Welcome

Welcome to Harold's Old Time Radio Programs!

 The old-time radio era, sometimes referred to as the Golden Age of Radio, refers to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until the 1950s, when television superseded radio as the medium of choice for scripted programming and radio shifted to playing popular music. During this period, when radio was dominant and filled with a variety of formats and genres, people regularly tuned into their favorite radio programs. According to a 1947 C. E. Hooper survey, 82 out of 100 Americans were found to be radio listeners.

 During the Golden Age of Radio, new forms of entertainment were created for the new medium, which later migrated to television and other media: radio plays, mystery, adventure and detective serials, soap operas, quiz shows, variety hours,talent shows,situation comedies,children's shows, as well as live musical concerts and play by play sports broadcasts. In addition, the capability of the new medium to get information to people created the format of modern radio news: headlines, remote reporting, sidewalk interviews (such as Vox Pop), panel discussions,weather reports, farm reports.

 In the late 1920s, the sponsored musical feature was the most popular program format. Commercial messages were regarded as intrusive, so these shows usually displayed the sponsor's name in the title, as evidenced by such programs as The A&P Gypsies, Champion Spark Plug Hour, The Clicquot Club Eskimos, and King Biscuit Time. During the 1930s and 1940s, the leading orchestras were heard often through big band remotes, and NBC's Monitor continued such remotes well into the 1950s by broadcasting live music from New York City jazz clubs to rural America.

 Classical music programs on the air included The Voice of Firestone and The Bell Telephone Hour. Texaco sponsored the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts; the broadcasts, now sponsored by the Toll Brothers, continue to this day around the world, and are one of the few examples of live classical music still broadcast on radio. One of the most notable of all classical music radio programs of the Golden Age of Radio featured the celebrated Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra, which had been created especially for him. At that time, nearly all classical musicians and critics considered Toscanini the greatest living maestro. Popular songwriters such as George Gershwin were also featured on radio. (Gershwin, in addition to frequent appearances as a guest, also had his own program in 1934.) The New York Philharmonic also had weekly concerts on radio. There was no dedicated classical music radio station like NPR at that time, so classical music programs had to share the network they were broadcast on with more popular ones, much as in the days of television before the creation of NET and PBS.

Amos and Andy

George Bernard Shaw once said, “There are three things I’ll never forget about America – Niagara Falls, the Rocky Mountains and Amos 'n' Andy.”

Amos ‘n’ Andy was the story of two black characters—the modest, pragmatic Amos and the blustery, self-confident Andy—created by two white actors, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll. The characters first aired as Sam ‘n Henry on Chicago’s WGN in 1926. In 1928, the duo went to rival station WMAQ as Amos ‘n’ Andy.

By 1931, Amos ‘n’ Andy had become a national phenomenon, a comedic serial with nearly 40 million listeners. Movie theaters were forced to stop their features each night to pipe in the 15-minute show for their audience. Although Amos ‘n’ Andy’s dialect humor caused much controversy among African-Americans, the show’s appeal during its prime was not restricted to any single race.

From 1943 to 1955, Amos ‘n’ Andy was a weekly situation comedy. The duo hosted The Amos ‘n’ Andy Music Hall from 1954 until their final broadcast on November 25, 1960.

Charles Correll died on September 26, 1972. Freeman Gosden died on December 10, 1982.

Amos ‘n’ Andy was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.

Gunsmoke - 4-26-1952 - Billy The Kid

Gunsmoke - 4-26-1952 - Billy The Kid
GUNSMOKE
First Show: Jun 26, 1952
Last Show: Jun 18, 1961
Number Shows: 480 shows, 2 auditions, 5 hour tribute
Audition Shows: Jun 11, 1949, Jul 13, 1949
Series Description:

Gunsmoke is one of those long-running classic Old-Time Radio shows that everyone knows and remembers. It's also one that is still respected for its high values, in all aspects. Gunsmoke first aired on the CBS network on April 26, 1952, billed as the first adult western. It was set in Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870's.

The main character, Matt Dillon, was played by William Conrad. On August 6, 1951, William Conrad played the lead in a show entitled "Pagosa" in the series Romance, where he played the part of a reluctant sheriff in a tough Western town. Although not a true audition, Conrad's character role is very close the that of Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke. It was one of the "stepping stones" toward the production of Gunsmoke.

Other regular characters were Chester Proudfoot, played by Parley Baer; Kitty, played by Georgia Ellis; and Doc Adams, played by Howard McNear.

The series featured top-notch acting and well-developed scripts that set it apart from many other shows, not only Westerns; however, it was the sound effects that stood out the most. Listen carefully and one can hear many levels of sound that really helps transport the listener back to the old west.

Besides the US version, there was an Austrailian production of Gunsmoke. It began sometime in 1955, transcribed under the Artransa label, and aired Mondays at 7:00 PM on the Macquarie network. It is not known how many shows aired or how long the series ran.