Snippets and Interviews From Breaking Walls

On November 24th, 1954 Fred Allen was a guest of Tex and Jinx's New York talk show for a discussion about his life and career. During the course of the interview, Allen recounted a demonstration he gave to a friend about the power of radio as an advertising medium.

Fred Allen on The Power of Radio

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

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

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

Fred Allen on The Power of Radio

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