Breaking Walls

After the November 20th, 1947 episode of Suspense, Roma Wines wrapped up its sponsorship of the series. For the next five weeks CBS broadcast Suspense on Friday evenings. Beginning on January 3rd, 1948 the program changed directions.

William Spier’s last date with the production was January 24th, with the episode “Eve,” starring June Havoc. They were married the next day.

When the couple finished honeymooning, Spier looked for his next project. He found it on the American Broadcasting Company.

On the July 18th, 1948 episode of Sam Spade, entitled "The Missing Newshawk Caper," Lurene Tuttle returned to the series as secretary Effie Perine after taking the previous three episodes off.

In New York, this episode ran at 8PM on WCBS opposite The Robert Shaw Chorale on NBC, Alexander's Meditation Board on WOR/MBS, and Stop the Music on WJZ/ABC.

In Los Angeles, it ran at 9PM on KNX/CBS opposite The Symphony Hour on KFI/NBC, news on KHJ/MBS, and Unexpected on KECA/ABC.

At 9PM on Independence Day in 1944 CBS presented an episode of Columbia Presents Corwin called "Home For The Fourth." Written and directed by Norman Corwin and starring Dane Clark. It's a story that could have been about your family or mine, and how World War II affected them.

July 4th, 1944 was less than a month after the Normandy Invasions on D Day. On that Independence Day the millionth allied soldier landed on Normandy and one-thousand one-hundred allied guns fired a Fourth of July salute at German enemy lines.

In the Pacific theater, US Navy Task Force 58 bombards and bombs Iwo Jima, Haha Jima, and Chichi Jima, forcing the Japanese air force to leave the islands.

In this program, a soldier is given a forty-eight-hour Fourth of July home pass. While the family argues the meaning of World War II and the subsequent international pacts, they learn the true meaning of what they're arguing over. It's is incredibly well-written, timeless, and moving.

The cast featured Dane Clark as Ed, Wally Maher as Bill, Betsy Kelly as Rita, Paul McVey as Pa, and Regina Wallace as Ma. Bernard Herrmann composed and conducted the music.

In 1977 for CBS' 50th anniversary, Frank Stanton, President of CBS, sat down with interviewers to talk about his life at the broadcasting network. It was here that he explained how CBS programming changed when CBS Head William Paley returned from serving in World War II.

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.

In early 1982, longtime radio announcer Richard Joy was a guest of John Dunning's on 71KNUS for a chat about his life and career. During the chat, Joy relayed a funny Jack Benny story from Joy's days working at a local Palm Springs radio station.

In Breaking Walls Episode 105 we pour shots and take dictation with The Adventures of Sam Spade.

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Highlights:

• Bill Spier’s Musical Beginnings Lead to Suspense

• Howard Duff: Unknown Actor

• How About Now For Sam Spade?

• CBS and ABC compete for Spade

• Spade Versus Bergen & McCarthy

• 1947-48: Radio’s Highest-Rated Season

• Spade Hits Its Stride

• Stop The Music

• June Havoc, Uncredited Spade Actress

• Unamerican Hammett? Unamerican Duff?

• Spade Gets Cancelled—Twice

• Howard Duff: Radio Preservationist

• What’s Next

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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 — By John Dunning

Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — By Jim Ramsburg

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

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On the interview front:

• Eve Arden, Howard Duff, and Lurene Tuttle were with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Dick Joy, Elliott Lewis, and E. Jack Neuman were with John Dunning for his 71KNUS program from Denver.

• Howard Duff, June Havoc, and Bill Spier were with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. Hear their full chats at https://goldenage-wtic.org/

• Lurene Tuttle remembered radio with Same Time, Same Station on February 6th, 1972.

• Frank Stanton spoke with CBS in honor of their 50th anniversary in 1977.

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

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Selected music featured in today’s episode was:

• Fever — By Peggy Lee

• Smoke Gets In Your Eyes — By The Mallett Men

• Young At Heart — By Frank Sinatra

• The Prologue and Main Title piece from High Spirits — By George Fenton

• Atomic Cocktail — By Slim Gaillard

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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.

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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/

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A Special Thank you to:

Tony Adams

Briana Isaac

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

On August 9th, 1986 Lawrence Dobkin, Lillian Buyeff, and Don Diamond were guests of SPERDVAC (http://sperdvac.com/) for a conversation about their long-running radio, tv, and film careers. During the course of the conversation, Dobkin recalled playing Louie the Cabbie on NBC's version of The Saint, which starred Vincent Price.

New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia had his own radio show on WNYC from 1941-1945 and on ABC for the first six months of 1946. In this clip from January of 1945, when LaGuardia was still Mayor, he rails on corruption in regards to the need for more at-home phone service in New York.

Here is the full episode as one track for those who requested! — In Breaking Walls Episode 104 we focus on Orson Welles’ radio career from Pearl Harbor through the end of radio’s peak, and pick up where we left off in Breaking Walls episode 79.

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Highlights:

• Orson Returns to Radio In the Fall of 1941

• The Magnificent Ambersons Enters Productions

• December 7th, 1941

• Orson and Norman Corwin Collaborate

• Orson is Named Pan-American Goodwill Ambassador

• It’s All True and Brazil

• Problems with RKO

• Endings Changed, Others Destroyed

• Orson gets fired—Returns to the United States in the fall of 1942

• Ceiling Unlimited And Hello Americans

• Jane Eyre

• Jack Benny Gets Sick, Orson filles in as host

• The Mercury Wonder Show

• Rita

• Marriage, again

• Busy Radio Days in 1944

• The Orson Welles Almanac

• Campaigning for FDR

• Donovan’s Brain

• D Day

• Election Day—1944

• Rita and Orson meet Rebecca

• Christmas 1944

• This is My Best

• Our President is Dead

• More Collaborations with Corwin

• The War Ends

• The Stranger

• Around the World in Eighty Days

• The Mercury Summer Theater

• The Lady From Shanghai

• Divorce

• Macbeth

• Europe and the end for Welles on American radio

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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:

• Citizen Welles by Frank Brady

• This is Orson Welles by Welles and Peter Bogdanovich

• On the Air — By John Dunning

• Discovering Orson Welles by Jonathan Rosenbaum

• Orson Welles on the Air, at OrsonWelles.Indiana.edu

• Wellesnet.com.

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On the interview front:

• Orson Welles was with Peter Bogdonavich, Dick Cavett, Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, Leslie MeGahey, Dinah Shore, and Huw Wheldon.

• Byron Kane and Jeanette Nolan were with SPERDVAC, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com

• Norman Corwin was with Chuck Schaden. Hear the full chat at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Howard Duff was with Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. Hear their full chat at Goldenage-WTIC.org.

• Robert Wise was with Leslie MeGahey.

• Jack Benny spoke with Jack Carney.

• Lurene Tuttle spoke with Same Time, Same Station in 1972.

• Agnes Moorehead was with Dick Cavett in 1973.

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Selected music featured in today’s episode was:

• Perfida — By Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra

• The Klezmer’s Wedding — By Andre Moisan

• The Third Man — By Anton Karas

• Hooray for Hollywood — By Don Swan

• The Battle Cry of Freedom — By Jacqueline Schwab

• Star of Bethlehem — Conducted by John Williams

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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.

——————————

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

Briana Isaac

Ryan Kramer

Barry Nadler

Christian Neuhaus

Aimee Pavy

Terry Wallace

——————————

WallBreakers Links:

Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers

Social Media - @TheWallBreakers

URL - thewallbreakers.com