Breaking Walls

In the 1980s, radio writer/actor/director/producer Elliott Lewis was a guest of John Dunning on his 71K Newstalk Radio program out of Denver, CO.

During the course of this wide-ranging interview, Lewis spoke about why the attempted Network radio drama revival of the 1970s ultimately didn't lead to a huge boom in radio drama.

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 99: New Year's 1948 On The Air

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In the mid-1940s Al Jolson’s career hit a low point. He’d spent only one season as host of his own radio program since 1939, when his Colgate Toothpaste Program was cancelled in June of 1943.

Then in 1946 Columbia filmed a biography of his life. Larry Parks played the young Jolson, but Jolson’s voice was used in the soundtrack. The film won two Oscars, and again he was a hot property.

Jolson was soon doing so many radio guest spots that it became a running gag among comedians. With Kraft’s ratings in a tailspin following Bing Crosby’s departure for ABC, Jolson was a wise investment. Kraft signed the star for $7500 per week and the Music Hall was once again Thursday’s ratings winner, with a 23.5 in January of 1948.

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At 9:30PM Eastern Time from New York, Casey, Anne Williams, Ethelbert, and Tony Marvin could be found where they were found on both Thanksgiving and Christmas: At work.

This episode of Crime Photographer involves an arson, manslaughter, and a kidnapping, all taking place in the wee hours of the morning on January 1st.

By January 1st, 1948, John Gibson, Staats Cotsworth, and Jan Miner were three of the busiest character actors on radio.

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 99: New Year's 1948 On The Air

____________

In the mid-1940s Al Jolson’s career hit a low point. He’d spent only one season as host of his own radio program since 1939, when his Colgate Toothpaste Program was cancelled in June of 1943.

Then in 1946 Columbia filmed a biography of his life. Larry Parks played the young Jolson, but Jolson’s voice was used in the soundtrack. The film won two Oscars, and again he was a hot property.

Jolson was soon doing so many radio guest spots that it became a running gag among comedians. With Kraft’s ratings in a tailspin following Bing Crosby’s departure for ABC, Jolson was a wise investment. Kraft signed the star for $7500 per week and the Music Hall was once again Thursday’s ratings winner, with a 23.5 in January of 1948.

**

At 9:30PM Eastern Time from New York, Casey, Anne Williams, Ethelbert, and Tony Marvin could be found where they were found on both Thanksgiving and Christmas: At work.

This episode of Crime Photographer involves an arson, manslaughter, and a kidnapping, all taking place in the wee hours of the morning on January 1st.

By January 1st, 1948, John Gibson, Staats Cotsworth, and Jan Miner were three of the busiest character actors on radio.

The December 26th, 1947 blizzard which struck the eastern seaboard of the U.S. saw, In New York, 25.8 inches of snow fall in less than twenty-four hours. It was the worst storm since the Great Blizzard of 1888.

Ocean liners were unable to move. Railroad stations were filled with stranded people. Importing and exporting out of New York ground to a halt, and the Nation’s reliance on truck transportation was immediately evident.

A fuel strike ensued.

By the morning of December 31st, many people had gone without some combination of a newspaper, fresh bread, milk, fuel, or coal for almost a week. Fire officials declared it a state of emergency. Mayor O’Dwyer took the first available plane home from his holiday vacation in southern California.

The radio industry was struck as well. On January 1st, James C. Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians, instituted a nationwide ban on music recording.

The ban was aimed at a provision in the Taft-Hartley Act which criminalized a union's collection of money from members for services that are not performed or not to be performed. It made the AFM's Unemployed Musicians slush fund illegal.

To make matters worse, week-over-week consumer inflation was reaching highs not seen in modern U.S. history.

As President Truman began his full-scale re-election bid, his National approval rating sat at 32%. New York’s Republican governor Thomas Dewey was positioning himself as the most serious challenger for the Presidency. While in the south, Strom Thurmond was moving towards running on what would come to be known as a “Dixiecrat” ticket.

The December 26th, 1947 blizzard which struck the eastern seaboard of the U.S. saw, In New York, 25.8 inches of snow fall in less than twenty-four hours. It was the worst storm since the Great Blizzard of 1888.

Ocean liners were unable to move. Railroad stations were filled with stranded people. Importing and exporting out of New York ground to a halt, and the Nation’s reliance on truck transportation was immediately evident.

A fuel strike ensued.

By the morning of December 31st, many people had gone without some combination of a newspaper, fresh bread, milk, fuel, or coal for almost a week. Fire officials declared it a state of emergency. Mayor O’Dwyer took the first available plane home from his holiday vacation in southern California.

The radio industry was struck as well. On January 1st, James C. Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians, instituted a nationwide ban on music recording.

The ban was aimed at a provision in the Taft-Hartley Act which criminalized a union's collection of money from members for services that are not performed or not to be performed. It made the AFM's Unemployed Musicians slush fund illegal.

To make matters worse, week-over-week consumer inflation was reaching highs not seen in modern U.S. history.

As President Truman began his full-scale re-election bid, his National approval rating sat at 32%. New York’s Republican governor Thomas Dewey was positioning himself as the most serious challenger for the Presidency. While in the south, Strom Thurmond was moving towards running on what would come to be known as a “Dixiecrat” ticket.

In 1960, Orson Welles sat down with BBC's Huw Wheldon for their Monitor program. The conversation centered around Orson's work as an actor, director and filmmaker, with special attention paid to the 1941 Citizen Kane. In this clip Huw Wheldon asks Orson about the attempt to stop Citizen Kane from premiering.

In 1960, Orson Welles sat down with BBC's Huw Wheldon for their Monitor program. The conversation centered around Orson's work as an actor, director and filmmaker, with special attention paid to the 1941 Citizen Kane. In this clip Huw Wheldon asks Orson about the attempt to stop Citizen Kane from premiering.

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 99: New Year's 1948 On The Air

____________

Between nine and ten o’clock on Wednesday nights during 1947-48, NBC aired two of the top-fifteen shows on the air. The first was Duffy’s Tavern, who broadcast to a 23.9 rating in January 1948.

The brainchild of star Ed Gardner, the show debuted as part of CBS’s Forecast pilot series on July 30th, 1940. By the winter of 1947 it was in the midst of its fourth season on NBC.

Duffy’s Tavern was allegedly located in manhattan on 3rd avenue and 23rd street. It was the “eyesore of the East side” where the “elite meet to eat.”

Duffy never made an appearance, but his disagreeable nature was a constant source of anxiety for Archie, thanks to his frequent telephone calls.

Gardner’s heavily New York-accented Archie has inspired several characters in the years since.

Garry Moore was the special guest for the evening and Alan Reed voices the accountant who has come to check on Duffy's books.

On May 13th, 1990 radio and TV legend Gale Gordon joined Chuck Schaden on his WBBM News Radio 78 radio show for a conversation about Gale's life and career (Full interview here - http://www.speakingofradio.com/interviews/gordon-gale-actor/). They spoke about many things, including Mr. Gordon being typecast as a blowhard.

On May 13th, 1990 radio and TV legend Gale Gordon joined Chuck Schaden on his WBBM News Radio 78 radio show for a conversation about Gale's life and career (Full interview here - http://www.speakingofradio.com/interviews/gordon-gale-actor/). They spoke about many things, including Mr. Gordon being typecast as a blowhard.