From Those Were the Days:

1938 - The NBC Blue network presented Information Please for the first time. The radio quiz show was moderated by Clifton Fadiman.
12:28:01 PM    comment []  trackback []  

MediaBay Reports First Quarter 2004 Results

From PR Newswire:

First quarter sales at the Company's old-time radio division, Radio Spirits decreased to $1.9 million from $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2003. Advertising expenditures at Radio Spirits declined to $0.2 million from $0.9 million in the first quarter of 2003.

To be completely frank and honest, I never had a dog in the fight between the old-time radio community and OTR's Prince of Darkness, Carl Amari. But despite the fact that the man could be a really arrogant prick without even trying, the quality of the Radio Spirits product under his supervision was simply top-notch (with the exception of those edited Smithsonian CDs, of course). I don't know who's in charge of the place since his departure, but the shoddiness of some of their CDs is unbelievable.
10:20:37 AM    comment []  trackback []  

“…the only show in radio where the audience writes the script…”

If television—and in particular, 24-hour news networks like CNN or Fox—had been as commonplace in 1934 as today, chances are that the American public would have been subjected to coverage of the birth of the Dionne quintuplets with the same ferocity as they are with “news” like the Kobe Bryant or Scott Peterson trials. (So, be grateful for small favors.) But the arrival of sisters Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie and Yvonne was still played up heavily in the media: in magazines, newspapers, and even a film released in 1936 called The Country Doctor—which told the story of the man who brought the quints into this world, Dr. Allan Ray Dafoe. From this modest B-picture would spring one of radio’s best-known light dramas: Dr. Christian.

Actor Jean Hersholt, who became a star in silent movie classics like Greed (1924) and The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927), was eager to do a radio series based on Dr. Dafoe, but when clearance to use the medico’s name was not forthcoming, the actor created his own doctor character in general practitioner Paul Christian. (The “Christian” part came from Hans Christian Anderson, one of the Danish-born actor’s favorite authors.) Christian was the kindly and respected doctor in the sleepy little hamlet of River’s End, Minnesota; his office located “in the while house at the corner of River Road and State Street”—State Street being the town’s main drag, where most of the businesses and “best people” were situated.

Dr. Christian was ably assisted by Nurse Judy Price, a role originated by actress Rosemary DeCamp when the show debuted over CBS Radio on November 7, 1937. She was soon replaced shortly after by Lurene Tuttle, who played the assistant for six years, and then DeCamp returned to the fold to make the part her bread-and-butter until the show left the airwaves on Janaury 6, 1954. (Kathleen Fitz and Helen Claire were also heard on occasion as Nurse Judy.) In fact, it was Judy who, in a small way, inspired the program’s title: the show was officially referred to as The Vaseline Program, in honor of its only sponsor throughout its long radio run. But week after week, Judy’s voice would be heard at the program’s opening answering a ringing telephone with: “Dr. Christian’s office…”—and so the show was referred to by that title, or Dr. Christian for short.

The series started out slowly but soon became a ratings powerhouse, and it had a tremendous appeal to listeners in middle and heartland America as folksy, old-fashioned dramatic fare, similar to something like Little House on the Prairie or the programming showcased on Pax TV today. In fact, I could—with tongue planted firmly in cheek—dub the show “Touched By a Physician,” since most of the show’s plots usually centered on Dr. Christian using his Golden Rule philosophy and wise, gentle nature to solve his fellow River’s End-ians problems on a weekly basis. OTR historian Elizabeth McLeod, in liner notes accompanying a recent collection of Dr. Christian broadcasts released by First Generation Radio Archives, humorously describes the doc as “a male Molly Goldberg with a medical degree; a gentle and well-meaning meddler who always manages to lead you in the right direction...whether you want to be led there or not.”

Hersholt—who was particularly proud of the fact that he never missed a broadcast, even when he was ill or visiting Denmark (in 1945)—maintained the doctor’s character traits off-mike as well; often refusing acting parts that would conflict with the role and giving generously of his time and money to various volunteer and philanthropic causes. (The Motion Picture Relief Fund, an organization that assists those in the movie industry who are down on their luck, was Hersholt’s creation—and later, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would name a humanitarian award after him when AMPAS pays tribute to those in the industry who are given to charitable and good works.)

Dr. Christian was scripted in its early run by a staff of writers—among them Ruth Adams Knight—but in 1942 the show’s producers developed the gimmick that the series is best-remembered for: soliciting outside scripts (from both professionals and amateurs) from the public in the form of a contest which awarded large cash prizes at the end of each season. The top prize was generally $2,000, with smaller prizes ranging from $100 to $500—which, in those days, was antihistamine money…not to be sneezed at. A Newsweek article reported that the program had received some 7,697 scripts (some sources even estimate the amount at 10,000), but it should also be noted that although many were called, few were chosen. (Among the chosen was a young writer from Ohio named Rod Serling, who finished second in a 1949 contest and who would later contribute works like “Patterns” and—of course—The Twilight Zone to classic television.) Even though the public had now become aspiring scriptwriters, the show still maintained a small writing staff that gave the winning entries a little professional polish.

I listened to a couple of episodes last night at work, and while the show is a tad on the gooey side (I’m borderline diabetic, you understand), it’s still very entertaining in a Waltons-ish sort of way. In “The Other One” (2/21/51), Christian attempts to help a patient who insists on blaming an imaginary brother for his wrongdoings, and it’s pretty well-written stuff, particularly since the “fantasy sibling” twist isn’t revealed until the program’s end. “No Change in Plans” (4/11/51) is fairly good; an architect named Peter Van Allen (Whitfield Connor) is considered a shoo-in to win the top prize in the town’s contest to design the new library, which will come in handy as the money is needed to take his wife and daughter on vacation so that the Missus can rest and recover from a recent operation. However, his rival (Larry Dobkin), a much-better architect who was once married to Allen’s wife (the daughter is also his), plans to put the kibosh on those plans. The dialogue in this entry is particularly risible; I love how Christian can’t say that the rival is a real party animal, he's forced to say “roistering” instead. There’s also an amusing moment when announcer Art Gilmore omits the “de” from Rosemary DeCamp’s name in the show’s introduction, and then Rosie retaliates by referring to him as “Art Gilman” as she reads the final commercial for Vaseline.

The popularity of Dr. Christian was such that the program soon was brought to the silver screen in a series of six films produced and distributed by RKO from 1939-41, beginning with Meet Dr. Christian (1939) with Hersholt reprising his radio role. And of course, it goes without saying that the series would be a natural for a transplant to television, which it did briefly in 1956—but by that time, Jean Hersholt was seriously ill (he died on June 2, 1956) and so he only appeared in the program’s premiere episode, which found Dr. Paul Christian handing over the keys to his practice to nephew Mark (Macdonald Carey), who became River’s End’s new GP. Though Hersholt, who was once quoted as saying, “Dr. Christian is such a sweet sentimental fellow…I’d hate to be stuck playing him for the rest of my life…” has gone on to his rich reward, his legacy lives on as nearly 200 of 788 shows originally broadcast are extant today, allowing listeners to enjoy a slice of prime Americana from the Golden Age of Radio.
10:17:13 AM    comment []  trackback []