of the Seventh inning, after an error while batting allowed him to reach second base, Robinson scored the Dodgers fifth run of the game on a double from Pete Reiser. The Dodgers would win five to three.

Although he was the subject of taunts, bean balls, spikes, and scuffles with opposing players and fans all season, Jackie Robinson had the faith of African-Americans and Brooklyn Dodgers fans, as well as the quickly-earned support of his teammates. 

Robinson would go on to hit .297 with one-hundred-twenty-five runs scored, forty-eight extra-base hits, and lead the league with twenty-nine stolen bases en route to winning the Rookie of the Year as the Brooklyn Dodgers went ninety-four and sixty, winning the National League pennant.

BW - EP138—006: Baseball Memories From Radio History—Jackie

Right now, experience New York City like you’ve never before.  Will you make the right deal? Or fall to greed? But whatever you choose, just make sure you get out in time.

Out now on your favorite podcast app, Burning Gotham — The 2022 Tribeca Select audio soap opera about the fastest growing city in the world, and the opportunists who shaped it.

Find out more at BurningGotham.com

Burning Gotham: Out Now

In Breaking Walls episode 144 we present part two of our mini-series on radio and the world in the fall of 1957.




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Highlights:
• The 1957 World Series
• Unit 99
• Sputnik, Bing Crosby, and Current Events
• The Eternal Light and The Glastonbury Cows
• Algeria Aflame
• Stan Freberg
• Bill Kemp, ABC, and More News
• School Integration Update
• Sorry, Wrong Number
• You Bet Your Life
• NATO, Syria, and Sputnik
• LIFE and The World with Carl Sandberg and Frank Lloyd Wright
• Looking Ahead to Jean Shepherd and JFK




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The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

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The reading material for today’s episode was:
• I Have a Lady in the Balcony: Memories of a Broadcaster in Radio and Television — By George Ansbro
• On the Air — By John Dunning
• Network Radio Ratings — By Jim Ramsburg

As well as articles from

• Broadcasting Magazine
• The New England Historical Society
• The New York Times
• Sponsor Magazine


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On the interview front:
• Stan Freberg, Byron Kane, and Peggy Webber spoke to SPERDVAC. For more info, go to SPERDVAC.com.

• Andre Baruch, Ken Carpenter, Virginia Gregg, John Guedel, and Agnes Moorehead spoke with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats at Speakingofradio.com.

• Jackson Beck, Vincent Price, and Bill Spier spoke to Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. Hear these interviews at GoldenAge-WTIC.org.

• Jack Benny’s snippet was recorded by CBS and played for their 50th anniversary in 1977


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Selected music featured in today’s episode was:
• Plunkett’s Lament — By George Fenton
• The Pavane and Window To The Sky — By Michael Silverman
• As Time Goes By — By Herman Hupfeld
• Road — By George Winston
• Metamorphosis 2 — By Elizabeth Hainen
• Amazing Grace — By Wind Drum Spirit


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A special thank you to Ted Davenport, Jerry Haendiges, and Gordon Skene.

For Ted go to RadioMemories.com, for Jerry, visit OTRSite.com, and for Gordon, please go to PastDaily.com.

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Thank you to:
Tony Adams
Steven Allmon
Orson Orsen Chandler
Phil Erickson
Jessica Hanna
Perri Harper
Thomas M. Joyce
Ryan Kramer
Earl Millard
Gary Mollica
Barry Nadler
Christian Neuhaus
Ray Shaw
Filipe A Silva
John Williams
Jim W.

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WallBreakers Links:
Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers
Social Media - @TheWallBreakers

BW - EP144: October 1957—Sputnik! And Dying Radio Drama

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers

Mail Call began airing on August 11th, 1942 over the Armed Forces Radio Service to entertain troops with songs, skits, and questions (via the mail) answered by celebrities in order to boost the morale of soldiers stationed far from their homes

In 1944 Lt. Col. Thomas A.H. Lewis, commander of the Armed Forces Radio Service, wrote that "The initial production of the Armed Forces Radio Service was 'Mail Call,' a morale-building half hour which brought famed performers to the microphone to sing and gag in the best American manner." Lewis added, "To a fellow who has spent months guarding an outpost in the South Seas, Iceland or Africa a cheery greeting from a favorite comedian, a song hit direct from Broadway, or the beating rhythm of a hot band, mean a tie with the home to which he hopes soon to return.”

The show was produced from AFRS’s California headquarters at 6011 Santa Monica Boulevard. On Thanksgiving Day in 1944, the program’s guests were Groucho Marx and Lionel Barrymore.

BW - EP157—001: Thanksgiving 1944—Mail Call With Groucho Marx And Lionel Barrymore

This is the Thanksgiving 1947 episode of The Jack Benny Program, which originally aired Sunday, November 23rd, 1947.

The Jack Benny Program: Movie Of Jack's Life (Thanksgiving Show) — 11/23/1947

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers

In November of 1949 Broadway is My Beat returned to the air on Saturday evenings. It remained there until late January of 1950. The show couldn’t find national sponsorship, though companies like Ford were buying single episode sponsorship to promote their products. 

Beginning with the February 3rd, 1950 episode called “The Lieutenant Jimmy Hunt Murder Case,” the show moved to Friday evenings at 9:30PM eastern time. 

Featured in this episode was Jeanette Nolan. She and her husband John McIntire were longtime friends of both Lewis and his second wife Mary Jane Croft.

Broadway is my Beat featured some of the best hollywood radio talent like Barney Phillips, Virginia Gregg, Tony Barrett, Herb Butterfield, Betty Lou Gerson, Hy Averback, Cathy Lewis, Harry Bartell, Lawrence Dobkin, Mary Jane Croft, and Herb Vigran. 

Years later, Jack Kruschen remembered how many of them, including himself, often played more than one part on radio shows.

BW - EP160—002: February 1950 With Broadway Is My Beat—Friday NIghts With Danny Clover

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers

As Broadway Is My Beat was taking to the air on February 3rd, 1950, snow was on the ground. Three inches had fallen on the 1st.

That Friday, nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs was arrested by agents of Scotland Yard. He was charged with providing American atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. The next day, U.S. Army Lieutenant General Leslie R. Groves testified before a joint congressional committee that, as a result of the secrets Fuchs gave the U.S.S.R., the Soviets had begun development of both atomic and hydrogen bombs.

At the Cort Theatre In New York, Katharine Hepburn was starring in a production of Shakespeare’s comedy,  As You Like It. Located at 138 West 48th Street, The Cort was renamed the James Earl Jones theatre in 2022. 

Meanwhile The New York Daily News cover showed Ingrid Bergman, who’d just given birth to her son Robin Rossellini. The child was born out of wedlock. She filed for divorce from husband Dr. Peter Lindstrom, and shortly thereafter Stromboli premiered in American theaters. It was accompanied by a great deal of controversy from the affair between Bergman and director Roberto Rossellini. The pair would marry on May 24th, 1950. 

The biggest international news was coming out of England where a general election was to be held on January 23rd. With that in mind, Elmo Roper took to the air on CBS’ The People Speak with more information.

BW - EP160—003: February 1950 With Broadway Is My Beat—International News

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers

The February 10th, 1950 episode of Broadway Is My Beat took Danny Clover to the wrestling matches in search of a missing woman. At that time New York City’s top wrestling promoter was Roderick James "Jess" McMahon. The patriarch of the McMahon wrestling family, Jess McMahon spent several decades as a sports promoter of all kinds, including professional wrestling matchmaking at Madison Square Garden.

Featured in this episode was Lawrence Dobkin. Years later, he remembered how he got into radio. Another famous featured character actor was Virginia Gregg.

BW - EP160—004: February 1950 With Broadway Is My Beat—At The Wrestling Matches

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers

The February 17th, 1950 episode of Broadway is My Beat took Danny Clover to Greenwich Village. 

By the early 1950s, the sound effects men working in radio had begun to refine their craft to a fine art. In September of 1987 Jack Kruschen and Shirley Mitchell were guests of Jim Bohannon on his radio show. They remembered some of those men.

The actor playing Camden Drake was Elliot Reid. Here he is speaking with Frank Bresee. Featured in this cast was Virginia Gregg. By 1950, she was one of the most versatile actresses on the air.

BW - EP160—005: February 1950 With Broadway Is My Beat—The Death Of A Greenwich Village Writer

This episode was originally released on 3/1/2018. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes beginning with this episode on the birth of radio.

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In Breaking Walls Episode 77 we pick up our story on the history of American radio broadcasting, as a few ramshackle radio stations become large national networks, giving rise to an entire generation of entertainment giants during the roaring 1920s.

Highlights:
• July 2, 1921— Jack Dempsey defends his heavyweight boxing title in front of 80,000 fans as RCA broadcasts the event Closed Circuit to over 300,000 fans. Its the first broadcast of its kind.
• The Radio Craze begins as almost 600 stations sign on in 1922
• Herbert Hoover tries to better organize the radio dial and put small stations out of business
• AT&T’s attempt to monopolize radio broadcasting
• The formation of the National Broadcasting Company
• The Radio Act of 1927
• William S. Paley buys The Columbia Broadcasting System and turns it into a 2nd major network
• Rudy Vallee becomes radio’s first mega-star
• Chicago becomes radio’s 2nd capital
• Hollywood's radio recording rise in the late 1930s
• The Mutual Broadcasting System is formed—The Shadow debuts
• War, once again, comes to Europe

The reading material for today’s episode was:
• The Rise of Radio, From Marconi through The Golden Age by Alfred Balk
• Inventing American Broadcasting 1899-1922 by Susan J. Douglas
• The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio by John Dunning
• A Pictorial History of Radio’s First 75 Years by B. Eric Rhoads
• Hello Everybody! The Dawn of American Radio by Anthony Rudel &
• The Network by Scott Woolley


Featured on today’s show were interviews conducted by Dick Bertel and the late Ed Corcoran and numerous others for Westinghouse, CBS, and NBC.

Harold Arlin’s was interviewed by author J. Fred McDonald for his book Don’t Touch That Dial.

BW - EP77: The Birth Of The Radio Networks—From NBC To CBS To Mutual Broadcasting (1922 - 1934) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 10/1/2018. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes beginning with this episode on the birth of radio.

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In Breaking Walls Episode 84, it’s the Simple Art of Macabre, to your ears from the mouths of some of the best who ever produced radio’s stuff of nightmares. 


Highlights:

• Why Do We Like To Be Scared? 
 • What pre-dated the radio horror program in the United States of America?
 • The Witch’s Tale • Cooper, Oboler, and Lights Out
 • Orson Welles, Himan Brown, and Bill Spier
 • Macabre Programming during World War II 
• How Transcription Advanced the radio mystery program
 • Escape, The Saint, and Vincent Price
 • ABC and The Clock
 • Quiet Please and Crime Classics  
• The Decline of the American audio drama in the 1950s 
• Attempts at horror revivals
 • Where we are today

The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers


The reading material used in today’s episode was: 
• The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio - by John Dunning
• The Witch's Tale: Stories of Gothic Horror from the Golden Age of Radio - by Alonzo Dean Cole
• The CBS Radio Mystery Theater Handbook by Martin Grams Jr’s and Gordon Payton
• Forecast: Is there a Sponsor in a House by Martin Grams Jr.
• The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio - by Christopher H. Sterling


• Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran’s Golden Age of Radio programs can be found at goldenage-wtic.org 

• John Dunning’s Interviews can be found through the Old-Time Radio Researcher’s Library at OTRRLibrary.org.

• Chuck Schaden’s interviews can be found at his site, SpeakingofRadio.com
 

Selected Music featured in today’s Episode was:
• Seance on a Wet Afternoon composed by John Barry and rerecorded by Nic Raine
* I’ve Got You Under My Skin - by Frank Sinatra




BW - EP84: The Simple Art of Macabre—Mystery, Suspense, and Horror from Radio’s Best (1931 - 1982) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 11/1/2018. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

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In Breaking Walls episode 85, we spotlight the radio career of Frank Sinatra. We’ll find out how a brash, skinny kid from Hoboken, New Jersey became one of the most popular and influential music artists of the 20th century, selling more than 150 million records worldwide, winning an academy award for Best Supporting Actor, and using radio to launch it all.

Highlights:

• How Sinatra’s Difficult Birth Affected The Rest of His Life
• Growing Up In Hoboken
• Not Interested in School, Interested in Singing
• WAAT, WNEW, WOR and the Rustic Cabin
• The Hoboken Four
• Early Hustling
• Harry James and Tommy Dorsey
• Sinatra’s Popularity Explodes
• Going Solo
• Success on CBS during World War II
• Marriage, Infidelity… and more infidelity
• The Havana Conference
• Problems with Sponsorship
• The Decline Begins
• Ava
• Losing His Voice
• Bottoming Out
• The Slow Rise
• Maggio and an Oscar
• Rocky Fortune
• A Reborn Sinatra

The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers
 


The reading material used in tonight’s episode was:
• The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio by John Dunning
• Why Sinatra Matters by Pete Hamill
• Frank: The Voice by James Kaplan
• The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio - by Christopher H. Sterling



Lots and Lots of interviews in today’s episode:

• Frank Sinatra was with: Walter Cronkite in 1965; Johnny Carson in 1976; Arlene Francis in the early 1980s; and Larry King in 1988

• Nancy Sinatra was with: Walter Cronkite in 1965 and Larry King in 1995

• Chuck Schaden interviewed Ken Carpenter And Carroll Carroll. Both of these conversations were recorded on February 17th, 1975. To listen to many complete interviews Chuck conducted throughout his career, please go to SpeakingofRadio.com

• Bob Eberly was with Arnold Dean. Hear that full interview and many others at Goldenage-WTIC.org

• Jo Stafford was with Matthew Feinstein for Jo Stafford’s “Ballad of the Blues”

• Gary Moore and Andre Baruch spoke to Westinghouse in 1970.

• Les Tremayne and Jack Brown were featured from their 1986 history of radio called “Please Stand By” 



BW - EP85: From Hoboken to Eternity—Frank Sinatra's Radio Career (1935 - 1955) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 12/1/2018. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

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In Breaking Walls episode 86, we spotlight what was on the air over the US’ major radio networks during December of 1945.

Highlights:
• The First Peacetime Holiday Season in Five Years Begins
• Radio’s Three Main Production Hubs
• Macabees
• Frank Nelson, Lurene Tuttle, and Mandel Kramer
• I Can’t Stand Jack Benny
• Soap Operas and Kid’s Shows
• NBC Dominates Sunday and Tuesday Nights
• Falling Mid-Week Ratings Open the Door for CBS
• Victory Bonds and Bing’s Strike
• Christmas Draws Closer
• Fibber, Molly, Red and Christmas Day
• Dinah Shore and Groucho return Christmas Gifts
• I Still Can’t Stand Jack Benny
• New Year’s Eve
• What Comes Next


The WallBreakers:
thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
patreon.com/TheWallBreakers


The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio - by John Dunning
• Christmas 1945: The Greatest Celebration in American History - by Matthew Litt
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-1953 - by Jim Ramsburg
• The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio - by Christopher H. Sterling

And several articles from: 
• The New York Times
• Broadcasting Magazine
• Radio Daily


The Interviews
Chuck Schaden was with:
Mel Blanc
Himan Brown
Phil Harris
Danny Kaye
Barbara Luddy
Mercedes McCambridge
Shirley Mitchell
Frank Nelson
Olan Soule
Larry Stevens
Lurene Tuttle
Don Wilson

All of Chuck’s Interviews can be found at SpeakingofRadio.com


Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran were with:
Jackson Beck
Edgar Bergen
Mel Blanc
Staats Cotsworth
Howard Duff
Jim Jordan
Mandel Kramer
Jan Miner

All of their interviews for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio can be found at GoldenAge-WTIC.org


SPERDVAC was with
Harry Bartel
Jack Johnstone

For more information please go to SPERDVAC.com

• Jo Stafford was with Matthew Feinstein for Jo Stafford’s “Ballad of the Blues”
• Fran Carlon was with Westinghouse for their 1970 50th Anniversary Production
• Bing Crosby was interviewed for Same Time, Same Station in 1972.


Selected music featured in today’s episode was

• Kay Starr’s The Man With The Bag
• Nancy Wilson’s What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
• Bing Crosby’s White Christmas and I’ll Be Home For Christmas

The clip of CBS’ Cimarron Tavern came courtesy of Jerry Haendiges. Visit his site at OTRsite.com. I’ve been visiting since 2002. Thank you Jerry.

I’d also like to thank Walden Hughes and John and Larry Gassman. Listen to their shows on the Yesterday USA radio network.

BW - EP86: Home For the Holidays—December 1945 On the Air [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 2/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 88, we spotlight the 1945-46 season of The Jack Benny Program. This season introduced characters like telephone operators Gertrude and Mabel, press agent Steve Bradley, hot dog vendor Mr. Kitzel, and Ronald and Benita Colman. This season featured guest appearances from Ingrid Bergman, Isaac Stern, Van Johnson, Ray Milland, Peter Lorre, Louella Parsons, Fred Allen, Ed Sullivan and others. It also was the season in which Dennis Day returned from the Navy and one of the most ingenious marketing campaigns in entertainment history took place: The “I Can’t Stand Jack Benny” Contest. 


Highlights:
• Jack’s slipping ratings
• Problems with General Foods
• Jack changes sponsors
• The War ends and a new season begins
• Mabel Flapsaddle & Gertrude Gearshift 
• Steve Bradley and his big ideas
• $10,000 and $646,000
• Jack gets robbed
• The Contest
• Mail pours in
• The Colmans can’t stand Jack Benny
• Jack’s ratings soar
• Christmas of 1945 & The Rose Bowl
• Fred Allen and the end of the Contest
• Isaac Stern
• Palm Springs
• Van Jackson
• Ed Sullivan and the end of the season
• King for a Day


The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers


The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• Sunday Nights at Seven - by Jack and Joan Benny
• On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio - by John Dunning
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-1953 - by Jim Ramsburg
• As well as articles from Radio Life on January 27th and February 3rd, 1946


On the interview front:
•Jack Benny, Ezra Stone, Kate Smith, Don Wilson, Eliott Lewis, Phil Harris, Frank Nelson and Dennis Day were with Chuck Schaden. Chuck’s interviews from an over 39-year career can be listened to for free at SpeakingofRadio.com

• Vincent Price and Mel Blanc were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. The full interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org 

• Dennis Day was also with John Dunning for his 1980s 71KNUS Radio program from Denver. Some of his interviews can be found at OTRRLibrary.org

• And Finally Jack Benny, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Frank Nelson, Don Wilson and Mel Blanc were also with Jack Carney for his early 1980s Comedy Program. Much of this audio was originally taken from a 1972 PBS Documentary on Great Radio Comedians. Thank you Goodmond Danielson for supplying me with the audio.



Selected music featured in today’s episode was:
• Love in Bloom by Bing Crosby
• It’s Been a Long, Long, Time by the Harry James Orchestra
• Chickery Chick by Sammy Kaye with Billy Williams &  Nancy Norman
• Manhattan Serenade by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with Jo Stafford 
• It Might as Well Be Spring by Larry Stephens
• Danny Boy by Dennis Day
• Along the Navajo Trail by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters



WallBreakers Links:
Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers
Social Media - @TheWallBreakers
URL - thewallbreakers.com
Online Store - jamesthewallbreaker.com/shop/

BW - EP88: I Can't Stand Jack Benny—The Story Behind His 1945-46 Season [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 3/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 89, we explore the birth of the dramatic radio western show, specifically targeted to adult audiences. This is the first of a three-part mini-series on adult western radio shows.


Highlights:
• Back to the Very Beginning
• What is a Western Show?
• The Birth of Western Dramatic Radio Shows
• Empire Builders
• Death Valley Days
• The Western show on local stations 
• ...And in syndication
• Lux Presents Hollywood
• The Triumph and Tragedy of Buck Jones
• Americana and the Cavalcade of America
• Howard McNear and Romance of the Ranchos
• The First Western Soap Opera
• The War Ends and the Western show grows up
• What’s Next?


The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers


The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio - by John Dunning
• Radio Rides The Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929 - 1967 by Jack French and David S. Siegel
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-1953 - by Jim Ramsburg
• Hello Everybody! The Dawn of American Radio by Anthony Rudel &
• The Network by Scott Woolley


On the interview front:
• Don Ameche, Joan Fontaine, Hans Conried, Rudy Vallée were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. The full interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org 

• Agnes Moorehead and Anne Seymour were with Chuck Schaden. Chuck’s interviews from an over 39-year career can be listened to for free at SpeakingofRadio.com

• John Dunkel and William N. Robson were with John Hickman for his WAMU program “Recollections.” A modern version of this program is heard each Sunday evening as “The Big Broadcast.” For more information, please go to WAMU.org

• Ruth Woodman was with Ida Blackburn in 1961 for KOCO. The full video clip can be seen on the Oklahoma Historical Society's Youtube page - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnsye8K4SEsY9Ssi8EzzHg

• and journalist Robert Bendiner was with Westinghouse for their 1970 50th Anniversary program.  


Selected music featured in today’s episode was:
• The Colorado Trail Opus 28 by Elizabeth Hainen - http://www.elizabethhainen.com
• The Last Rose of Summer by Tom Waits
• Morning Prayer by Kenneth Little Hawk
• All Mortal Flesh Be Silent by Deirdre Fay
• Across the Wide Missouri, by Mathias Gohl, Molly Mason, Jay Unger, and Andy Stein
• Jefferson and Liberty by John Owen Lardinois
• Amazing Grace by Leta Rector
• Across the Alley from the Alamo by the Mills Brothers


I’d also like to thank Walden Hughes and John and Larry Gassman. Listen to their shows on the Yesterday USA radio network.


WallBreakers Links:
Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers
Social Media - @TheWallBreakers
URL - thewallbreakers.com
Online Store - jamesthewallbreaker.com/shop/

BW - EP89: The Birth of The Adult Radio Western (1929 - 1945) [Rewind]

Hey everyone, James Scully here, producer and host of Breaking Walls, the docu-podcast on the history of US Network Radio Broadcasting. I wanted to let you know about a new webinar I’m doing on Monday June 30th, 2025 at 7PM. It’s Part 2 of the CBS Talent Raids on the early Television era.

This webinar focuses on the rise of TV throughout the 1940s and early 1950s as the CBS Talent Raids took hold. 

If you missed Part 1, don’t worry, when you register for Part 2 I’ll email you a video of the webinar for Part 1. And if you’re interested in this Part 2 webinar and can’t make it live on Monday, June 30th at 7PM, don’t worry I’ll be emailing every person who registers a video of Part 2’s webinar as soon as it’s done. Here's a link to register — https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-cbs-talent-raids-part-2-the-early-television-era-webinar-tickets-1419361692029?aff=oddtdtcreator

Here's an overview of the webinar below:
When David Sarnoff officially launched network television at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City, he intended to have TV sets in everyone's homes by the early 1940s. World War II interrupted his plans. Meanwhile network radio soared in popularity throughout the 1940s. By the fall of 1948, three of the four major radio networks — ABC, CBS, and NBC — were funneling their soaring radio profits into the burgeoning television side of their businesses. And because all individual U.S. citizens were taxed 77% on all income over $70k (roughly $907k today), big stars of the day like Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, and Freeman Gosden had the idea to incorporate their popular shows as businesses in order to qualify for significant breaks under capital gains tax laws. What happened when David Sarnoff and RCA, the parent company of NBC, the nation's #1 network at the time, refused to make this deal with its stars? It's time to uncover how a smart bet by CBS helped it overtake its main rival during the golden age of radio and exactly how this affected the early years of television.

Join James Scully — Radio historian and producer/host of Breaking Walls, the docu-podcast on the history of U.S. network radio broadcasting for the second part of this two-part series that explores the events surrounding the CBS Talent Raids of 1948, and the many men and women who benefited from this monumental period in entertainment.

In Part Two: Early Network Television, we'll focus on the rise of TV throughout the 1940s and early 1950s as the CBS Talent Raids took hold, including:

• From Farnsworth to the 1939 World’s Fair — Early TV History and How World War II slowed TV’s oncoming growth

• How NBC, CBS, and ABC Launched into TV while siphoning radio profits into their TV networks

• The Dumont Network and Pro Rasslin’ — Could the network have lasted longer?

• Berle, Godfrey, Sullivan and The TV ratings landscape as we enter the 1950

• I Love Lucy Launches, forever altering Television viewing

• How Television’s explosive growth in the early 1950s changed America’s way of life

• TV’s profits are radio’s losses

Afterward, I’ll do a Q&A — any and all questions are welcomed and encouraged!Can't attend live? Not to worry! I'll be recording the event and sending the video out to all guests who register so you can watch it later. See you (virtually) there!

Monday 6.30.2025 — A New Webinar: The CBS Talent Raids, Part 2 — The Early TV Era

This episode was originally released on 4/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 90 and on the second part of our western trilogy, dramatic radio goes from boom to bust in a nine year period after World War II, as a group of actors become radio legends, while the radio western grows up.


Highlights:
• William S. Paley’s Plan to Overtake NBC
• The West-Coast Hollywood Actors 
• Robson, Yarborough, Lewis, and Hawk Larabee
• Escape Moves the Western Forward
• The Life and Death of Jeff Chandler
• CBS Becomes Number 1
• NBC Fires Back with New Western Shows
• Elliott Lewis, Suspense, On Stage, and Crime Classics
• The Birth of Gunsmoke
• Jack Johnstone, Jimmy Stewart, and The Six Shooter
• The Networks Pull the Plug in 1954
• What’s Next


The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers


The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio - by John Dunning
• Radio Rides The Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929 - 1967 by Jack French and David S. Siegel
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-1953 - by Jim Ramsburg

As well as passages from
• Broadcast Magazine — 12/22/1947, 2/16/1948, 3/1/1948
• Sponsor Magazine — 10/1/1951


On the Interview Front:
• Parley Baer, Harry Bartell, Lillian Buyeff, Mary Jane Croft, John Dehner, Lawrence Dobkin, Sam Edwards, Herb Ellis, Virginia Gregg, Jack Johnstone, Byron Kane, Elliott Lewis, Jeanette Nolan, and Herb Vigran were with SPERDVAC, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com

• Hans Conried, Howard Duff, and Elliott Lewis with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. The full interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org 

• Jack Benny, Hans Conried, Betty Lou Gerson, Elliott Lewis, and Lurene Tuttle were with Chuck Schaden. Chuck’s interviews from an over 39-year career can be listened to for free at SpeakingofRadio.com

• Eve Arden, Elliott Lewis, and E. Jack Neuman were with John Dunning for his 1980s 71KNUS Radio program from Denver. Some of his interviews can be found at OTRRLibrary.org

• William Conrad, John Dehner, Rex Koury, Norman Macdonnell, John Meston, William N. Robson, and George Walsh were John Hickman of WAMU for his Gunsmoke documentary. 

• Mr. Hickman was the longtime host of “Recollections.” A modern version of this program is heard each Sunday evening as “The Big Broadcast.” For more information, please go to WAMU.org

• William Conrad was also with collector Chris Lambesis for a December 15th, 1969 interview

• Jimmy Stewart was with Larry King in 1986

• And William S. Paley and Frank Stanton were interviewed for CBS’s 50th Anniversary program in 1977. 


Selected Music Featured in Today’s Episode Was:
• I’ve Got the World on a String - by Frank Sinatra
• Pyramid of the Sun & Voodoo Dreams - by Les Baxter
• I’ll Be Seeing You - by The Harry James Orchestra
• Route 66 - by Nat King Cole

BW - EP90: The Hollywood People Behind Radio’s Baby Boomer Boom (1945 - 1954) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 5/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 91, we finish the adult western trilogy with a focus on the period after television decimated radio’s listening audience, forever altering the broadcasting landscape. Dramatic radio’s time as America’s number one entertainment genre was over, but it was far from dead.

Our story won’t conclude on that fabled date of September 30th, 1962 when radio drama supposedly ended forever. We’ll push down the trail through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s as dramatic radio continued to avoid the hangman’s noose.


Highlights:
• Dirty Saturdays
• Gunsmoke Finds Sponsorship.
• Gunsmoke’s TV launch
• NBC and Dr. Sixgun
• Norman Macdonnell and CBS bring a new Western to the Air
• J.B. Kendall, Luke Slaughter, & Paladin
• The End of Gunsmoke
• Horizon’s West and One Last Gasp
• Elliott Lewis—Young At Heart
• Riding off Into the Sunset


The WallBreakers:
thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
patreon.com/TheWallBreakers


The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio - by John Dunning
• Radio Rides The Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929 - 1967 by Jack French and David S. Siegel
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-1953 - by Jim Ramsburg
• As well as numerous passages from Broadcast Magazine


On the Interview Front:

• Lilian Buyeff, John Dehner, Lawrence Dobkin, Herb Ellis, Virginia Gregg, Elliott Lewis, Vic Perrin, and Herb Vigran, were with SPERDVAC, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com

• Parley Baer, William Conrad, John Dehner, Rex Koury, and Norman Macdonnell were with John Hickman. Mr. Hickman was the longtime host of WAMU’s Recollections. Today, this program is heard each Sunday evening as The Big Broadcast. For more information, please go to WAMU.org

• William N Robson was with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. This interview can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org.

• Parley Baer was with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chat at SpeakingofRadio.com.

•John Dehner was also heard with Neil Ross for KMPC on March 23rd, 1982. While Elliott Lewis was with John Dunning for his 1980s 71KNUS program from Denver. And Raymond Burr was with Jack Webster in 1963.


Selected Music Featured in Today’s Episode Was:
• The Theme to A Summer Place - by Percy Faith
• Mr. Sandman - by The Chordettes
• Young At Heart - by Frank Sinatra
• And Come Down My Evening Star - by Joan Morris & William Bolcom

BW - EP91: The Hollywood Radio Western Renaissance (1954 - 1980) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 6/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 92 we open the summer season with a trip to Coney Island, Brooklyn. The New York city summer locale was frequented in radio programs and by radio performers. It was also, in the days of wireless telegraphy, an important station location for Guglielmo Marconi.

Highlights:
• Marconi’s last link
• André Baruch Gets His Radio Start at Coney Island
• Allen’s Alley Opens the Summer
• Connee Boswell Sings
• The Crime Club Uncovers a Coney Island Murder
• Irma and Jane Go To the Beach
• Broadway Is My Beat
• Vincent Price in Coney Island
• Jean Shepherd Stops By
• We Take the Subway Home


The WallBreakers:
thewallbreakers.com

Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
patreon.com/TheWallBreakers


The reading material used in today’s episode was:
On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio - by John Dunning
Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 - by Jim Ramsburg

As well three tremendous internet resources:
Charles Denson's History Project at ConeyIslandHistory.org
David Sullivan’s Heart of ConeyIsland.com
Jeff Stanton’s research at Westland.net/ConeyIsland


On the interview front:
• André Baruch, Larry Dobkin, Lou Krugman, and Herb Vigran, were with SPERDVAC. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com

• Hans Conried, June Havoc, Vincent Price, and William N. Robson were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interview can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org.

• Elliott Lewis and E. Jack Neuman were with John Dunning for his 1980s 71KNUS program from Denver.

• Vincent Price and Allen Reed spoke to Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Fred Allen was a guest of Tex and Jinx on November 24th, 1954.

• Connee Boswell was interviewed by Lee Phillip in 1963.

• And Morton Fine was with Dan Haefele on August 9th, 1988.


Selected music featured in today’s episode was:
• Under the Boardwalk - by the Drifters
• And Shine on Harvest Moon - by Joan Morris & William Bolcom

BW - EP92: Radio And Coney Island (1906 - 1960) [Rewind]

Hey everyone, James Scully here, producer and host of Breaking Walls, the docu-podcast on the history of US Network Radio Broadcasting. I wanted to let you know about a new webinar I’m doing this Thursday July 17th, at 7PM on Orson Welles' early career of Orson Welles through the end of 1941.

If you can't make it live this Thursday July 17th at 7PM, don't worry,  I’ll be emailing every person who registers a video of the webinar once it's over. Here's a link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/orson-welles-career-part-1-from-boy-wonder-to-trouble-maker-webinar-tickets-1445315741289?aff=oddtdtcreator

Some more information:
Throughout the last one-hundred years of American entertainment, few people have gotten as strong a reaction as Orson Welles. A rare quadruple threat: writer, director, actor, producer, Welles found immense success on stage, in films, on television, and in radio. In fact, he took center stage in the United States on more than one occasion… and not always to a positive reaction, but always with pushing the creative envelope in mind.

Welles managed to alienate the newspaper industry, the Hollywood studio system, and occasionally even the broadcasting networks, but he rarely had a door closed in his face.

Welles was known to work himself to the bone, and party even harder. He had romances with some of the most famous and attractive women in the country, including Virginia Nicholson, Dolores del Rio, and Rita Hayworth.

He was hailed as a genius, a charlatan, a magician, an incredible friend, an a***hole, a hard-driver, a steady worker, and a man who drank too much. Welles liked to joke that he began his career on top and spent the rest of his life working his way down. Such a strong-willed, creative person deserves an in-depth look.

In Part 1: From Boy Wonder To Trouble Maker (1931-1941) we’ll explore Welles’ early life, through his explosion of success in the 1930s all the way to the end of 1941, complete with audio clips and highlights including:

• Beginnings in Illinois and China — How they helped shape Orson

• The Todd Seminary School — His first exposure to theater and Radio

• Connections and Early Breaks — How his mentor Roger Hill, Thornton Wilder, Alexander Woollcott, and Katharine Cornell helped Orson get to Broadway

• Orson meets John Houseman and Archibald MacLeish, and first appears on the March of Time

• 1935-1937 — From the March of Time to the Columbia Workshop, and how Irvin Reis taught Orson how to create for radio

• How the US Government shaped the opportunity for Orson to write, direct, and star in Les Misérables on the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1937

• The Shadow Knows! — Agnes Moorehead and Orson Welles’ one season on The Shadow

• The birth of the Mercury Theater on the Air as First Person singular. How its success led to the most infamous night in radio in October of 1938

• Mainstream success with Campbell’s Soups

• Orson goes to Hollywood, and signs the greatest autonomous film contract in history at 24

• Citizen Kane — How William Randolph Hearst and RKO shaped the film

• Lady Esther Presents — Orson comes back to radio in the autumn of 1941

• Pearl Harbor Day and collaborating with Norman Corwin

• How Joseph Cotton introduced Orson to Rita Hayworth

Afterward, I’ll do a Q&A — any and all questions are welcomed and encouraged! Can't attend live? Not to worry! I'll be recording the event and sending the video out to all guests who register so you can watch it later. See you (virtually) there!

Thursday 7.17.2025 — A New Webinar: Orson Welles' Career, From Boy Wonder To Trouble Maker

This episode was originally released on 7/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 93 we ride the rails with some of the most famous stars in radio history.

During radio’s golden age, there were three main production hubs: New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. With so much daily content to produce, radio’s greatest minds developed programs and episodes centered around every recognizable theme, like the New York city subway.

While this episode will take place in or around New York’s public transportation system, we’ll focus just as much on the relationships forged by radio’s legends on both coasts.



Highlights:
• Mercedes McCambridge, Himan Brown, and Grand Central Station
• How Bill Spier influenced the careers of his wife June Havoc and his protégé Elliott Lewis
• From Suspense to Broadway is My Beat, Elliott Lewis shines
• Jack Benny stars on Suspense
• Cathy Lewis: Mrs Radio
• Mandel Kramer, Jan Miner, and Subway Soaps from New York
• Byron Kane and Subways Are For Sleeping
• William N. Robson, Shirley Mitchell, Virginia Gregg and Jack Kruschen on radio in the 1950s
• Bob and Ray head down into the Subway
• Himan Brown brings dramatic radio back to life in the 1970s
• Next Stop: The Soda Shop


The WallBreakers:
thewallbreakers.com

Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
patreon.com/TheWallBreakers


The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• On The Air - By John Dunning
• The CBS Radio Mystery Theater Handbook - by Gordon Payton & Martin Grams Jr.
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 - by Jim Ramsburg
• The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio - by Christopher H. Sterling

as well as articles from:
• Broadcasting Magazine - November 3rd, 1947
• And Billboard Magazine - May 1st, 1948


On the interview front:
• Himan Brown, June Havoc, Mandel Kramer, Elliott Lewis, E.G. Marshall, Jan Miner, William Spier and William N. Robson were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interview can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org.

• Ralph Bell, Himan Brown, Lawrence Dobkin, Betty Lou Gerson and Byron Kane, were with SPERDVAC. For more information, please go to S-P-E-R-D-V-A-C.com.

• Himan Brown, Virginia Gregg, Elliott Lewis, Mercedees McCambridge, Shirley Mitchell and Alan Reed were interviewed by Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats and many others from Chuck’s over thirty-nine year career and SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Ellott Lewis was with John Dunning on May 23rd, 1982.

• Jack Kruschen, Shirley Mitchell, and George Walsh were with Jim Bohannon on September 12, 1987.

• And Morton Fine was with Dan Haefele on August 9th, 1988.



Selected music featured in today’s episode was:
• It’s been a Long, Long Time - by Keely Smith
• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - by the Mallet Men
• The Big Heist and Salute to Charlie Christian - by Barney Kessel
• Atlantis and Roller Coaster - by Les Baxter
• I’ll Take Manhattan - by Blossom Dearie
• And Fly Me To the Moon - by Julie London

BW - EP93: Radio And The New York City Subway (1941 - 1975) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 8/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 94 we visit the malt shops, drug stores, and soda counters in America’s heartland and spend time with radio’s best dramatic actors and actresses.


Highlights
• Norman Corwin, Margaret Sullavan, and Byron Kane’s Big Break
• The Pharmacist Goes to War—and Saves a Life
• Inner Sanctum and Santos Ortega
• Dennis Day: Soda Jerk
• The Rise of Jack Webb
• Dragnet Is Born and Radio Changes Forever
• Tales of the Texas Rangers and the Wheaties Big Parade
• The End of Fibber McGee and Molly
• Back to School



The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers




The reading material used in today’s episode was:
On The Air - By John Dunning
Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 - by Jim Ramsburg
Forecast: Is there a Sponsor in the House - by Martin Grams Jr. 
Just the Facts, Ma'am : The Authorized Biography of Jack Webb - by Eugene Alvarez & Daniel Moyer

And articles from Radio Life, January 1949. 



On the interview front:

• SPERDVAC was with Harry Bartel, Ralph Bell, Himan Brown, Lilian Buyeff, Lawrence Dobkin, Herb Ellis, Virginia Gregg, Byron Kane, Jeanette Nolan, Herb Vigran, and Peggy Webber—For more info, please go to SPERDVAC..com

• Chuck Schaden interviewed Eve Arden, Himan Brown, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Jim Jordan, Lurene Tuttle, and Herb Vigran. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Joel McCrea was with educator Al Greenberg. For more information please go to OrcoDevelopment— That’s O R C O Development (dot) org.

• Jim Jordan was with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. This interview can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. 

• While Dennis Day and E. Jack Neuman were with John Dunning for 71KNUS and Vic Perrin was with Neil Ross for KMPC.



Selected music featured in today’s episode was:
• Sleep Walk — By Santo & Johnny
• Go Slow — By Julie London
• The Klezmer's Wedding — By André Moisan 
• Living Without You — By George Winston
• See you in September — By The Happenings

BW - EP94: Radio And The Drugstore/Malt Shop (1940 - 1955) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 9/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls Episode 95, we go back to school with radio’s teacher’s pets, class clowns, and perhaps the most iconic “Miss” in radio history. 

——————————

Highlights:
• How William Paley used The Columbia Workshop to launch shows and careers.
• Suspense Moves to Hollywood and Gets Sponsorship
• The Radio Rise of Eve Arden and the Launch of Our Miss Brooks
• The NBC University Theater dramatizes a Washington Irving Classic
• The New Mr. and Mrs. Ronald and Benita Colman Show
• Johnny Dollar Investigates a Suspicious Schoolhouse Fire
• Theater Five saves a Nursery
• All Hallow’s Eve

——————————

The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

——————————

The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• The Who Is Johnny Dollar Matter — by John C. Abbott
• On The Air — By John Dunning
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg

As well as articles from:
• Broadcasting Magazine -  April 27th, September 14th, and November 30th 1964, as well as January 4th, January 11th, and June 28th, 1965.
• Radio Daily - September 30th, 1949
• Sponsor Magazine -  September 2nd, 1952

——————————

On the interview front:

• SPERDVAC was with Jack Johnstone, Al Lewis, Jeanette Nolan and Elliott Reid—For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com.

• Chuck Schaden interviewed Eve Arden, Parley Baer, Ken Carpenter, Norman Corwin, Gale Gordon, Jack Haley, Agnes Moorehead, Russell Thorson, and Willard Waterman. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Hans Conried, William N. Robson, and William Spier were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. 

• Eve Arden, Roberta Goodwin Bailey, and E. Jack Neuman were with John Dunning for 71KNUS.

• Elliott Reid was with Frank Bresee and Walden Hughes on October 14th, 2002 and Don Quinn was interviewed by Owen Cunningham in 1951. 

——————————

Selected Music featured in today’s episode was:
•I Wonder Why - by Dion and the Belmonts
• Pyramid of the Sun - by Les Baxter
• Moon - by George Winston
• The Look of Love - by Billy May and his Orchestra
• Young at Heart - by Frank Sinatra
• I’ll be Seeing You - by the Harry James Band
• Spooky - by Dusty Springfield

——————————

BW - EP95: Radio And The Classroom (1939 - 1965) [Rewind]

Hey everyone, James Scully here, producer and host of Breaking Walls, the docu-podcast on the history of US Network Radio Broadcasting. I wanted to let you know about a new webinar I’m doing next Thursday August 14th at 7PM eastern time. It's the final part of a 3-part mini series on Orson Welles' life and career. 

"Orson Welles' Career, Part 3: Welles In Europe (1948 - 1956)," is on an often-forgotten and underrated part of Orson Welles' career during his years living and working in Europe. It will focus on the radio, screen, and stage work he was involved in during this time, complete with visuals and audio clips. Here's a link to register — https://www.eventbrite.com/e/orson-welles-career-part-3-welles-in-europe-1948-1956-webinar-tickets-1445320836529?aff=oddtdtcreator

If you can't make, don't worry, I'll be emailing all who register a video of the webinar once its done so you can watch it later. And if you missed the first two parts of this webinar series (Part 1 was on his early career and Part 2 focused on late 1941 through 1948), I'll email you a video link to watch the first two presentations (for free) when you register for the Part 3 event.

Here's an overview of the webinar:

Throughout the last one-hundred years of American entertainment, few people have gotten as strong a reaction as Orson Welles. A rare quadruple threat: writer, director, actor, producer, Welles found immense success on stage, in films, on television, and in radio. In fact, he took center stage in the United States on more than one occasion… and not always to a positive reaction, but always with pushing the creative envelope in mind.

Welles managed to alienate the newspaper industry, the Hollywood studio system, and occasionally even the broadcasting networks, but he rarely had a door closed in his face.

Welles was known to work himself to the bone, and party even harder. He had romances with some of the most famous and attractive women in the country, including Virginia Nicholson, Dolores del Rio, and Rita Hayworth.

He was hailed as a genius, a charlatan, a magician, an incredible friend, an a***hole, a hard-driver, a steady worker, and a man who drank too much. Welles liked to joke that he began his career on top and spent the rest of his life working his way down. Such a strong-willed, creative person deserves an in-depth look.

Join James Scully — Radio historian and producer/host of Breaking Walls, the docu-podcast on the history of U.S. network radio broadcasting for the last of a three-part webinar that deeply explores the life and career of Orson Welles, with a strong focus on his two decades working in American and British radio.

In Part 3: Orson Welles In Europe (1948 - 1956) we’ll explore Welles’ time in Europe from the late 1940s through the mid 1950s, with audio clips and highlights including:

• HUAC and Leaving the U.S
• Harry Alan Towers, and Harry Lime
• Othello and The Black Museum
• Song of Myself and Theatre Royal
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Moriarity
• The BBC Sketchbook and Moby Dick
• Mr Lincoln and Mr Arkadin
• Returning to the U.S.
• Tomorrow and Yesterday

Afterward, I’ll do a Q&A — any and all questions are welcomed and encouraged! Can't attend live? Not to worry! I'll be recording the event and sending the video out to all guests who register so you can watch it later. See you (virtually) there!

Thursday 8.14.2025 — The Final Part of the Orson Welles Webinar Series: Welles In Europe (1948 - 1956)

This episode was originally released on 10/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls Episode 96, we laugh, scream, and cry while we join radio’s best as they celebrate Halloween on the air.

——————————

Highlights:

• The Birth of the Great Gildersleeve
• Sam Spade has a Halloween adventure
• Ernest Chappell says, “Don’t Tell Me About Halloween”
• Spike Jones and His City Slickers Celebrate
• Sherlock Holmes and the Laughing Lemur
• The Story Behind Bing Crosby’s Departure from NBC and move to ABC
• Ozzie, Harriet, David, and Ricky
• Jack Benny goes Trick-Or-Treating
• John Guedel, Art Linkletter, and People Are Funny
• Looking Ahead to the Holiday Season

——————————

The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

——————————

The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• On The Air — By John Dunning
• Terror On The Air!, Horror Radio in America — By Richard J. Hand
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg

As well as articles by:
• TUNE IN Magazine - September 1946
• Broadcasting Magazine - April 14th, July14th, and September 15th, 1947


——————————

On the interview front:
• Chuck Schaden interviewed Jack Benny, Ken Carpenter, John Guedel, Shirley Mitchell, Arch Oboler, Hal Peary, Lurene Tuttle, and Mike Wallace. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Howard Duff, June Havoc, and Bill Spier were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. 

• John Gassman of SPERDVAC was with Art Linkletter in 1991. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com.

• Jack Kruschen and Shirley Mitchell were with Jim Bohannon on September 12th, 1987.

• Chuck Cecil interviewed Ozzie Nelson.

• Johnny Hayes, David Nelson, and Jack Wagner were interviewed by KRLA

• Johnny Carson interviewed Orson Welles, Ozzie, Harriet, and Ricky Nelson for The Tonight Show, while David Hartman interviewed David, Harriet, and Ricky for Good Morning America.

• Frank Bresee interviewed Bing Crosby, John Scott Trotter

• And Dick Joy was with John Dunning for 71KNUS.

——————————

Selected Music featured in today’s episode was:
• A Wicked Thought - By John Zacharely
• Ghost Bus Tours - By George Fenton for High Spirits
and
• Travelin Man - By Ricky Nelson

BW - EP96: Halloween on the Air (1943 - 1953) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 11/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls Episode 97 we usher in the holiday season with the first of a three-part mini-series on the 1947-48 radio season. The 1947-48 season had the largest radio audience in history. Homes with radios jumped 6%, car radios 29%. 

The major networks—NBC, CBS, ABC, and the Mutual Broadcasting System added 147 new affiliates. 97% of the nation’s AM stations were now linked to one of the big four. Network revenue topped $200 Million. 


——————————

Highlights:

Famine in Europe; Anti-Communism at Home—The World is Changing
Boomer Babes Fuel a Ratings Increase
The Annual Hollywood Santa Parade
Happy Thanksgiving 1947
Breakfast with the Couples
Prepping With the Soaps
The Answer Man Takes to the Air
The Annual Elgin Thanksgiving Special
Juvenile Adventure At Dusk
Settling Into Prime Time
George Burns: French Crooner
Casey Gets His Turkey
Home is Where the Heart Is
Eddie Cantor Has Been Kidnapped
Late Night and Looking Ahead

——————————

The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

——————————

The reading material used in today’s episode was:
Frank and Anne Hummert’s Radio Factory - By Jim Cox
On the Air - By John Dunning
Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg


As well as articles from:
Broadcasting Magazine: January 20th, 1947; October 27th, 1947; December 1st, 1947


——————————

On the interview front:
Jackson Beck, Hans Conried, Staats Cotsworth, John Gibson, Tony Marvin, and Jan Miner were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. 

Chuck Schaden interviewed Ken Carpenter and Les Tremayne. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

While SPERDVAC was with Betty Lou Gerson and Jack Johnstone. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com.
 
Barbara Walters interviewed George Burns for 20/20.

——————————

Selected Music featured in today’s episode was:
“Over the River and Through The Woods” — by the US Airforce Band
“Holiday On Skis” - by Al Caiola & Riz Ortolani
“Joy” - by George Winston
“Star of Bethlehem” - by John Williams

BW - EP97: Thanksgiving 1947—The Most Popular Season in Radio History [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 12/1/2019. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls Episode 98 we continue our trilogy on the most popular season in radio history with a look at Christmas Week 1947.

——————————

Highlights:
• Ralph Edwards and Truth or Consequences—A Record Rated Show
• It’s Christmas Week and Jerusalem is in Shambles
• The Eternal Light and One Man’s Family
• Jack Benny Does Last Minute Christmas Shopping
• Fred Allen’s Highest Rated Season Becomes His Downfall When the Music Stops
• Walter Winchell gives ABC a Ratings Win
• Breakfast with Fred Waring
• CBS Dominates Monday Nights and Lux Radio Broadcasts Miracle on 34th Street
• Lora Lawton’s Husband is Missing
• Milton Berle’s Finally Cracks the Top-50
• NBC’s Tuesday Night Comedy Dominations
• The Lone Ranger Hangs ‘Em High
• Lionel Barrymore’s Christmas Tradition
• Christmas Eve with Bing and Gildersleeve
• Road to Rio Opens
• Merry Christmas 1947 with King George VI
• Don Ameche Hosts an Elgin Special
• The Right to Happiness—December’s Highest-Rated Soap Opera
• Gracie Allen is Sick, Al Jolson is Rich, and Casey is Lonely
• Father Patrick and Family Theatre
• A Crippling Blizzard and the Last Sustained Half-Hour Suspense
• Looking Ahead to the End of the Year

——————————

The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

——————————

The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• On the Air — By John Dunning
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg

As well as articles from:
• Broadcasting Magazine: December 8th, and December 22nd, 1947
• LIFE Magazine: December 22nd, 1947 and January 5th, 1948
• Radio Daily From the entire month of December 1947


——————————

On the interview front:

• Don Ameche, Mel Blanc, Himan Brown, Staats Cottsworth, John Gibson, Jim Jordan, Mandel Kramer, E.G. Marshall, Jan Miner, Vincent Price and Bill Spier were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. 

• Chuck Schaden interviewed Milton Berle, Dennis Day, Ralph Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Jim Jordan, Mercedes McCambridge, Shirley Mitchell, Carlton E. Morse, Hal Peary, Lurene Tuttle, and Don Wilson. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Johnny Carson was with Orson Welles on The Tonight Show, and Fred Allen was with Tex and Jinx on November 24th, 1954.

• John Dunning was with Roberta Goodwin Bailey, and Westinghouse interviewed Fran Carlon.

• SPERDVAC with Vic Perrin, and Frank Brese was with Elliott Reid.

——————————

Selected Music featured in today’s episode was:
• Sleigh Ride - By Lloyd Glenn and His Orchestra
• White Christmas - By Booker T and the MGs
• Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day - By the Marlborough Cathedral Choir
• It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - By Andy Williams
• Jingle Bells - By J.P. Torres
• I Saw Three Ships - By The Norwich Cathedral Choir
• I’ll Be Home For Christmas and Baby It’s Cold Outside - By Jackie Gleason and Jack Marshall
• Christmas Is - by Lou Rawls



BW - EP98: Christmas Week 1947 with Radio's Biggest Stars [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 1/1/2020. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 99 we wrap up our trilogy on the most popular season in radio history with a look at the major network programming surrounding New Year’s 1948.

——————————

Highlights:

• Scenes from the Post-Christmas Blizzard Aftermath
• Breakfast in Hollywood
• Checking in on Lora Lawton
• Lois Lane Has Been Framed
• Staats Cotsworth’s Other Gig, and Dennis Day’s Old One
• Ringing in the New Year with The Mayor and Duffy
• Mr. District Attorney and The Big Story
• Bing Crosby’s Feeling Festive
• Jimmy Durante is Sick
• Happy New Year, 1948
• Truman’s Lack of Popularity and a Severe Labor Strike Issue
• The First Rose Bowl Telecast in Los Angeles
• Mel Allen
• Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen
• Al Jolson and Casey
• Radio Reader’s Digest, Mr. President, and Family Theater
• CBS Takes on Eddie Cantor with The First Nighter
• Wrapping Up The Holiday Season and Looking Ahead

——————————

The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

——————————

The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• On the Air — By John Dunning
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg

As well as articles from:
• Radio Daily — December 1947 and January 1948.
• Broadcasting Magazine — May 31st, 1948


——————————

On the interview front:
• Mel Allen, Jackson Beck, John Gibson, Jackie Kelk, Tony Marvin, Jan Miner, Rosa Rio, and William N. Robson were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. 

• Chuck Schaden spoke to Barbara Luddy, Gloria McMillan, Olan Soule, Rudy Vallée, and Harry Von Zell. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• William Paley gave a speech while receiving an award on November 20th, 1958.

• Arthur Godrey and Andy Rooney spoke for CBS’ 50th anniversary.

• George Burns and Jack Benny were interviewed for Great Radio Comedians. 

• Bing Crosby was interviewed for Same Time, Same Station in 1972, while SPERDVAC was with Betty Lou Gerson in 1979 and Dennis Day was with John Dunning for 71KNUS on Easter Sunday, April 11th, 1982. 

——————————

Selected Music featured in today’s episode was:
• What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? - By Margaret Whiting
• Campana Sobre Campana - By J.P. Torres
• Auld Lang Syne - By The Manhattan Strings and by Guy Lombardo
• Someone to Watch Over Me - By Rosemary Squires & The Ken Thorne Orchestra
• I’ll Be Seeing You - By The Harry James Band


BW - EP99: New Year's 1948 On The Air [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 2/1/2020. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 100 we focus on the radio career of Lucille Ball, arguably the most famous comedienne of the twentieth century.

She rose through the ranks in New York as a model before a small role in Eddie Cantor’s Roman Scandals brought her to Hollywood in 1933 where she gained prominence. 

When the 1940s began, Ball was a b-film actress known for playing the other woman. As she gained critical respect for both her dramatic and comedic ability, she insisted that her and Desi Arnaz made a perfect on-screen duo. It led to a revolution in the way TV was shot and produced in the 1950s, all under their company Desilu. 


——————————
Highlights:
• Jack Haley, Phil Baker, and RKO
• Lucy Meets Gale Gordon
• How a Holiday Publicity Trip to New York changed Lucy’s Life
• Lucy meets Desi
• Too Many Girls
• Lucy and Desi Elope in November 1940
• Harold Lloyd’s A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob and The Old Gold Comedy Theater
• The Tragic Death of Carole Lombard and Lucy’s First Miscarriage
• Lucy Stars on Suspense
• Desi Strays and Lucy Files for Divorce
• The Couple Reconciles and Decides To Work in Radio
• Desi and Bob Hope
• CBS, My Sister Eileen, and My Friend Irma
• Lucy Guests with Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope
• Eve Arden and Our Miss Brooks
• Lucy Says "Yes" to Bill Paley and My Favorite Husband is Born
• Jess Oppenheimer, Bob Carroll Jr., and Madelyn Pugh Join The Team
• Lucy Wants to Work With Desi
• I Love Lucy is Developed and Philip Morris Signs On
• The I Love Lucy Radio Pilot
• Changing History and Looking Ahead


——————————

The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

——————————

The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• The I Love Lucy Book - By Bart Andrews
• Love Lucy - By Lucille Ball
• On the Air - By John Dunning
• Desilu - By Coyne Stevens Sanders and Tom Gilbert
• The Complete History of the Most Popular TV Show Ever - By Michael McClay
• Forever Lucy - By Joe Morella
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg

As well as several articles from:
Broadcasting Magazine and Radio Daily, from between 1938 and 1951 


——————————

On the interview front:
• Lucille Ball was interviewed by Dick Cavett in 1970 and 1971; by Johnny Carson in 1974; and by Joan Rivers in 1984

• Desi Arnaz was interviewed with Bob Hope by Johnny Carson in 1976 and by David Letterman in 1983

• Jess Oppenheimer was interviewed in 1961. This interview came courtesy of Gregg Oppenheimer and I Love Lucy: The Untold Story. Gregg also provided My Favorite Husband outtakes.  

• Chuck Schaden spoke to Gale Gordon, Jack Haley, and Herb Vigran. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• SPERDVAC was with Madeline Pugh Davis and Bob Carroll Jr. on March 12th, 1994

• Hans Conried was with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. 

• William Paley gave a speech while receiving an award on November 20th, 1958, and spoke in memoriam of Lucille Ball in 1989. 

• Lee Philip was with Connee Boswell.

——————————

Selected Music featured in today’s episode was:
• Black Coffee and Fly Me To The Moon - By Julie London
• The Look of Love - By Billy May
• Cuban Pete - By Desi Arnaz 

BW - EP100: The Radio Career of Lucille Ball (1938 - 1952) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 3/1/2020. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls episode 101, we spotlight the career of John Dehner during 1958. In February of that year, Dehner was cast in the title role of J.B. Kendall in Antony Ellis’ short-lived western, Frontier Gentleman.

We’ll focus on four episodes of the series which had a recurring character named Belle Siddons, a beautiful gambler and ex-Confederate spy.

Although Frontier Gentleman only aired for nine months, it has left a lasting impression on listeners in the years since.

——————————

Highlights:
• John Dehner: Artist and Disney Animator
• How John Dehner Got Into Radio
• Breaking Into the Inner Circle of CBS West-Coast Character Actors
• Television Usurps Radio Drama in the 1950s
• How Gunsmoke Influenced the Western Drama
• Antony Ellis
• CBS Radio Turns a Profit in 1957
• Frontier Gentleman Is Launched
• The Radio Landscape in February of 1958
• The Travels of J.B. Kendall
• Who Is Belle Siddons?
• Love and Honor
• Have Gun Will Travel Replaces Frontier Gentleman
• Radio Drama Dies
• Looking Ahead to the Return of Johnny Dollar

——————————

The WallBreakers:
thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

——————————

The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio - by John Dunning
• Radio Rides The Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929 - 1967 by Jack French and David S. Siegel
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-1953 - by Jim Ramsburg

As well as articles from:
• U.S. Radio, 2/1958, and Broadcasting Magazine 2/101958, and 12/8/1958

——————————

On the interview front:
• Harry Bartell, Lilian Buyeff, John Dehner, Lawrence Dobkin, Sam Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Jack Johnstone, and Vic Perrin were with SPERDVAC, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com

• Virginia Gregg was also with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chat at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• William Conrad, John Dehner, Norman Macdonnell, and William N. Robson were with John Hickman. Mr. Hickman was the longtime host of WAMU’s Recollections. Today, this program is heard each Sunday evening as The Big Broadcast. For more information, please go to WAMU.org

• John Dehner and Vic Perrin were also heard with Neil Ross for KMPC in 1982.

• Vincent Price and William N Robson were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. These interviews can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org.

• And Roberta Goodwin was with John Dunning for his 71KNUS program from Denver on February 7th, 1982.

——————————

Selected Music featured in today’s episode was:
• Hog of The Forsaken - By Michael Hurley
• Ghost Bus Tours - By George Fenton for High Spirits
• Sligo Creek - By Al Petteway and Debi Smith for Ken Burns’ The National Parks—America’s Best Idea
• Get a Job - By The Silhouettes
• Someone to Watch Over Me - By Rosemary Squires & The Ken Thorne Orchestra
• Young at Heart - By Frank Sinatra
• Guess Things Happen That Way - By Johnny Cash

BW - EP101: Frontier Gentleman and The Saga of Belle Siddons (1958) [Rewind]

This episode was originally released on 4/1/2020. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

____________

In Breaking Walls Episode 102, we travel back to the fall of 1955 for the re-launch of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. Although the five-part Dollar format would last for only a year, listeners then and in the years since have praised the productions as some of the best ever.

——————————

Highlights:

• Who is Johnny Dollar?
• Dick Powell: Not Johnny Dollar
• Dollar Launches in February of 1949
• Enter The Movie Star
• Enter The Second Movie Star
• Dollar Signs Off
• The Radio Networks Revamp Programming
• Jack Johnstone and Jimmy Stewart
• Dollar Reborn, with Gerald Mohr?
• Bob Bailey Gets the Role
• Relaunching Johnny Dollar
• After The Final Curtain
• Looking Back to Look Ahead

——————————

The WallBreakers:
thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

——————————

The reading material used in today’s episode was:
• The 1955 Broadcasting Magazine Yearbook
• The 1955 Radio Networks Annual
• The Winter 1956 Journal of Broadcasting Quarterly
• The Who Is Johnny Dollar Matter — By John C. Abbott
• On the Air — By John Dunning
• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg
• Broadcasting Magazine — September 19th, 1955; October 3rd, 1955; and April 2nd, 1956
• Radio & TV Mirror — 1955

——————————

On the interview front:
• Mary Jane Croft, Herb Ellis, Jack Johnstone, Elliott Lewis, Jeanette Nolan, were with SPERDVAC, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com

• Virginia Gregg and Parley Baer were with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Roberta Bailey Goodwin and E. Jack Neuman were with John Dunning for his 71KNUS program from Denver

• Hans Conried was with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. Hear their full chat at Goldenage—WTIC.org

——————————

Selected music featured in today’s episode was:
• Caravan — By 80 Drums Around The World.
• Pyramid to the Sun & Roller Coaster — By Les Baxter
• Exotique Bossa Nova — By Martin Denny
• I’ll Be Seeing You — By The Harry James Band
• Sleep Walk — By Henri René
• Good Timin’ — By Jimmy Jones

BW - EP102: The Return of Johnny Dollar (1955) [Rewind]

In Breaking Walls Episode 77 we pick up our story on the history of American radio broadcasting, as a few ramshackle radio stations become large national networks, giving rise to an entire generation of entertainment giants during the roaring 1920s. 


Highlights:
• July 2, 1921— Jack Dempsey defends his heavyweight boxing title in front of 80,000 fans as RCA broadcasts the event Closed Circuit to over 300,000 fans. Its the first broadcast of its kind.
• The Radio Craze begins as almost 600 stations sign on in 1922
• Herbert Hoover tries to better organize the radio dial and put small stations out of business
• AT&T’s attempt to monopolize radio broadcasting
• The formation of the National Broadcasting Company
• The Radio Act of 1927
• William S. Paley buys The Columbia Broadcasting System and turns it into a 2nd major network
• Rudy Vallee becomes radio’s first mega-star
• Chicago becomes radio’s 2nd capital
• Hollywood's radio recording rise in the late 1930s
• The Mutual Broadcasting System is formed—The Shadow debuts
• War, once again, comes to Europe



The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers



Special thanks to our Sponsors: 
• The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society
http://www.ghoulishdelights.com/series/themorls/
•Twelve Chimes, It’s Midnight
https://twelvechimesradio.blogspot.com

The reading material for today’s episode was:
• The Rise of Radio, From Marconi through The Golden Age by Alfred Balk
• Inventing American Broadcasting 1899-1922 by Susan J. Douglas
• The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio by John Dunning
• A Pictorial History of Radio’s First 75 Years by B. Eric Rhoads
• Hello Everybody! The Dawn of American Radio by Anthony Rudel &
• The Network by Scott Woolley

Featured on today’s show were interviews conducted by Dick Bertel and the late Ed Corcoran and numerous others for Westinghouse, CBS, and NBC. 

Harold Arlin’s was interviewed by author J. Fred McDonald for his book Don’t Touch That Dial.

A Special Thank you to:
Rebecca Shield

WallBreakers Links:
Patreon - http://patreon.com/thewallbreakers
Social Media - @TheWallBreakers
URL - http://thewallbreakers.com
Online Store - jamesthewallbreaker.com/shop/

BW - EP77: The Birth Of The Radio Networks—From NBC To CBS To Mutual Broadcasting (1922 - 1934)

Tuesday, April 15, 1947.

It’s a damp, overcast Tax Day. The smells of hot dogs, pretzels, popcorn, kinishes, and stale beer are in the air. 

We’re at Ebbets field in the neighborhood of Flatbush in Brooklyn, New York for a 1PM opening day National League baseball game between the visiting Boston Braves and our hometown Brooklyn Dodgers.

Right before the season manager Leo Deroucher was suspended for the entire year by the offices of Major League Baseball for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

at the last minnute, Burt Shotton, a calm, steady presence was called in to take the helm. 

The bums are expected to contend this year and the fans are excited.

The old Red Head, Red Barber is up in the press booth calling the action on radio for the Columbia Broadcasting System. 

The Ebbets Field celebrities are all here: 

There’s the Dodgers Sym-phony. Hilda Chester the cowbell lady. Gladys Gooding is on the organ...and like Brooklynite writer Pete Hammil one said, the rough democracy of the upper deck is filling up with restless natives.

There’s 26,623 total in attendance. Men, women, and children with all kinds of faces donning Dodgers caps, windbreakers, flannel jackets, letterman’s sweaters, sport coats, and suits. 

They’re Italian, African American, jewish, Irish, polish, Norwegian. It’s the proverbial melting pot, come to life. 

At 12:45PM, the Dodgers begin to trot out of the clubhouse as Second Baseman Eddie Stanky, Center Fielder Peter Reiser, Catcher Bruce Edwards, and pitcher Joe Hatten run out. 

Hatten warms up as the time ticks towards 12:50, and one by one the rest of the dodgers come out taking their positions for infield warmups.

Right fielder Dixie Walker. Left Fielder Gene Hermanski. Third Baseman Spider Jorgensen. Short Stop Pee Wee Reese. 

Finally, to the fans begin to buzz as the team’s new acquisition from Montreal of the International League jogs out to first base.

He was born in Cairo Georgia, the youngest son of a Share Cropper that grew into a four-sport letterman at UCLA, and a second lieutenant in the army during World War II. 

His name is Jack Roosevelt Robinson and he’s the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues since Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884. 

He casually tosses his teammates infield practice until 1:01PM when Home Place umpire Babe Pinell signals for the start of the game. 

Robinson smooths the dirt in a playing path by first base and sets himself, knees bent, slightly crouched, with his oversized first-basemen’s mitt on his left hand on the ground and open. 

Boston Short Stop Dick Culler digs in as Brooklyn lefty Joe Hatton winds and delivers the pitch.

Culler swings and slaps a ground ball towards third base. He digs out of the batter’s box as Spider Jorgensen charges in to his right and fields the ball on a high hop, throwing slightly off balance towards first base. 

Robinson, right foot on the bag, stretches as far as he can, catching Jorgensen’s throw and getting Culler out by a step.

And just like that, a fifty-year old gentleman’s agreement between changing owners and the commissioner’s office, that had barred any dark skinned men from playing in the league, was dead.

It died here in Flatbush at 1PM, on a Tuesday afternoon as 26,000 watched.

And wildly cheered.

Jackie Robinson's First Game — April 15, 1947

Los Angeles, 1935. It’s the heart of the Great Depression and Philip Marlowe is broke. He’s contemplating whether he should pawn his .38, give up his Private Investigator’s license, and find another profession. He stops into his friend Lou’s automat for a sandwich. Lou tells Marlowe he’s got some work for him to do. It sounds like it’s Marlowe’s lucky day… or is it? 

Author Raymond Chandler set The Big Sleep, the first of his novels involving famous private detective Philip Marlowe in (then) present-day 1936, but who was Marlowe before The Big Sleep? In A Man Named Marlowe, we’ll find out.

It’s a story with an empowered woman, heinous crimes, back room deals, gruesome murders, hundreds of thousands of dollars of gold, and two long-dead ghosts that teach us heroes can live forever. Premiering May 15th, 2018, a new episode will debut every two weeks for twelve weeks. 


Heard in this episode:
Christopher Bradley as Lou Parker
Javan Ivey as Joe Briggs
Nancy Pop as Ruth Moriarity
James Scully as Philip Marlowe

Closing Song: 
Can The Circle Be Unbroken by The Carter Family


A Man Named Marlowe is available in the same feed as Breaking Walls. Subscribe on itunes and everywhere else you get your podcasts by searching for Breaking Walls or at TheWallBreakers.com. 

… and if you enjoy A Man Named Marlowe, tune in to Breaking Walls, a documentary series on the history of American Radio Broadcasting. The most recent episode—number 79—chronicles the career of Orson Welles between 1931 and 1941. Both of these shows are available in the same feed, by searching for Breaking Walls wherever you get your podcasts or at TheWallBreakers.com

To support these shows for as little as $1 per month, please go to patreon.com/TheWallBreakers.

Nancy Pop’s website is - http://www.nancympop.com … Go check her out! She’s Director of Media and Production at The Theater Collective, and the host of both “SHEbang,” a monthly variety show in New York City featuring an all-female line up of comedians and poets, and "In Cold Read", a monthly playwriting workshop at Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers in Bushwick, Brooklyn.


A Special Thank you to:
Christian Neuhaus
Rebecca Shield


WallBreakers Links:
Patreon - http://patreon.com/thewallbreakers
Social Media - @TheWallBreakers
URL - http://thewallbreakers.com
Online Store - jamesthewallbreaker.com/shop/

A Man Named Marlowe Episode 1: The Man & The Case

Previously on A Man Named Marlowe:
Los Angeles, 1935. It’s the heart of the Great Depression and Philip Marlowe is broke. He stops into his friend Lou’s automat for a sandwich. Lou tells Marlowe he’s got some work for him to do. It sounds like it’s Marlowe’s lucky day… or is it?

Part 2:
Marlowe gets tailed across town to Bernie Ohl’s house. After leaving Bernie’s he heads up to Big Bear Lake to investigate the cabin Ruth mentioned. There he finds something unspeakably gruesome.

Heard in this episode:
Dan Mountain as Bernie Ohls
James Scully as Philip Marlowe

Closing Song: 
Red Sails In The Sunset by Bing Crosby

A Man Named Marlowe is available in the same feed as Breaking Walls. Subscribe on iTunes and everywhere else you get your podcasts by searching for Breaking Walls or at TheWallBreakers.com.

… and if you enjoy A Man Named Marlowe, tune in to Breaking Walls, a documentary series on the history of American Radio Broadcasting. The most recent episode—number 79—chronicles the career of Orson Welles between 1931 and 1941. Both of these shows are available in the same feed, by searching for Breaking Walls wherever you get your podcasts or at TheWallBreakers.com

To support these shows for as little as $1 per month, please go to patreon.com/TheWallBreakers.

A Man Named Marlowe Episode 2: The Advice & The Horror

Previously on A Man Named Marlowe: Marlowe gets tailed across town to his friend Bernie Ohl’s house. After leaving Bernie’s he heads up to Big Bear Lake to investigate the cabin his new client Ruth Moriarity mentioned. There he finds something unspeakably gruesome.

In Episode 3, Marlowe's offered a large sum of money to drop the case and stop looking for John Moriarity, even though he's already stumbled upon two horrible murders.

Heard in this episode:
Nancy Pop as The Waitress
Olga Lysenko as The Telephone Operator
Fernando Sanabria as The Homicide Detective
Christopher Bradley as Gus
Will Benson as Benny Chance
James Scully as Philip Marlowe

Closing Song: 
Farewell My Lovely by Richard Himber, with Stuart Allen singing

A Man Named Marlowe is available in the same feed as Breaking Walls. Subscribe on iTunes and everywhere else you get your podcasts by searching for Breaking Walls or at TheWallBreakers.com.

… and if you enjoy A Man Named Marlowe, tune in to Breaking Walls, a documentary series on the history of American Radio Broadcasting. The most recent episode—number 80—looks at a summer series called Forecast that ushered in an era of public pilots, and gave rise to three incredibly popular shows.

Both of these shows are available by searching for Breaking Walls wherever you get your podcasts or by going to TheWallBreakers.com

To support these shows for as little as $1 per month, please go to patreon.com/TheWallBreakers.

A Man Named Marlowe Episode 3: The Aftershock & The Proposition

Previously on A Man Named Marlowe: Marlowe stops in at an all-night diner in an attempt to decompress from the murders he’s witnessed. When he gets back to his apartment, he receives a call from a henchman, telling him that Krypton Club owner Benny Chance wants Marlowe off the case, and he’s willing to pay to see it happen. 

In Episode 4, Two more murders bring Marlowe to the edge, until an unbelievable visit from an older man sends him to Spokane looking for answers.

Heard in this episode:
Dan Mountain as Bernie Ohls
Sam T. Wilson as Henry Long
Brett Solimine as The Desk Clerk
James Scully as Philip Marlowe

Featured Music: 
Riders on the Storm by George Winston from Night Divides the Day – The Music of the Doors
You Did It, You Did It by Rahsaan Roland Kirk & His Quartet

A Man Named Marlowe is available in the same feed as Breaking Walls. Subscribe on iTunes and everywhere else you get your podcasts by searching for Breaking Walls or at TheWallBreakers.com.

… and if you enjoy A Man Named Marlowe, tune in to Breaking Walls, a documentary series on the history of American Radio Broadcasting. The most recent episode—number 80—looks at a summer series called Forecast that ushered in an era of public pilots, and gave rise to three incredibly popular shows.

Both of these shows are available by searching for Breaking Walls wherever you get your podcasts or by going to TheWallBreakers.com

To support these shows for as little as $1 per month, please go to patreon.com/TheWallBreakers.

A Man Named Marlowe Episode 4: The Ghost & The Odyssey

Previously on A Man Named Marlowe: After Marlowe’s meeting with nightclub owner and gangster Benny Chance, he drives to his friend Lou’s automat only to find that Lou has been murdered. Marlowe goes to his office building where he finds the elevator boy also dead. In Marlowe’s office is an older man with a gun. The two talk. Afterwards Marlowe drives to Spokane, Washington to try to solve the case. When he gets there, the woman who hired him knocks on his hotel room door. 

In Episode 5, Spokane begins to yield some answers as Marlowe makes a new friend, and pretends to be interested in buying land before getting ambushed.

Heard in this episode:
Nancy Pop as Janice Tomlinson
Sam T. Wilson as William W. Powell Jr. 
Dr. David Linton as William T. Phillips
James Scully as Philip Marlowe

Featured Music: 
In a Sentimental Mood - Duke Ellington
A Picture of Me Without You - Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra w/ Ken Darby
Don’t Let It Happen Again - Isham Jones & his Orchestra w/ Joe Martin
On The Good Ship Lollipop - Shirley Temple

A Man Named Marlowe is available in the same feed as Breaking Walls. Subscribe on iTunes and everywhere else you get your podcasts by searching for Breaking Walls or at TheWallBreakers.com.

… and if you enjoy A Man Named Marlowe, tune in to Breaking Walls, a documentary series on the history of American Radio Broadcasting. The most recent episode—number 81—delivers an in-depth look at comedian Fred Allen’s career, complete with interviews, show clips. fights with executives, and a good feud or two.

Both of these shows are available by searching for Breaking Walls wherever you get your podcasts or by going to TheWallBreakers.com

To support these shows for as little as $1 per month, please go to patreon.com/TheWallBreakers.

A Man Named Marlowe Episode 5: The Release, The Ruse & The Meeting

In Breaking Walls episode 82 we focus on the state of the radio broadcasting industry in the late 1930s and early 1940s, as Broadcasting booms while the world goes to War. 


Highlights:
• Early days at NBC’s Radio City in New York
• How Press Associations caused NBC and CBS to launch a news service
• The Birth of the Mutual Broadcasting System and their Struggles
• NBC Red and NBC Blue
• The FCC and US Justice Department Get Involved with Radio
• The Murrow Boys and Encroaching War in Europe
• The War Comes Home
• NBC sells The Blue Network
• Norman Corwin and His World War II Work
• Bing Crosby, Philco Radios, and Network Transcription
• The Talent Raids of 1949
 
The WallBreakers:
http://thewallbreakers.com
Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:
http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

Special thanks to our Sponsors: 
• Twelve Chimes, It’s Midnight
https://twelvechimesradio.blogspot.com

• The Fireside Mystery Theatre
https://www.firesidemysterytheatre.com


The reading material used in today’s episode was: 
• The General: David Sarnoff & The Rise of the Communications Industry - by Kenneth Bilby
• The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio - by John Dunning
• Beating The Odds: The Untold Story Behind the Rise of ABC - by Leonard H. Goldenson with Marvin J. Wolf
• Empire: William S. Paley & The Making of CBS - by Lewis J. Paper
• The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio - by Christopher H. Sterling

As well as four articles from the archives of TIME Magazine:

• HAPPY BIRTHDAY MBS - September 15, 1941
• Old Law v. New Thing - January 12, 1942
• Black & Blue - January 11, 1943
• Network Without Ulcers - April 21, 1947


Norman Corwin was with Chuck Schaden on August 8th, 1976. You can stream this interview and many others for free on Chuck’s site, Speakingofradio.com 



Selected Music featured in today’s Episode was:

• Rudy Vallee - Brother Can You Spare A Dime
• Jaqueline Schwab - The Minstrel Boy & The Battle Cry for Freedom
• Bing Crosby - Blues in the Night & Don’t Fence Me in with The Andrews Sisters


I’d like to especially thank Larry and John Gassman as well as Walden Hughes for continued help and support. They host a program on the Yesterday USA Radio Network, which you can visit at http://www.yesterdayusa.com. The three gentleman are also members of SPERDVAC - The Society To Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy. 

They’re having their next convention this coming November 1st through 3rd at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 3131 Bristol St. in Costa Mesa, CA for more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com


A Special Thank you to:
Ron Baron
Ryan Kramer
Christian Neuhaus
Aimee Pavy
Rebecca Shield


WallBreakers Links:
Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers
Social Media - @TheWallBreakers
URL - thewallbreakers.com
Online Store - jamesthewallbreaker.com/shop/

BW - EP82: Depression, War, And The Birth of ABC (1932 - 1946)

Breaking Walls is the podcast on the history of American network radio broadcasting. It focuses on people, places, stories, and events from the Golden Age of American Radio. Find us and subscribe everywhere you get your podcasts and at TheWallBreakers.com

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on The History of American Radio Broadcasting

COMING SOON 
New York, 1835: A city at its tipping point.

It’s ten years since the completion of the Erie Canal. New York City’s population is now over 270,000. Most of these people live below Fourteenth Street in wooden or brick buildings no taller than five stories. The gap between rich and poor is rapidly expanding as each week thousands of new men and women pour onto New York’s dangerously overcrowded streets. Many come to earn an honest living.

Others for more nefarious reasons.
___________

As New York grows, widening old streets and creating new ones is paramount. It raises property value, but property taxes can only increase if the land is improved upon. Buyers are purchasing land on credit and selling to someone new before needing to pay back the original balance. 

This artificial inflation is creating a very unstable economy. 
___________

The city has no reliable source of drinking water. Although New Yorkers vote in favor of the Croton Aqueduct in April, construction is yet to begin. The aqueduct needs to be paid for. That same month, officials place a twenty-four hour guard in the cupola of City Hall to ring a large bell and hang a light in the direction of any fire. The potential for a cholera epidemic or a crippling blaze is a constant source of fear.
___________

These fears are stirred by the City’s penny papers, chiefly The Sun and The New York Herald, whose publishers Benjamin Day and James Gordon Bennett are battling for readership. In August, this battle leads to the greatest literary hoax of the nineteenth century—fooling both layman and scholar—portending the existence of intelligent life on the Moon.
___________

Even as he calls the hoax remarkable, Phineas T. Barnum is orchestrating one of his own. With the help of William Niblo, Barnum is set to display a woman named Joice Heth: Ms. Heth claims to be the one-hundred-sixty-one year-old nursemaid of George Washington. Remarkable indeed. 
___________

New York is a powder keg. On the frigid, blustery night of December 16th, 1835, it finally explodes as the worst fire in city history sweeps through Manhattan. The East River is frozen solid. The undermanned and exhausted team of volunteer firefighters are no match. Everything south of Maiden Lane and east of Broad Street—the chief merchant district and the one with the highest property value—turns to ash.

The fire causes the modern equivalent of $500 million in damages. The official investigation finds it to have been caused by a leaky gas valve near a lit coal stove. No public blame is assigned. 

But what if New York’s greatest fire was no accident?
___________

Coming soon to your favorite podcast app: Burning Gotham, the new audio drama about the fastest growing city in the world, and the opportunists who shaped it.

Burning Gotham Teaser 001: The New Audio Drama Set in 1835 New York City

March 1835: Paris, France.

What does an inheritance, a proposition, and two lovely Russian countesses have in common?

Don’t be fooled, danger is coming.
___________

Premiering soon on your favorite podcast app, Burning Gotham, the new scripted audio fiction podcast, set in 1835 New York City. Subscribe to this audio feed to learn more, or go to BurningGotham.com.

Burning Gotham Teaser 002: The Letter

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting.

The WallBreakers

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