OLD TIME RADIO Commercials

As fillers between programs to engage start time of a program you will hear old time radio commercial "spots". We trust this will add to the nostalgia of the golden age of radio broadcasting in the USA.

 

FRED FOY announcer narration for The Lone Ranger

 

Fred Foy was the narrator for the final radio episodes of The Lone Ranger. Frederick William Foy (March 27, 1921 – December 22, 2010) was an American radio and television announcer and actor. He is best known for his narration of The Lone Ranger. Radio historian Jim Harmon described Foy as "the announcer, perhaps the greatest announcer-narrator in the history of radio drama." Shortly after graduating from high school in 1938, Foy began in broadcasting with a part-time position at WMBC, a 250-watt independent station in Detroit. He moved to WXYZ in 1942, but World War II interrupted his radio career.WIKIPEDIA BIO

FOY RECREAION OF THE LONE RANGER

WAMU FM OTR Program

The Big Broadcast is WAMU’s longest-running program. The show features a collection of radio shows from the golden age, the 30s, 40s, and 50s, hosted by Tony-Award winning playwright, lyricist and director Murray Horwitz. Each Sunday night BIG BROADCAST OTR

SCRATCHY GROOVES with Bill Chambless from WVUD-FM

 

A collection of radio shows hosted by Bill Chambless on WVUD-FM in Newark, Delaware. From the first program in 1984 to the last one in 2002, he explored the music and sounds of yesteryear (1900 to 1940), "scratches and all." The program was a labor of love for him, and he was delighted by all the people who supported the show over the years. These files are free for your use. He would have wanted it that way! Enjoy. 

 You can hear the entire collection at http://www.scratchygrooves.com Thanks to John Chambless for his efforts in preserving and sharing his Dad's programs.

PARLEY BAER (1914 - 2002) Prolific radio actor

 

Episode 36 aired February 22, 1948 over the CBS Radio Network. A professor who has rejected companionship is haunted by an invisible creature. Luis Van Rooten as Professor Guildea and the narrator, Father Murchison played by Parley Edward Baer (PHOTO) (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) who was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Chester" in the radio version of Gunsmoke, and as the Mayor of Mayberry (Roy Stoner) in The Andy Griffith Show. 

  BAER BIO, Wikipedia

NORMAN ROSE Actor, Announcer, Narrator

Norman Rose (June 23, 1917 – November 12, 2004) was an American actor, film narrator and radio announcer whose velvety baritone was often called "the Voice of God" by colleagues. He was best known as the narrator's voice in the fictitious coffee grower's Juan Valdez Colombian coffee television commercials and the announcer-narrator of NBC's Dimension X. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rose started acting while a student at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Rose honed his craft at the Actors Studio Drama School in New York, then landed parts in plays on and off-Broadway. Rose was the narrator for the satirical 1972 hit song Deteriorata, which was recorded by comedy group National Lampoon for the album Radio Dinner. He also recorded numerous books for the blind and narrated the 70th anniversary broadcast of the Academy Awards. He also was a drama instructor at the Juilliard School. WIKIPEDIA Norman Rose Bio

The audio player showcases Norman Rose as an actor on a CBS Mystery Theater of January 19, 1974. Episode 14 A young girl with criminal tendencies is taken by a couple who discover her peculiar talent for retrieving lost things...including corpses.

HOWARD MILLER "Giselle MacKenzie"

Howard Miller chats with Gisèle MacKenzie (born Gisèle Marie Louise Marguerite LaFlèche; January 10, 1927 – September 5, 2003). She was a Canadian-American singer, actress, violinist and commercial spokesperson, best known for her performances on the US television program Your Hit Parade and The Jack Benny TV Show.

Gisele on records

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisele_MacKenzie

WILLARD SCOTT, "Joy Boy of radio...and TV"

 

 

Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weather presenter, radio and TV personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, best known for his television work on the Today show as weather reporter and as the creator and original portrayer of Ronald McDonald. WIKIPEDIA BIO 

 1960s ...Willard and I would attend AFTRA union meetings together in Washington. He Worked at WRC and I worked at WTTG-TV. He was always "ON" with a glib sense of humor that we all knew with his radio show "The Joy Boys" with Ed Walker. He mentioned his friendship with me one time on his radio show knowing I was a big fan of one of his radio sponsors. The Joy Boys was a popular daily improvised comedy radio show in Washington, D.C., between 1955 and 1974 that launched the broadcast careers of the program's co-hosts Willard Scott and Ed Walker. The two did various skits and satirized prominent people of the day, such as Scott's character "Arthur Codfish" (mocking Arthur Godfrey). Also an in joke as Matt Dillard Marshall of Wheaton Maryland. With sidekid Chester Drawars they would mock Ev and Don Dillard of WDON a suburban rock station. They also took on the popular station "The new WEAM" out of Arlington with Rock and Roll music calling them ..."The new SCREAM" .The Joy Boys of radio  -- RACAMPBELL

VARIETY Willard Scott, Longtime ‘Today’ Show Weatherman, Dies at 87.

WILLIAM CONRAD aka "Julius Krelboyne"

 

WILLIAM CONRAD aka Julius Krelboyne

OTHER CREDITS...

William Conrad was the voice of Escape (1947–54), a high-adventure radio series. He played Warchek, a menacing policeman, in Johnny Modero: Pier 23 (Mutual 1947), a detective series starring Jack Webb, and was in the cast of Webb's crime drama Pete Kelly's Blues (NBC 1951). He played newspaper editor Walter Burns opposite Dick Powell's reporter Hildy Johnson in the ABC radio drama The Front Page (1948). He was Dave the Dude in the syndicated drama anthology series The Damon Runyon Theater (1948); Lt. Dundy in the NBC radio series The Adventures of Sam Spade (1949–50); boss to government special agent Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in The Silent Men (NBC 1951); and a New Orleans bartender in the NBC adventure drama Jason and the Golden Fleece (1952–53). Most prominently, Conrad's deep, resonant voice was heard in the role of Marshal Matt Dillon on CBS Radio's gritty Western series Gunsmoke (1952–1961). The producers originally rejected him for the part because of his ubiquitous presence on so many radio dramas and the familiarity of his voice, but his impressive audition could not be dismissed, and he became the obvious choice for the role. Conrad voiced Dillon for the show's nine-year run, and he wrote the June 1953 episode "Sundown". When Gunsmoke was adapted for television in 1955, executives at CBS did not cast Conrad or his radio costars despite a campaign to get them to change their minds. His other credits include Suspense, Lux Radio Theater, and Fibber McGee and Molly. In "The Wax Works", a 1956 episode of Suspense, Conrad performed every part. Because of his CBS Radio contract, he sometimes appeared on shows on other networks under the pseudonym "Julius Krelboyne".

EDWARD R. MURROW

 

Edward Roscoe Murrow (April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965), born Egbert Roscoe Murrow, was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe for the news division of CBS. During the war he recruited and worked closely with a team of war correspondents who came to be known as the Murrow Boys. A pioneer of radio and television news broadcasting, Murrow produced a series of reports on his television program See It Now which helped lead to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, Bill Downs, Dan Rather, and Alexander Kendrick consider Murrow one of journalism's greatest figures, noting his honesty and integrity in delivering the news. 

  More WIKIPEDIA BIO 

  YouTube Bio

BRACE BEEMER radio voice of The Lone Ranger

 Brace Beemer became the third radio voice of the Lone Ranger on April 18, 1941, and remained so until the series' last new episode on September 3, 1954. During the 13 years that Beemer played the title character, he was required by contract to restrict his radio acting to that one role until the program left the air. BEEMER BIO AT WIKIPEDIA The experienced and popular Western film actor, Clayton Moore, was chosen to take over the role for the television series. Although Beemer had the right voice and had made many public appearances as the Ranger, he had no experience as a film actor.

ABC - American Broadcasting Company network

DIGITAL DELI ABC Radio originally began after the split of NBC Red and NBC Blue (later Blue Network) networks with ABC taking over operations of the latter from RCA in 1943 before adopting its name 2 years later. ABC Radio was known to broadcast the first nationwide report of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was shot in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, at 18:30 UTC on November 22, 1963, and ABC Radio's Don Gardiner anchored the network's initial bulletin at 18:36:50 UTC, minutes before any other radio or television network followed suit. WIKIPEDIA
RADIO HISTORIAN

VATICAN RADIO

Vatican Radio (Italian: Radio Vaticana; Latin: Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of the Vatican. Set up in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave (also DRM), medium wave, FM, satellite and the Internet. Since its inception, Vatican Radio has been maintained by the Jesuit Order. Vatican Radio preserved its independence during the rise of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Following the outbreak of World War II, a week after Pope Pius XII ordered the programming, Vatican Radio broadcast the news that Poles and Jews were being rounded up and forced into ghettos.\\\


 WIKIPEDIA

William Conrad (September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor

American World War II fighter pilot, actor, producer, and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he starred in the detective series Cannon (1971–1976). A radio writer and actor, he moved to Hollywood after his World War II service and played a series of character roles in films beginning with the film noir The Killers (1946). He created the role of Marshal Matt Dillon for the radio series Gunsmoke (1952–1961) and narrated the television adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959–1964) and The Fugitive (1963–1967). Finding fewer onscreen roles in the 1950s, he changed from actor to producer-director with television work, narration, and a series of Warner Bros. films in the 1960s. Conrad found stardom as a detective in the TV series Cannon (1971–1976) and Nero Wolfe (1981), and as district attorney Jason Lochinvar "J.L." "Fatman" McCabe in the legal drama Jake and the Fatman (1987–1992). WIKIPEDIA

Columbia Broadcasting System

CBS can trace its origins to the creation, on January 27, 1927, of the "United Independent Broadcasters" network. Established by New York City talent agent Arthur Judson, United soon looked for additional investors; the Columbia Phonographic Manufacturing Company (also owners of Columbia Records), rescued the company in April 1927, and as a result, the network was renamed "Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System." Columbia Phonographic went on the air on September 18, 1927, from flagship station WOR in Newark, New Jersey, and 15 affiliates. Unable to sell enough air time to advertisers, on September 25, 1927, Columbia sold the network for $500,000 to William S. Paley, son of a Philadelphia cigar manufacturer. With Columbia Phonographic's removal, Paley streamlined the corporate name to "Columbia Broadcasting System." Paley believed in the power of radio advertising; his family's company had seen their "La Palina" cigar become a best-seller after young William convinced his elders to advertise it on Philadelphia radio station WCAU.

  ...New World Encyclopedia | WIKIPEDIA | PureHistory

CBS Radio Mystery Theater (a.k.a. Radio Mystery Theater and Mystery Theater, sometimes abbreviated as CBSRMT) is a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS Radio Network affiliates from 1974 to 1982. E. G. Marshall provided pithy wisdom and commentary throughout. Unlike the hosts of those earlier programs, Marshall is fully mortal, merely someone whose heightened insight and erudition plunge the listener into the world of the macabre...in a manner similar to that of "The Man in Black" on yet another old time radio program, Suspense.

  WIKIPEDIA              

NBC Radio Network

The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network, founded in 1926. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first two nationwide networks established in the United States. Its major competitors were the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), founded in 1927, and the Mutual Broadcasting System, founded in 1934. In 1942, NBC was required to divest one of its national networks, so it sold NBC Blue, which was soon renamed the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). After this separation the Red Network continued as the NBC Radio Network. In 1987 NBC sold its remaining radio network operations to Westwood One, which continued using NBC identification for some of its programming until 2014. Beginning in 2016, NBC Radio News has been distributed in conjunction with iHeartMedia. WIKIPEDIA | PureHistory

Dr. Christian is a radio series with Jean Hersholt

Dr Christian aired on CBS Radio from November 7, 1937, to January 6, 1954. In 1956, the series was adapted for television where it aired in syndication until 1957. Dr. Christian practiced in the Midwest town of River's End with the assistance of Nurse Judy Price (Rosemary DeCamp, Lurene Tuttle, Kathleen Fitz, Helen Claire). With the opening theme music of "Rainbow on the River," Dr. Christian was introduced on CBS November 7, 1937, on The Vaseline Program, aka Dr. Christian's Office and later Dr. Christian, sponsored by Chesebrough Manufacturing Company's Vaseline [Petroleum Jelly, Hair Tonic, Lip Ice, etc.].

 The small-town physician's good humor, innate common sense and scientific training helped drive off a series of villainous types who tried to interfere with the peaceful lifestyle of River's End, as well as dealing with personal problems among his many patients and the majority of those who lived in town.


  WIKIPEDIA

We Hold These Truths

WIKIPEDIA We Hold These Truths, a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the United States Bill of Rights, is an hour-long radio program that explored American values and aired live on December 15, 1941, the first to be broadcast on all four major networks (CBS, NBC Red, NBC Blue, and Mutual). It was written and produced by Norman Corwin, who won a Peabody Award for the show, which commemorated the ratification of Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 — a week before the scheduled broadcast — may have contributed to what the Crossley Rating Service estimated to be 63 million listeners (almost half of the U.S. population), the largest audience in history for a dramatic performance.

Corwin, writer...Jimmy Stewart, narrator

DORIS DAY, RIP...OTR Big Band Singer and OTR guest in 1940's

Doris Day, the perennial girl-next-door whose career as a singer and actress spanned almost 50 years and made her one of the biggest Hollywood stars and most popular entertainers in the United States, has died. ... The Doris Day Animal Foundation told Fox News Day died early Monday 13 MAY 2019. Doris Day (born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and animal welfare activist. After she began her career as a big band singer in 1939, her popularity increased with her first hit recording "Sentimental Journey" (1945). After leaving Les Brown & His Band of Renown to embark on a solo career, she recorded more than 650 songs from 1947 to 1967, which made her one of the most popular and acclaimed singers of the 20th century.

  WIKIPEDIA