RadioGram for May, 2013

FRANK GRAHAM • PRESIDENT LARRY GASSMAN DECLARES ‘YEAR OF CHANGE’ FOR SPERDVAC • LOWELL THOMAS
sperdvac
May 2013
Volume 38 • Number 1
graciously extends its gratitude to these individuals
who have contributed $50 or more to sperdvac during the past
12 months. If you wish to be a sponsor of sperdvac and join this
select group your tax-deductible donation to sperdvac can be
mailed to Dan Haefele, 13720 Jefferson Avenue, Hawthorne,
CA 90250. Thank you!
sperdvac
• ALICE AKINS in memory of Glen Akins
• DAVE AMAREL in memory of Jim
Harmon
• ARTHUR J.M. ANDERSON in memory
of Orson Welles
• ERIC BAELEN
• JUDIE BARTELL in memory of Harry
Bartell, Ben Wright and Vic Perrin
• PAUL M. BENNETT
• OLIVER BERLINER in memory of John
Guedel, Martha Tilton and Lena
Romay
• FRED BONDY in memory of the whole
Gunsmoke gang
• GEORGE BRECKENRIDGE
• DAVID & LINDA BRENINGER
• BUD BRESNAHAN in memory of Richard Crenna
• RICHARD A. BROCKELMAN
• DENNIS B. BURK in memory of Phil
Harper
• CHRIS M. BUZZARD
• RICHARD CHANDLEE in memory of
Truda Marsen Chandlee
• GEROLD M. CLEMENSEN
• WARD L. COCHRAN
• BERT H. COHEN
• RICHARD F. COLAVECHIO in memory
of Bryna Raeburn, Craig McDonnell,
Bill Zuckert and Florence Robinson
• JOHN COLLINS
• THOMAS W. COLLINS in memory of
William Conrad
• TOMMY COOK in memory of Arch
Oboler
• IVAN CURY in memory of Bob Novak
• DIX DAVIS
• LLOYD DE LLAMAS
• ROSEMARY DOBBS
• JUNE FORAY DONAVAN in memory of
Hobart Donavan
• WIL DUFOUR
• BOB DUNCAN, JR.
• HERB ELLIS in memory of Larry Dobkin, Harry Bartell and Parley Baer
• JAY ELZWEIG in honor of the Long Island Radio & TV Historical Society, the
WCWP-FM Alumni Association and
Staff, John “The Movie Man” Carpenter and Eddie “The Old Philosopher”
Lawrence
• HENRY C. ENGELHARDT III in memory
of Michael Meredith
• CARMEN FINESTRA
• DAVID FOLKMAN
• ART FORSTER in memory of Gil Stratton
and William Conrad
• JACK FRANCE
• BARBARA FULLER in memory of John
Newland, Peggy Knudsen and Laughter
• JACK GAGNE
• BARRY GERBER
• STANLEY D. GINSBURG
• RICHARD GLASBAND in honor of Bobb
Lynes and Barbara Watkins
• KATHLEEN GRAMS-GIBBS in memory of
Mary Grams
• TOM J. GRIMSLEY in memory of Rosemary Dobbs, Art Linkletter and Stuart
Lubin
• JOHN F. HALLEY
• BARBARA HARMON in memory of Art
Hern, Jack Lester and Curley Bradley
• HELPING HANDS FOR THE BLIND
• BOB HICKS
• GORDON HIGBEE
• DR. MICHELE HILMES
• STEPHEN E. HOLDEN
• GERALD A. HOLZMAN
• JAMES F. HORNER in memory of The KNX
Radio Drama Hour
• SEAMAN JACOBS in memory of Fred S.
Fox
• ROBERT JANOVICI
• SALLY JANUS
• DENNIS C. JOHNSON
• RALPH M. JOHNSON
• SAM KAMLER
• CASEY KASEM
• GLENDA KELLY in memory of Stuart
Lubin
• NILAN L. KINCAID
• ALBERT J. KOPEC
• DENIS KRAY in memory of my beloved
parents, Norbert and Florence Kray, and
in memory of Glenn, Ray, Marion, Tex
and all the boys in the band
• RON LANGSETH
• JEFFREY J. LEBRUN in memory of all
departed voice artists
• ALFRED LUCAS
• LON McCARTT in memory of Smilin’ Ed
(Froggy the Gremlin) McConnell
• ROBY & JOYCE McHONE
• ESTHER GEDDES McVEY in memory of
my leading man, Tyler McVey
• JAN MERLIN in memory of Frankie
Thomas and Mona Bruns Thomas
N
A
K
H
T
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RADIOGRAM • MAY 2013
• MIKE MORITZ in gratitude for all of oldtime radio
• JAMES L. MORRISON
• MILLIE MORSE in memory of Jim
Harmon
• BOB MOTT to all the SFX artists when
radio was still radio
• GEORGE (BOB) & VIRGINIA NEWHART
in memory of Bill Quinn
• JAN ELLIS O’HARE in loving memory of
Antony Ellis
• ROBERT OLSEN
• DR. WAYNE OTT
• FORREST F. OWEN
• GARRY PAPERS
• DAVE PARKER in memory of Fred Foy
• PHIL PROCTOR
• BRIAN E. RAMSEY
• CHESTER RAWSKI in memory of Carrolyn Rawski
• MARIE RAYMOND
• RONALD M. REISNER, M.D.
• DICK RICHARDS
• D.W. RICHARDSON
• STEPHEN K. SHUTTLEWORTH
• STUART & JANIS SIMON
• CHUCK SIVERTSEN
• LOREN SLAFER
• KENNETH L. SLEEPER
• LEE SMITH
• MICKEY SMITH
• C. W. STAUFENBERG in memory of Paul
Rhymer and members of the “Vic and
Sade” cast
• RICHARD STONE
• ROBERT A. SUMMERS
• JON D. SWARTZ in memory of Jim
Harmon
• RICHARD & MADELENE TEPERSON in
memory of Gil Stratton
• JOAN TREMAYNE in memory of Les
Tremayne
• EDMUND TOTMAN
• EUGENE J. WARD
• WASHINGTON OLD TIME RADIO CLUB
in memory of Jim Harmon
• EDWARD C. WEAVER
• BETSY L. WEINBERG
• LESLIE C. WEST
• JAMES C. WORDEN
U
O
Y
sperdvac
Vo l u m e 3 8 • N u m b e r 1 • M a y 2 0 1 3
The Society to
Preserve and Encourage
Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
president
Larry Gassman
•••
Glenda Kelly • Barbara Harmon
John Gassman • Jerry Williams
Jerry Haendiges • Walden Hughes
Officers
Treasurer...................................................... Jerry Williams
Secretary........................................................ Glenda Kelly
Activities Chair.........................................Barbara Harmon
Acquisitions Chair...................................... John Gassman
Membership Chair......................................... Barry Opliger
Elections Chair............................................ Neil J. Mitchell
Merchandise...................................................Michael Plett
Catalogs...................................................... Bob Steinmetz
New Members................................................... Rex Quinn
Editor
PATRICK LUCANIO
RADIOGRAM is published monthly except December by
sperdvac, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio
Drama, Variety and Comedy, a California nonprofit public
benefit corporation, P.O. Box 125, Oroville, California 95965.
Dues are $25 for first year and $15 for renewals; $30 American currency for Canadian members. Annual subscriptions
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property of sperdvac. Opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of sperdvac All rights to letters sent
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no responsibility for inconveniences or damages resulting
from editorial error or omissions. Publisher is not responsible
for typographical errors. All photographs and illustrations
are believed authorized for reproduction as set forth within.
Entire contents are copyright © 2013 by the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy.
All rights reserved. Nothing contained in this issue may be
reproduced, in whole or in part, by any means, including the
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EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS should be sent to Radiogram,
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e-mail
[email protected]
sperdvac
Man with a Thousand Voices
The Brief and Tragic Career of Frank Graham
F
rank Graham’s career in
radio was fairly brief and
ended in tragedy. Despite proving himself an accomplished radio actor, announcer,
voice artist and producer, Graham seemed to spend much of
his time in the shadows cast by
better-known performers.
Graham’s mother, Ethel
Briggs Graham, had been an
opera singer and concert performer. The sound of applause
was familiar enough to Graham
that he couldn’t have been
faulted for trying to grab some
limelight for himself when it
came time to choose a career.
His starting point was Seattle,
where he found opportunities
on both stage and radio. By the
age of 22, Frank had already attracted the interest of network
officials at CBS and Graham
transferred to KNX, the network’s Los Angeles affiliate.
The earliest recording I have listened to
with Frank acting in his capacity as a staff
announcer at KNX is “Alice in Wonderland”
a 1937 broadcast of Fires of Inspiration, a
series revolving around the inspiring work of
famous historical figures. In his delivery, the
young announcer seems to have adopted the
detached style of a world-weary sophisticate,
a manner of delivery that was already waning
in popularity.
At KNX Graham was also able to indulge
his aptitude for creating voices and characters. Nightcap Yarns was a 15-minute,
five-times-a-week program, running late at
night, with Frank voicing all the characters.
Each weekday night, Frank would present a
different story genre. For the next few years,
Nightcap Yarns remained a staple of late
night programming at KNX. The series also
offered a glimpse as to why Graham would
come to be called “the man with a thousand
voices.” One of the most popular characters
created by Frank was the rather eccentric
Professor Cosmo Jones. Cosmo was the
graduate of a correspondence school with
a degree in criminology and a penchant for
rooting out and solving crimes that baffled
the police. Cosmo’s nemesis on the police
force was Captain Murphy, a staid Irishman
with little regard for Cosmo’s
well-meaning intentions.
In 1943, Monogram Pictures
released Cosmo Jones in Crime
Smasher with Graham transferring to the screen the peculiar
professor. Edgar Kennedy
played the perpetually annoyed
Captain Kennedy. The film
proved to be just a one-shot
film appearance for Cosmo
Jones. Despite appearing in the
title role, Graham’s name was
dropped to number five in the
billing below Kennedy, Richard Cromwell, Gale Storm and
Mantan Moreland. By the time
of the film’s release, however,
Graham was finding his voice
in steady demand by the cartoon
industry. Walt Disney, Warner
Brothers, MGM and Columbia
all found work for Graham. In
1944, Frank served as a narrator
for Disney’s The Three Caballeros. His was the
voice of the Fox and the Crow for Columbia;
Graham lent his voice to a number of Tex
Avery cartoons and generally continued to
burnish his growing reputation as the “man
with a thousand voices” while offering Mel
Blanc some competition.
Back on radio, Graham managed to keep
busy. Frank snagged the role of the “Wandering Vaquero” on Romance of the Ranchos,
served as an announcer for Tommy Riggs and
Betty Lou, gave life to several characters for
Lum and Abner, served as announcer on The
Ginny Simms Show and for Nelson Eddy on
The Electric Hour. By any measure, Graham
was building a credible career on radio while
finding success as voice artist in cartoons. But
there were also no breakout roles that might
have proven his merit above and beyond that
of yeoman status; employment was steady but
not yet at the headliner level.
It seemed that Graham’s career might get
the desired boost when, in 1949, he won the
part of Jeff Regan, in a re-launch of the series
that had helped propel Jack Webb to radio
prominence. The difficulty with Jeff Regan,
Investigator, however, was that Frank’s characterization was always going to be measured
against Webb’s.
Continued Page 14
MAY 2013 • RADIOGRAM
3
State of the Organization
President Gassman Declares
‘Year of Change’ for SPERDVAC
by Larry Gassman
sperdvac president
4
First of all, it is good to be back as president. I held this office for the first time for six
years beginning in 1986. A lot has happened
since that time.
First, let me thank the prior board for
their hard work. It is not easy running a volunteer organization.
Satisfying everyone is
difficult at best.
As you know, several of us ran for board
positions because
we wanted to make
changes in sperdvac
to make it more in
line with present day
technology. We are already working to put
sperdvac’s catalogs on line. If you have not
been to sperdvac’s web page recently, we urge
you to do so: www.sperdvac.org. A big thank
you to Jerry Haendiges for his hard work to
make the web page one we can all be proud of.
We’ve also begun taking a look at the best
way to use sperdvac’s many resources in
the most beneficial ways. To that end, after
looking at figures of rentals over the last few
years, we have regretfully made the decision
to suspend the use and close all open reel
libraries. The library order forms will reflect
that change immediately. We have found that
most member borrowers are now moving to
compact discs.
If you look at our catalogs, you will notice
a big difference between earlier attempts in
the beginning to release pages. Some entries
were typed, others were hand written in various fonts etc. Nothing is consistent. We are
attempting to make the new catalog much
more consistent over all. Because we are now
working to put sperdvac’s catalog on line, we
need help typing our catalog pages so they can
be digitally added to the web page. If you can
help, please let us know. We presently do not
have a Volunteer Coordinator. If you would
like to take on this responsibility, please let
me know. You can call sperdvac at (877)2515771, or e-mail sperdvac.org.
All of my columns in the Radiogram will
also have my phone number at the end.
As you know we will once again hold a
convention in November at the Beverly GarRADIOGRAM • MAY 2013
land Hotel. I will chair the convention this
year. We are assembling a list of those who
wish to volunteer both off-site and on and so
please contact me if you would like to help.
Shortly we will release a list of things which
need to be done.
This year will be one of change for sperdvac. We would like you to be a part of it. If
you have ideas or suggestions, please call me
or e-mail me. I will give my e-mail out in later
issues, in fact I’ll give you my current one but
it will change. If you get a bounce back, you
can always reach me at the sperdvac e-mail
or call the phone number.
We have several lines of communication
open and I would like you to use as many as
you feel comfortable with. Suggestions are
welcome.
Let’s continue to work to make sperdvac
an organization that always responds to its
members to the best of its ability.
Here’s my contact information: Larry
Gassman (714) 449-1958; e-mail (at present)
at [email protected] but will eventuall
change to LarryGassman@Roadrunner.
com so if the first one bounces back, try the
second one.
Thank you all.
Newsgroup Invites Everyone
to Rick’sPlace.com to ‘talk’
Over 1000 folks have already subscribed
(as of March 25) to a newsgroup called
Rick’s Place. It opens the door to discussions
about old-time radio, vintage movies, retro
television, comic books, comic strips, pulp
magazines and more.
The moderator is a fellow named Dave
and he promises to keep the daily e-mail
newsletter busy with frequent contributions
from historians, authors, celebrities and more.
It’s free to subscribe and anyone subscribed
can contribute to the discussions. Posting is
encouraged but if you prefer to subscribe and
remain a “lurker” (someone who just reads
the e-mail newsletter) that’s okay too. Check
out the website at www.RicksPlace.info and
take a quick minute and subscribe.
Eddie Carroll Biography Now Available
The late Eddie Carroll, who
pleased audiences as Jack Benny in
his one-man show called Laughter in
Bloom and who voiced the Disney
character Jiminy Cricket as well as
being a best friend of sperdvac, is
the subject of Wishing On a Star:
The Life of Eddie Carroll written
by his widow, Carolyn Carroll, and
Brad Strickland. The 314-page
biography is now available at Amazon and
from the publisher Bearmanor Media as well
as eddiecarroll.com from which readers can
obtain an autographed copy.
“When Eddie Carroll walked in the door
for his audition as Jack Benny in 1983,” said
Tom Snowden, Broadway producer and director, who has previewed the book, “I knew that
my prayers had been answered. Even before
he read a word of dialogue, he had assumed
Benny’s mantle—the voice, the mannerisms,
the exasperation, and the classiness. He was
the only contender for the job. How lucky
for me to have been there, his partner and
friend, at the start of his Benny reincarnation! And how lucky for the
audiences who got to experience it,
laughing and cheering for the next
27 years! Must read book.”
Game show host Tom Kenney,
he of You Don’t Say and Name that
Tune fame, asks: “Want to share
the cheer of the most loveable
Cricket of all time? Want to enjoy
the bloom of laughter of the greatest Laughmeister of all time? Then read this book. It’s
the top! It’s the Coliseum! And that’s the
name of that tune!”
Likewise, Gary Schaengold, president of
Disneyanna Fan Club, writes that “Whether
Eddie Carroll came into your life early or
late, an immediate treasured friendship was
created. You became a part of his family,
something which can still happen by just reading this biography.”
Sperdvac’s own Walden Hughes writes,
“Carolyn tells Eddie’s story in a warm, fun,
loving style.”
sperdvac
Gloria McMillan
Tommy Cook
Conrad Binyon
The Archives CDs are now up to 766 and we have
these available as well: 796-825; 953-959; 10001013; 1035-1045; 1222-1239. We hope to fill the
gaps soon. At $1.10 per CD you can order up to 15 at
a time. You have 30 days to listen and enjoy before
returning them. Order today from Bob Steinmetz at
P.O. Box 669 Manhattan Beach Ca. 90266.
sperdvac
Our guests at the May monthly meeting
are three child stars of early radio.
Gloria McMillan appeared on The Great
Gildersleeve, Our Miss Brooks, and Lux Radio
Theater to name a few.
She will be joined by veteran actor Tommy
Cook, known for his work on Red Ryder (as
Little Beaver), Blondie, and The Life of Riley.
Conrad Binyon was a long time performer
on One Man’s Family, Mayor of the Town and
Smilin’ Ed’s Buster Brown Gang.
See you May 11 at noon at the Mid Valley
library at 16244 Nordhoff St. in North Hills
The meeting is free and open to the public.
MAY 2013 • RADIOGRAM
5
Lowell Thomas doesn’t simply
report the news—he makes it
Arabia: In the land of Lawrence, Lowell Thomas visits his old
friend. Sherif Hussein, the desert chieftain of Wadi Beihan.
I
Egypt: Lowell guesses that the Sphinx is no
older than is man’s quest for adventure.
FAVO R I T E R A D I O N E WS CO M M E N TATO R
Fifth Award for Lowell, who won our very first poll.
Colorado gold-mining camp, a doctor-schoolteacher put his
young son through a strict course in elocution. But the boy, though he
minded his vowels, was more interested in listening to spellbound tot he tales
of the gold-seekers, or in looking bemused at the vista of mountains and
wondering what lay beyond their horizon. Later, when the boy had found that
beyond the mountains lay adventure, it was that early concern with clear and
incisive speech which enabled him to tell his story to the world. The voice of
Lowell Thomas has been heard by more of his fellow mortals than any other
voice in history. With a record for the longest run of any type of program, his
news broadcast goes into its twenty-seventh year at the same hour. His radio
career began thirty-one years ago, appropriately enough on the occasion of
a broadcast of man’s first flight around the world, for which he was official
historian. The man who reports the news also makes news. He discovered
Lawrence of Arabia and, in lectures, films and books, broke the story of the
archeologist who became the mysterious sheik of the desert. With his son,
Lowell, Jr., he crossed the Himalayas to visit the Forbidden City of Tibet
and bring to light the story of the real-life Shangri-La. With adventure as his
climate, Lowell finds that deserts and mountains are not the only places for
discoveries. In so relatively tame a place as a laboratory, he “found” Cinerama
and guided the cinema process to vivid production. Born April 6, 1892, Lowell
has since been a gold miner, cowpuncher, college professor, newspaper and
newsreel reporter, editor, historian, lecturer, world traveler, and author of
more than forty books. Daredevil trails at three large ski developments are
aptly named for Lowell Thomas, who continues to schuss down them and who
is the man responsible for Arthur Godfrey’s introduction to skiing. “If you
don’t abuse your position, you have an opportunity to do a vast amount of
good,” Lowell sums up his career. “If you do abuse it, you soon find yourself
talking to yourself.”
n a rough
Lowell Thomas And The News, CBS Radio, M-F,6:45 P.M. EST, is sponsored
by United Motors Service, Division of General Motors, for Delco Batteries.
6
Egypt: He visits the Taj Mahal, a “wonder”
filmed in “Seven Wonders of the World.”
RADIOGRAM • MAY 2013
OLD NEWS IS GOOD NEWS. Lowell Thomas wins favorite radio news commentator award again. Reprinted from TV Radio Mirror • May 1957.
sperdvac
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MAY 2013 • RADIOGRAM
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by
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RADIOGRAM • MAY 2013
GARY COVILLE
sperdvac
ILLIAM F. BROIDY, a producer of western films at Monogram Pictures,
saw the potential for a new TV western hero based on William Butler
Hickok, the famed Wild Bill, and organized both a television series and
radio series to compete with the likes of Hoppy, Roy and Gene. To this
end, he joined forces with the Kellogg Company of Battle Creek, MI,
by its own declaration “the greatest name in cereals,” which was already bankrolling
some of the best-received juvenile entertainment playing on radio and television.
Youngsters were generally aware that the radio series The Adventures of Superman
was sponsored by Kellogg’s Pep between 1943 and 1947, and come the 1950s the
Kellogg Company was adding to its collection of sponsored programs. In addition
to television’s Superman there were the radio adventures of Clyde Beatty, the radio
and television versions of Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, radio’s Mark Trail and now the
projected adventures of Wild Bill Hickok. Just as Disney would refurbish the image
of Davy Crockett, omitting any disturbing character flaws, Kellogg’s, through its advertising arm, the Leo Burnett Agency, would rewrite the character of Wild Bill for
radio and television audiences. For starters, Bill would acquire a sidekick, a former
stagecoach driver named Jingles P. Jones.
Since the Kellogg Company was intent on sponsoring both a radio and television
version of the Hickok series, running concurrently, two operations had to be assembled.
The stars of the new series would be obliged to move back and forth between the radio
microphone and the television camera while different crews would be attached to the
radio and television endeavors.
To fill the title role of Wild Bill Hickok, a 29-year-old film actor named Guy Madison was selected. Other than a few appearances on mike, including a handful of
turns on Family Theatre, Madison was a radio novice. His acting experience had come
primarily through film roles such Honeymoon (1947), Till the End of Time (1948) and
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MAY 2013 • RADIOGRAM
9
Kate Smith Speaks was the most
listened-to program in daytime
radio during the 1940s.
The mixture of folksy vignettes,
news items, and the heartfelt
editorials presented a slice of life
on the home front.
Kate Smith was one of the three most popular female personalities of the times,both as
a vocalist and as a commentator. She liked the informality of the “Speaks” broadcasts
because it brought her closer to her listeners. Travel back to the era before, during, and
after World War II through fifty actual scripts.
A CD with 5 broadcasts included!
10
RADIOGRAM • MAY 2013
sperdvac
Massacre River (1949). On the other hand,
Madison’s co-star in the role of Jingles was
Andy Devine, an actor well-known to radio
listeners. Devine had been a semi-regular on
The Jack Benny Program as well as Lum and
Abner not to mention countless appearances
on programs ranging from Fitch Bandwagon,
The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, Hollywood
Hotel and Command Performance. Devine’s
film appearances went back to the 1920s when
he began appearing in unaccredited roles
in a series of film shorts and as such Andy
Devine was 16 years Madison’s senior, but
the disparity in ages between Madison and
Devine never seemed to show on television
and certainly not on radio. In fact, Madison
invariably appeared as the mature member of
the team. Andy Devine, in his role as Jingles,
fulfilled the traditional role of comic sidekick,
which seemed to mitigate the age difference.
Paul Pierce was selected to direct the radio
series. Pierce’s directorial credits included
Stars Over Hollywood and All-Star Western
Theatre among others. Pierce would also write
many of the scripts for Wild Bill Hickok. David
Hire served as producer. Charlie Lyon, one
of the most recognizable voices in radio and
apparent pitchman for Kellogg’s, served as
announcer. Richard Aurandt was in charge
of the music.
Wild Bill Hickok went on the air for Kellogg’s for the first time on April 1, 1951,
beating its TV counterpart to the draw by two
weeks. Initially, the series ran once a week
on Sunday evenings. Like many other radio
programs of the era, Wild Bill Hickok was
transcribed. For the first season the show
remained a Sunday evening staple.
The premiere episode was the only play
out of the entire 274 episode run lacking a
script title. The opening entry, like all those
that came after, was written to a simple formula. Wild Bill and Jingles ride into town
and confront a troublesome situation. The
troublemakers are exposed and brought to
justice. Each episode became an object lesson
delivered in direct and clear terms to young
listeners about the nature of right and wrong
and the choices we all make in life. There was
nothing difficult to understand or too complex
to be grasped by a six-year-old child.
The first episode set the format for the
stories that followed. In the kickoff broadcast,
Bill and Jingles ride into the Bitter Creek
Valley where open warfare between area
ranchers and the railroad seems about to take
place. Summoned in response to a suspicious
series of accidents which have taken the lives
of a number of the locals, Bill and Jingles are
tasked with figuring out who is responsible
for the deaths and why. Entering the valley,
Bill and Jingles barely escape being killed
themselves in a blasting accident. It doesn’t
take long, however, for Bill to figure out what
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is taking place. Mayor Fogerty of Bitter Creek
and Rancher Sam Cox are intent on sparking
a war between the ranchers and the railroad
with an eye toward grabbing abandoned
ranches for a few cents on the dollar. Once
Bill and Jingles expose the plot and arrest the
criminals, the ranchers and railroad crews
make peace and the adventure is concluded.
Both the radio program and the televised
broadcasts freely allowed Madison and
Devine to step in and out of character; the
radio series in particular permitted the behavior. The opening signature of Wild Bill Hickok
was routinely delivered by Andy Devine immediately following the sound of fast racing
hoof beats and gun shots with his distinct
pronouncement of “Wild Bill Hickok.” In
this regard the radio series followed—or
perhaps the other way around—the television
films which opened on the galloping hooves
of Wild Bill’s stallion, Buckshot, over which
Art Gilmore intones, “Kellogg’s, the greatest
name in cereals, presents.” This is followed
by Devine’s distinct voice shouting “Wild . . .
Bill . . . Hickok” after which Gilmore identifies the cast followed by Jingles catching up
with Wild Bill as they fire at fleeing outlaws
(escaping off-screen) with Wild Bill eventually firing into the camera and we dissolve to
a Kellogg’s Sugar Pops commercial.
For radio the gunshots are followed by
Andy’s greeting: “Hi’ ya, folks. Hold onto
your hats and pass those Kellogg’s Corn Pops.
Cause here comes Guy Madison as Wild
Bill and his pal Jingles, which is me, Andy
Devine. We got another rootin’ tootin’ Wild
Bill Hickok adventure story for ya from that
great new cereal with the sweetin’ all ready
on it, Kellogg’s Corn Pops!”
The closing of each episode also allowed for
the on-mike transformation of Wild Bill and
Jingles back into their Guy Madison and Andy
Devine identities. Typically, Guy and Andy
would take a curtain call referring to each
Andy Devine and Guy Madison relax between takes during production of Wild Bill Hickok, one
of the great juvenile westerns of the era, sponsored by Kellogg’s, “the greatest name in cereals.”
MAY 2013 • RADIOGRAM
11
other by their given names and put in a final
plug for Kellogg’s cereal. The openness with
which the two moved in and out of character
on the show was somewhat unusual for the
time, especially for actors on a juvenile series.
The more usual approach was to maintain
unbroken the illusion of character in order
to avoid confusing young listeners.
Reviews of the new series seemed generally favorable. A few months into the new
radio series an anonymous reviewer writing
for Billboard penned the following positive
review: “The transcribed kid adventure series
[Wild Bill Hickok] is a smooth running well
integrated package of standard hero-bagsthe-rustler material. Gravel-throated Andy
Devine takes top thesp honors as Hickok’s
side kick, and movie actor Guy Madison gives
a surprisingly competent performance in the
title role. In fact Madison, whose face was
considered his fortune in flickersville, is much
more impressive as an actor sight unseen.”
The popularity of its new series sufficiently
impressed Kellogg’s executives that plans to
expand the series beyond its once-a-week
format were soon in the planning stage. Wild
Bill Hickok continued as a once-a-week program throughout 1951 with plans to give the
series additional air access early in the new
year. Billboard (December 15, 1951) revealed
Kellogg’s strategy for granting Wild Bill and
Jingles additional airtime. Among the other
properties sponsored by the cereal maker was
The Clyde Beatty Show, which was airing on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The decision was made to pull The Clyde Beatty Show
and thus free up additional time for Wild Bill
Hickok. By January 1952 Clyde Beatty was off
the air and Wild Bill Hickok was airing twice a
week on Mutual, on a Wednesday and Friday
Every boy’s—and girl’s—wish: to serve as deputy and ride with Wild Bill and Jingles on a
wild west adventure. One of many merchandising tie-ins with Wild Bill Hickok.
12
RADIOGRAM • MAY 2013
basis. The twice weekly schedule would continue until the final two months of the radio
series; finally, in November and December
1954 Wild Bill Hickok ran on a Monday,
Wednesday and Friday basis.
Throughout its nearly four year run on
radio, Wild Bill Hickok maintained its presence exclusively on the Mutual Network. The
decision to stay put on Mutual was probably a
wise one. Billboard (July 14, 1951) reported
that Mutual was the only major network at the
time that could boast an increase in listeners.
The increase was reported at a modest one
per cent but the three other major networks
were all suffering from double-digit losses in
listenership. Positioning Wild Bill Hickok
on Mutual, therefore, seems to have given
the series its best chance for radio success,
especially since Kellogg had elected to run the
series on the full 540 station Mutual hookup.
Kellogg’s, through its advertising agency,
proved highly skilled and motivated when it
came to promoting its products to the general
public. The radio commercials, for example,
were blatant in their overt appeal to listeners.
No self-respecting cowpoke could possibly
function without the proper, good tasting
nourishment provided by Kellogg’s Corn
Pops and “the world’s only talking cereal”
Kellogg’s Rice Krispies. These were precisely
the kinds of commercial appeals which critics then and since have largely deplored as
exploitation of children. Of course, there is
a valid counter argument. When a sponsor
took direction of a series the way Kellogg
took control of Wild Bill Hickok, sponsors
routinely went out of their way to ensure that
the images they were projecting to audiences
were morally acceptable and reflective of the
national mood and temperament. The last
thing a sponsor wanted was to be accused of
somehow undermining the perceived beliefs
of its target audience. Heroes were clean cut
and justice invariably triumphed in the end.
And even if that wasn’t always the case in real
life it was the hoped for American ideal. As
such, any resemblance between the real Wild
Bill Hickok and Guy Madison as Wild Bill—
physically, emotionally and spiritually—was
purely coincidental.
Once the sponsor lost the direction of
content, it might be argued that the inspirational heroes were slowly replaced with more
self-centered, less admirable role models who
have done decidedly more damage than any
sponsor’s advertising.
Kellogg’s employed Guy and Andy to represent the company both on the air and off.
Public appearances by the two stars were part
of the deal. Whether they were appearing at
a Frontier Days celebration in Cheyenne, WY
along with the winners of a Kellogg’s contest,
or at a meet-and-greet appearance in Walnut
Grove, CA the actors were always there to
sperdvac
September 14
GARY ONO
West Valley Regional
Branch Library
19036 Vanowen Street
Reseda
•
October 12
IVY BETHUNE
West Valley Regional
Branch Library
19036 Vanowen Street
Reseda
Wild Bill and Jingles in a 3-D adventure for Tru-Vue Company of Beaverton, OR, one of
countless merchandising items beloved by viewers and listeners of Wild Bill Hickok.
represent “the greatest name in cereals.”
Radio supporters, incidentally, were probably
heartened by the report stemming from the
Walnut Grove appearance, which took place
in March 1952. Approximately 12,000 fans
had turned out to see Wild Bill and Jingles at a
local store. As part of the event, a sampling of
1000 youngsters was conducted to determine
if their enthusiasm for Wild Bill and Jingles
resulted from listening to the radio program
or watching the series on television. The
informal survey rather surprisingly revealed
that to a child, the fans were following the
series on radio and not television. That would
all change rather soon but for the moment, it
seemed, radio was retaining the allegiance of
at least one important demographic group.
Even the occasional radio script, given
the opportunity, could be exploited for the
betterment of Kellogg’s bottom line. A case
in point was “The Riverboat Killers” which
aired on February 13, 1952. In as much as that
day’s broadcast was set in early day Yuma,
AZ some advertising executive at the Leo
Burnett agency obviously figured out that a
tip off to the local Yuma media could spark
an increase in local interest for the show. The
day before the broadcast, page one of The
Yuma Daily Sun obligingly ran a page one
story announcing the Yuma angle to the next
Wild Bill Hickok radio play,
making sure to credit the
Kellogg Company as sponsor
of the series.
The radio version of Wild
Bill Hickok came to an end
on December 31, 1954, after
almost four years on the
airwaves with the episode
called “Happy New Year.”
The television series would
continue. Guy and Andy
made their usual out of character appearance at the end
of the radio show. It was
left to announcer Charlie
Lyon to make the standard
clinical announcement that
“today’s program brings to
Newspaper ad for The Yellow Haired Kid, a feature composed
an end the present Wild Bill
of two unrelated TV shows that highlights special matinee.
Hickok radio series.” But
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ALL MEETINGS ARE SATURDAYS
12 NOON TO 2
PARKING. Parking area for the West Regional Library
is limited. The adjacent parking lot (used by municipal
employees during the week) is available for library
parking on the weekends. Parking area may be accessed
via Vanalden Ave.
For just $3.28—the price of postage—we’ll send 20 cassettes to any
sperdvac member. You can request
specific shows and if we cannot fill
your request we’ll send you similar
shows. Send your requests to:
Sperdvac
P. O. Box 669
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Be sure to include your membership number
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MAY 2013 • RADIOGRAM
13
Wild Bill Hickok and Jingles
Lyon prompted listeners to be sure and watch
the weekly television episodes of Wild Bill
Hickok, which, of course, were brought to us
by Kellogg’s.
The TV series continued for four more
years. The seventh season was cut short, however, when, according to the Classic TV Archive Internet site, executive producer Broidy
fell ill and eventually died. Kellogg’s was
not ready to cease production on a lucrative
enterprise and so the sponsor turned to Fred
Briskin, production executive at Screen Gems.
Thirteen additional episodes were filmed in
color to constitute an eighth season but 1958
brought production to a close. Reruns, of
course, sustained the series into the 1960s.
An interesting adjunct to the TV series
was that Broidy, who had made the series
at Monogram (later Allied Artists) using essentially the creative personnel of B-westerns,
including ace-action directors Thomas Carr,
Frank McDonald, and Wesley E. Barry,
spliced two episodes together, gave them
a single title, and released the “feature” to
theatres. Advertised as “Wild Bill Hickok
Adventures” the films were fodder for Saturday matinees. In total, 16 titles—or 48
half-hour episodes—were released between
1952 and 1955.
While the radio series had officially ended,
Guy and Andy did re-enter the recording
studio a few months later This time it was
to record an album called Wild Bill Hickok
and Jingles on the Santa Fe Trail produced by
Sunset Records as part of a larger Wild Bill
Hickok merchandising campaign. The halfhour LP was a mixture of song and story with
Madison and Devine reprising their radio
(and TV roles) for the album.
The album gave those dedicated radio listeners one final chance to cherish the sounds
of Wild Bill and Jingles.[
McGee’s Closet is a free service to our members and honorary
members. Send your wants in OTR-related material to [email protected] (the preferred method) or write to McGee’s
Closet, P.O. Box 669, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-0669.
Please specify desired taping format (cassette, open reel,
recordable CD, or DAT). Also, please include your membership number with your advertisement.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR
MASSIVE INDEX OF
WILD BILL & JINGLES ADVENTURES
AT SPERDVAC.ORG
Barry Opliger
435 Garfield Ave. Apt. 306
South Pasadena, CA 91030-2241
Frank Graham
Graham was surely hoping for lightning to
strike with a 1950 summer replacement series
called Satan’s Waitin’ which he narrated and
co-produced. It was an unusual psychological
drama whose characters were manipulated in
their actions by the devil himself. But Satan’s
Waitin’ concluded its 13-week run apparently
without sponsor interest. Four days later, on
September 2, 1950, at the age of 35, Graham
seems to have had enough. Following a failed
romance, he attached a hose to the exhaust of
his car and made his escape.
Sadly, at the end of his life, almost everyone in Graham’s profession looked upon his
achievements with approval, except for Frank
Graham himself.[
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