2 hrs 7 min
Radio’s Best Years – Special Episode #1 Radio's Best Years Podcast
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- Society & Culture
Welcome to the first special episode of Radio’s Best Years. Special episodes will not be produced on a regular basis and will not have the usual length and format of regular episodes. Rather, they’ll relate to a specific aspect of classic radio, a certain show, or a particular date. They will often go over the usual two hour length.
On this first special episode, we take a look at what was arguably one of the most influential shows on radio. In October, 1934, a new show came to New York. It was a dramatic show, mostly adapting Broadway plays and some novels. While they primarily used New York stars, they might use a Hollywood star who happened to be passing through New York. Other shows, like the Cavalcade of America did the same thing, but eventually moved to Hollywood to get more star talent. That was the case with this show as well, but with a difference. While most shows which moved to Hollywood changed very little and often kept almost the same cast such as Fibber McGee and Molly and This is Your FBI, this show completely changed. It got a new announcer, a new host, a new musical director and a new format. It was probably one of the most listened to shows on radio and the most expensive to produce. It had a weekly budget of $100,000. Instead of having one New York star, it had two, three and sometimes even four Hollywood movie stars on each episode. It required a week of rehearsal because the stars weren’t used to doing radio work. During its long Hollywood run, (1936-1955) it had, at least once, almost every major movie star of the era and even many minor ones.
Of course the show was Lux Radio Theater. On June 1, 1936, it moved to Hollywood where it remained until 1955, a very long run indeed. June 1st, 2011 is the 75th anniversary of the first Hollywood show. There were many programs over the years which copied the same format, some better than others, but there was only one Lux Radio Theater. Therefore, to celebrate the 75th anniversary, we will first be hearing the June 1, 1936 show, episode #83 of the series.
In the second hour, we’ll be hearing another special program. This program was made possible thanks to Jerry Haendiges. I literally couldn’t have produced this podcast without his help. Please visit his web site and consider buying from him. Also check out his weekly shows at the Vintage Radio Place. Also browse Jerry’s main site. He was a good friend to me over the years, even when I wasn’t a friend to him.
The second special program is the 10th anniversary episode. Both the rehearsal and complete broadcast exist and I have both. We will hear the rehearsal due to the better sound quality. Jerry Haendiges sent me both. Note that the circulating broadcast runs 47:55 and is _NOT_ complete. The complete broadcast runs 59:53 and seems to be hard to find. The rehearsal seems to not be in circulation at all. Please don’t copy, trade, or pirate the rehearsal. Please support Jerry and buy it from him instead. It is episode #454, as originally broadcast on 10-16-44, but we’ll be hearing the 10-15-44 rehearsal. The show is Seventh Heaven which was the first show they did in 1934.
I hope you enjoy the first of what will hopefully be two special episodes looking at Lux Radio Theater. If all goes well, we’ll have two more shows next week, one from 1942 and one from 1946, also a rehearsal. We’ll see what happens. Your comments and feedback are always appreciated.
Welcome to the first special episode of Radio’s Best Years. Special episodes will not be produced on a regular basis and will not have the usual length and format of regular episodes. Rather, they’ll relate to a specific aspect of classic radio, a certain show, or a particular date. They will often go over the usual two hour length.
On this first special episode, we take a look at what was arguably one of the most influential shows on radio. In October, 1934, a new show came to New York. It was a dramatic show, mostly adapting Broadway plays and some novels. While they primarily used New York stars, they might use a Hollywood star who happened to be passing through New York. Other shows, like the Cavalcade of America did the same thing, but eventually moved to Hollywood to get more star talent. That was the case with this show as well, but with a difference. While most shows which moved to Hollywood changed very little and often kept almost the same cast such as Fibber McGee and Molly and This is Your FBI, this show completely changed. It got a new announcer, a new host, a new musical director and a new format. It was probably one of the most listened to shows on radio and the most expensive to produce. It had a weekly budget of $100,000. Instead of having one New York star, it had two, three and sometimes even four Hollywood movie stars on each episode. It required a week of rehearsal because the stars weren’t used to doing radio work. During its long Hollywood run, (1936-1955) it had, at least once, almost every major movie star of the era and even many minor ones.
Of course the show was Lux Radio Theater. On June 1, 1936, it moved to Hollywood where it remained until 1955, a very long run indeed. June 1st, 2011 is the 75th anniversary of the first Hollywood show. There were many programs over the years which copied the same format, some better than others, but there was only one Lux Radio Theater. Therefore, to celebrate the 75th anniversary, we will first be hearing the June 1, 1936 show, episode #83 of the series.
In the second hour, we’ll be hearing another special program. This program was made possible thanks to Jerry Haendiges. I literally couldn’t have produced this podcast without his help. Please visit his web site and consider buying from him. Also check out his weekly shows at the Vintage Radio Place. Also browse Jerry’s main site. He was a good friend to me over the years, even when I wasn’t a friend to him.
The second special program is the 10th anniversary episode. Both the rehearsal and complete broadcast exist and I have both. We will hear the rehearsal due to the better sound quality. Jerry Haendiges sent me both. Note that the circulating broadcast runs 47:55 and is _NOT_ complete. The complete broadcast runs 59:53 and seems to be hard to find. The rehearsal seems to not be in circulation at all. Please don’t copy, trade, or pirate the rehearsal. Please support Jerry and buy it from him instead. It is episode #454, as originally broadcast on 10-16-44, but we’ll be hearing the 10-15-44 rehearsal. The show is Seventh Heaven which was the first show they did in 1934.
I hope you enjoy the first of what will hopefully be two special episodes looking at Lux Radio Theater. If all goes well, we’ll have two more shows next week, one from 1942 and one from 1946, also a rehearsal. We’ll see what happens. Your comments and feedback are always appreciated.
2 hrs 7 min