Another "Evening of Old-Time Radio," with Johnny and Helen Holmes

In October, in this space, I wrote about my friends Johnny and Helen Holmes; they were hosting a Halloween-themed "Evening of Old-Time Radio," at The Daily Grind coffeehouse, in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

On Friday, from 6-9 p.m., they will be appearing again at The Daily Grind.

This week's event is titled "Home for the Holidays," and will feature Christmas-oriented radio programs:  "Miracle on 34th Street," from the Lux Radio Theater; a Jack Benny Christmas program; and "A Christmas Carol," from The Campbell Playhouse.

The Daily Grind is located at 48 High Street, in Mount Holly. The phone number is: (609) 267-8330.

"Hit Parade Dancers," 1952

Here is another television-screen image, of Your Hit Parade, from the spring of 1952 (photographer unknown).  The picture is of the "Hit Parade Dancers"; I am fairly sure they are dancing to the song "Blue Tango."

Snooky Lanson, "Your Hit Parade," 1952

In October, I posted an image from 1952, of the TV show Your Hit Parade. 

The photograph was of a television screen, taken as the program aired. (As mentioned previously, the picture was part of a group of photos I found this year, at my father's apartment, but I do not know who took them.)

Here is another TV-screen photo, from the same group of pictures.  It is of Snooky Lanson, one of the stars of the Hit Parade, singing on a telecast in the spring of 1952.

Interview with Maria Mazziotti Gillan

A week ago, on my “Radio Once More” program, I interviewed the poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan.

We spoke about her latest book of poetry, The Place I Call Home, published in September by New York Quarterly Books.

Ms. Gillan, who has written fifteen books of poetry, is the Director of the Creative Writing Program at Binghamton University-State University of New York, and is the Founder and Executive Director of The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College in Paterson, New Jersey. Gillan, who grew up in Paterson, is also the editor of the Paterson Literary Review.

Her web address is:  http://www.mariagillan.com/

Here, as well, is the amazon link for The Place I Call Home:

http://www.amazon.com/Place-I-Call-Home/dp/1935520679/

One of the subjects we discussed, during the interview, was the radio programs which were a part of her childhood. As part of the interview, she read a radio-related poem, “I Grew Up with Tom Mix"; the poem is from her new book.

The interview, which can be heard at the following link, is approximately forty-five minutes long.

http://www.luckystrikepapers.com/images/Maria_Gillan_interview_November_15_2012.mp3

(Audio of interview, copyright “Radio Once More,” www.radiooncemore.com)

Interview with writer Janis Johnson, about Hometowns, and "The Artist's Eye"

I’ve posted previously about California-based writer, and communications consultant, Janis Johnson.

During her career as a journalist, she was on the staff of The Washington Post, was a correspondent for USA Today, and wrote for other major U.S. newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Johnson has appeared on my weekly radio program, on the Internet station “Radio Once More,” on a few occasions. Her 2010 book, which features the artwork of her late father, Vernon P. Johnson, is titled The Artist’s Eye: Vernon P. Johnson’s Watercolors of 1950s Small Town America.

Here is one of the interviews with Johnson. The conversation (which is approximately thirty-five minutes long) took place in May of this year, and we talked about the subject of hometowns—including, of course, her hometown of Mount Vernon, Ohio. Most of her father’s watercolors, in The Artist’s Eye, are of Mount Vernon.

http://029b257.netsolhost.com/images/Janis_Johnson_May_2012.mp3

For additional information about The Artist’s Eye, please click on this link:

http://theartistseye.wordpress.com/ 

Here, too, is the book’s amazon.com page:

http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Eye-Janis-Johnson/dp/B006U1LWNC/

Lastly, here is the link for the book’s publisher, the Knox County Historical Society, in Ohio:

http://www.knoxhistory.org/index.html

(Audio of interview, copyright "Radio Once More," www.radiooncemore.com)

Your Hit Parade, NBC-TV, 1952

I recently found some photos at my father’s apartment. I had never seen them before.

The pictures, taken of a television screen, are from Your Hit Parade, in 1952. I don’t know who took them.

The picture, here, is of Eileen Wilson, Dorothy Collins, and my mother (Sue Bennett). They were singing “Tea for Two.” (My mother made note of the song title, in pen, in the border of the picture.)

Johnny and Helen Holmes, and OTR

This Friday, October 12th (from 6-8 p.m.), my friends Johnny and Helen Holmes, of Mount Holly, New Jersey, will be hosting an evening of Old-Time Radio.

The pre-Halloween event (it is being called "Fright Night") will be taking place at a Mount Holly coffee house, The Daily Grind. 

As part of the event, Johnny and Helen will be playing three well-known Old-Time Radio broadcasts:  "The Hitchhiker," from the program Suspense, "Valse Triste," from the series Lights Out, and "Three Skeleton Key," from the program Escape.

The Daily Grind is located at 48 High Street, in Mount Holly.  The phone number is: (609) 267-8330.

If you're in (or near) the Mount Holly area on Friday, I hope you'll attend!