Breaking Walls

In November of 1970, Bill Spier was a guest of Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran's for WTIC's The Golden Age of Radio (Full show here - https://goldenage-wtic.org/gaor-08.html). During the course of the wide-ranging interview with both he and his wife, actress June Havoc, Dick Bertel asked Bill Spier about how he came to direct The Adventures of Sam Spade right at the height of his run directing Suspense.

Elliott Reid was a prolific radio actor, perhaps best-known for his supporting role in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes . In October of 2002 he was a guest of Frank Bresee and Walden Hughes for a chat about his life and career. The trio quickly touched on Elliot playing in New York on the melodrama Grand Central Station. He recounted the fun of the light-hearted program.

In February of 1975, Chuck Schaden sat down with actor, singer, and comedian Jack Haley (who is today perhaps best known as the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz) for a conversation about his life and career (full interview here - http://www.speakingofradio.com/interviews/haley-jack-actor/). During the course of the conversation, Jack Haley elaborated on why New York City's Palace Theater was one of the country's premiere places for a Vaudeville performer.

In November of 1970, Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran were joined by radio director Bill Spier and his wife, acting legend June Havoc on the 8th episode of The Golden Age of Radio for WTIC (full interview here - https://goldenage-wtic.org/gaor-08.html).

During the course of this far ranging chat, Dick asked Bill Spier about the origin of "Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills," Suspense.

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/). Towards the end of the conversation Gale Gordon expanded on why radio was such an important artistic medium for its audience.

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 94: Radio And The Drugstore/Malt Shop (1940 - 1955)

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By 1945 Inner Sanctum Mysteries was on CBS Tuesdays at 9PM from New York for Lipton’s Tea.

The original host Raymond Edward Johnson had left the cast and Paul McGrath took over. Each week Himan Brown employed some of the best New York radio talent. He balanced the program's macabre humor with carefully chosen organ sounds, blood-curdling screams, and other heinous effects, creating some of the most iconic sounds on radio.

The violence and gore got Brown in trouble with the FCC who were concerned that youth might be unduly traumatized or might act out the horrors they heard.

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 94: Radio And The Drugstore/Malt Shop (1940 - 1955)

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On February 2nd, 1946, ABC premiered a fifteen-minute serial from KGO in San Francisco called One out of Seven. It starred a twenty-five year old actor named Jack Webb.

He was born in Santa Monica, California on April 2nd, 1920 and grew up in a Bunker Hill boarding house run by his Irish and Native American mother Margaret. One of their tenants was a former jazz musician who gave Jack a record of Bix Beiderbecke's "At the Jazz Band Ball.” He became an instant fan.

He attended High School near downtown Los Angeles and St. John's University in Minnesota, where he studied art.

Following his World War II discharge from the US Army Air Corps he moved to San Francisco, where a shortage of radio announcers led to an opportunity.

In 1951, longtime radio writer Don Quinn was on vacation with his family in Hawaii when he sat down with Owen Cunningham for an interview about his two most famous shows: Fibber McGee and Molly and The Halls of Ivy. During the course of the chat, Quinn was asked how he got into radio.

In Breaking Walls episode 94 we visit the malt shops, drug stores, and soda counters in America’s heartland and spend time with radio’s best dramatic actors and actresses.

Highlights

• Norman Corwin, Margaret Sullavan, and Byron Kane’s Big Break

• The Pharmacist Goes to War—and Saves a Life

• Inner Sanctum and Santos Ortega

• Dennis Day: Soda Jerk

• The Rise of Jack Webb

• Dragnet Is Born and Radio Changes Forever

• Tales of the Texas Rangers and the Wheaties Big Parade

• The End of Fibber McGee and Molly

• Back to School

The WallBreakers:

http://thewallbreakers.com

Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:

http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

The reading material used in today’s episode was:

On The Air - By John Dunning

Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 - by Jim Ramsburg

Forecast: Is there a Sponsor in the House - by Martin Grams Jr.

Just the Facts, Ma'am : The Authorized Biography of Jack Webb - by Eugene Alvarez & Daniel Moyer

And articles from Radio Life, January 1949.

On the interview front:

• SPERDVAC was with Harry Bartel, Ralph Bell, Himan Brown, Lilian Buyeff, Lawrence Dobkin, Herb Ellis, Virginia Gregg, Byron Kane, Jeanette Nolan, Herb Vigran, and Peggy Webber—For more info, please go to SPERDVAC..com

• Chuck Schaden interviewed Eve Arden, Himan Brown, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Jim Jordan, Lurene Tuttle, and Herb Vigran. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Joel McCrea was with educator Al Greenberg. For more information please go to OrcoDevelopment— That’s O R C O Development (dot) org.

• Jim Jordan was with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. This interview can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org.

• While Dennis Day and E. Jack Neuman were with John Dunning for 71KNUS and Vic Perrin was with Neil Ross for KMPC.

Selected music featured in today’s episode was:

• Sleep Walk — By Santo & Johnny

• Go Slow — By Julie London

• The Klezmer's Wedding — By André Moisan

• Living Without You — By George Winston

• See you in September — By The Happenings

Special thanks to our Sponsors:

The Fireside Mystery Theater - https://www.firesidemysterytheatre.com/

Radio Drama Revival - https://www.radiodramarevival.com/

I’d also like to thank Walden Hughes and John and Larry Gassman of SPERDVAC. Listen to their shows on the Yesterday USA radio network.

A Special Thank you to:

Ryan Kramer

Barry Nadler

Christian Neuhaus

Aimee Pavy

Terry Wallace

WallBreakers Links:

Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers

Social Media - @TheWallBreakers

URL - thewallbreakers.com

In Breaking Walls episode 94 we visit the malt shops, drug stores, and soda counters in America’s heartland and spend time with radio’s best dramatic actors and actresses.

Highlights

• Norman Corwin, Margaret Sullavan, and Byron Kane’s Big Break

• The Pharmacist Goes to War—and Saves a Life

• Inner Sanctum and Santos Ortega

• Dennis Day: Soda Jerk

• The Rise of Jack Webb

• Dragnet Is Born and Radio Changes Forever

• Tales of the Texas Rangers and the Wheaties Big Parade

• The End of Fibber McGee and Molly

• Back to School

The WallBreakers:

http://thewallbreakers.com

Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts.

To support the show:

http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers

The reading material used in today’s episode was:

On The Air - By John Dunning

Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 - by Jim Ramsburg

Forecast: Is there a Sponsor in the House - by Martin Grams Jr.

Just the Facts, Ma'am : The Authorized Biography of Jack Webb - by Eugene Alvarez & Daniel Moyer

And articles from Radio Life, January 1949.

On the interview front:

• SPERDVAC was with Harry Bartel, Ralph Bell, Himan Brown, Lilian Buyeff, Lawrence Dobkin, Herb Ellis, Virginia Gregg, Byron Kane, Jeanette Nolan, Herb Vigran, and Peggy Webber—For more info, please go to SPERDVAC..com

• Chuck Schaden interviewed Eve Arden, Himan Brown, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Jim Jordan, Lurene Tuttle, and Herb Vigran. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Joel McCrea was with educator Al Greenberg. For more information please go to OrcoDevelopment— That’s O R C O Development (dot) org.

• Jim Jordan was with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. This interview can be heard at GoldenAge-WTIC.org.

• While Dennis Day and E. Jack Neuman were with John Dunning for 71KNUS and Vic Perrin was with Neil Ross for KMPC.

Selected music featured in today’s episode was:

• Sleep Walk — By Santo & Johnny

• Go Slow — By Julie London

• The Klezmer's Wedding — By André Moisan

• Living Without You — By George Winston

• See you in September — By The Happenings

Special thanks to our Sponsors:

The Fireside Mystery Theater - https://www.firesidemysterytheatre.com/

Radio Drama Revival - https://www.radiodramarevival.com/

I’d also like to thank Walden Hughes and John and Larry Gassman of SPERDVAC. Listen to their shows on the Yesterday USA radio network.

A Special Thank you to:

Ryan Kramer

Barry Nadler

Christian Neuhaus

Aimee Pavy

Terry Wallace

WallBreakers Links:

Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers

Social Media - @TheWallBreakers

URL - thewallbreakers.com