TV Quiz Show scandals changed control of production... Now Playing: NPR Listen Link Sixty years ago, a string of scandals emerged around "fixed" TV quiz shows. When the popular program Dotto was suddenly pulled from the air in 1958, answers were difficult to come by. The scandals changed the business of television in the U.S. by John McDonough, NPR AUDIO
"Dotto" was a peripheral series in the quiz-show crush of the 1950s. It was hosted by Jack Narz, of later "Beat The Clock" and "Concentration" fame. But "Dotto" proved the be a fateful series in the budding scandal of quiz-show rigging by networks; during taping of one episode, a standby contestant was waiting backstage when he chanced to notice the show's defending champion reading a book that contained the answers to the show's questions. After this was revealed and "Dotto" abruptly cancelled, the experience led to the much-delayed revelations of "Twenty-One" fall guy Herb Stempel on quiz-show rigging. Read about TV Quiz Shows
Topic: Nostalgia Radio Dick Jurgens, a composer and big-band leader, died on Thursday, 7 October 1995, at age 85. During World War II, he had three tunes simultaneously on the "Lucky Strike Hit Parade." He was a co-writer of "Elmer's Tune," "One Dozen Roses" and "Careless." Jurgens became an accomplished trumpeter by age 14. Dick and his brother Will formed their first band to play in the summer camps at Lake Tahoe. They worked as garbage collectors during the times when the band was inactive, but within 3 years, the band had it's first residency in one of the local hotels, remaining until booked by San Francisco's prestigious St. Francis Hotel in 1934. MORE. Jurgens served in the Marines during World War II, organizing and leading a band that performed in the Pacific islands.
Topic: Nostalgia Radio Shaw first gained critical acclaim with his "Interlude in B-flat" at a swing concert at the Imperial Theater in New York in 1935. During the Swing Era, Shaw's big band was popular with hits like "Begin the Beguine" (1938), "Stardust" (with a legendary trumpet solo by Billy Butterfield), "Back Bay Shuffle", "Moonglow", "Rosalie" and "Frenesi." He was an innovator in the big band idiom, using unusual instrumentation; "Interlude in B-flat", where he was backed with only a rhythm section and a string quartet, was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed third stream. Shaw did many big band remotes, and he was often heard from the Blue Room of New York's Hotel Lincoln. It was the location of his only regular radio series as headliner. Sponsored by Old Gold cigarettes, Shaw broadcast on CBS from November 20, 1938 until November 14, 1939. ON THE WEB | IMAGES | SHOP Artie Shaw
Topic: Nostalgia Radio Jeff Regan, Investigator (1948-1950) followed Pat Novak: For Hire and by this time, Jack Webb had almost a cult following, and Regan was the transition show before DRAGNET. Jeff Regan debuted on CBS in July 1948. Webb played a tough private eye working in a Los Angeles investigation firm run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show "I get ten a day and expenses...they call me the Lyon's Eye." The show was fairly well-plotted, Webb's voice was great, and the supporting cast were skillful....
Merv Griffin on Freddy Martin Show Now Playing: radio remote and TV kinescope Topic: Nostalgia TV
Frederick Alfred (Freddy) Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist. Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Raised largely in an orphanage and with various relatives, Martin started out playing drums, then switched to C-melody saxophone and later tenor saxophone, the latter the one he would be identified with. Early on, he had intended to become a journalist. He had hoped that he would earn enough money from his musical work to enter Ohio State. But instead, he wound up becoming an accomplished musician. Martin led his own band while he was in high school, then played in various local bands. After working on a ships band, Martin joined the Mason-Dixon band, then joined Arnold Johnson and Jack Albin. It was with Albin's "Hotel Pennsylvania Music" that he made his first recordings, for Columbia's Velvet Tone label in 1930...MORE Wiki Bio
Vintage radio's "Singin' Sam"... Now Playing: 1939 episode Topic: Nostalgia Radio Singin’ Sam aka Harry Frankel (January 27, 1888, Springfield, Ohio - June 12, 1948, Richmond, Indiana) was a minstrel performer, vaudevillian and popular personality during the early days of radio. He was best known as "Singin’ Sam, the Barbasol Man" for his long association with that company... MORE Wiki Bio - WEB LINKS
Topic: Nostalgia TV 5 AUGUST 1957 - "American Bandstand," hosted by Dick Clark, started its network television run following years as WFIL-TV 6 Bandstand in Philadelphia, PA. American Bandstand was a television show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, hosted from 1957 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer. The show featured teenagers dancing to Top 40-type music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act - over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run DMC - would usually appear in-person to lip-sync one of their latest singles...MORE Wikipedia
Topic: Nostalgia Radio Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April 3, 1971), to write detective fiction. In a successful series of novels that covered forty-two years, Ellery Queen served as both author's name and that of the detective-hero. Movies, radio shows, and television shows have been based on their works. The two, particularly Dannay, were also responsible for co-founding and directing Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, generally considered as one of the most influential English crime fiction magazines of the last sixty-five years. The Adventures of Ellery Queen radio show ran from 1939 to 1948, it was heard on ABC, CBS & NBC radio networks. Radio Series Link. A complete episode guide and history of the radio program can be found in the book "The Sound of Detection: Ellery Queen's Adventures in Radio" from OTR Publishing, 2002.
Posted by BSB, editor
at 3:50 PM EDT
|
Post Comment |
Permalink
Updated: Sunday, 3 August 2008 4:17 PM EDT
Topic: Nostalgia Radio Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, radio & television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with it in 1943. "Mr. C", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records for RCA and also pioneered weekly musical variety radio/television shows. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time. Below is an audio and also video recording of a 1954 simulcast CBS-TV/Radio show with guest Peggy Lee. Selections include Sway, Someone to Watch Over Me, I Feel a Song Comming On, Papa Loves Mambo.
Now Playing: Harry James Big Band remote broadcast Topic: Nostalgia Radio Harry James [March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983] was one of the most outstanding instrumentalists of the swing era, employing a bravura playing style that made his trumpet work instantly identifiable. He was also one of the most popular bandleaders of the first half of the 1940s, and he continued to lead his band until just before his death, 40 years later. HARRY JAMES broadcasts included vocalists Frank Sinatra, Helen Forrest, Dick Haymes, Kitty Kallen, and Helen Ward and others from radio remotes, the CBS Chesterfield shows, Coca-Cola shows and The Danny Kaye Show.
Listen link below, a 1940 Mutual network sustaining band remote from The Chatterbox, Mountainside, New Jersey. Features Dick Haymes vocalist, 13 1/2 minutes.
Topic: Nostalgia Radio 30 July 1949, from otrcat.com, a vintage broadcast (edit) of a Chicago Summer Theater of the Air. This program Music In The Air features the music of Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and others. Performers are Virginia Parker, Bruce Foote and Barnard Isso. This unique radio show was created during the rising popularity of operas and dramas in the 1940s with an attempt to add high culture to American entertainment. The operas were sensitively translated into English and were supplemented by strong story dramas. The combination was quite successful and the show covered a variety of operas such as Madame Butterfly, The Vagabond King, The Merry Widow and many others. The show was 60 minutes long as the creators prided themselves in utilizing the complete music and intended plot for each opera...OTRCAT.COM
Topic: Nostalgia Radio CARMEN DRAGON conductor, arranger –received an Oscar for best score (w/Morris Stoloff) for “Cover Girl” (1944) – musical director for films “Lovely To Look At” and “The Kid From Brooklyn” -rec. w/Hollywood Bowl Symphony for Capitol. Conducted radio orchestra for many Hollywood based network shows in the 1940's. Carmen Dragon was born on July 28, 1914 and died March 28, 1984. Dragon was born in Antioch, California. He was very active in pops music conducting and composed scores for several films, including At Gunpoint (1955), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Night into Tomorrow (1951), and Kiss Tomorrow Good-bye (1950). He conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, and they performed on the "Standard Oil Hour," broadcast on NBC for elementary schools in the late 1940s through the 1950s. The show was sponsored by Standard Oil Company of California, but other than the name there were no commercials. The program featured a high quality introduction to classical music for young people growing up in the 1940s and early 1950s. Dragon made a series of popular light classical albums for Capitol Records during the 1950s with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Some of these recordings have been reissued by EMI on CD. Carmen Dragon is the father of harpist Carmen Dragon and Daryl Dragon of the 1970s pop music duo The Captain & Tennille.
Topic: Nostalgia Radio Columbia Presents Forecast, an "adventure in radio future." Forecast broadcast audition shows from New York and Hollywood, shows that all hoped that their appearance on Forecast would be their big break...
Topic: Nostalgia Radio
Eddie Fisher, fourth of seven children, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Russian-born Jewish immigrants Kate (née Winokur) and Joseph Fisher. His father's surname was originally Fisch, but was anglicised to Fisher upon entry into the United States. To his family, Fisher was always called "Sonny Boy" or "Sonny". It was known at an early age that he had talent as a vocalist and he started singing in numerous amateur contests, which he usually won. He sang on the radio in high school, WFIL The Magic Lady 6pm daily. He attended Simon Gratz High School in north Philadelphia. He also appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, a popular radio show which moved to television.
Posted by BSB, editor
at 9:55 PM EDT
|
Post Comment |
Permalink
Updated: Saturday, 26 July 2008 9:56 PM EDT
Topic: Nostalgia Radio VICTOR HERBERT melodies on Theater of Hits a musical public service transcription from 1954. Host John Bachowner presented Broadway musical songs performed by the United States Marine Band, under the direction of William F. Saddleman. Each show welcomed listeners as if they were coming to the theatre to see a live performance. So, find your seats and settle in for this performance of Victor Herbert favorites on Theatre of Hits as presented by the US Marine Corp.
Topic: Nostalgia Radio James "Jimmy" Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter and big band leader. Jimmy Dorsey was born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, the son of a music teacher and older brother of Tommy Dorsey who also became a prominent musician. He played trumpet in his youth, appearing on stage in a Vaudeville act as early as 1913. He switched to alto saxophone in 1915, and then learned to double on clarinet. While little-known now, Jimmy Dorsey played on a clarinet outfitted with the Albert system of fingering, as opposed to the more common Boehm system used by most of his contemporaries including Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. With his brother Tommy playing trombone, he formed Dorsey’s Novelty Six, one of the first jazz bands to broadcast. On December 26, 1953, the brothers and their orchestra appeared on Jackie Gleason's CBS television program. The success of that television appearance led Gleason to produce a weekly variety program, Stage Show, hosted by the brothers on CBS from 1954 and 1956. Elvis Presley appeared on several of the telecasts. Jimmy took over leadership of the orchestra after Tommy's death. Jimmy survived his brother by only a few months and died of lung cancer, aged 53, in New York City. Broadcasts of Jimmy Dorsey and The Fabulous Dorsey Orchestra on NBC Bandstand survive from December 25, and December 31, 1956. At least two other extant broadcasts from the month of December 1956 are available as well.
Now Playing: GLEN GRAY and The CASA LOMA ORCHESTRA Topic: Nostalgia Radio The Casa Loma Orchestra was an American swing band active from 1927 to 1963. It did not tour after 1950 but continued to record as a studio group. It began its existence in 1927 as the Orange Blossoms, one of several Detroit-area groups that came out of the Jean Goldkette office. It was a co-operative organization, fronted for the first few years by violinist Hank Biagini, although the eventual leader, saxophonist Glen Gray (1900-1963) was from the very beginning "first among equals." The band had adopted the Casa Loma name by the time of its first recordings in 1929, shortly after it was supposed to play an engagement at Casa Loma in Toronto.
Your Hit Parade on RADIO & TV Now Playing: broadcast for AFRS c.JUL 1944 Topic: Nostalgia Radio Your Hit Parade was a popular American radio and television program, sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes and broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and 1950 to 1959 on television. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or groups. Each Saturday evening, the program offered the most popular and bestselling songs of the week. The earliest format involved a presentation of the top 15 songs. Later, a countdown with fanfares led to the top three finalists, with the number one song for the finale. Occasional performances of standards and other favorite songs from the past were known as "Lucky Strike Extras."
Topic: Nostalgia Radio The Hollywood Palladium Ballroom opened September 23, 1940 with a concert by Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Over the years, it has hosted the Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Barbra Streisand and many others. The Hollywood Palladium was built by film producer Maurice M. Cohen, on the site of the original Paramount Pictures, between Argyle and El Centro avenues. Tommy Dorsey's first band was formed out of the remnant of the Joe Haymes band, and his smooth, lyrical trombone style – whether on ballads or on no-holds-barred swingers – became one of the signature sounds of both his band and the Swing Era. The new band hit from almost the moment it signed with RCA Victor with "On Treasure Island", the first of four hits for the new band that year. That led to a run of 137 Billboard chart hits, including his theme song, "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You".