PODCAST

Breaking Walls

James Scully

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting.

history

All Episodes

00:29:38

BW - EP156—004: Halloween 1944—The Hour Of Charm

Breaking Walls ·

2024/10/07

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers The Hour of Charm, radio’s “most-celebrated all-girl orchestra” first took to the air on May 18th, 1934 over CBS. In the fall of 1944 it was airing on NBC for General Electric, Sundays at 10PM eastern time. The brainchild of Phil Spitalny, The Spitalnys had a deep musical heritage. Immigrants from Russia, they had settled in Cleveland, where Phil Spitalny and his brother Leopold played in local bands. By the time Phil was 30,

00:34:36

BW - EP155—007: New York And The 1944 Radio...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/09/11

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersThe woman you just heard is Gene Tierney. She was born on November 19th, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in Connecticut, she excelled in poetry, took up student acting, and eventually spent two years attending school in Switzerland, where she learned to speak French. On a family trip to the West Coast, she visited Warner Bros. studios, where her cousin Gordon Hollingshead worked as a producer. Director Anatole Litvak, taken by

00:31:40

BW - EP155—006: New York And The 1944 Radio...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/09/09

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersJohn Herbert “Jackie” Gleason was born on February 26th, 1916, on Chauncey Street in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The younger of two children, his brother Clement died from meningitis at fourteen in 1919. Six years later his father left the family. Gleason’s mother Mae got a job as a subway attendant for the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation. Jackie spent his youth hustling pool and performing in class plays. He quit high

00:23:48

BW - EP155—005: New York And The 1944 Radio...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/09/06

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersBroadcast over WMCA in New York, New World A’ Coming was based on the work of journalist Roi Ottley. Ottley was a journalist for The Amsterdam News from 1931 to 1937 before joining The New York City Writers' Project as an editor. In 1943 Ottley published New World A-Coming: Inside Black America, which described life for African Americans in Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s. The book won the Life in America prize and a Peabody

00:28:40

BW - EP155—004: New York And The 1944 Radio...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/09/04

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersThe man you just heard is Norman Corwin. The piece of his, which Orson Welles is narrating, that you’ve heard thus far throughout this episode of Breaking Walls, is “New York: A Tapestry For Radio.” The first broadcast of this piece originally aired on May 16th, 1944 as part of a City Trilogy within CBS’ Columbia Presents Corwin. That version had Martin Gabel as narrator. One year later it was rebroadcast with Welles taking over for

00:16:09

BW - EP155—002: New York And The 1944 Radio World—Bob...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/08/30

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersOur first stop is January, 1944. We’re at Central Park. By 1944 Central Park, nearly one-hundred years old, was in the midst of renewal. Parks Commissioner Robert Moses had spent the past decade developing playgrounds, ballfields, handball courts, and other working class elements. In 1943 the restoration of the Harlem Meer was completed. "Please Keep off the Grass" signs, which had once dotted the meadows, were a thing of the past

00:09:45

BW - EP155—001: New York And The 1944 Radio World—Why...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/08/28

https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers I’ve mentioned a few times before within Breaking Walls episodes that I try to be as unbiased as possible. I want Breaking Walls to be a true documentary, so I leave the op-eds for everyone else. But this is my tenth anniversary as a podcaster so I’ll share. I spent the first ten years of my life living in a house where the people there were born between 1918 and 1989. It was in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. There was a park across the street. Around 1900 that

00:05:12

BW - EP154—012: Stars On Suspense In 1944—Looking...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/08/14

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersThat brings our look at the early years of Suspense to a close. Suspense would remain a hollywood production until the waning days of radio drama in 1959 when Bill Robson was directing it and this happened. Ordinarily here’s where you’d get a sneak peek at next month’s episode of Breaking Walls. Next month’s episode, however, is significant. Sometimes you’ve got to go back to the beginning in order to know where you’ve been. Next

00:32:58

BW - EP154—008: Stars on Suspense in 1944—Listen To...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/08/06

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersBill Spier recovered from his second heart attack in the fall, just in time for cooling weather, Friday night football games, and autumn dances. While Suspense aired all-year-round, it was perfect for brisk evenings. With Spier’s musical aptitude, a swelling orchestra had become a Suspense staple. Lud Gluskin and Lucien Morawek worked together to produce and conduct haunting, functional scores. Morawek told Radio Life that Spier

00:35:14

BW - EP154—007: Stars On Suspense In 1944—Listen to...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/08/05

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers The man you just heard is famed actor Vincent Price. While Price was a film star, he had a unique contract which allowed him to act in as much radio as he wanted. By early June 1944 Price was thirty-three years old and had starred on Broadway and appeared in more than ten films. On Thursday June 1st and then again on Monday June 5th for the west coast, Price appeared with Ida Lupino in an episode of Suspense called “Fugue in C

00:41:47

BW - EP154—005: Stars On Suspense In 1944—Listen to...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/08/01

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersThe man you just heard is Joseph Cotten. In 1944 he was guest-starring on various shows while also hosting Ceiling Unlimited. On March 23rd, 1944 Cotten starred in “Sneak Preview” written by Robert L. Richards. It’s a story about a film director who becomes a temporary detective as he tracks down a double agent. Richards is perhaps most famous amongst Suspense fans for his 1946 script, “The House in Cypress Canyon.” Richards, Joe

00:44:26

BW - EP154—002: Stars On Suspense In 1944—Suspense...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/07/26

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersWillam Spier was born on 10/16/1906 in New York City. He began his career as an editor at Musical America Magazine, eventually becoming its chief critic. His radio career began in 1929, when he produced and directed The Atwater-Kent Hour, a Met Opera presentation. He soon became a valuable member of BBD&O’s growing staff of radio writers & directors. In 1931 Spier went to Hollywood to direct one of the first big budget radio

00:26:37

BW - EP154—001: Stars On Suspense In 1944—Suspense Is...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/07/25

Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakersIn July of 1940 CBS’ Lux Radio Theatre was scheduled for its summer hiatus. Lux aired sixty-minute condensations of films Mondays at 9PM. Pulling a rating of 23.7, it was CBS’s highest-rated show and Monday’s most-listened to program. Head of CBS William Paley and Program Director Bill Lewis wanted to use the vacated time slot to attract both audience participation and potential sponsors. At that time, CBS’s story editor was

00:02:10

Thank You To Those Who Have Recently Supported...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/07/19

Thank you to those who recently supported the show at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers. If you support Breaking Walls for as little as $1 a month, you'll get each episode's show early and in one long documentary. Each month's episode takes me somewhere between 30-60 hours of work time to complete and supporting through the Patreon does a LOT to help me keep doing the show and paying for hosting and other costs. I’ve been doing the show since February of 2018 and I’m honestly not sure how

00:33:46

BW - EP153—011: Independence Day 1944—Norman Corwin's...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/07/11

By 1944 Norman Corwin had free rein over his productions. In six years he’d gone from a network rookie to the most-lauded creator on the air. He was now the poet-laureate of radio, a nickname which would stick with him the rest of his life. That March, The Columbia Workshop was rechristened as Columbia Presents Corwin for a twenty-two week run.At 10PM eastern time on Independence Day 1944 Corwin broadcast "Home For the Fourth." In this play, two brothers are away at war. One, played by Dane Clark,

00:35:11

BW - EP153—009: Independence Day 1944—The Molle...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/07/09

The man you just heard was Raymond Edward Johnson. He is best-remembered for being the longtime host on Inner Sanctum Mysteries on CBS. After returning from the War, Johnson left the show to pursue more diversified acting interests. However by then, NBC had launched their own mystery program which Johnson often found himself appearing in. It was called The Molle Mystery Theater.Launched on September 7th, 1943 and sponsored by Molle Brushless Shaving Cream, Mystery Theater was hosted by Bernard

00:31:17

BW - EP153—007: Independence Day 1944—A Date With...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/07/07

Debuting on June 24th, 1941, A Date With Judy was the teenage girl’s answer to Archie Andrews and The Aldrich Family. Billed as the adventures of the “lovable teenage girl who’s close to all our hearts,” it initially starred Ann Gillis in a summer replacement for Bob Hope. While filming at Paramount, Hope met Gillis and introduced her to his radio sponsors. They cast her in the adolescent comedy being prepared by writer Aleen Leslie. Leslie had come up through the Hollywood ranks working for

00:25:45

BW - EP153—006: Independence Day 1944—The Ginny Simms...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/07/05

Virginia Ellen, “Ginny” Simms was born in San Antonio, Texas on May 25rd, 1913. Her family moved to California, where she attended Fresno High School and Fresno State Teachers College. There she studied piano and began performing. Singing with her sorority sisters, she formed a popular vocal trio. In 1932, Simms became the vocalist for the Tom Gerun band in San Francisco. In 1934, she joined the Kay Kyser Orchestra, receiving her first national exposure on his radio program. Simms appeared in

00:36:27

BW - EP153—005: Independence Day 1944—Norman Corwin...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/07/04

In early 1942 Norman Corwin began a unique show over all four major radio networks. It was a thirteen episode, non-commercial broadcast called This is War, bringing together the best talent and resources of the broadcast and entertainment industry, like actor Joe Julian.That summer, Corwin went to England to produce a series helping to improve relations between the English and Americans, which were, surprisingly, strained. People like aviation legend Charles Lindbergh were anticommunism, but

00:39:03

BW - EP153—004: Independence Day 1944—Tom Mix And Hop...

Breaking Walls ·

2024/07/02

At 5:30PM eastern time over Mutual Broadcasting on Independence Day, 1944, The Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters took to the air. Originally airing from NBC in Chicago in 1933, it featured the just-heard Hal Peary, and the ever-present Willard Waterman.Tom Mix was created as an advertising vehicle for the Ralston Purina Company. Its format was devised by Charles Claggett, a St. Louis adman and based on the life of a real cowboy, Tom Mix. Born in Pennsylvania in 1880, he became a soldier and

615 results

Breaking Walls

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Variety Hour

Mechanical Music Radio

Historias de Terror PR

HISTORIAS DE TERROR PR

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai