Mail Call (radio program)

Last updated
Mail Call
Phil Silvers Betty Grable Rags Ragland Mail Call.jpg
Phil Silvers, Betty Grable and Rags Ragland on Mail Call in 1943
GenreVariety
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Syndicates CBS
Original releaseAugust 11, 1942 (1942-08-11) [1] – 1945 (1945)

Mail Call was an American radio program that entertained American soldiers from 1942 until 1945, during World War II. Lt. Col. Thomas A.H. Lewis (commander of the Armed Forces Radio Service) wrote in 1944, "The initial production of the Armed Forces Radio Service was 'Mail Call,' a morale-building half hour which brought famed performers to the microphone to sing and gag in the best American manner." The program featured popular entertainers of that day, such as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, and Dinah Shore, performing musical numbers and comedy skits to boost the morale of soldiers stationed far from their homes. Lewis added, "To a fellow who has spent months guarding an outpost in the South Seas, Iceland or Africa a cheery greeting from a favorite comedian, a song hit direct from Broadway, or the beating rhythm of a hot band, mean a tie with the home to which he hopes soon to return. [2]

Contents

California headquarters

Mail Call and other AFRS programs were produced in Los Angeles, Calif., with the organization's headquarters at 6011 Santa Monica Boulevard, [3] The location provided access to top-flight entertainers, staff and facilities. The Encyclopedia of Radio noted: "Los Angeles was selected as the headquarters because of its proximity to the entertainment industry, which quickly gave its overwhelming support. The mission of the new AFRS was to provide American servicemen 'a touch of home' through the broadcast of American news and entertainment." [4] Among the behind-the-scenes people was Meredith Willson (perhaps best known for writing "The Music Man"), who was the first musical director for AFRS. [5]

Many of the behind-the-scenes military people involved in Mail Call and other AFRS programs had jobs similar to those they had had in civilian life. Erik Barnouw wrote:

Because its [AFRS's] commandant, Colonel Thomas H.A. Lewis, had been vice president of Young & Rubicam -- always known as "Y&R" -- the most Hollywood-oriented advertising agency, much top talent was drawn from the agency's productions. The uniformed staff, representing both army and navy, was supplemented by civilians. Some of the uniformed men had been drafted, then re-routed back to Hollywood and the "Y&Rmy [3]

During at least one interval, however, production shifted to the East Coast. The Oct. 21, 1944, issue of The Billboard magazine carried a story headlined, "AFRS To Cut 4 Major E.T.s In East 12 Weeks." It reported:

The four top armed forces radio service shows, Command Performance , Mail Call, Jubilee and G.I. Journal will be cut in New York from October 15 until November 13, a total of more than 12 shows. Idea is to give G.I.'s a chance to hear Eastern legit and night club talent. [6]

Format revision

Patrick Morley's book, This Is the American Forces Network: The Anglo-American Battle of the Air Waves in World War II, related a significant shift in format for Mail Call: "The early issues included a feature, 'What's Going on at Home,' followed-up by a brief sound-clip from a current film using the stars featured in the picture. But this made for unexciting listening, and before long the format was changed so that Mail Call more closely resembled Command Performance." [7] The revised format was that of a variety show, mixing music, comedy and exchanges between entertainers.

Each installment of Mail Call began in an easily recognizable way, as quoted by Morley:

Mail Call from the United States of America. Stand by Americans. Here's Mail Call, one big package of words and music and laughter delivered to you by the stars from whom you want to hear in answer to the requests you send to the Armed Forces Radio Service in Los Angeles, USA. [7]

Like the entertainers who appeared on the program, the announcers who spoke that introduction were familiar to the troops because of their popularity in radio. They included Ken Carpenter, Harry von Zell and Don Wilson. [7]

European exposure and audience

Although production of Mail Call and other AFRS programs was done in the United States, radio facilities in other countries were needed to broadcast the programs. A story in the April 1944 issue of Radio News noted:

American soldiers in the European Theatre of Operations have their own private radio network now -- thanks to the British Broadcasting Corporation and the U.S. Army Signal Corps. ... All this, of course, would not have been possible without the generous and friendly cooperation of the BBC, which waived its monopolistic rights on radio broadcasting in Great Britain and offered many of its own facilities so that the Yanks could enjoy American programs on what the soldiers call the "G.I. Network." [8]

The people of Great Britain not only provided broadcasting facilities through the BBC, but also listened to Mail Call and other programs broadcast by AFRS. An article in the July 9, 1945, issue of Broadcasting magazine headlined "U.S. Programs Are Popular in Britain" cited a survey in Great Britain that "showed that 20,000,000 adults in Britain had recently listened to one or more of the seven programs produced in the United States and rebroadcast in Britain." Two AFRS programs, Command Performance and Mail Call, were among those seven, with listening percentages of 27.5 and 22.9, respectively. [9] A bonus for the artists who donated their time and effort to performing on Mail Call and other AFRS programs was increased international exposure. Author Donna Halper wrote: "Many of the popular female vocalists and comedians, along with some of the most popular men, were now internationally famous" as a result of exposure on Command Performance and Mail Call. She added, "Suddenly, American music was exposed to an entirely new audience, since it was not just the soldiers who listened to AFRS." [10]

End of the broadcast

After World War II ended, the need for shows like Mail Call diminished, resulting in changes in AFRS programming. Broadcasting magazine reported that the end for Mail Call and eight "other service radio shows requiring outside talent" came in 1950 when the "AFRS budget was ... cut by $153,000 by the Secretary of Defense." Other shows discontinued in the move were as follows Command Performance, Redd Harper Hollywood Roundup, GI Jive , Jill's Juke Box, Chiquita, Personal Album, Lucky Grab Bag and Bob Carleton Show. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

CBS American broadcast television network

CBS is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network that is the flagship property of the CBS Entertainment Group division of ViacomCBS. The company is headquartered at the CBS Building in New York City with major production facilities and operations in New York City and Los Angeles.

Golden Age of Radio An era of popular entertainment in the United States centered on radio productions

The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio programming in the United States during which radio was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early 1920s and lasted through the 1950s, when television gradually superseded radio as the medium of choice for scripted programming, variety and dramatic shows.

United Service Organizations Nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides entertainment and other services to members of the US Armed Forces and their families

The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed Forces and their families. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of War, and later with the Department of Defense (DoD), relying heavily on private contributions and on funds, goods, and services from various corporate and individual donors. Although it is congressionally-chartered, it is not a government agency.

American Forces Network broadcast service operated by the US Armed Forces for US servicemembers, Department of Defense and other US government civilians and their families stationed at bases overseas

The American Forces Network (AFN) is the broadcast service operated by the United States Armed Forces' American Forces Radio and Television Service ) for its entertainment and command internal information networks worldwide. The AFN worldwide radio and television broadcast network serves American servicemembers, Department of Defense and other U.S. government civilians and their families stationed at bases overseas, as well as U.S. Navy ships at sea. AFN broadcasts popular American radio and television programs from the major U.S. networks. It is sometimes referred to as the Armed Forces Network. AFRTS, American Forces Network and AFN are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Defense. It is based at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland and is part of the Defense Media Activity.

The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselves.

Erik Barnouw was a U.S. historian of radio and television broadcasting.

The Far East Network (FEN) was a network of American military radio and television stations, primarily serving U.S. Forces in Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines, and Guam.

G.I. (military) Wikimedia disambiguation page

G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Forces and also for general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or "Ground Infantry", but it originally referred to "galvanized iron", as used by the logistics services of the United States Armed Forces.

WXTK News/talk radio station in West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, United States

WXTK is a news/talk radio station licensed to West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and headquartered in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.. It is the direct descendant of Cape Cod's first commercial radio station, WOCB.

BBC Forces Programme

The BBC Forces Programme was a BBC radio station which operated from 7 January 1940 until 26 February 1944.

BBC General Forces Programme

The BBC General Forces Programme was a BBC radio station from 27 February 1944 until 31 December 1946.

Nathan Morley is an investigative journalist, television news anchor, and newspaper columnist based in Finland and Cyprus.

<i>Command Performance</i> (radio series)

Command Performance was a radio program which originally aired between 1942 and 1949. The program was broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFRS) and transmitted by shortwave to the troops overseas—with few exceptions, it was not broadcast over domestic U.S. radio stations.

Jack Moyles was an American actor best known for starring as cafe owner/amateur detective Rocky Jordan in the CBS radio serials A Man Named Jordan and The Adventures of Rocky Jordan.

AFN Munich Radio station

The AFN Munich was a radio station of the American Forces Network of the United States Army, operating from Munich, Bavaria, from 1945 to 1992. The station carried the nickname "The voice of Southern Bavaria".

GI Jive was a 15-minute radio program transmitted by the Armed Forces Radio Service for entertainment of soldiers in World War II. Its initial frequency of five days per week later increased to six days per week. It was included in the group of "programs proposed for production on the AFRS's initial schedule". GI Jive differed from AFRS programs like Command Performance and Mail Call in that it used a disc jockey format, with someone playing popular recordings of the day. In contrast, Command Performance and Mail Call transcribed live performances by popular entertainers.

WBAS Portuguese-language radio station in West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, United States

WBAS is an AM radio station licensed to West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, United States, which transmits at a power of 1,000 watts on 1240 kHz. Established in 1940 as WOCB, its format consists of Portuguese language programming. WBAS also operates FM translator station W268CP on 101.5 MHz.

<i>Philco Radio Time</i>

Philco Radio Time was an old-time radio radio series starring entertainer Bing Crosby. The series ran over ABC Radio with episodes airing from October 16, 1946–June 1, 1949. The series also was syndicated for a period of time over the Armed Forces Radio Network.

Bing Crosby was heavily involved with the Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II.

GI Jill was the disc jockey host of GI Jive, a music program on the Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II. She was notable for her positive effect of her personality and music selections on American troops' morale and for being "universally credited with being the No. 1 overseas attraction" on AFRS. By the end of January 1945 she had made 870 broadcasts.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/afrs.htm
  2. ↑ Lewis, Lt. Col. Thomas A.H. (1944). Armed Forces Radio Service. Radio Daily Presents the 1944 Radio Annual.
  3. 1 2 Barnouw, Erik. (1968). The Golden Web:1933-1953. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN   0195004752
  4. ↑ Sterling, Christopher H., ed. (2004). Encyclopedia of Radio. Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN   1-57958-249-4
  5. ↑ Oates, Bill. (2005) Meredith Willson -- America's Music Man. AuthorHouse ISBN   1-4208-3523-8
  6. ↑ The Billboard. Oct. 21, 1944. AFRS To Cut 4 Major E.T.s In East 12 Weeks. p. 12
  7. 1 2 3 Morley, Patrick (2001). This Is the American Forces Network: The Anglo-American Battle of the Air Waves in World War II. Praeger Publishers. ISBN   0-275-96901-0
  8. ↑ Porter, Kenneth. Radio News. April 1944. The American Forces Network. p. 32.
  9. ↑ Broadcasting. July 9, 1945. U.S. Programs Are Popular In Britain. p. 74
  10. ↑ Halper, Donna L. (2001) Invisible Stars: A Social History of Women in American Broadcasting. M.E. Sharpe, Inc. ISBN   0-7656-0581-3.
  11. ↑ Broadcasting. January 9, 1950. LAST COMMAND: AFRS Series Concluded. p. 69
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.