The A to Z of American Radio Soap Operas


Book Description

The period from 1925 to 1960 was the heyday of the American Radio Soap Opera. In addition to being part of popular culture, the soap opera had important commercial aspects as well that were not only related to their production, but also to the desperate need to sell products or perish. Both sides of this story are traced in this comprehensive compendium. The dictionary section, made up of more than 500 cross-referenced entries, provides brief vignettes of the more popular and also less well-known 'soaps,' among them Back Stage Wife, Our Gal Sunday, Pepper Young's Family and The Guiding Light. Other entries evoke those who brought these programs to life: the actors, announcers, scriptwriters, networks, and even the sponsors. Nor are the basic themes, the stock characters and the gimmick, forgotten. The book's introduction defines the soap opera, examines the span of the radio serial, reviews its origins and its demise, and focuses on the character types that made up its denizens. The chronology outlines the period and the bibliography offers further reading. Together, these elements make a comprehensive reference work that researchers will find invaluable long into the future.




Historical Dictionary of American Radio Soap Operas


Book Description

The period from 1925 to 1960 was the heyday of the American Radio Soap Opera. In addition to being part of popular culture, the soap opera had important commercial aspects as well that were not only related to their production, but also to the desperate need to sell products or perish. Both sides of this story are traced in this comprehensive compendium. The dictionary section, made up of more than 500 cross-referenced entries, provides brief vignettes of the more popular and also less well-known 'soaps,' among them Back Stage Wife, Our Gal Sunday, Pepper Young's Family and The Guiding Light. Other entries evoke those who brought these programs to life: the actors, announcers, scriptwriters, networks, and even the sponsors. Nor are the basic themes, the stock characters and the gimmick, forgotten. The book's introduction defines the soap opera, examines the span of the radio serial, reviews its origins and its demise, and focuses on the character types that made up its denizens. The chronology outlines the period and the bibliography offers further reading. Together, these elements make a comprehensive reference work that researchers will find invaluable long into the future.




Radio Program Openings and Closings, 1931-1972


Book Description

The openings and closings to radio programs of all types, from comedies (Blondie, The Jack Benny Program, Lum and Abner) to mysteries (Inner Sanctum Mysteries, The Black Chapel) to game shows (Can You Top This?, Truth or Consequences) to serials (Second Husband, Bachelor's Children) to crime dramas (The Falcon, Eno Crime Clues, The Green Hornet, Mr. and Mrs. North) to westerns (Gunsmoke, Wild Bill Hickok, Hawk Larabee) that were aired between 1931 and 1972, are included in this work. Each entry has a brief introductory paragraph that provides information about the storyline, principal cast, sponsors and air dates. Commercials have been included if the programs were under regular sponsorship. Includes three appendices (sponsors; slogans and jingles; and World War II announcements) and an index.




Tune in Yesterday


Book Description

Descriptions of the plots and characters of the most popular radio shows are included as well as basic information on schedules, writers, sponsors, and performers. In alphabetical order.




Crime Fighting Heroes of Television


Book Description

Superheroes and characters who fight crime by extraordinary means have populated the television airwaves from the beginning. This broad-ranging reference contains a trove of information on shows featuring such characters as Superman and Black Scorpion to programs like The A-Team and Knight Rider. Regular police and detective shows have been excluded. Alphabetical entries on 125 network, cable and syndicated series broadcast from 1949 to 2001, plus 26 pilot films, deliver information about story premises, characters, and myriad elements that add flavor and interest to the shows, as well as cast listings and broadcast data. A handy index of performers is included as well as appendices listing the crime fighting superheroes and machines that appear in the programs.




Encyclopedia of Radio 3-Volume Set


Book Description

Produced in association with the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, the Encyclopedia of Radio includes more than 600 entries covering major countries and regions of the world as well as specific programs and people, networks and organizations, regulation and policies, audience research, and radio's technology. This encyclopedic work will be the first broadly conceived reference source on a medium that is now nearly eighty years old, with essays that provide essential information on the subject as well as comment on the significance of the particular person, organization, or topic being examined.




Sandy Dennis


Book Description

This is the first book-length study of the American actress Sandy Dennis (1937-1992). Winner of two successive Tony Awards for her work in the theatre in 1963 and 1964, she moved into film in supporting roles. For her performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Dennis won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award. She starred in films like Up The Down Staircase (1967), The Fox (1968), Sweet November (1968), That Cold Day in the Park (1969), Thank You All Very Much (1969), and Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). Full information is provided for each film and television appearance, with cast and crew credits, synopses, notes, release information, reviews, and DVD availability.







The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio


Book Description

The average American listens to the radio three hours a day. In light of recent technological developments such as internet radio, some argue that the medium is facing a crisis, while others claim we are at the dawn of a new radio revolution. The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio is an essential single-volume reference guide to this vital and evolving medium. It brings together the best and most important entries from the three-volume Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio, edited by Christopher Sterling. Comprised of more than 300 entries spanning the invention of radio to the Internet, The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio addresses personalities, music genres, regulations, technology, programming and stations, the "golden age" of radio and other topics relating to radio broadcasting throughout its history. The entries are updated throughout and the volume includes nine new entries on topics ranging from podcasting to the decline of radio. The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio include suggestions for further reading as complements to most of the articles, biographical details for all person-entries, production credits for programs, and a comprehensive index.




Sam Wanamaker


Book Description

Actor. Director. Visionary. The fascinating life of Sam Wanamaker is explored for the first time in this biography by Diana Devlin, who worked closely with Wanamaker during the last twenty years of his life. Sam Wanamaker (1909 - 1993) is best known as the man who spent the last twenty-five years of his life campaigning to reconstruct Shakespeare's Globe near its original site in London. Born in the USA, he trained as an actor in Chicago and began his career during the golden age of radio drama, before moving on to Broadway. A vocal left wing activist, Wanamaker moved to the UK during the turbulent era of the anti-Communist witch hunts. Having crossed the Atlantic, he carved a successful international career as actor, producer and director. He directed the opening production at the Sydney Opera House. With his staunch sense of purpose, he made as many enemies as friends: charismatic and persuasive, he was also stubborn and domineering. But above all, he was a man of great vision, and it was that vision that inspired many to help make his dream of Shakespeare's Globe come into being, which opened to much fanfare in 1997