Snippets and Interviews From Breaking Walls

This is the first confirmed bulletin to take to the airwaves on the morning of D Day, June 6th, 1944 at 3:30AM Eastern War Time.

NBC newsman Robert St. John made the announcement from the New York newsroom: "Men and women of the United States, this is a momentous hour in world history. This is the invasion of Hitler's Europe—the zero hour."

D-Day: First Confirmation of Invasion on NBC—6.6.1944 3:30AM Eastern War Time

In the early 1980s, radio actor/writer/producer/director Elliott Lewis was a guest of John Dunning's Old-Time Radio program for 71K Newstalk Radio in Denver, CO.

During the course of the conversation the two were talking about the need for ad execs to be less paranoid and to butt out of the creative process more often.

Radio Legend Elliott Lewis Explains Why He Called Ad Execs The League of Frightened Men

This is an excerpt from an episode of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in 1973 featuring Jack Benny. In this clip Jack talks about his love of the violin.

Jack Benny On His Love of Violin

On the June 7th, 1950 episode of The Halls of Ivy, it’s a lazy Saturday morning. The college staff members who live on faculty row are enjoying their free time. Professor Quinn-cannon is trimming a hedge, Professor Warren is transplanting some flowering quince, Professor Heslip is weeding his lawn, and Dr William Toddhunter Hall, Ivy’s president is upstairs in his bedroom fast asleep. Of course, that doesn't last very long.

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The Halls of Ivy premiered coast-to-coast on NBC on Friday January 6th, 1950 at 8PM eastern time. NBC programmed the show opposite the evening’s highest-rated show: ABC’s The Fat Man. The program debuted with a rating of 9.

Don Quinn was a master of quips and puns, but much of the actual writing was left first to playwrights Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee, and later to Milton and Barbara Merlin. Quinn acted as editor and creative director.

For the half-season, The Halls of Ivy pulled a rating of just 6.5. It was ABC who had reason to celebrate. For the first time since its 1927 inception as NBC‘s Blue Network, it placed five programs in a night’s Top Ten.

06/07/50, episode 23

The Halls of Ivy: D-Day—06/07/1950

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls EP92: Radio and Coney Island (1906 - 1960)

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Late in 1956, CBS was able to sell individual commercial breaks for Suspense at reduced prices. On November 4th, 1956, the show moved to Sunday afternoons at 4:30. Now directed by William N. Robson.

On June 9th, 1957 Suspense broadcast a play called “The Green and Gold String” starring Vincent Price as a Coney Island fortune teller. Although Price was a film star, he’d long had a clause in his contract for radio.

When Vincent Price Was A Coney Island Fortune Teller on Suspense

Airing out of KNBC in San Francisco was a ground-breaking lady detective anthology named Candy Matson.

Produced, written and directed by Monty Masters and starring his wife, Natalie Masters, Candy Matson debuted on Saturday June 26th, 1949 at 8:30PM Pacific Time on NBC’s west-coast circuit. 

Natalie was from San Francisco and began her career with the Wayfarers Repertory of the San Francisco Little Theatre Group. The creative couple were locally successful and had nearly fifteen years of experience by 1949. 

Henry Leff was Police Detective Ray Mallas, with Jack Thomas as Rembrandt Watson. 

Candy’s number was YUkon 3-8309, and each episode began with a telephone call. The Masters' leaned heavily on their prior associations in the Bay Area. Plots were also reliant on the audience’s knowledge of local San Francisco.

Unfortunately, because NBC was sustaining production costs, they moved the show around frequently. They’d often air a program a day or hours ahead its scheduled air date, apologizing later to the growing body of Candy Matson fans.

Candy solved almost ninety cases. The series ran until May 20th, 1951.

09/30/49, episode 15

Candy Matson: The Devil and the Deep Freeze—09/30/1949

In 1955 CBS was relaunching Yours Truly Johnny Dollar as a transcribed, fifteen minute evening strip serial, which was set to air weeknights at 8:15PM eastern, 8:30 pacific.

On August 29th, 1955 Gerald Mohr recorded an audition for the lead. Mohr recently finished a successful run as Christopher Storm on TV’s Foreign Intrigue. The role eventually went to Bob Bailey.

This is Mohr's audition for parts one and two of the "Trans-Pacific Matter"

YTJD V2

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: Gerald Mohr Auditions As Dollar—08/29/1955

On the July 5th, 1950 episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe starring Gerald Mohr, Donna Rollins has hired Marlowe by special delivery letter. The letter includes $50. He's to find out where Arnold Latimore went. When Marlowe is unable to locate Latimore he goes to Donna Rollins to return her $50. Marlowe is alarmed and put off when Ms. Reed is now unconcerned about Latimore, but nervous about something else.

07/05/50, episode 91

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: The Girl from Pitchfork Corners—07/05/1950

On August 26th, 1975 Chuck Schaden sat down with radio legend Lurene Tuttle (seen in the image with Marilyn Monroe) for a conversation about her life and career (full interview here - http://www.speakingofradio.com/interviews/tuttle-lurene-actress/). During the course of the chat, Ms. Tuttle spoke of early radio and her first radio role.

Lurene Tuttle On Her First Radio Role

This is the preamble from Andy Williams before his Radio Spirits selection of 60 greatest old-time radio Christmas shows. This collection is ©2000. The recording is from ca. 1999-2000.

Origin - radiospirits.com

Radio Spirits: Andy Williams Selects the 60 Greatest Old-Time Radio Christmas Shows

When Jack Benny passed away on December 26th, 1974 after a short battle with cancer at the age of 80, it was Jack's best friend George Burns who was supposed to eulogize him at Benny's funeral. Burns attempted to, but was overcome with emotion and unable to continue.

Bob Hope, another close friend and long-time comedy peer, delivered one of the most poignant speeches of his lifetime. This is a portion of it, recorded live at Jack Benny's funeral.

A Portion of Bob Hope's Eulogy for Jack Benny from December of 1974

In late 1972, Vincent Price sat down with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC's The Golden Age of Radio (full interview here - https://www.goldenage-wtic.org/gaor-32.html). 

During the course of their conversation, Price spoke about the power of dramatic radio for the listening audience.

Vincent Price On The Power of Radio Drama

In June of 1983, Jack Carney broadcast a two-part audio documentary on the life and career of Jack Benny featuring interviews and recollections with the cast, and audio from the show. 

During the first part of the documentary, in an interview recorded years before,  the late Jack Benny spoke of the importance of organic character and joke development on the Jack Benny Program.

Jack Benny On The Importance of Organic Character Development

When NBC launched Monitor on June 12th, 1955, it was a true magazine of the air, running over NBC radio stations from Saturday mornings until Midnight Sunday in four hour blocks, completely taking over NBC’s airtime on the weekends. The program offered actualities, remotes, comedy, and variety. Affiliates were free to pick up or put down the show in four hour increments.

In the early 1960s, CBS countered with their own version called, Dimension. Burgess Meredith hosted a show called American Landscape. He brought the listener to various American cultural institutions, like this trip to the old drug store.

This audio is hard to find and was digitized from an original transcription record.

CBS Dimension: Burgess Meredith Goes to The Old Drug Store—1960

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.

Snippets and Interviews From Breaking Walls

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