This episode was originally released on 4/1/2020. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes.

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In Breaking Walls Episode 102, we travel back to the fall of 1955 for the re-launch of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. Although the five-part Dollar format would last for only a year, listeners then and in the years since have praised the productions as some of the best ever.

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Highlights:

• Who is Johnny Dollar?

• Dick Powell: Not Johnny Dollar

• Dollar Launches in February of 1949

• Enter The Movie Star

• Enter The Second Movie Star

• Dollar Signs Off

• The Radio Networks Revamp Programming

• Jack Johnstone and Jimmy Stewart

• Dollar Reborn, with Gerald Mohr?

• Bob Bailey Gets the Role

• Relaunching Johnny Dollar

• After The Final Curtain

• Looking Back to Look Ahead

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The reading material used in today’s episode was:

• The 1955 Broadcasting Magazine Yearbook

• The 1955 Radio Networks Annual

• The Winter 1956 Journal of Broadcasting Quarterly

• The Who Is Johnny Dollar Matter — By John C. Abbott

• On the Air — By John Dunning

• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg

• Broadcasting Magazine — September 19th, 1955; October 3rd, 1955; and April 2nd, 1956

• Radio & TV Mirror — 1955

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On the interview front:

• Mary Jane Croft, Herb Ellis, Jack Johnstone, Elliott Lewis, Jeanette Nolan, were with SPERDVAC, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy. For more information, please go to SPERDVAC.com

• Virginia Gregg and Parley Baer were with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats at SpeakingofRadio.com.

• Roberta Bailey Goodwin and E. Jack Neuman were with John Dunning for his 71KNUS program from Denver

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

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Selected music featured in today’s episode was:

• Caravan — By 80 Drums Around The World.

• Pyramid to the Sun & Roller Coaster — By Les Baxter

• Exotique Bossa Nova — By Martin Denny

• I’ll Be Seeing You — By The Harry James Band

• Sleep Walk — By Henri René

• Good Timin’ — By Jimmy Jones