Breaking Walls

The twice-broadcast episode of Frontier Gentleman called "Random Notes" told a series of stories in vignette form, one of which had J.B. Kendall (voiced by John Dehner) speaking with a man who was about to hang for murder.

In August of 1987, famed radio director Jack Johnstone was a guest of SPERDVAC's at the Thousand Oaks Library in California. During the course of the conversation on Johnstone's life and career, he was asked by a guest about directing Marilyn Monroe on the Hollywood Star's Playhouse. Johnstone, never one to hold back, apologetically confessed (very seriously) that he felt she was the stupidest actress he'd ever worked with.

In this clip he explains why.

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 101: Frontier Gentleman and The Saga of Belle Siddons (1958)

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When Frontier Gentleman debuted on Sunday, February 2nd, 1958 over CBS airwaves, TV’s most-watched show was Gunsmoke, with a rating of 39.6.

Network radio programming had shifted focus from a decade prior.

Back in 1948, with the radio industry enjoying its highest-rated season, NBC, CBS, and ABC used excess revenue from their slate of dramatic shows to launch full force into television programming.

Ten years later at the close of the 1950s, major network radio drama was on life support.

Programming had begun to shift. That month, U.S. Radio Magazine reported that 55% of all peak listening came from automobiles. With more than 36.5 million U.S. cars equipped, the automobile radio had suddenly become standard. Formulas for measuring these ratings were underway, but ineffective.

In the winter of 1958, CBS’s Sunday programming from New York called for news reports at the tops of most hours.

Concerts and other music programs filled the dial between 11:30 and 2:30. When Frontier Gentleman signed on for the first time at 2:35PM, it was the network’s first scripted dramatic offering of the day.

However, CBS Chairman William Paley believed in radio drama and with Americans on the move, many of the medium’s best, like William N. Robson, were involved in the fictional shows still on the air.

On the afternoon of February 23rd, 1958, CBS premiered Luke Slaughter of Tombstone and ran the fourth episode of Frontier Gentlemen back-to-back at 2:05 and 2:30PM. Both of the shows were unsponsored and cost-sustained by CBS.

These are their mid-show and end-show program bumpers.

John Dehner speaking with John Hickman for Mr. Hickman's "History of Gunsmoke" documentary on the character Paladin in Have Gun, Will Travel. John Dehner played Paladin in the radio version of the series from November of 1958 through November of 1960.

Mr. Hickman was the longtime host of WAMU’s Recollections. Today, this program is heard each Sunday evening as The Big Broadcast.

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.

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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

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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: 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

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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.

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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

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Special thanks to our sponsors!

The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

https://www.ghoulishdelights.com/series/themorls/

The Mutual Audio Network

https://www.mutualaudionetwork.com/

Hey It’s Jali Entertainment

https://www.heyitsjali.com/

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A Special Thank you to:

Tony Adams

Ryan Kramer

Barry Nadler

Christian Neuhaus

Aimee Pavy

Terry Wallace

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WallBreakers Links:

Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers

Social Media - @TheWallBreakers

URL - thewallbreakers.com

In this interview clip, Jack Benny speaks about why he got along so well with his writers and how he became an easy character to write for.

In the winter of 1951, Dick Powell was starring as Richard Diamond Private Detective Friday evenings at 8PM on ABC. The program was sponsored by Camels cigarettes.

Their ad campaign touted the lack of throat irritation from smoking unfiltered camels and that more doctors were smoking their brand than any others.

On February 7th, 1982, Bob Bailey's daughter Roberta Goodwin joined John Dunning on his 71KNUS radio program for a chat about her father's life and career. Bob Bailey was famous for playing the lead in Let George Do It and later Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. In this clip, Mrs. Goodwin speaks about the demise of dramatic radio in the late 1950s.

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 100: The Radio Career of Lucille Ball (1938 - 1952)

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When the first episode of I Love Lucy aired on October 15th, 1951, the sponsor, network, and even the crew were unsure if the series would work.

Amos ‘n’ Andy was the first TV show to be filmed, and NBC’s Public Prosecutor used a three-camera technique, but filming with multiple cameras in front of a live audience had never been done. There were interesting production issues that had to be ironed out.

The first-season success of I Love Lucy was such that CBS wanted a radio version. This pilot was recorded on Feb. 27th, 1952, using audio from the eighteenth episode, “Breaking The Lease” which aired on February 11th. Desi was narrator and John Stephenson the announcer for Philip Morris.