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Not to get into a philosophical discussion, but you may have noticed that I refer to Christmas on the OTRExpress, rather than 'the holidays' or Hanukkah. The reason for this is simply that the programs from the golden age of radio, for better or for worse, all center around Christmas this time of year. There is simply no mention - that I am aware of - of the Jewish holiday.
The irony is that many of the best comedians of the era were Jewish. Jack Benny (born Benny Kubelsky), Eddie Cantor, George Burns, the Marx Brothers, Milton Berle are among those that come to mind. So why not Hanukkah?
It's hard to say. I don't know whether men like Jack Benny struggled with his heritage as he wrote and performed his annual Christmas shows. My sense is that men like Benny were first and foremost entertainers - that if Christmas was more relevant to his audience and could draw bigger laughs, then Christmas it would be. But I don't know... what do you think?
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Show #5 of the Old Time Radio Express - Let's Begin Celebrating Christmas!
Sorry for the delay in posting this, the December 13th podcast of the Old Time Radio Express. Been a busy week here in Brownsburg!
I've packed a lot of good old time radio nuggets into this hour, and of course I hope you'll like all of it. But if you don't, it won't be a few minutes before something you do like pops up.
We've got some well-known performers, like Jack Benny and Bing Crosby, and then some of lesser renown, like Dick "Two Ton" Baker, the Music Maker. When you hear Two Ton Baker, you realize that while the national networks certainly captured the top talent, there was a slew of fantastic performers in all of the local markets. It's a blessing that Two Ton's recordings were pressed onto transcription discs and sent out nationally for syndication, or his talents would have been lost to the airwaves. Unfortunately, we're not as lucky with many similar performers.
Radio was indeed very regional. Before coast-to-coast programming, local stations needed to produce their own entertainment, and a lot of them were very good. One only has to look at WXYZ in Detroit, which locally produced The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet and The Challenge of the Yukon - all later became OTR classics, but started locally in Detroit of all places. Talent and imagination knows no geography.
Well, with all that said, click on the the blog posting title & enjoy this week's show...
I've packed a lot of good old time radio nuggets into this hour, and of course I hope you'll like all of it. But if you don't, it won't be a few minutes before something you do like pops up.
We've got some well-known performers, like Jack Benny and Bing Crosby, and then some of lesser renown, like Dick "Two Ton" Baker, the Music Maker. When you hear Two Ton Baker, you realize that while the national networks certainly captured the top talent, there was a slew of fantastic performers in all of the local markets. It's a blessing that Two Ton's recordings were pressed onto transcription discs and sent out nationally for syndication, or his talents would have been lost to the airwaves. Unfortunately, we're not as lucky with many similar performers.
Radio was indeed very regional. Before coast-to-coast programming, local stations needed to produce their own entertainment, and a lot of them were very good. One only has to look at WXYZ in Detroit, which locally produced The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet and The Challenge of the Yukon - all later became OTR classics, but started locally in Detroit of all places. Talent and imagination knows no geography.
Well, with all that said, click on the the blog posting title & enjoy this week's show...
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