Garry Berman

In the previous post, I referred to author Garry Berman; in 2011 he came out with an enjoyable book about comedian and actor Ed Wynn (Perfect Fool: The Life and Career of Ed Wynn).

I neglected, in the post, to include Berman's web address.  It is: www.garryberman.com

The site features information about Berman's other books--including one about The Beatles that I'm planning on reading.  Its title:  We're Going to See the Beatles!:  An Oral History of Beatlemania as Told by the Fans Who Were There (Santa Monica Press, 2008). 

Here is the amazon link for the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Were-Going-See-Beatles-Beatlemania/dp/1595800328/

The Center Theatre

This is a photograph of New York City's Center Theatre, which in the early 1950s, having been taken over by NBC, was the home of a number of NBC-TV programs; NBC shows began originating from the theatre in 1950.  (The photograph is from the web site www.cinematreasures.org.)

I recently interviewed author Garry Berman, on my weekly "Radio Once More" program; we discussed his 2011 book, Perfect Fool: The Life and Career of Ed Wynn (BearManor Media).

http://www.amazon.com/PERFECT-FOOL-LIFE-CAREER-WYNN/dp/1593936761/

Berman writes, in his book, about The Center Theatre; Ed Wynn performed at the theatre in 1950 and 1951, when he was one of the rotating hosts/stars of NBC's Four Star Revue. The other hosts of the television program, in the 1950-1951 season, were Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, and Jack Carson.

My mother sang in the theatre in 1951 and 1952, on Your Hit Parade. She also sang there in 1951, on the Freddy Martin television show, on which she appeared as a regular guest.

The TV version of the Hit Parade had originally been broadcast from New York's International Theatre, during the summer of 1950.

The International Theatre had also been acquired by NBC, and, as was the case with The Center Theatre, had been converted into a television broadcast facility. Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows, which went on the air in early 1950, was broadcast from The International Theatre. (My mother sang at the theatre in 1949 and 1950, when she was a cast member of Kay Kyser's TV show.) 

In the summer of 1950, four experimental TV broadcasts of the Hit Parade were aired, and originated from The International Theatre. In October of 1950, when the Hit Parade joined NBC's weekly schedule, the show moved to The Center Theatre. The show was also broadcast from The Center Theatre for most of the 1951-1952 TV season; for part of the season, the program was moved to NBC's Studio 8-H, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

In 1954, The Center Theatre was demolished; the site was turned into an office building. The International Theatre was torn down the same year.

September 11th

(Photograph, circa 1978, is used by permission of artist Jenny Lynn.)

Hal David (1921-2012)

He was an enormously talented man.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/arts/music/hal-david-oscar-and-grammy-winning-songwriter-is-dead-at-91.html

Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)

After learning of the death, at 82, of the heroic Neil Armstrong, I found a magazine I have, from 1965. It is titled “The United States Astronauts and Their Families,” and was published by the World Book Encyclopedia Science Services, Inc.

The picture below, and the accompanying biography, are from the section in the magazine about Armstrong, his wife, and children. At the time, as the magazine notes, Armstrong was 35 years old.

The Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention

The Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention is underway, in Hunt Valley, Maryland.  The convention, which continues until Saturday, is run by Martin and Michelle Grams.

www.midatlanticnostalgiaconvention.com

I was fortunate to be at the convention on Wednesday night and Thursday, taking part in broadcasts on "Radio Once More," the Internet radio station (www.radiooncemore.com).

Kay Kyser Show, and Ted Brown

To the left: a photograph of comedian and musician Merwyn Bogue (also known as Ish Kabibble), with singers Sue Bennett (left) and Liza Palmer (right).

The photo appeared in the January 7, 1950 issue of TeleVision Guide (which later became TV Guide), as part of an article about Kay Kyser and his NBC-TV program, the College of Musical Knowledge.

The Kay Kyser television show’s cast originally included three featured singers—Michael Douglas, my mother (Sue Bennett), and Liza Palmer. Ms. Palmer, however, left the program a couple of months after the TeleVision Guide article appeared.

Also featured on the show, during its first season: the vocal group The Honeydreamers, and announcer Ben Grauer (who also appeared in sketches on the program). The dance team of Diane Sinclair and Ken Spaulding joined the program early in 1950. Writers Eddie Lawrence and Bob Quigley were also featured in the program's sketches.

The Honeydreamers left the show at the end of the first season, as did Ben Grauer. Dancers Sinclair and Spaulding continued with the program during its second season (along with Michael Douglas, my mother, and Merwyn Bogue).  Eddie Lawrence and Bob Quigley continued to both write for and appear on the program, in its second season.

The announcer for the show’s second season was Ted Brown. Brown had appeared on the Dumont Television Network as an announcer, and had also starred, in 1949, on a Dumont Network children’s show, Birthday Party. Each telecast featured a birthday party for a child; Brown played the character “King Cole” (the show was also known as King Cole’s Birthday Party). Later, in 1954, Brown temporarily took over for “Buffalo Bob” Smith on Howdy Doody, when Smith left the show after suffering a heart attack. Brown starred as the character “Bison Bill.”

Brown later became one of New York’s most popular radio personalities, most notably at station WNEW.

(Photo above, of Ted Brown, from the 1984 book WNEW: Where The Melody Lingers On—1934-1984, written and published by Nightingale Gordon)