Radio History: Oct 1

➦In 1909...Everett H. Sloane born in NYC (Died – August 6, 1965). He was a character actor who worked in radio, theatre, films and television. He was also a songwriter and theatre director.

Sloane's radio work led him to be hired by Orson Welles to become part of his Mercury Theatre. Sloane recorded one program with The Mercury Theatre on the Air and became a regular player when the show was picked up by a sponsor and became The Campbell Playhouse

In the 1940s, Sloane was a frequent guest star on the radio theater series Inner Sanctum Mysteries and The Shadow, and was in The Mysterious Traveler episode "Survival of the Fittest" with Kermit Murdock.

Reportedly depressed over the onset of blindness, Sloane committed suicide in 1965 at age 55.

WJZ - 1922

➤In 1921...WJZ Radio signed-on. WJZ was the present day WABC in New York City. The original Westinghouse Electric Corporation, whose broadcasting division is a predecessor to the current broadcasting unit of CBS Corporation, launched WJZ in 1921, and was located originally in Newark, New Jersey.

WJZ was sold in 1923 to the Radio Corporation of America, who moved its operations to New York City, and on January 1, 1927, WJZ became the flagship station for the NBC Blue Network.

NBC Blue would become the American Broadcasting Company in 1942.  In 1953, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, and changed the call letters of their New York area stations to WABC.  Today, the WJZ call sign is assigned to 1300 AM in Baltimore.  It is owned by Entercom and airs  CBS Sports Radio.

➦In 1922...“The Radio Digest,” a daily news program got started on WBAY in New York City, which is now WFAN 660 AM.

➦In 1942…'People Are Funny' host Art Baker was replaced by Art Linkletter on the NBC Radio Network.  Linkletter remained with the show on radio until 1960 and hosted a TV version of the program on CBS from 1954 to 1960.

➦In 1952...'This Is Your Life' which aired on NBC radio from 1948 to 1952 began airing on NBC TV (until 1961).  Each show began with Edwards surprising some unsuspecting person. The show would then be present their life story, complete with friends and relatives.

➦In 1962...Johnny Carson made his debut as host of The Tonight Show.   Carson began his broadcasting career in 1950 at WOW radio and television in Omaha. Carson soon hosted a morning television program called The Squirrel's Nest. One of his routines involved interviewing pigeons on the roof of the local courthouse that would report on the political corruption they had seen. Carson supplemented his income by serving as master of ceremonies at local church dinners, attended by some of the same politicians and civic leaders whom he had lampooned on the radio.

The wife of one of the Omaha political figures Carson spoofed owned stock in a radio station in Los Angeles, and in 1951 referred Carson to her brother, who was influential in the emerging television market in Southern California. Carson joined CBS-owned Los Angeles television station KNXT.

Carson

In 1953, comic Red Skelton—a fan of Carson's "cult success" low-budget sketch comedy show, Carson's Cellar (1951 to 1953) on KNXT—asked Carson to join his show as a writer. In 1954, Skelton accidentally knocked himself unconscious during rehearsal an hour before his live show began. Carson then successfully filled in for him. In 1955, Jack Benny invited Carson to appear on one of his programs during the opening and closing segments. Carson imitated Benny and claimed that Benny had copied his gestures.

Carson hosted several shows besides Carson's Cellar, including the game show Earn Your Vacation (1954) and the CBS variety show The Johnny Carson Show (1955–1956). He was a guest panelist on the original To Tell the Truth starting in 1960, later becoming a regular panelist from 1961 until 1962.

After the primetime The Johnny Carson Show failed, he moved to New York City to host ABC-TV's Who Do You Trust? (1957–1962), formerly known as Do You Trust Your Wife? On Who Do You Trust?, Carson met his future sidekick and straight man, Ed McMahon. Although he believed moving to daytime television would hurt his career, Who Do You Trust? was a success. It was the first show where he could ad lib and interview guests,[15] and because of Carson's on-camera wit, the show became "the hottest item on daytime television" during his six years at ABC.

NBC's Tonight was the late-night counterpart to its early-morning show Today. Originating in 1954 with host Steve Allen, Tonight was somewhat experimental at the time, as the only previous network late-night program was NBC's Broadway Open House which starred Jerry Lester and Dagmar. Tonight was successful, and when Allen moved on to primetime comedy-variety shows in 1956, Jack Paar replaced him as host of Tonight. Paar left the show in 1962.

➦In 1975...Seattle radio station KOL changed its call letters to KMPS,surrendering forever the three-letter call that had served the Puget Sound well for nearly 50 years. While the modern incarnation of 1300 AM uses KOL as its ID, the official call sign is KKOL.

➦In 1979...the RKO Radio Network began operation.

The newscasts, aimed at a young adult audience, had a conversational, high-energy style developed by co-founders Vice President and News Director Dave Cooke, and Vice President of Programming Jo Interrante.

RKO was popular from the start, signing up hundreds of affiliates coast to coast. Its base was the RKO General-owned radio stations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other large markets. RKO initially purchased downlink satellite dishes for its affiliates, creating the nation's first satellite-delivered commercial radio network.

The original network, which fed newscasts at :50 repeated at :00, became known as RKO 1 when RKO 2 debuted on September 1, 1981. RKO 2 fed newscasts at :20 repeated at :30 and was aimed at an older audience. Both networks offered sportscasts, music, public affairs programming and closed-circuit affiliate feeds of news and sports correspondent reports and news-maker actualities.

The networks were home to three groundbreaking long-form programs. NightTime America with Bob Dearborn was the first live, daily, satellite-delivered music show in radio history. Dearborn produced and hosted the five-hour adult contemporary show from January 9, 1981 until 1984.

January 9, 1981 was also the premier of America Overnight, a six-hour interview and call-in show hosted by Eric Tracey in Los Angeles and Ed Busch from Dallas. It was the first national talk show delivered by satellite. It also marked the first time a network offered simultaneous overnight programs.

Dick Bartley created, produced and hosted the first live national oldies radio show, Solid Gold Saturday Night.

➦In 1982...First CD players are sold in Japan

➦In 2003...Rush Limbaugh, host of the nationally syndicated conservative talk show,  resigned from ESPN over comments about black quarterback, Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Julie Andrews is 88

🎂HAPPY BIRTHDAYS:

• President Jimmy Carter is 100.
• Actor-singer Julie Andrews is 89. 
• Saxophonist Jerry Martini of Sly and the Family Stone is 81. 
• Jazz bassist Dave Holland is 78. 
• Actor Yvette Freeman (“ER”) is 74. 
• Actor Randy Quaid is 74. 
• Singer Howard Hewett of Shalamar is 69. 
• Drummer Tim O’Reagan of The Jayhawks is 66. 
• Singer Youssou N’Dour is 65. 
• Actor Esai Morales (“NYPD Blue”) is 62. 
• Actor Christopher Titus (“Titus”) is 60. 
• Model-actor Cindy Margolis is 59. 
• Singer-guitarist Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra is 56. 
• Actor-comedian Zach Galifianakis is 55. 
• Actor Sherri Saum (“The Fosters”) is 50. 
• Actor Katie Aselton (“Legion,” “The League”) is 46. 
• Actor Sarah Drew (“Grey’s Anatomy” ″Everwood”) is 44. 
• Actor Carly Hughes (“American Housewife”) is 42. 
• Comedian Beck Bennett (“Saturday Night Live”) is 40. 
• Actor Jurnee Smollett (“Underground,” ″Wanda At Large”) is 38. 
• Actor Brie Larson (“Lessons in Chemistry,” “Captain Marvel”) is 35. 
• Singer Jade Bird is 27. 
• Actor Priah Ferguson (“Stranger Things”) is 18. 
• Actor Jack Stanton (“The Mick”) is 16.

✞REMEMBRANCES

• In 1984..Walter Alston, American Baseball Hall of Fame manager (World Series 1955, 59, 63, 65; Brooklyn/LA Dodgers), dies from heart attack complications at 72
• In 1992..Harry Ray, American soul singer (Ray, Goodman, Brown), dies of a stroke at 45
• In 2002..Walter Annenberg, American publisher (Triangle-TV Guide) and philanthropist, dies at 94
• In 2004..Bruce Palmer, Canadian bassist (Buffalo Springfield), dies of a heart attack at 58
• In 2008..Nick Reynolds, American folk singer, tenor guitarist, and bongo player (The Kingston Trio, 1957-67 - "Tom Dooley"; "M.T.A."), dies from respiratory disease at 75
• In 2013..Tom Clancy, American author (Rainbow Six, The Hunt for Red October), dies aged 66