Episode from March 3, 1936
(Click to Play)
Friday, January 8, 2016
THE GREEN HORNET
The Green Hornet is an American radio adventure series created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker with input from radio director James Jewell. The series detailed the adventures of Britt Reid, debonair newspaper publisher by day, crime-fighting masked hero at night. Distinguished by its use of classical music for themes and for bridges between scenes, The Green Hornet was "one of radio's best-known and most distinctive juvenile adventure shows."
Though various incarnations sometimes changed details, in most versions the Green Hornet is the alter ego of Britt Reid, wealthy young publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper by day, who goes out in his masked "Green Hornet" identity at night to fight crime as a vigilante. Reid is accompanied by his loyal and similarly masked partner and confidant, Kato, who drives their technologically advanced car, the "Black Beauty." As the Green Hornet, Reid masquerades as a criminal to infiltrate the underworld, leaving behind criminals and any incriminating evidence to be found by the police.
The series originated on January 31, 1936, on WXYZ, the same local Detroit station that originated its companion shows "The Lone Ranger" and "Challenge of the Yukon." Beginning April 12, 1938, the station supplied the series to the Mutual Broadcasting System radio network, and then to NBC Blue and its successors, the Blue Network and ABC Network, from November 16, 1939, through September 8, 1950. Orange Crush sponsored its return in 1952 for a brief run from September 10 to December 5 of that year.
Though various incarnations sometimes changed details, in most versions the Green Hornet is the alter ego of Britt Reid, wealthy young publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper by day, who goes out in his masked "Green Hornet" identity at night to fight crime as a vigilante. Reid is accompanied by his loyal and similarly masked partner and confidant, Kato, who drives their technologically advanced car, the "Black Beauty." As the Green Hornet, Reid masquerades as a criminal to infiltrate the underworld, leaving behind criminals and any incriminating evidence to be found by the police.
The series originated on January 31, 1936, on WXYZ, the same local Detroit station that originated its companion shows "The Lone Ranger" and "Challenge of the Yukon." Beginning April 12, 1938, the station supplied the series to the Mutual Broadcasting System radio network, and then to NBC Blue and its successors, the Blue Network and ABC Network, from November 16, 1939, through September 8, 1950. Orange Crush sponsored its return in 1952 for a brief run from September 10 to December 5 of that year.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
HOPALONG CASSIDY
Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by author Clarence E. Mulford who wrote a series of popular short stories and twenty-eight novels based on the character. In Mulford's early writings, the character appears as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. Beginning in 1935, the character ‒ as played by movie actor William Boyd ‒ was transformed into a clean-cut, reserved, and well spoken silver screen hero. He possessed a fine sense of fair play and was often called upon to intercede when dishonest characters were taking advantage of honest citizens. "Hoppy" and his white horse, Topper, usually traveled through the west with two companions - one young and trouble prone with a weakness for damsels in distress, the other comically awkward and outspoken.
Having appeared in a series of sixty-six immensely popular films, Boyd thought that Hopalong Cassidy might have a future in television. And after spending $350,000 to obtain the rights to the Hopalong Cassidy character, books, and his old films, he approached the fledgling NBC television network. The initial broadcasts were so successful that NBC could not wait for a television series to be produced and simply re-edited the old feature films down to broadcast length. On June 24, 1949, Hopalong Cassidy became the first network western television series.
The enormous success of the television series made Boyd a star. And in something that now might seem like a move backwards, the Mutual Broadcasting System began broadcasting a radio version of Hopalong Cassidy in January 1950. At the end of September the show moved to CBS Radio where it ran until 1952.
Having appeared in a series of sixty-six immensely popular films, Boyd thought that Hopalong Cassidy might have a future in television. And after spending $350,000 to obtain the rights to the Hopalong Cassidy character, books, and his old films, he approached the fledgling NBC television network. The initial broadcasts were so successful that NBC could not wait for a television series to be produced and simply re-edited the old feature films down to broadcast length. On June 24, 1949, Hopalong Cassidy became the first network western television series.
The enormous success of the television series made Boyd a star. And in something that now might seem like a move backwards, the Mutual Broadcasting System began broadcasting a radio version of Hopalong Cassidy in January 1950. At the end of September the show moved to CBS Radio where it ran until 1952.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
THREE KINGS DAY
Today, Three Kings Day, marks the end of the Twelve Days of
Christmas and is observed this year on Tuesday, January 6. It is a celebration of the story of three wise
men (traditionally Kings or Magi) visiting the newborn Jesus with gifts. The
word "maji" (plural of the Latin magus) wasn't used until centuries
after the canonization of the books known today as the New Testament, and then to
denote followers of Zoroastrianism or Zoroaster and much later as a
practitioner of magic, to include astrology, alchemy and other forms of
esoteric knowledge. Thus the association or confusion with the scriptural term
"wise men."
The story is found in the second chapter of the Gospel of
Matthew versus 1-12. Neither of the terms, "Kings" or "Magi,"
are found there:
1
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the
Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests
and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be
born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of
Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art
not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule my people Israel.
(Compare
Micah 5:2 - " But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old,
from everlasting.")
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the
wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go
and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me
word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came
and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped
him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a
dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own
country another way.
In this story, wise men (but traditionally Magi or Kings)
from the east follow a star to Jerusalem, where they ask Herod, the king
appointed by the Romans, what he knows about a newly born "King of the
Jews." This sounds like a challenge to Herod, who gathers his priests to
learn where and who is this king. They relay a prophecy that Messiah will be
born in Bethlehem, and Herod sends the wise men there, saying: "Go and
search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that
I may go also and worship him." The wise men -- named by tradition,
Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar, but names never appearing in scripture --
eventually find Mary and her son, Jesus, to whom they give gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh, and then return home, having been told in a dream to by-pass
Herod.
In 1857 a carol recounting a portion of this story was
written by an American, John Henry Hopkins, Jr. Known variously as "We
Three Kings" or "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The
Quest of the Magi" it remains one of the most popular and most frequently
sung Christmas carols today
Although Hopkins originally worked as a journalist for a New
York newspaper and studied to become a lawyer, he chose to join the clergy upon
graduation. He studied at the General Theological Seminary in New York City and
was ordained a deacon of the Episcopal Church in 1850. Five years later he became
the seminary's first music teacher, a post he held until 1857 in addition to
his ministry as the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania. It was during his final year of teaching at the seminary, that Hopkins
wrote "We Three Kings" for a Christmas pageant held at the seminary in
New York City. By authoring the lyrics and composing the music, he did
something extremely uncommon among carol composers, who would usually write
either the lyrics or music, but not both.
The carol achieved popularity within the circle of family,
friends, and students; thus encouraging Hopkins to publish the carol in 1862. However
popular this carol has become, the melody has been described as sad or moody or
solemn - almost a dirge - but somehow reminiscent of Eastern Mediterranean
music. And in this respect it may have had an influence on American expatriate T.S.
Eliot's 1927 poem "Journey of the Magi." The first three lines of the
poem reflecting the music's mood:
'A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a journey…'
If you really want to read the poem in its entirety, all forty-three
lines of it, it can be found at: http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/journey-magi
The carol is organized in such a way that three male voices could
each sing a single verse as a solo, those being the verses corresponding with
the gifts of each of the three kings. The first and last verses of the carol would
be sung together by all three as "verses of praise." The refrain
proceeds to praise the beauty of the Star of Bethlehem. Now, however, the
Magi's solos are typically not observed when singing the carol.
Although written in 1857 and not published until five years
later in 1862, it appeared in Hopkins' compilation titled "Carols, Hymns
and Songs." It was the first Christmas carol originating from the United
States to be published in the United Kingdom. In 1928, the carol was included
in the Oxford Book of Carols,” which praised the song and labelled it "one
of the most successful of modern composed carols.
In traditional form the lyrics are as follows:
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star.
Refrain:
O Star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright.
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect Light.
Born a king on Bethlehem's plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to rein.
Refrain
Frankincense to offer have I.
Incense owns a Deity nigh.
Pray'r and praising, all men raising,
Worship Him, God on high.
Refrain
Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom.
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
Refrain
Glorious now behold Him arise,
King and God and Sacrifice.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Peals through the earth and skies.
Refrain
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Man at the Gate of the World
Mr. President was a radio series that ran on the ABC Network from June 26, 1947, to September 23, 1953. Each half-hour episode was based on an incident in the life of one of the people who have held the office of President of the United States, but the dialogs were written in such a way as not to reveal the name of the President until the last line of dialog at the end of the program, when the President would be addressed by name. The audience was thus encouraged to guess, from the plot of the episode, which President it was.
However in December 1949 it was decided that because the Sunday broadcast fell on Christmas, a special program should be aired. You will hear how, in observance of the Christmas holiday, Edward Arnold put aside his role as Mr. President to bring his listeners a special Christmas story. "The Man at the Gate of the World: A Story of the Star," the tale of Caspar, one of the three magi of tradition who follow a star to Bethlehem, was written by a Welsh Sunday school teacher, William Edward Cule, in 1929.
The story tells of how Caspar gives up his wealth and privilege to stand at a city gate washing the feet of weary travelers, in order to accomplish Christ's teachings to his disciples. Cule's story was almost scrapped after he read Henry Van Dyke's parable "The Other Wise Man," but decided his story of the star had its own place among the assorted narratives.
And now "Mr. President" episode 131, "The Man at the Gate of the World"
However in December 1949 it was decided that because the Sunday broadcast fell on Christmas, a special program should be aired. You will hear how, in observance of the Christmas holiday, Edward Arnold put aside his role as Mr. President to bring his listeners a special Christmas story. "The Man at the Gate of the World: A Story of the Star," the tale of Caspar, one of the three magi of tradition who follow a star to Bethlehem, was written by a Welsh Sunday school teacher, William Edward Cule, in 1929.
The story tells of how Caspar gives up his wealth and privilege to stand at a city gate washing the feet of weary travelers, in order to accomplish Christ's teachings to his disciples. Cule's story was almost scrapped after he read Henry Van Dyke's parable "The Other Wise Man," but decided his story of the star had its own place among the assorted narratives.
And now "Mr. President" episode 131, "The Man at the Gate of the World"
Sunday, January 3, 2016
The Littlest Angel
I associate the story of the Littlest Angel with the Wichita Elementary School's fireplace in the basement library at Christmas time. How a school in the Milwaukie, Oregon, school district came to be given that name is still a puzzle to me. But then we didn't concern ourselves with the fact that we weren't in Kansas or that whoever named the town didn't know how to spell or that they didn't care about it. What was important was that each year at Christmas our principal, mean Mrs. Blackburn, would let us leave our classroom to sit on the floor in front of fire and be read stories by our teacher.
It was 1949 and "The Littlest Angel" had been written only ten years earlier. It took Charles Tazewell just three days to write the heartwarming tale when a Christmas story was needed in case a radio show planned for actor Ronald Colman fell through during an actor’s guild crisis. As it turned out, the story wasn’t needed then, but ended up having its first performance in 1940 when actress Edna Best picked it up for "Manhattan at Midnight." Other reports have it that Helen Hayes performed it on the Lux Radio Theater the same year.
The short story was first made available in book form in 1946 when it was published by the Children's Press. The Coronet magazine published it in 1949 and later produced the first film version. The film had limited animation - the story being told through narration only - and a short running time of only 14 minutes. Possibly the short running time had to do with the intended audience. It is thought the film was originally to be shown in schools as Coronet produced many educational films. (Interesting how much our American society has changed. That a film with such a beautiful but blatantly Christian message could not only be allowed, but also encouraged would be mind-boggling to many today. Today even breathing a prayer anywhere near a school will get you brought up on charges! A lot has changed. And not always for the better.)
But this is supposed to be about radio.
In 1948 Helen Hayes recreated her memorable broadcast of the story a few seasons earlier, but this time for the Electric Theater radio program. In 1949 and 1950 Charles Tazewell worked with the producers of a radio adaptation of the story for the Family Theater radio program featuring Loretta Young. It is this performance that is presented here.
It was 1949 and "The Littlest Angel" had been written only ten years earlier. It took Charles Tazewell just three days to write the heartwarming tale when a Christmas story was needed in case a radio show planned for actor Ronald Colman fell through during an actor’s guild crisis. As it turned out, the story wasn’t needed then, but ended up having its first performance in 1940 when actress Edna Best picked it up for "Manhattan at Midnight." Other reports have it that Helen Hayes performed it on the Lux Radio Theater the same year.
The short story was first made available in book form in 1946 when it was published by the Children's Press. The Coronet magazine published it in 1949 and later produced the first film version. The film had limited animation - the story being told through narration only - and a short running time of only 14 minutes. Possibly the short running time had to do with the intended audience. It is thought the film was originally to be shown in schools as Coronet produced many educational films. (Interesting how much our American society has changed. That a film with such a beautiful but blatantly Christian message could not only be allowed, but also encouraged would be mind-boggling to many today. Today even breathing a prayer anywhere near a school will get you brought up on charges! A lot has changed. And not always for the better.)
But this is supposed to be about radio.
In 1948 Helen Hayes recreated her memorable broadcast of the story a few seasons earlier, but this time for the Electric Theater radio program. In 1949 and 1950 Charles Tazewell worked with the producers of a radio adaptation of the story for the Family Theater radio program featuring Loretta Young. It is this performance that is presented here.
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