Country of origin | United States |
---|---|
Language(s) | English |
Syndicates | Blue Network (1937-1943) ABC (1945-1946) |
Starring | Ransom Sherman Garry Moore |
Announcer | Durward Kirby |
Original release | 1937 – 1946 |
Club Matinee is an American old-time radio variety show. It was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from 1937 to 1943 [1] and on ABC from 1945 to 1946. [2]
Club Matinee featured comedy and music, with the two sometimes combined in the form of "comedic arrangements of musical classics, played slightly out of tune." [1]
Francis Chase Jr., in his book Sound and Fury: An Informal History of Broadcasting, described Club Matinee as being unique in its approach to comedy. He wrote, "Here is a zany piece of merriment, inauspiciously insinuated into your afternoon listening, which has become the most haphazard, the screwiest, the most anything-can-happen-affair to hit the air waves." [3] He added that the program discovered, developed and built "new and different comedy which, sooner or later, finds its way onto the big commercial shows." [3]
Ransom Sherman was the first host of the program, with Garry Moore (who was added in 1939) eventually becoming co-host. [4]
Moore's stage name changed during his time on Club Matinee, and the change involved the program. When he decided that Thomas Garrison Morfit (his real name) was too cumbersome for broadcasting, he had a contest on the program, asking listeners to send in suggestions for a name that he could use. A woman in Pittsburgh won the $50 prize with her suggestion of Garry Moore. [5]
Singers who appeared on the program included Annette King, [6] Nancy Martin, [7] Clark Dennis, Johnny Johnston, Evelyn Lynne, Phil Shukin, the Escorts and Betty, the Three Romeos, [2] and Sam Cowling. [1] Durward Kirby was the announcer, and Rex Maupin provided the music. [2]
Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in the world during the Second World War. Their patter routine "Who's on First?" is considered one of the greatest comedy routines of all time, a version of which appears in their 1945 film The Naughty Nineties.
Charles James Correll was an American radio comedian, actor and writer, known best for his work in the radio series Amos 'n' Andy with Freeman Gosden. Correll voiced the main character Andy Brown, along with various lesser characters.
Arthur Quirk Bryan was an American actor and radio personality. He is best remembered for his longtime recurring role as well-spoken, wisecracking Dr. Gamble on the radio comedy Fibber McGee and Molly and for voicing the Warner Bros. cartoon character Elmer Fudd.
Garry Moore was an American entertainer, comedic personality, game show host, and humorist best known for his work in television. He began a long career with the CBS network starting in radio in 1937. Beginning in 1949 and through the mid-1970s, Moore was a television host on several variety and game shows.
Boris Karloff (1887–1969) was an English actor. He became known for his role as Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 Frankenstein, leading to a long career in film, radio, and television.
Wendy Barrie was a British-American film and television actress.
Homer Durward Kirby, was an American television host and announcer. He is best remembered for The Garry Moore Show in the 1950s and Candid Camera, which he co-hosted with Allen Funt from 1961 through 1966.
Monitor was an American weekend radio program broadcast live and nationwide on the NBC Radio Network from June 12, 1955, until January 26, 1975. It began originally on Saturday morning at 8am and continued through the weekend until 12 midnight on Sunday. After the first few months, the full weekend broadcast was shortened when the midnight-to-dawn hours were dropped since few NBC stations carried it.
The Garry Moore Show is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talents, such as Dorothy Loudon, Don Adams, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Don Knotts, Lee Goodman, James Kirkwood, Jr., Lily Tomlin, and Jonathan Winters. The Garry Moore Show garnered a number of Emmy nominations and wins.
Howard Alexander Petrie was an American radio, television, and film actor.
The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre is an American anthology series that aired live on NBC Mondays at 8 pm EST from September 27, 1948 to June 26, 1950. The program presented both news headlines and live dramatic performances of either original plays or works adapted for television from the stage. Sometimes the show was referred to as Chevrolet on Broadway or The Broadway Playhouse; particularly when the program was presenting an adapted stage work from New York City's theatre scene.
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch is a Western variety radio show in the United States. A 15-minute pilot show aired on December 31, 1939. The program ran from January 7, 1940 to August 1, 1943, and from September 23, 1945 to May 16, 1956. The show's entire run was broadcast over the CBS radio network, sponsored by Doublemint gum. The approximately two-year interruption resulted from Autry's enlistment in the United States Army to serve in World War II. Initially titled Doublemint's Melody Ranch, the show's name was changed to Gene Autry's Melody Ranch in early 1941. Episodes were 30 minutes long except for a 15-minute version that ran from September 23, 1945 to June 16, 1946. The theme song was "Back in the Saddle Again".
The Durante-Moore Show was an old-time radio show that ran on NBC with episodes running from March 25, 1943–October 28, 1943 and on CBS with episodes running from October 8, 1943–June 27, 1947.
Staats Cotsworth was an American actor in old-time radio. He is perhaps best known for playing the title role in Casey, Crime Photographer.
Ted Steele was an American bandleader and host of several radio and television programs. He also held administrative positions at radio stations and had his own media-related businesses.
The Black Castle is an old-time radio mystery-terror program in the United States. The 15-minute program was broadcast on Mutual in 1943 and 1944.
Chick Carter, Boy Detective is a 15-minute American old-time radio juvenile crime drama. It was carried on the Mutual Broadcasting System weekday afternoons from July 5, 1943 to July 6, 1945.
David Harum is an American old-time radio soap opera. It was broadcast on CBS, Mutual, and NBC. It ran from January 27, 1936, to January 5, 1951.
The Dinah Shore Show was a title applied—in some cases specifically and in other cases generically—to several radio musical programs in the United States, some of which had other distinct titles as indicated below. Singer Dinah Shore starred in the programs, some of which were broadcast on the Blue Network, while others were on CBS or NBC.
Hop Harrigan is an American old-time radio juvenile adventure program. It was broadcast on ABC from August 31, 1942, until August 2, 1946, and on Mutual from October 2, 1946, until February 6, 1948. General Foods began sponsoring the program on October 2, 1944; it had previously been unsponsored.