In The Olden Days

Listen And Enjoy

Page Created: 11/26/2000 Page Last Updated: 09/19/2026 09:27

Sixty years ago, few had TV and entertainment came from a console of box n the table broadcasting through the airwaves. I remember sitting for hours listening with the great grandmother to boradcasts. At holidays, there would be special broadcasts. Please enjoy those from Thanksgiving.

The "Golden Age of Radio" is usually considered to have run from the 1920s through the 1950s, before television became dominant.
Many early TV stars came from radio, including Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Red Skelton.
Soap operas got their name from radio. Daytime dramas were often sponsored by soap companies like Procter & Gamble.
Sound effects were made live in the studio. Coconut shells could imitate horse hooves, cellophane could sound like fire, and doors, footsteps, thunder sheets, and mini gravel boxes were common tools.
Radio shows often had live orchestras, not recorded background music. Music cues had to be perfectly timed with the actors.
Commercials were sometimes worked into the script. Characters might casually praise Jell-O, Lucky Strike cigarettes, or Maxwell House coffee during the show.
"Amos 'n' Andy" was one of the most popular radio programs of all time, though it is also controversial today because of racial stereotypes.
Jack Benny's famous persona was that he was cheap, vain, and perpetually 39 years old.
Many shows were broadcast live twice: once for the East Coast and again later for the West Coast.
"The Lone Ranger" began on radio in 1933, long before many people knew him from television and movies.
Radio actors often played multiple roles in the same episode, changing voices quickly.
The phrase "Don't touch that dial!" comes from the radio era, when listeners physically tuned stations with a dial.
Old Time Radio covered nearly every genre: comedy, westerns, mysteries, detective stories, horror, science fiction, quiz shows, variety shows, and children's adventures.

Sitback, relax, and listen:

In The Olden Days...

Turkey: A large bird whose flesh, when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude. ~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Page Created: 11/26/2000 Page Last Updated: 09/19/2026 09:27