Breaking Walls

In October of 1976, Chuck Schaden sat down with famed actress Mercedes McCambridge to talk about her career (full interview available to stream for free here - http://www.speakingofradio.com/interviews/mccambridge-mercedes/). During the course of the conversation, Ms. McCambridge spoke of why radio drama was—to her—the most powerful imaginative entertainment medium.

On March 17th, 1984 radio actor Willard Waterman was a guest of Chuck Schaden's for an interview about his life and career (full chat here and it's a great one - http://www.speakingofradio.com/interviews/test-interview/). During the course of the interview, Waterman remembered playing The Great Gildersleeve in the 1950s as radio drama was in decline.

In 1981 David Hartman interviewed Harriet, David, and Rick Nelson for Good Morning America. It was a fantastic conversation that touched on all three of their combined and individual careers and lives. They also spoke about how Ozzie and Harriet were able to give their children as normal a childhood as possible.

In the early 1980s, the legendary Eve Arden was a guest on John Dunning's 71KNUS Old Time Radio program from Denver, Co. During the course of the conversation, they spoke about Our Miss Brooks and Eve's original Mr. Boynton, Jeff Chandler, with whom she had tremendous on-air chemistry.

In Breaking Walls episode 106, we join Eve Arden at Madison High School and find out why we all love Our Miss Brooks.

——————————

Highlights:

• Who is Eunice Quedens?

• Eve the heroine with Elizabeth Arden cosmetics.

• Starting out in Hollywood

• Getting on the Radio

• Teaming with Danny Kaye, Jack Haley, and Jack Carson

• William Paley and his Packaged Program Initiative

• My Friend Irma and Two New Proposed Female-driven Situation Comedies

• Our Miss Booth—Not Happening

• Eve Arden, meet Connie Brooks

• Our Miss Brooks—The New Summer Hit

• Colgate Signs on in the Fall of 1948

• Cast Camaraderie

• Eve Arden—Radio’s Top Comedienne

• Miss Brooks Gains Traction

• Taking the Show into TV without Jeff Chandler

• Winding down the Radio Show

• Looking Ahead to September

——————————

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

As well as articles from the archives of Broadcasting Magazine, Radio Daily, and Radio Mirror.

——————————

On the interview front:

Eve Arden, Gale Gordon, Jack Haley and Gloria McMillan were with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

Eve Arden was also with John Dunning on July 25th, 1982 for 71KNUS

Mary Jane Croft was with SPERDVAC on March 14th, 1992. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com.

Shirley Booth was with Dick Cavett in 1971.

And Ozzie and Harriet Nelson were on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show on November 18th, 1969.

——————————

Selected music featured in today’s episode was:

• It’s Been a Long Long Time — By The Harry James Band

• Easy Street — By June Christy

• Living Without You — By George Winston

• Hello Mary Lou — By Ricky Nelson

——————————

Subscribe to Burning Gotham—the new audio drama set in 1835 New York City. It’s available everywhere you get your podcasts and at BurningGotham.com.

——————————

Special thanks to our Sponsors:

The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

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

Twelve Chimes, It’s Midnight

https://www.twelvechimesradio.com/

The Fireside Mystery Theatre

https://www.firesidemysterytheatre.com/

——————————

A special thank you to Ted Davenport and Jerry Haendiges: two radio show collectors who helped supply material for this episode. They’re who the large retailers go to.

Ted’s got a Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/otrteddavenport/

For Jerry, please visit http://otrsite.com/

I’d also like to thank Walden Hughes and John and Larry Gassman of SPERDVAC - http://sperdvac.com/

——————————

A Special Thank you to:

Tony Adams

Steven Allmon

Orson Orsen Chandler

Briana Isaac

Thomas M. Joyce

Ryan Kramer

Barry Nadler

Christian Neuhaus

Aimee Pavy

——————————

WallBreakers Links:

Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers

Social Media - @TheWallBreakers

URL - thewallbreakers.com

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.

James Scully here, presenting a trailer for Christopher Affonco Bradley’s new podcast, Crime Is Up, a hybrid podcast featuring original crime fiction and film noir appreciations.

Chris appeared in A Man Named Marlowe in 2018, as did Will Benson, whom you’ll hear in the trailer.

Go to CrimeIsUpPodcast.com for more information, and search for "The Crime Is Up Podcast" wherever you listen to your shows.

On September 7th, 1944, Olivia De Havilland starred in an episode of Suspense called "Voyage Through Darkness" as Judith Webster, who found herself embarked upon a journey in to darkness.

It is 1939 shortly before England and Germany were at war. Judith was in London serving as traveling companion to wealthy American Mrs. Prescott. When Mrs. Prescott died Judith had promised to arrange her a burial at sea. It was on this journey that she learned of the “Blackout Killer,” and feared that he was the man she had befriended and fallen in love with.

In January of 1976 famed radio director William N. Robson was a guest of Dick Bertel and Ed Corcorcan for WTIC's The Golden Age of Radio (full interview here - https://www.goldenage-wtic.org/gaor-70.html). During the course of the conversation, the interviewing duo brought up Suspense, which Robson directed in the late 1950s. Robson explained how budget cuts killed the show (and many others).

This is the third episode of Jeff Regan, Investigator, starring Jack Webb. The series grew out of the groundswell of success that Webb had voicing Pat Novak, For Hire, and later Johnny Modero: Pier 23. It aired on CBS’ west-coast network Saturday nights at 9:30 through December. Herb Butterfield voiced Anthony J. Lion, however William Conrad voiced him in this episode.

By the time Webb began voicing Regan he was working on a new series which would take to the air the following summer on NBC. That series would be called, Dragnet.