Breaking Walls

In September 1957 baseball’s Dodgers, who’d called Brooklyn home since 1884, and Ebbets Field since 1913, played their final games in Flatbush. They’d been World Champions just two years earlier.

Simultaneously, over in northern Manhattan, The New York Giants, champions in 1954, and at home near Coogan’s Bluff since 1883, played their final game overlooking the Harlem River.

Both teams would move three-thousand miles west to California. The Dodgers would settle in Los Angeles, first at Memorial Coliseum and then in the famed Dodger Stadium, winning the 1959 World Series, and five more in the years since.

The Giants moved to San Francisco, played their home games at the mercilessly windy Candlestick Park, before moving to a new stadium in 2000, winning three world titles in the twenty-first century.

New York would be left without a National League team to rival the cross-town Yankees for five years, until the New York Metropolitans, colloquially known as the Mets, were formed. They're winners of two world championships of their own.

In 1960 hall of fame pitcher Bob Feller, hosting a syndicated show, spoke about that last Giants baseball weekend at the Polo Grounds.

There’s an old adage that says “change is life’s only constant.” Post-War hope turned into labor strife and a baby boom, which gave rise to the most profitable radio year in history—1948—leading directly to the TV era.

The new deal was more than ten years old and an urban diaspora, guided by white flight and atomic fear, brought families to newly blossomed suburban communities and left cities wondering what the future held.

More uncertainty lay ahead. Four days into October, the USSR would launch Sputnik I, the first artificial Earth-orbiting satellite. Everybody’s lives got a little nearer, and yet a little further apart.

But, if they wanted to feel close, all they had to do was tune on a radio to a CBS affiliate Sunday afternoons as George Walsh breathed “and now” to open for Suspense. They’d perhaps remember a time when Jack Benny drove radio ratings, while his cast drove him crazy. To a time when Tuesday nights meant NBC with Fibber Mcgee and Molly, Bob Hope, and Red Skelton. When Thursdays meant Crosby, Suspense, and Burns and Allen. And to a time when Norman Corwin helped remember what brought us home.

It’s where we’re all going anyway. More specifically, it’s where we’re heading next month.

In September of 1957, Bing Crosby, now fifty-four years old, was gearing up to host the Edsel TV special and generating praise for his recent dramatic role as Earl Carlton in Man On Fire.

He’d won an Academy Award, had his own radio show since 1931, and championed the widespread use of Prime Time, network transcription.

The Ford Road Show featuring Bing Crosby debuted on September 2nd, 1957. It aired five days per week on CBS for five minutes. These were taped segments edited by Murdo MacKenzie and written and produced by Bill Morrow The just-heard John Scott Trotter conducted the orchestra. It included an opening theme, one or two songs by Bing and commercials by Ken Carpenter. This episode aired on September 24th.

Ford’s Agency of Record J. Walter Thompson saturated radio with five-minute segments. They also sponsored a show with Rosemary Clooney, a chit chat by Arthur Godfrey and news by Edward R. Murrow.

Earlier in this episode we spoke about The Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Hattie Cotton Elementary School bombing in Nashville, Tennessee.

With forced integration underway, federal troops needed to be called out to Little Rock, Arkansas where a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School were stopped from attending by the state’s governor.

On September 27th CBS Radio ran a special report on the progress, or lack thereof, in southern school integration in the three years following Brown vs. The Board of Education.

Hi everyone! I'm (James Scully) doing a webinar and walking tour this week in conjunction with an audio fiction soap opera set in 1835 NYC I've developed called Burning Gotham — http://burninggotham.com/

The walking tours have been very popular. I'm doing one this coming Sunday 9/24/2023 in Lower Manhattan, NYC with the New York Adventure Club at 12PM — https://www.nyadventureclub.com/event/exploring-1830s-new-york-from-the-great-fire-to-south-street-seaport-registration-705407632217/

And for those who can't attend but are interested in this wild period of U.S. and NYC history, I'm doing a webinar with the same organization this Thursday 9/21/2023 at 5:30PM eastern time — https://www.nyadventureclub.com/event/1830s-nyc-a-decade-of-social-political-geographical-upheaval-webinar-registration-695345927387/

I'd love to see you there!

The man you’re listening to is William Froug. He was instrumental in bringing the CBS Radio Workshop back to the air. CBS was still airing dramatic programming on Sunday afternoons. In 1957 Froug became the VP of Programming. He took the position against his will.

The CBS Radio Workshop, a reimagining of the old Columbia Workshop had debuted with the critically acclaimed two-part adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World on January 27th, 1956.

It was in its second season in 1957 and unfortunately on the chopping block. Froug stayed with The CBS Radio Workshop until 1957. Afterwards Antony Ellis took over Hollywood’s production. Paul Roberts was the New York counterpart. On Sunday September 22nd, 1957, with no national sponsorship forthcoming, The CBS Radio Workshop went off the air with an adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’ “Young Man Axelrod.”

After the workshop signed off for the final time, Suspense signed on, directed by William N. Robson and guest-starring Jackie Kelk and Jeanette Nolan.

At 5:05PM Indictment signed on starring Nat Polen and Jack Arthur. Indictment debuted on January 29th, 1956. It told stories from the files of former ADA Eleazar Lipsky. Episodes presented the step-by-step details that went into gathering evidence which led to an indictment.

That was the voice of director and writer Jack Johnstone. In September of 1957 he was in his third year directing Bob Bailey in Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. This is Bob Bailey’s daughter Roberta Bailey-Goodwin. Parley Baer was featured in this cast.

After The FBI in Peace and War went on at 6:05PM, Gunsmoke signed on. Baer had been part of the cast since its first broadcast in 1952. By 1957 Gunsmoke was, quite simply, one of the most influential western in history. Norman MacDonnell was its director.

Sez Who! Debuted alongside The Stan Freberg Show on Sunday, July 14th, 1957 as part of a week in which CBS Radio added $765,000 in new billings. Sez Who! Would be sponsored every other week by Look Magazine.

On Saturday, September 14th, 1957 The Grand Ole Opry signed on from WSM and the Ryman Auditorium.

WSM is a fifty-thousand-watt clear channel station located in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded by the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, the station’s call sign stands for We Shield Millions. WSM first signed on October 5th, 1925.

The next month on November 28th, The WSM Barn Dance took to the air for the first time. On December 10th, 1927, the program's host, "Judge" George D. Hay referred to the show for the first time, as The Grand Ole Opry.

The Opry began running coast-to-coast on Saturday evenings in 1939. The show moved to the Ryman Auditorium in 1943. As it developed in importance, so did the city of Nashville, which became America's country music capital.

By 1954, WSM was considered the outstanding music station in the country. That October 2nd a teenage Elvis Presley would have his only Opry performance.

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Meet The Press grew out of a partnership between Martha Rountree and Lawrence Spivak. Rountree, a freelance writer, broke into radio in the late 1930s. She created the panel show Leave It to the Girls in 1945, before teaming with American Mercury editor Lawrence Spivak, to produce a radio show promoting his magazine.

Spivak would be the permanent panelist representing the press. They would invite top newsmakers to be put on the spot, “without preparation or oratory,” and thus “find out what they stand for.”

The show debuted on October 5th, 1945 over Mutual Broadcasting.

Meet the Press was soon making its own headlines. The panelists purposely pitted two editors known for their opposition to the guest’s viewpoint, with one middle-of-the-road type, and Spivak.

In 1947 while still airing over Mutual, a TV version began airing on NBC. The radio version aired over Mutual for five years before going off the air and moving to NBC in May of 1952.

On September 15th, 1957 the guest was Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus. The discussion regarded Cyprus’ quest for independence.

The population was made up of both Greeks and Turkish Cypriots and had been under British rule since 1878. Greeks wanted British removal and a union with Greece. The Archbishop was one of the loudest voices in this quest.

Makarios, who was in favor of bombing attacks that had occurred against government offices in 1955, was exiled in 1956, and by 1957 most leaders in the National Organization Of Cypriot Fighters’ had been killed or captured. So, they turned to organizing school children riots, and killing the families of police and military personnel.

The rebellion continued throughout 1958, even after Makarios had abandoned his initial demands. They finally ended in February 1959 when agreement was reached for Cyprus to become an independent republic.

The radio version of Meet The Press aired until July 27th, 1986. The TV version is still being seen.

Have you been enjoying Breaking Walls? If so, give the show a quick rating on whatever platform you listen, especially iTunes.

The man you just heard is Herb Vigran, being interviewed by Chuck Schaden in 1984. He’s about to be featured on Family Theater.

The show was created by Patrick Peyton of the Holy Cross Fathers. Mutual Broadcasting donated time under four conditions: It had to be a drama of top quality; strictly nonsectarian; feature a film star; and Father Peyton had to pay the production costs.

Peyton met Loretta Young, who advised him on how to approach A-listers. She became the “first lady” of Family Theater. Between 1947 and 1957, there were hundreds of dramas broadcast. Few used religion of any kind in the plot.

However, by September of 1957 Mutual Broadcasting was phasing out radio drama. As Herb Vigran mentioned, Hollywood’s character actors were doing as much TV as possible. When Family Theater aired its last episode on Wednesday, September 11th at 8:35PM Pacific time over KHJ in Los Angeles, the only other dramatic radio shows on KHJ that night were Gangbusters and Horatio Hornblower.

This is from that last episode, fittingly called “Roadshow.” Lilian Buyeff played Helen Blackwell. After the episode ended, Joan Leslie came back on with the final PSA in Family Theater history.

At 10:45 AM central time on the morning of September 11th, 1957, Howard Miller signed on from WBBM with fifteen minutes of music, and an interview with Steve Allen.

Howard Miller was born on December 7th, 1912 in Chicago. From 1945 through 1949 he was WIND’s program director before beginning an eighteen year run as the Windy City’s top-rated morning DJ. In between he acted in Jamboree!, Senior Prom, and The Big Beat.

In September of 1957 Steve Allen was coming off starring in The Benny Goodman Story. He left The Tonight Show in January after three successful years when NBC asked Allen to focus on his Sunday prime time Steve Allen Show.

By then Allen was famous as a humorist, musician, emcee, and actor. He was promoting his new song, “Gotta Have Something in the Bank, Frank” when he spoke to Miller.

On Saturday September 7th, 1957 Marilyn Van Derbur was crowned 1958’s Miss America in Atlantic City. She was a twenty-year old Phi Beta Kappa scholar at the University of Colorado,

She later moved to New York City, becoming the TV spokeswoman for AT&T’s Bell Telephone Hour and hosted ten episodes of Candid Camera, as well as five Miss America Pageants. In 1975 she established the Marilyn Van Derbur Motivational Institute.

When she was fifty three, she revealed herself to be the victim of incestual abuse from her father. Her story was featured on the cover of People magazine on June 10th, 1991. She and her husband angel invested an adult incest survivor program at The Kempe Center, and she founded the Survivors United Network.

On Monday September 9th President Eisenhower signed The Civil Rights Act of 1957. The law was the first civil rights legislation since 1875.

Deep south Democrat leaders were resisting desegregation. In this midst, Eisenhower proposed a civil rights bill designed to provide federal protection for African American voting rights against state and local law.

The law also established a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and a Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.

That day, the Hattie Cotton Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee admitted one African American student, Patricia Watson. She was six years old.

Shortly after midnight on September 10th, dynamite was set off at the east end of the school’s entrance hall. It tore down walls and knocked out every window, forcing the school to close for nine days.

When it reopened, Patricia’s mother had her transferred to an all-black school.

The act was condemned by Nashville Police Chief Douglass E. Hosse who offered a seven-thousand dollar cash reward for any information. Six suspects were detained, but no one was ever charged.

Biography in Sound began when NBC newsman Joseph O. Meyers was assigned to produce a documentary on Winston Churchill for his eightieth birthday on November 30th, 1954. He felt blending actualities of the subject’s voice with recollections of his friends, associates, and antagonists could prove successful. A vast resource was available at NBC.

Meyers had been building a tape library of interview clips since 1949. In five years, more than one-hundred-fifty-thousand historic statements had been recorded and indexed. In addition, Meyers had Bennett Cerf tell Churchill anecdotes. Laurence Olivier and Lynn Fontanne read from British poetry, and sound effects and music were added for drama.

Meyers’ finished product was cheered around the industry. “He had done the impossible,” said Radio Life, “turning people’s attention once more to radio.”

The clamor for another show was immediate and loud. A month later, Meyers answered with a piece on Ernest Hemingway, again to great acclaim. A biography of Gertrude Lawrence followed in another month, and in February it was decided to run the series weekly.

On Tuesday September 10th, 1957 at 9:05PM eastern time, Biography In Sound: Danny Kaye took to the air over NBC.

The man you’re listening to is one of the most celebrated authors of the 20th-century: Ray Bradbury. By the spring of 1955 he’d authored more than one-hundred short stories and one novel, Fahrenheit 451, born out of a collection of earlier works.

These stories were published in magazines like Astounding Science Fiction, Street and Smith, Weird Tales, Thrilling Wonder Stories, and The Saturday Evening Post.

Among sci-fi enthusiasts, Bradbury was regarded as one of America’s preeminent writers. In April of 1955, NBC staff writer Ernest Kinoy was tabbed to adapt one of the sections of Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, “And the Moon Be Still as Bright'' for a new audition. The show would be called X Minus One.

X Minus One was picked up. The network formed a partnership with the aforementioned sci-fi magazines to choose stories for adaptation. The magazines would plug the show, and the show would mention the magazine during the introduction. X Minus One debuted on Sunday, April 24th, 1955.

Its scheduling was erratic. NBC had long been known for impatience with new programs. If a series wasn’t generating big numbers and sponsors straight away, NBC often dropped or moved the show. Unfairly, the onus was on Street and Smith and their magazines to make X Minus One profitable.

By September 5th, 1957 the show was airing Thursday evenings at 8:05PM. It was NBC’s only dramatic offering of the evening. Fittingly the episode was called “Saucer of Loneliness.”

We’ve spent a good deal of time in past Breaking Walls episodes discussing Hollywood radio’s famed actors. There was a concurrent equally-talented group of New York actors. Like Bob Hastings. Bob Hastings spoke of Arnold Moss. There was Jan Miner, John Gibson, Joe Julian, Jackson Beck, Mandel Kramer, another oft-heavy was Larry Haines, and of course, the husband-wife team of Mary Jane Higby and Guy Sorel.

These are just some of the people who appeared on countless shows originating from New York during radio’s golden age. Many were able to make the transition to television, many others weren’t.

Once X Minus One signed off at 8:30, Nightline signed on for ninety minutes. News had become more valuable than drama in prime time. X Minus One would be canceled after the January 9th, 1958 broadcast.