Old Time Radio
Old Time Radio
Old Time Radio shows are a fantastic piece of modern history that is slowly being forgotten despite the efforts of those who find them fascinating. Radio shows were not just a talk show, they were so much more; radio shows were a play with no stage, a television episode with no picture; radio is its own medium that gives the listeners imagination a wonderful workout. Drama, comedy, soap operas, mystery, and science fiction were all played out over the air; the actors voices combined with state of the art sound effects created a story that would paint the listener a vivid picture of what the actors were going through, a suspenseful adrenalin rush when the hero was in trouble could always expected. Old time radio had a good run though out its short history and deserves recognition; from the beginning to its end Old Time Radio entertained all classes of people who listened, and still listen to today.
When radio first came out it was just for hobbyists; when the hobbyists got bored, they started playing records over their hams (a simple short or long range radio), which led to a new medium for comedians like Jack Benny and Eddie Cantor to perform. With comedians opening the doors to this medium they pioneered “situational comedy” and soon writers found themselves compelled to write for this new form of entertainment, and so was born the radio show. Family’s found themselves around the radio every night to find out what was going to happen to their favorite radio character; the afternoons of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s were filled with soap operas for the house wives to listen, as their television descendents do today. Sadly once television took off, radio show funding dwindled, big productions moved to television causing large gaps in airtime to form; once again stations started playing records signaling the death of the radio show.
Although television killed the radio god, much of the radio’s life was transformed into something that is still recognizable today; many radio shows became television shows (Gunsmoke and Dragnet come to mind) and a select few were even granted a chance at the silver screen. One of the most famous shows that took the chance of reincarnation to the silver screen was “The War of the Worlds”; a novel turned radio show, so well adapted that it had the power to scare a nation during its original Halloween broadcast in 1938. In 1953 “The War of the Worlds” made its first big screen appearance, and once again in an updated 2005 version; its not the only radio show that has made it to today’s version of the entertainment world, but it was my first introduction to our American radio history, causing this fantastic curiosity toward old radio shows.
About a year ago I found myself so curious about how the original “The War of the Worlds” sounded that I had to find a copy of the original broadcast; I found a copy online, listened to it and was not impressed. I did not want to let one show spoil all the hype that my grandparents and elderly friends had built up in me so I continued to seek out different shows that were preformed during that time frame and soon found myself engulfed in a whole new world that ran parallel to HDTV and Xbox360; my television only came on for “House MD”; my Xbox360 must really be missing me too. From ITunes to Xm satellite radio, I found that Old Time Radio is every where if you just look for it. I have grown fond of a few shows and one in particular; “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” (CBS, 1949-52) the man with the action packed expense account. He is not just a gum-shoe, but a freelance insurance investigator who solves crimes by putting together clues, interviewing suspects, and gut hunches.
Now as much as I enjoy Johnny Dollar, his show is not the only one I listen to; my ITunes radio runs all day and all night so that I can enjoy all the different shows and writing styles that were so prominent in the early days of radio. Detective stories as a whole are really my cup of tea, I also like the science fiction stories played in the line up one ITunes. When my Nana visits she too enjoys remembering how entertainment used to be when she was younger. Our American radio history is such an extraordinary history that it should not become just noise stored away in a museum somewhere. It is not just the history of our radio that should be told; the stories that were told over the air are just as important. These stories, I am so glad still are being aired today, and I hope that my children can enjoy them just as I have, the same way my grandparents did.
Michael Trump
Michael Trump 
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