October 8 Radio History

➦In 1906..William N. Robson born in Pittsburgh (Died at age 88 – April 10, 1995).  Robson spent most of his career involved with radio. His radio debut came in 1936 as director of Big Town. He succeeded Irving Reis as head of the Columbia Workshop.

William Robson

Perhaps the most notable of Robson's productions was Suspense, followed closely by the similarly formatted Escape. Suspense lasted more than two decades on the air with more than 900 episodes broadcast. Ronald L. Smith wrote about Suspense and Escape in his book, Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices: "Both used the same format: a challenging (if anonymous) host introducing a story of murder or perhaps classic horror. Robson favored adaptations of anything from Poe tales to a good yarn in the latest issue of Esquire magazine."

Robson left CBS in 1939 to become director of an advertising firm's radio department, and after the United States entered World War II he helped to prepare broadcasts for the Office of Emergency Management and the War Production Board. He returned to CBS in May 1942 to help the network prepare programs related to the war.

On June 22, 1950, a pamphlet called Red Channels appeared, focusing on the field of broadcasting. Robson was among 151 entertainment industry professionals (erroneously) named in the context of "Red Fascists and their sympathizers".  During the ’50′s he wrote TV dramas, and in 1961 joined The Voice of America, where he was reunited with Edward R. Murrow, and won four Peabody Awards.

➦In 1935...“The O’Neills” first aired.  The serial drama also aired on Mutual, CBS and NBC Red and Blue from 1934 to 1943. Created by actress-writer Jane West, the series was sponsored at various times by Gold Dust, Ivory Snow and Standard Brands.




➦In 1937...The radio series Grand Central Station started a long run long run on the major networks from 1937 to 1954.  Each program opened with an announcer intoning that Grand Central was "the crossroads of a million private lives, a gigantic stage on which are played a thousand dramas daily."



➦In 1944...the first broadcast of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet was heard on the CBS radio network. The show would continue on radio until 1953 and on ABC-TV from 1952 to 1966.
“Hi Mom, Hi Dad, Hi Dave, Hi Ricky.”

When Red Skelton was drafted in March 1944, Ozzie Nelson was prompted to create his own family situation comedy. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched October 8, 1944 on CBS, it moved to NBC in October 1948, then made a late-season switch back to CBS in April 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949 to June 18, 1954.
In total 402 radio episodes were produced. In an arrangement that amplified the growing pains of American broadcasting, as radio "grew up" into television, the Nelsons' deal with ABC gave the network the option to move their program to television. The struggling network needed proven talent that was not about to defect to the more established and wealthier networks like CBS or NBC.

The Nelsons' sons, David and Ricky, did not join the cast until the radio show's fifth year (initially appearing on the February 20, 1949 episode, ages 12 and 8, respectively). The two boys were played by professional actors prior to their joining because both were too young to perform.

➦In 1984...Flashback from Radio&Records

➦In 1984....From R&R's Back Page..

➦In 2001...Syndicated talk host Rush Limbaugh announced the was totally deaf in his left ear and had only partial hearing in his right ear. The condition had happened in a three month period. (subsequently his hearing was restored through a revolutionary implant procedure.)

➦In 2010…News Correspondent Frank Bourgholtzer died at the age of 90. Born in New York City, Bourgholtzer attended Indiana University, where he majored in government and minored in economics and journalism. He graduated with a BA in 1940. Bourgholtzer returned to New York after graduation and wrote comic book scripts until joining the Wall Street Journal as a reporter in 1943. He became a Capitol Hill correspondent for the paper in 1945.

Bourgholtzer and President Truman

The following year, Bourgholtzer joined NBC News as the TV news service's first full-time White House correspondent.  From 1947 until 1953, he covered President Truman. During the first live televised tour of the White House, Bourgholtzer convinced the president to play on the piano in the East Room.

From the early 1950s through the 1960s, Bourgholtzer worked overseas for NBC News and served as bureau chief in Paris, Bonn, Vienna, Moscow, and Yemen. In 1969 he joined NBC's Los Angeles bureau, where he stayed until retiring in 1986.