Radio America

This episode of Father Knows Best starring Robert Young as Jim Anderson was broadcast on June 15, 1950.

This episode of Father Knows Best starring Robert Young as Jim Anderson was broadcast on June 15, 1950.

Cartoon characters spend a silly day at the Kalama Zoo. Produced in 1939.

Cartoon characters spend a silly day at the Kalama Zoo. Produced in 1939.

Dragnet was an incredible radio series for many reasons. It represented the apex of police procedural broadcasting. It used sound effects to an extent that had rarely be seen before and it extended the boundaries of what was classed as acceptable broadcasting with some of its controversial storylines. In this episode Detective Sergeant Friday is assigned to robbery detail. A ruthless fiend roams the streets of the city masquerading as a police officer. For months helpless citizens have been robbed, beaten senseless and kidnapped. The criminal is a twisted genius with cunning. It's up to Detective Sergeant Joe Friday to get him. Title:

Dragnet was an incredible radio series for many reasons. It represented the apex of police procedural broadcasting. It used sound effects to an extent that had rarely be seen before and it extended the boundaries of what was classed as acceptable broadcasting with some of its controversial storylines. In this episode Detective Sergeant Friday is assigned to robbery detail. A ruthless fiend roams the streets of the city masquerading as a police officer. For months helpless citizens have been robbed, beaten senseless and kidnapped. The criminal is a twisted genius with cunning. It's up to Detective Sergeant Joe Friday to get him. Title:

This 15 minute daily situation comedy was probably the most popular radio show of all time. The listening audience was estimated at 40 million, almost one-third of Americans living at that time. The story was of Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll playing Amos and Andy as black men from Harlem who owned the Fresh Air Taxi Company, so called because its only cab had no windshield. Amos and Andy were the commonest of common men: they symbolized the poor Joe with no money, no job and no future. It was the first significant serial utilizing the elements of sympathetic characters, comedy and suspense. Title:

This 15 minute daily situation comedy was probably the most popular radio show of all time. The listening audience was estimated at 40 million, almost one-third of Americans living at that time. The story was of Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll playing Amos and Andy as black men from Harlem who owned the Fresh Air Taxi Company, so called because its only cab had no windshield. Amos and Andy were the commonest of common men: they symbolized the poor Joe with no money, no job and no future. It was the first significant serial utilizing the elements of sympathetic characters, comedy and suspense. Title:

Buck Rogers was a comic strip that appeared in the America's newspapers, so it was a natural for radio action, too. It had several time slots and sponsors on radio during the 1930's, and the shows from 1938-39, running on Mutual, re-tell our hero's beginnings to get us kids ready for action as Buck blasts off on more exciting space adventures in the incredible future of the 25th Century. After his 1930's adventures, Buck Rogers was "lost in space" until a return to Earth radio in 1947. Many actors played the parts throughout the decades.

Buck Rogers was a comic strip that appeared in the America's newspapers, so it was a natural for radio action, too. It had several time slots and sponsors on radio during the 1930's, and the shows from 1938-39, running on Mutual, re-tell our hero's beginnings to get us kids ready for action as Buck blasts off on more exciting space adventures in the incredible future of the 25th Century. After his 1930's adventures, Buck Rogers was "lost in space" until a return to Earth radio in 1947. Many actors played the parts throughout the decades.

The Life of Riley, an early U.S. television sitcom filmed in Hollywood, was broadcast on NBC from 1949-50 and from 1953-58. Although the program had a loyal audience from its years on network radio (1943-1951), its first season on television, in which Jackie Gleason was cast in the title role, failed to generate high ratings. William Bendix portrayed Riley in the second version and the series was much more successful, among the top twenty-five most watched programs from 1953-55. Syndicated in 1977, the series was telecast on many cable systems.

The Life of Riley, an early U.S. television sitcom filmed in Hollywood, was broadcast on NBC from 1949-50 and from 1953-58. Although the program had a loyal audience from its years on network radio (1943-1951), its first season on television, in which Jackie Gleason was cast in the title role, failed to generate high ratings. William Bendix portrayed Riley in the second version and the series was much more successful, among the top twenty-five most watched programs from 1953-55. Syndicated in 1977, the series was telecast on many cable systems.

Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s.

Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s.

another one of abbott and costellos talk radio shows