Breaking Walls

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BW - EP144—006: October 1957—Stan Freberg Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

Stan Freberg was born on August 7th, 1926 in Pasadena, California. Shortly after graduating from high school, he found work as a voice actor in both radio and animation. In 1957, now thirty-one, he was given his own thirty-minute comedy program on CBS, Sundays at 7:30PM eastern time from Hollywood. He debuted on July 14th, 1957. His cast featured Peter Leeds, June Foray, Daws Butler, Marvin Miller with vocalist Peggy Taylor, Billy May's orchestra, and the Jud Conlon Rhythmaires. His comedic style was biting. He was a shrewd satirist who targeted mediocrity, complacency, and stuffed shirts. He specialized in lampooning American life. On his first show he ripped American capitalism with a long skit about two competing Las Vegas nightclubs, the El Sodom and Rancho Gomorrah, set in the near future. The CBS higher-ups didn’t get it. So, he destroyed Lawrence Welk in a skit that became known as “Wunnerful, Wunnerful.” Billy May’s orchestra played a Welkian arrangement of “Bubbles in the Wine” while Freberg—doing a credible Welk imitation—kept yelling, “Turn off the bubble machine!” until he was drowned in the foam. Freberg “interviewed” the abominable snowman, presented a group of musical sheep, and staged a western skit, “Bang Gunley, U.S. Marshall Fields” spoofing the overdone sound effects of many classic films. He attacked censorship, with Freberg attempting to sing Kern and Hammerstein’s “Ol’ Man River,” only to be stopped by a “citizens committee censor,” who sounded a buzzer at any line he found objectionable, leading to rewriting the lyrics as “Elderly man river.” In August Sponsor Magazine reported that CBS thought network radio could see a return to sponsors buying full programs that fall. CBS was pitching The Stan Freberg show for ten-thousand dollars per week. However, by October it was obvious that network comedy couldn’t return to its previous highs and The Stan Freberg Show was canceled after the October 20th episode.

BW - EP144—005: October 1957—Algeria Aflame Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

In October of 1957, Algeria was in the midst of a war for Independence and control between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front. The conflict began in November of 1954 and by October of 1957 was considered the world’s only active war of note. It was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare and the use of torture. When the War finally came to an end in 1962 with France granting Algeria Independence, nine-hundred-thousand Algerian refugees fled to France in fear of the NLF taking revenge on them for siding with France. The majority of Algerian Muslims who had worked for the French were left behind. Algerian authorities promised France they’d take no action against them. However, these Algerian Muslims were branded as traitors and many were soon murdered. On October 14th, 1957 at 10:30PM Eastern Time, CBS radio broadcast a documentary on the first three years of the conflict entitled, “Algeria Aflame.”

BW - EP144—004: October 1957—The Eternal Light And The Glastonbury Cows Oct 07, 2023

Show notes

In October 1944, in conjunction with the Jewish Theological Seminary, NBC began one of the longest-running religious programs in radio history. It was called The Eternal Light. Then in its thirteenth year, The Eternal Light dramatized stories from ancient Judaea, along with contemporary works like The Diary of Anne Frank. It was produced by Milton Krents. Many top New York radio actors appeared. NBC donated the air time and the Seminary paid for the show's production. On Sunday October 13th, 1957 at 12:30PM eastern time over NBC’s WRCA in New York, The Eternal Light took to the air with a story on the Glastonbury Cows. In Glastonbury, Connecticut in 1869, tax collectors asked two elderly sisters, Abby and Julia Smith, to pay their road taxes early. They did, but were surprised to find the town accidentally billed them a second time later in the year. The Smiths were wealthy. Their father left his daughters a large land holding, investments and a farm. Their mother left them a sizable inheritance, as well. When the sisters asked the town to correct the matter, the tax collector refused. When they tried to enter a Town Meeting to raise the issue, they were turned away because they were women. The frustrated sisters paid the tax a second time, but their lack of political power infuriated them. They began attending women’s suffrage rallies. And as their frustration grew, so did their taxes. In 1874, they were told they could not delay their taxes in exchange for a twelve percent interest charge – a courtesy afforded other taxpayers. They became convinced that modern women needed a vote, and decided to stop paying taxes until they could. The tax collector seized seven cows to pay off back taxes. The sisters used a straw buyer to retrieve most of them, sparking much written debate. Critics who compared them to children only made their supporters more united. The cows became celebrities. Knickknacks woven out of their hair sold like hotcakes at fundraising bazaars that promoted women’s suffrage. Julia published a popular book, Abby Smith and Her Cows. This seizing continued through 1878. Eventually the sisters testified before Congress. In 1878, at the age of 81, Abby died in July. The next year, Julia, age 87, decided to marry for the first time. Her husband began paying the taxes on her property, and she repaid him in a compromise of love. Although many radio programs were being canceled, The Eternal Light would air on radio and then television until 1989.

BW - EP144—003: October 1957—Sputnik, Bing, And Current Events Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

On Friday October 4th, 1957 the U.S. received confirmation of the USSR’s launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial earth orbiting satellite. It was a polished metal sphere twenty-three inches in diameter with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses. Its radio signal was easily detectable by amateur radio operators. Its sixty-five degree orbital inclination gave it a flight path that completely covered all parts of the inhabited earth. While traveling at peak speed, the satellite took 96.20 minutes to complete each orbit. It transmitted on the bandwidth of roughly twenty and forty megahertz. These signals were monitored throughout the world and continued for twenty-one days until the transmitter’s batteries died on October 26th. The satellite's success was unanticipated by the U.S., setting the space Race into orbit as part of the Cold War. That same day, Bring Crosby signed on with The Ford Road Show for five minutes over CBS, announced by Ken Carpenter. The next Wednesday, October 9th, The Lovell Telescope was activated in Cheshire, England, while a Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber crashed in Orlando, Florida killing all four military officers on board. On October 10th, a nuclear reactor fire on the north-west coast of England released radioactive material into the air, as President Eisenhower hosted breakfast at the White House with Ghanese minister to France, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, who’d been recently refused at a Howard Johnson’s in Delaware because of his race. The next day an IBM computer at MIT Computation Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts calculated the last stage of the R-7 Semyorka rocket that carried Sputnik 1. On Saturday October 12th, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, arrived in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, for a royal visit. On the fourteenth, the Queen opened the Canadian Parliament, the first monarch to do so.

BW - EP144—002: October 1957—Unit 99 Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Unit 99, first aired over ABC’s KFBK Sacramento on August 23rd, 1957. The radio station was part of the McClatchy media empire along with The Sacramento Bee and other radio and TV stations, as well as newspapers in the Western U.S. The show was born from Jack Webb’s Dragnet mode of realistic police portrayals, then furthered by shows like Night Watch which removed the script, followed actual officers, and made the drama real. Tony Kester directed the show under the auspices of the Sacramento police department. It featured Police Chief James B. Hicks as host and sergeant Dan Meredith recording his nightly police beat, interviewing witnesses of various crimes and police calls. Unit 99 ran until June 13th, 1958.

BW - EP144—001: October 1957—Dying Radio And The World Series Sep 30, 2023

Show notes

At 12:45PM on Wednesday October 2nd, Game one of the 1957 World Series took to the air. It pitted The Milwaukee Braves against The New York Yankees from Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. Bob Neal and Earl Gillespie were on the call for NBC Radio, while Mel Allen and Al Helfer telecast the game. The upstart Braves were led by future hall-of-famers Hank Aaron, Eddie Matthews and Warren Spahn. The defending champion Yankees were led by Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and manager Casey Stengel. The Braves moved to Milwaukee from Boston after the 1952 season, leaving beantown to the Red Sox, finishing in the first division the previous four seasons before breaking through and winning the 1957 NL pennant. The Yankees were playing in their twenty-third world series in thirty-seven seasons. The Braves would win the series four games to three. The next year the two teams would meet again, this time with the Yankees taking the series in seven games. The following day, comedian Artie Auerbach, best known for playing Mr. Kitzel on The Jack Benny Program passed away of a heart attack. That same day New York Times columnist Jack Gould criticized NBC for attempting to televise the World Series in color.

BW - EP143: September 1957—Civil Rights And The Rocket Age Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

In Breaking Walls episode 143 we begin a mini series on radio and the world in the fall of 1957. —————————— Highlights: • LIFE and The World • The Man from Tomorrow • The American Forum of the Air • Atomic Testing • Pat Buttram and Just Entertainment on Labor Day • Ray Bradbury and the End of X-Minus One • Ms America • The Hattie Cotton School Bombing • Biography in Sound • Howard Miller and Steve Allen • The End of Family Theater • The Grand Ole Opry • Meet The Press and The Right of Self Determination • CBS Still Doing Drama on Sundays • Bing Crosby’s Road Show • School Integration • The Dodgers and Giants Leave New York • Looking Ahead to October and Sputnik —————————— The WallBreakers: http://thewallbreakers.com Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts. To support the show: http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers —————————— The reading material for today’s episode was: • On the Air — By John Dunning • Network Radio Ratings — By Jim Ramsburg As well as articles from • Broadcasting Magazine • The Los Angeles Times • The New York Times • Radio Daily • U.S. Radio Magazine —————————— On the interview front: • Lilian Buyeff, Mary Jane Croft, Sam Edwards, Herb Ellis, Bill Froug, Jack Johnstone, Jeanette Nolan, and Herb Vigran spoke to SPERDVAC. For more info, go to SPERDVAC.com. • John Scott Trotter spoke with Same Time, Same Station. • Jackson Beck, John Gibson, Larry Haines, Mary Jane Higby, Jim Jordan, Joe Julian, Mandel Kramer, Jan Miner, Arnold Moss, Bill Robson, and Guy Sorel spoke to Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. Hear these interviews at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. • Parley Baer, Ken Carpenter, Bob Hastings, Jim Jordan, and Herb Vigran spoke with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats at Speakingofradio.com. • Roberta Bailey-Goodwin spoke with John Dunning for his KNUS program from Denver * Norman Macdonnell was with John Hickman for his Gunsmoke documentary • Jack Kruschen and George Walsh spoke with Jim Bohannon in 1987 • Ray Bradbury spoke with Jerry Haendiges • Ernest Kinoy spoke with Walden Hughes • Ben Grauer spoke with Westinghouse for their 50th anniversary • William S. Paley gave a speech on November 20th, 1958 in New York —————————— Selected music featured in today’s episode was: • Scarborough Fair, Shenandoah, and Autumn Stars — By Michael Silverman • The Last Rose of Summer — By Tom Waits • Corrina, Corrina, Old Friends, and Where Are You Now — By George Winston • Death Runs Riot — By Matthias Gohl • This Room is My Castle of Quiet — By Billy May and His Orchestra —————————— A special thank you to Ted Davenport, Jerry Haendiges, and Gordon Skene. For Ted go to RadioMemories.com, for Jerry, visit OTRSite.com, and for Gordon, please go to PastDaily.com. —————————— Thank you to: Tony Adams Steven Allmon Orson Orsen Chandler Phil Erickson Jessica Hanna Perri Harper Thomas M. Joyce Ryan Kramer Earl Millard Gary Mollica Barry Nadler Christian Neuhaus Ray Shaw Filipe A Silva John Williams Jim W. —————————— WallBreakers Links: Patreon - patreon.com/thewallbreakers Social Media - @TheWallBreakers

BW - EP143—012: September 1957—Looking Ahead To October 1957 Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

Next time on Breaking Walls, we continue our 1957 mini series by picking up in October with Sputnik, Algeria, Queen Elizabeth’s royal tour, and dying radio drama. —————————— The WallBreakers: http://thewallbreakers.com Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts. To support the show: http://patreon.com/TheWallBreakers —————————— The reading material for today’s episode was: • On the Air — By John Dunning • Network Radio Ratings — By Jim Ramsburg As well as articles from • Broadcasting Magazine • The Los Angeles Times • The New York Times • Radio Daily • U.S. Radio Magazine —————————— On the interview front: • Lilian Buyeff, Mary Jane Croft, Sam Edwards, Herb Ellis, Bill Froug, Jack Johnstone, Jeanette Nolan, and Herb Vigran spoke to SPERDVAC. For more info, go to SPERDVAC.com. • John Scott Trotter spoke with Same Time, Same Station. • Jackson Beck, John Gibson, Larry Haines, Mary Jane Higby, Jim Jordan, Joe Julian, Mandel Kramer, Jan Miner, Arnold Moss, Bill Robson, and Guy Sorel spoke to Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran for WTIC’s The Golden Age of Radio. Hear these interviews at GoldenAge-WTIC.org. • Parley Baer, Ken Carpenter, Bob Hastings, Jim Jordan, and Herb Vigran spoke with Chuck Schaden. Hear their full chats at Speakingofradio.com. • Roberta Bailey-Goodwin spoke with John Dunning for his KNUS program from Denver * Norman Macdonnell was with John Hickman for his Gunsmoke documentary • Jack Kruschen and George Walsh spoke with Jim Bohannon in 1987 • Ray Bradbury spoke with Jerry Haendiges • Ernest Kinoy spoke with Walden Hughes • Ben Grauer spoke with Westinghouse for their 50th anniversary • William S. Paley gave a speech on November 20th, 1958 in New York —————————— Selected music featured in today’s episode was: • Scarborough Fair, Shenandoah, and Autumn Stars — By Michael Silverman • The Last Rose of Summer — By Tom Waits • Corrina, Corrina, Old Friends, and Where Are You Now — By George Winston • Death Runs Riot — By Matthias Gohl • This Room is My Castle of Quiet — By Billy May and His Orchestra

BW - EP143—011: September 1957—The Death Of National League Baseball In New York Sep 23, 2023

Show notes

In September 1957 baseball’s Dodgers, who’d called Brooklyn home since 1884, and Ebbets Field since 1913, played their final games in Flatbush. They’d been World Champions just two years earlier. Simultaneously, over in northern Manhattan, The New York Giants, champions in 1954, and at home near Coogan’s Bluff since 1883, played their final game overlooking the Harlem River. Both teams would move three-thousand miles west to California. The Dodgers would settle in Los Angeles, first at Memorial Coliseum and then in the famed Dodger Stadium, winning the 1959 World Series, and five more in the years since. The Giants moved to San Francisco, played their home games at the mercilessly windy Candlestick Park, before moving to a new stadium in 2000, winning three world titles in the twenty-first century. New York would be left without a National League team to rival the cross-town Yankees for five years, until the New York Metropolitans, colloquially known as the Mets, were formed. They're winners of two world championships of their own. In 1960 hall of fame pitcher Bob Feller, hosting a syndicated show, spoke about that last Giants baseball weekend at the Polo Grounds. There’s an old adage that says “change is life’s only constant.” Post-War hope turned into labor strife and a baby boom, which gave rise to the most profitable radio year in history—1948—leading directly to the TV era. The new deal was more than ten years old and an urban diaspora, guided by white flight and atomic fear, brought families to newly blossomed suburban communities and left cities wondering what the future held. More uncertainty lay ahead. Four days into October, the USSR would launch Sputnik I, the first artificial Earth-orbiting satellite. Everybody’s lives got a little nearer, and yet a little further apart. But, if they wanted to feel close, all they had to do was tune on a radio to a CBS affiliate Sunday afternoons as George Walsh breathed “and now” to open for Suspense. They’d perhaps remember a time when Jack Benny drove radio ratings, while his cast drove him crazy. To a time when Tuesday nights meant NBC with Fibber Mcgee and Molly, Bob Hope, and Red Skelton. When Thursdays meant Crosby, Suspense, and Burns and Allen. And to a time when Norman Corwin helped remember what brought us home. It’s where we’re all going anyway. More specifically, it’s where we’re heading next month.

BW - EP143—010: September 1957—The Bing Crosby Road Show And The Report On School Integration Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

In September of 1957, Bing Crosby, now fifty-four years old, was gearing up to host the Edsel TV special and generating praise for his recent dramatic role as Earl Carlton in Man On Fire. He’d won an Academy Award, had his own radio show since 1931, and championed the widespread use of Prime Time, network transcription. The Ford Road Show featuring Bing Crosby debuted on September 2nd, 1957. It aired five days per week on CBS for five minutes. These were taped segments edited by Murdo MacKenzie and written and produced by Bill Morrow The just-heard John Scott Trotter conducted the orchestra. It included an opening theme, one or two songs by Bing and commercials by Ken Carpenter. This episode aired on September 24th. Ford’s Agency of Record J. Walter Thompson saturated radio with five-minute segments. They also sponsored a show with Rosemary Clooney, a chit chat by Arthur Godfrey and news by Edward R. Murrow. Earlier in this episode we spoke about The Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Hattie Cotton Elementary School bombing in Nashville, Tennessee. With forced integration underway, federal troops needed to be called out to Little Rock, Arkansas where a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School were stopped from attending by the state’s governor. On September 27th CBS Radio ran a special report on the progress, or lack thereof, in southern school integration in the three years following Brown vs. The Board of Education.

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