For more than 100 years, the Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded by Columbia University to honor American achievements in journalism, letters and drama, and music. Pulitzers are widely recognized as the most prestigious awards in their field within the United States, according to NPR.
The 107th Pulitzer prizes celebrated journalists across the country. The Associated Press won two awards for its coverage of the war in Ukraine, including the most prestigious of all Pulitzers, the Public Service award.
The Washington Post won two Pulitzers, as did the Los Angeles Times. So did Al.com, Birmingham. Its columnist Kyle Whitmire won the Commentary award for his work analyzing Alabama's confederate heritage. The publication also took home a Local Reporting Pulitzer for its series exposing malfeasance on the part of the local police force. Two awards were given in that category. The other Local Reporting Pulitzer went to Mississippi Today, in Ridgeland, Miss. Reporter Anna Wolfe's reporting revealed a former governor's corruption.
The New York Times won two Pulitzers as well, for International Reporting and for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary.
Caitlin Dickerson, whose reporting career began at NPR, won a Pulitzer for explanatory reporting for her work for The Atlantic. She reported on migrant families separated at the southern border and the abuses many of them suffered.
This year, in an unusual but not unheard of decision, the fiction award went to two books: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Trust by Hernan Diaz.
And while the book His Name Is George Floyd: One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice, by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa (Viking) was only a finalist in the biography category, it won a Putlizer in the the General Nonfiction category, almost exactly three years after its subject's murder.
Cumulus Media has announced it will launch the fourth installment of its new multi-week audio series, Your Music First, featuring Thirty Seconds To Mars’ new single, “Stuck,” on Concord Records. The multi-part series will air over the next four weeks across Cumulus’ Mainstream Rock and Alternative stations nationwide and will share exclusive behind-the-scenes stories and observations from vocalist Jared Leto, and his personal insights into making the single. “Stuck” is featured on Thirty Seconds To Mars’ sixth album, “It’s The End Of The World, But It’s A Beautiful Day.”
Jared Leto co-founded Thirty Seconds To Mars with his brother Shannon and has been driven by their intuitive creative interplay ever since. The siblings wrote hundreds of new songs remotely over the last several years and specifically carved out 10 for the new album, inspired by the gamut of emotions and experiences through which they’ve navigated in the five years since the release of their chart-topping previous album, “America.”
Former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg has dismissed one lawsuit accusing the cable network, parent company Fox Corp and Fox News lawyers of defamation and pressuring her to make false statements in the now-settled Dominion Voting Systems case, a court filing on Friday showed.
Reuters reports the Delaware lawsuit was dismissed "without prejudice," meaning it can be brought again. The decision to dismiss the lawsuit does not mean she has settled the case, her lawyer, Tanvir Rahman, said Monday. She is continuing her related lawsuit against Fox in New York.
"This isn't the end-all, be-all of those claims," Rahman said. "We are figuring out the next steps."
Rahman said one option could be to amend the New York complaint or file a new lawsuit in a different jurisdiction.
Grossberg served as head of booking guests on recently fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson's weeknight prime-time show. Prior to that, she was a producer for Fox host Maria Bartiromo's Sunday morning show.
She was fired after filing her litigation on March 20 in federal court in Manhattan. Fox said her legal claims were "riddled with false allegations against Fox and our employees."
In seeking unspecified monetary damages, Grossberg claimed she was subjected to a hostile and discriminatory work environment. She accused Fox of defamation, gender and religious discrimination, and pay equity violations.
Grossberg also said Fox intimidated her and fraudulently induced her to make false statements in her September 2022 deposition in the Dominion lawsuit.
Fox News has dedicated its London bureau to photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski, who was killed last year while covering the war in Ukraine. The vehicle Zakrzewski was riding in was struck by incoming fire while news gathering in a village outside Kyiv.
Pierre Zarzewski
The attack critically injured FNC’s State Department correspondent Benjamin Hall and killed Ukrainian freelance journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova.
TV Newser reports Zakrzewski covered nearly every international story for the network during his nearly 20-year tenure at Fox News, and was based in London. In 2021, he played a key role in rescuing Afghan freelance associates and their families from the country following the withdrawal of U.S. forces there. He also covered the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well as major breaking news emanating from Israel, Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Italy, France, Venezuela, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
“Pierre was renowned throughout the media industry for his passionate storytelling and remarkable skill, and he was an all-around exceptional colleague,” Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott said in a statement. “While we are still devastated by his loss, we are extremely proud to honor his legacy by dedicating and naming our London bureau after him.”
➦In 1914...Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow was born (Died at age 85 from heart failure – December 20, 1999). In a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980. His number-one hits include the self-penned songs "I'm Moving On", "The Golden Rocket" and The Rhumba Boogie and famous versions of "I Don't Hurt Anymore", "Let Me Go, Lover!", "I've Been Everywhere", "Hello Love", as well as other top 10 hits.
Snow was an accomplished songwriter whose clear, baritone voice expressed a wide range of emotions including the joys of freedom and travel as well as the anguish of tortured love. His music was rooted in his beginnings in small-town Nova Scotia where, as a frail, 80-pound youngster, he endured extreme poverty, beatings and psychological abuse as well as physically punishing labour during the Great Depression. Through it all, his musically talented mother provided the emotional support he needed to pursue his dream of becoming a famous entertainer like his idol, the country star, Jimmie Rodgers.
Hank Snow
As a performer of traditional country music, Snow won numerous awards and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
In March 1933, Snow wrote to Halifax radio station CHNS asking for an audition. The rejection letter he received only made him more determined and later that year he visited the station, was given an audition and hired to do a Saturday evening show that was advertised as "Clarence Snow and his Guitar." Snow's audition with the Canadian division of RCA Victor in Montreal, Quebec, on October 29, 1936 led to the release of his first record with "The Prisoned Cowboy" coupled with "Lonesome Blue Yodel".[2] He signed with RCA Victor, recording for the label until 1981. A weekly CBC radio show brought him national recognition and, he began touring Canada until the late 1940s when American country music stations began playing his records.
Snow moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1949, and "Hank Snow, the Singing Ranger" (modified from his earlier nickname, the Yodeling Ranger), began recording for RCA Victor in the United States in 1949.
A regular at the Grand Ole Opry, in 1954 Snow persuaded the directors to allow a young Elvis Presley to appear on stage. Snow used Presley as his opening act and introduced him to Colonel Tom Parker. In August 1955, Snow and Parker formed the management team, Hank Snow Attractions. This partnership signed a management contract with Presley but before long, Snow was out and Parker had full control over the rock singer's career. Forty years after leaving Parker, Snow stated, "I have worked with several managers over the years and have had respect for them all except one. Tom Parker was the most egotistical, obnoxious human being I've ever had dealings with."
Alan Freed
➦In 1929...WJW-AM, Cleveland, Ohio signed-on.
The station was a staple of the Cleveland airwaves for more than 40 years under its original call letters of WJW.
The station was started in Mansfield, OH as WLBV sin 1926 under the ownership of John Weimer. The call letters became WJW in 1928, reflecting his initials. He sold it in 1931 to Mansfield Broadcasting Association.
WJW moved to Akron in 1932. William O’Neill purchased the station in 1943 and moved it to Cleveland. The station moved from 1210 kHz to 850 kHz and increased its power to 5,000 watts.
During its history, WJW aired Alan Freed's "Moondog" rock'n'roll show.
O'Neil sold WJW on 17 Nov. 1954 to Storer Broadcasting, which teamed it with its local television operation, WXEL. Storer dropped the ABC radio affiliation in 1957 to become independent, although the station later had a brief affiliation with NBC before becoming independent again.
During the 1960s the "Ed Fisher Show" was immensely popular during a 10-year run, as was the station's adult contemporary format of news, talk, and jazz. Sold to Erie Broadcasting in the fall of 1976, WJW began to highlight talk shows and adult popular music. It had begun separate FM programming in 1965 on a station that eventually passed into separate ownership as WGCL.
WJW was sold 1986 to Booth American Broadcasting, at which time it exchanged its long-familiar call letters for WRMR. In 1990 Booth sold the station to Independent Group Ltd., a local group that owned WDOK.
Today, the station's call sign is WKNR 850 AM and airs sportstalk. The station now has 50Kw-Day, 5Kw-Night.
Tucker Carlson is preparing to unleash allies to attack Fox News in an effort to bully the network into letting him work for — or start — a right-wing rival, sources close to him tell Axios.
Bryan Freedman, the high-powered Hollywood lawyer Carlson retained for the contract dispute, told Axios: "The idea that anyone is going to silence Tucker and prevent him from speaking to his audience is beyond preposterous."
Why it matters: Tucker vs. Fox could reshape the conservative news world. Fox, which has seen its ratings plunge in Carlson's slot since he was let go 13 days ago, wants to sideline him by paying him $20 million a year not to work.
The intrigue: Axios has learned Carlson is busy plotting a media empire of his own. But he needs Fox to let him out of his contract, which expires in January 2025 — after the presidential election.
Behind the scenes: Axios has learned that Carlson and Elon Musk had a conversation about working together, but didn't discuss specifics.
Carlson confidants say he also is contemplating building a direct-to-consumer media outlet where his millions of fans could pay to watch him. Carlson's predecessor in his Fox slot, Bill O'Reilly, created a blueprint for this.
State of play: The ousted host "knows where a lot of bodies are buried, and is ready to start drawing a map," said a Carlson source who wasn't authorized to speak publicly. Carlson allies with big platforms are prepared to attack Fox for trying to keep him on the shelf.
In a sign of what could be coming, Megyn Kelly hit her former employer for its post-Carlson ratings by tweeting a reference to conservative attacks on Bud Light: "My audience is calling them #Foxweiser."
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canada's broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory agency, is weighing whether to ban Fox News from Canadian cable packages after an LGBT advocacy group complained the American cable news channel was in "clear violation of Canadian broadcasting standards."
Eagle Canada, which describes itself as "Canada's leading organization for 2SLGBTQI people and issues," sent a letter to CRTC last month after it was featured on an episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, which ironically is no longer a show on Fox News.
"Eagle Canada and a prominent Canadian leader for trans rights and inclusion were featured on the infamously incendiary Tucker Carlson Tonight program on the American Fox News Channel. The coverage aimed to provoke hatred and violence against 2SLGBTQI communities, particularly those who are Two Spirit, trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming (2STNBGN)," the group's letter stated, insisting Carlson's reporting about them was "inflammatory and false."
The eight The CW affiliates in the CBS-owned group will become independent stations in September. They are WPSG Philadelphia, WUPA Atlanta, KBCW San Francisco, KSTW Seattle, WTOT Tampa, WKBD Detroit, KMAX Sacramento and WPCW Pittsburgh.
The stations will continue airing The CW programming through August. As of September, CBS Stations will have 13 independent stations alongside the 14 CBS stations.
“We look forward to reimagining these stations as independents while leveraging the considerable value of their primetime real estate in each of the markets,” said Wendy McMahon, president and co-head, CBS News and Stations. “It’s an exciting time to look at new opportunities to add local programming, including live sports, and shows from across the Paramount Global brands. We are also grateful to have been part of The CW for 17 memorable years and wish our partners at Nexstar continued success.”
Democratic White House contender Robert Kennedy Jr. blames the CIA for the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy — proclaiming it “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The Ny Post reports Kennedy made the bombshell accusation about a murder that’s spun many conspiracy theories during an interview Sunday with John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM’s “Cats Roundtable.”
“There is overwhelming evidence that the CIA was involved in his murder. I think it’s beyond a reasonable doubt at this point,” Kennedy said of JFK’s assassination in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas.
“The evidence is overwhelming that the CIA was involved in the murder, and in the cover-up.”
Newton N. Minow, who as President John F. Kennedy’s new FCC chairman in 1961 sent shock waves through an industry and touched a nerve in a nation addicted to banality and mayhem by calling American television “a vast wasteland,” died on Saturday at his home in Chicago . He was 97.
His daughter Nell Minow said the cause was a heart attack, according to The NYTimes.
On May 9, 1961, almost four months after President Kennedy called upon Americans to renew their commitment to freedom around the globe, Minow, a bespectacled bureaucrat who had recently been put in charge of the Federal Communications Commission, got up before 2,000 broadcast executives at a luncheon in Washington and invited them to watch television for a day.
“Stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you, and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off,” Minow said. “I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland.”
Eight people were killed and at least 10 were injured when an SUV slammed into a crowd at a city bus stop near a shelter for migrants in Brownsville, Texas, police said Sunday. Brownsville police investigator Martin Sandoval said the crash happened at about 8:30 a.m. and authorities are looking into whether it was intentional or an accident. "It can be three factors," Sandoval said. "It could be intoxication; it could be an accident; or it could be intentional. In order for us to find out exactly what happened, we have to eliminate the other two." Sandoval told valleycentral.com the driver was arrested on a charge of reckless driving and that more charges will likely be filed. The local media outlet said the crash occurred in front of the Ozanam Center, a shelter for migrants and homeless people across the street from the bus stop.
Filmed early Sunday, the clip was released by a local congressman hours after the crash - with the driver now in custody and the death toll now reported at eight. The snippet starts seconds before the moment of impact - with a group of at least 17 seen waiting at the stop outside a shelter that had been housing homeless migrants.
Several are seen sitting on the curb in front of the stop, while several stand and exchange pleasantries while presumably waiting for a bus. Suddenly, the unnamed motorist comes into frame - hurtling toward the group at frightening speeds. The footage then shows the crowd being completely obliterated by the more than a two-and-half ton vehicle, which cops said had run a red light. As of Monday morning, it is not known if the strike was intentional - however, witnesses who survived the strike claimed the driver, identified only as a Hispanic male by cops, hurled profanities at the group as he hurtled toward them. Compounding people's suspicions is the fact the crash happened three days before a Trump-era immigration restriction making it harder for migrants to seek asylum in the US is set to expire.
➤DALLAS GUNMAN IDENTIFIED: The gunman who killed eight people and injured seven others before being shot dead by police at a Texas outlet mall has been identified as Mauricio Garcia, 33, several news outlets reported Sunday. A Dallas home linked to Garcia’s parents was searched by police Saturday night following the massacre outside the Allen Premium Outlets, and officials also probed a motel where the suspected shooter had booked an extended stay, law enforcement sources told local outlet WFAA-TV. Garcia did not have a serious criminal history and was working as a security guard, though its unclear where, CBS News reported. Officials are also investigating any possible ties between the suspect and radical beliefs after he was found wearing a patch on his chest that suggested white supremacist or neo-Nazi leanings, according to the Washington Post. The FBI branch in Dallas, which is helping lead the case with the Texas Department of Public Safety, confirmed officials were searching two locations related to the suspect, but did not provide any additional information.
“The trail of blood from where the victims were laying to the police car will stick in my head forever.”
Eyewitnesses recall the mass shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas in which a gunman shot and killed eight people Saturday. https://t.co/hTiLBrErtZ
➤17-YEAR-OLD GIRL KILLED AND 5 PEOPLE WOUNDED IN SHOOTING AT A PARTY IN CALIFORNIA: A 17-year-old girl was killed and five other people were wounded in a shooting early Saturday at a party near a college campus in Northern California, police said. Officers responding around 3:30 a.m. to reports of gunfire found six people shot at an apartment building in Chico, police Chief Billy Aldridge said. All the victims were taken to hospitals, and the teenager died at a hospital, he said. Two men, ages 21 and 19, and a 17-year-old girl remained hospitalized in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, the chief said. Two other men, ages 18 and 20, were treated at the hospital and released, Aldridge said. The shooting appeared to be an isolated incident, and there was no ongoing threat to the community, police said. They released no information on the shooter.
➤BIDEN WAY-DOWN IN POLLING: President Biden faces substantial and multiple challenges, according to a Washington Post-ABC News survey. His overall approval ratings have slipped to a new low, more Americans than not doubt his mental acuity, and his support against leading Republican challengers is far shakier than at this point four years ago.
The Oakland A’s and NBC Sports California appear to be in damage control mode, even when they probably don’t need to be.
Outkick.com reports it all centers on A’s announcer Glen Kuiper. The veteran announcer has reportedly been suspended after he inadvertently used a racial slur during a recent broadcast while talking about a visit to the Negro League’s Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
The incident occurred during Friday night’s broadcast of the A’s-Royals game. Kuiper was talking about the museum after visiting it during the A’s trip to Kansas City.
However, he seemed to stumble over his words and accidentally said something that sounded conspicuously like the N-word.
Kuiper issued an apology immediately after returning from a commercial break after his slip-up.
Limited combinations of merchandise and physical albums will be counted on Billboard’s album charts starting this summer, but with new rules to prevent the issues that led to the elimination of such “bundles” three years ago.
The new combinations of merch and albums, dubbed “fan packs,” will allow fans to support their favorite artists on the charts in a way that research suggests that many would like to. However, the packs will be restricted to just two options per album release — a sweatshirt with an LP and a t-shirt with a CD, for example — with the requirement that each individual item must also be sold separately in the same web store. Fan packs will include only merch — not tickets, meet-and-greet opportunities, virtual items or non-tangible benefits — and they must also contain a physical copy of an album: Combinations of digital downloads and merch will not count towards the charts. In addition, fan pack offerings must be approved in advance of their on-sale date by Luminate and Billboard.
“Fan Pack offerings are a way to recognize the dynamic artist-fan relationship,” said Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard executive vp of charts and data partnerships. Forty-eight percent of Gen Z listeners wish artists provided more merch items so that fans could show their support for their favorite acts, as do 47% of all physical music-purchasing listeners, according to Luminate’s Music 360 report from spring 2023. In addition, Pietroluongo noted that fan packs “provide an efficient one-click step for consumers to purchase merchandise and music.”
Selling albums together with merchandise or concert tickets is a long-running industry practice known as “bundling.” In 2004, Prince famously bundled in-demand tickets to his live shows with his Musicology album, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, making it his highest charting release in 13 years.
US recorded music industry revenues inched up last year to $15.9 billion from $15 billion in 2021, according to a report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Virtually all of that increase owed to a rise in revenues from streaming music, which grew from $12.4 billion to $13.3 billion.
Within that total, revenue from paid subscription services increased by 8% year-over-year to reach $10.2 billion, the first time surpassing the $10 billion mark. In so doing, paid subscriptions accounted for 77% of streaming music revenues, and almost two-thirds of all recorded industry revenues.
Paid music streaming services in 2022 gained another 8 million subscriptions over the previous year to reach 92 million, a year-over-year increase of 9.5%. The number of subscriptions has almost doubled in the past 5 years, from 46.9 million in 2018, although growth has slowed somewhat over the past couple of years. Nonetheless, adults ages 16-64 around the world are spending an increasing amount of time streaming music as opposed to listening to broadcast radio, per recent research.
Within the streaming category, revenue growth was faster for limited tier subscriptions (defined as “services limited by factors such as mobile access, catalog availability, product features, or device restrictions), which grew by 18% to $1.1 billion. Revenues from ad-supported on-demand services climbed at a slower pace of 6%, to $1.8 billion. These services accounted for 11% of total recorded music industry revenues for the year.
Recently YouTube TV has been quiet about its subscriber numbers, but now thanks to a report from the Leichtman Research Group, we have an idea of just how large it is. According to the Leichtman Research Group Inc., YouTube TV is now the 5th largest TV provider in the United States.
According to this report, YouTube TV has about 5 million subscribers. This would make it larger than traditional cable TV providers Verizon, Cox, Optimum, and Mediacom, reports Cord Cutter News.
According to this report, here are how the top live TV streaming services stack up:
The highly anticipated 58th Academy of Country Music Awards are this week.
The star-studded event, hosted by Country music legends Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, will take place live from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on Thursday May 11. The ACM Awards will celebrate country music’s biggest stars and emerging talent, and feature unforgettable performances, exclusive collaborations and unexpected moments sure to captivate fans worldwide.
Who is performing at the ACM Awards 2023? Featured performances include Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Jo Dee Messina, Ashley McBryde, Dolly Parton, Jelly Roll, Cole Swindell, Keith Urban, Morgan Wallen, The War And Treaty, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman among others.
Dolly Parton will be closing out the show, delivering one of her biggest performances to date with the world premiere of her lead single from her highly anticipated forthcoming rock album aptly titled “Rock Star.” Additional performers joining the powerhouse line-up will be announced in the coming weeks.
How to watch the ACM Awards 2023? The ceremony will be available to stream for free live across 240+ countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. CDT/4 p.m. PDT. The full rebroadcast will stream the next day for free on Amazon Freevee.
The effects of the Writers Guild of America strike were felt during the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which aired on MTV Sunday night. After Drew Barrymore dropped out of hosting the event “in solidarity with the strike,” the executive producer announced they were moving to a pre-taped show instead.
With no live show and two hours of airtime to fill, the awards show featured a significant amount of “flashback” footage, including Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, P!nk, and Mya performing "Lady Marmalade" from the Moulin Rogue! Soundtrack in 2001, NSYNC performing “It’s Gonna Be Me” in 2000, and TLC performing “Waterfalls” from the 1995 show.
Viewers took to Twitter to express their confusion about the show’s format this year. “Is this not the typical mtv movie awards lmao ? I’m so lost #MTVAwards,” one person wrote. Another commented, “This is giving 2020 everyone at home because of covid vibes #MTVAwards.”
The Last of Us was the big winner of the evening, taking home three awards in total, including Best Show. Pedro Pascal won Best Hero and Best Duo as well. He accepted Best Duo alongside Bella Ramsey.
Stranger Things followed close behind with two awards in total, including Best Kick-Ass Cast, while Joseph Quinn won the award for Breakthrough Performance. Jenna Ortega took home the golden popcorn for Best Performance in a Show for her role in Wednesday.
As for film, Scream VI had the most wins, taking home Best Movie and Best Fight. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise won Best Performance in a Movie for his role in Top Gun: Maverick. He accepted this award in the exact same way that he honored King Charles III — through a video recording of him flying a plane.
It was a big night for Jennifer Coolidge as well, for she was honored with the Comedic Genius Award and took home Most Frightened Performance for her role in The White Lotus. A montage highlighted her numerous roles over the years, including in Best in Show, Legally Blonde, and American Pie.
Many made sure to mention the WGA strike in their acceptance speeches, including Coolidge, Quinn, and Pascal.
Barrymore reprised her role as Josie Keller from Never Been Kissed in a pre-taped segment. She also played Barbie’s “super supportive sister” Skipper, who was inserted into the trailer for the new movie. The Drew Barrymore Show host took home the golden popcorn for Best Host as well.
Gannett posted revenues of $668.9 million in its Q1, a 10.6% decrease YoY. But digital revenues were strong, hitting $257.5 million, 37% of the company total, a 0.9% falloff from 2022 reports Mediapost.
Overall net income totaled $10.3 million in Q1, adjustable to $5.8 million, versus a $3 million net loss in the same period of 2022.
“We made significant progress across the majority of our key financial measures, and we believe our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the measures we implemented in the latter half of 2022 to position the Company for long-term success”, said Michael Reed, Gannett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. That included layoffs.
➦In 1899...Arthur Quirk Bryan born (Died from a heart attack at age 60 – November 18, 1959). He is best remembered for his longtime recurring role as well-spoken, wisecracking Dr. Gamble on the radio comedy Fibber McGee and Molly and for creating the voice of the Warner Brothers cartoon character Elmer Fudd.
In the late 1920s, Bryan was an announcer at WOR radio in New York City. Contemporary radio listings in a daily newspaper indicate that he was still at WOR as late as September 13, 1931. In October 1931, he began working as an announcer at WCAU in Philadelphia, and in 1933 he moved to Philadelphia's WIP. By 1934, he was heard on WHN in New York. In 1938–1939, he was a regular on The Grouch Club on the CBS Pacific network and was featured in some short-subject films made by the group.
Bryan's work in animation did not go unnoticed by radio producers. Although his first forays into that medium were accompanied by instructions that he use the Fudd voice, Bryan soon came to the attention of Don Quinn and Phil Leslie, the production and writing team responsible for Fibber McGee and Molly and their supporting characters, two of whom spun off into their own radio hits, The Great Gildersleeve and Beulah. The Gildersleeve character, played by Harold Peary, became series broadcasting's first successful spin-off hit; that plus the onset of World War II (which cost Fibber McGee & Molly their Mayor La Trivia, when Gale Gordon went into the Coast Guard in early 1942, and "The Old Timer" Bill Thompson was drafted almost a year later) nabbed nearly every other remaining male voice.
Bryan was first hired for the new Great Gildersleeve series, to play the part of Cousin Octavia's secretary/assistant, Lucius Llewellyn (using the Elmer Fudd voice), and later one of Gildersleeve's cronies, Floyd Munson, the barber. His work on the series (in Bryan's natural voice) so impressed Quinn and Leslie, that Bryan was added to the cast of their main show, Fibber McGee and Molly, in 1943.
In the early 1940s, Bryan played Waymond Wadcliffe on the Al Pearce & His Gang program on CBS. Bryan starred as Major Hoople (from June 22, 1942 to April 26, 1943) in The Charlotte Greenwood Show. and played Lt. Levinson on radio's Richard Diamond, Private Detective (from September 6, 1950 to June 29, 1951). In the mid-1940s, he had the role of Duke on Forever Ernest.
➦In 1915...John Archer was born in small town Nebraska. He is best remembered as the radio voice of Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, for a year in the 1940’s. Later in life, as a resident of Greater Seattle he was a founding member of REPS, the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound. He died of lung cancer Dec. 3 1999 at age 84.
➦In 1940...Eric Hilliard "Rick" Nelson born (Died – December 31, 1985). He starred alongside his family in the radio and television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. In 1957 he began a long and successful career as a popular recording artist.
As one of the top "teen idols" of the 1950s his fame led to a motion picture role co-starring alongside John Wayne and Dean Martin in Howard Hawks's western feature film Rio Bravo (1959). He placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, and its predecessors, between 1957 and 1973, including "Poor Little Fool" in 1958, which was the first #1 song on Billboard magazine's then-newly created Hot 100 chart. He recorded 19 additional Top 10 hits and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.
Nelson began his entertainment career in 1949 playing himself in the radio sitcom series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. In 1952, he appeared in his first feature film, Here Come the Nelsons. In 1957, he recorded his first single, debuted as a singer on the television version of the sitcom, and released the #1 album titled Ricky. In 1958, Nelson released his first #1 single, "Poor Little Fool", and in 1959 received a Golden Globe nomination for "Most Promising Male Newcomer" after starring in Rio Bravo. A few films followed, and when the television series was cancelled in 1966, Nelson made occasional appearances as a guest star on various television programs.
He, his fiancee & 5 others were killed in a plane crash Dec 31, 1985 enroute to a New Year’s Eve performance in Dallas. Nelson was 45.
➦In 1959...NBC Radio aired the final broadcast of “One Man’s Family” after being on the air 27 years. The Carleton E. Morse creation had completed 3,256 episodes since its beginnings in San Francisco back in 1932.
➦In 1962…Beatles manager Brian Epstein had a chance meeting with engineer Ted Huntly at a London record store. After Epstein related his discouragement about the Decca label rejecting the band, Huntly suggested he send a demo recording of the Beatles to EMI and, in particular, to one of their producers, George Martin.
