The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Rudy Vallee conducts his orchestra while guest star Frances Williams sings in 1933 Frances Williams on the Rudy Vallee Hour - Radioland, November 1933.jpg
Rudy Vallée conducts his orchestra while guest star Frances Williams sings in 1933

The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour (also known as The Rudy Vallée Show, The Fleischmann Yeast Hour, and The Fleischmann Hour) was a pioneering musical variety radio program broadcast on NBC from 1929 to 1936, when it became The Royal Gelatin Hour, continuing until 1939. This program was sponsored by Fleischmann’s Yeast, a popular brand of yeast.

Contents

The person responsible for this major step ahead in broadcasting was NBC executive Bertha Brainard, who became head of programming for NBC in 1928. She began pushing for singer-bandleader Rudy Vallée to host a variety series by explaining that only a woman could understand the appeal of Vallée's voice.

Regulars

Vallee (center) with Olsen and Johnson, 1932. Olsen and Johnson Rudy Vallee Fleischmann Yeast Hour 1932.JPG
Vallée (center) with Olsen and Johnson, 1932.

First airing on October 29, 1929, [1] the show quickly became a top-rated program, being one of the five most popular shows for every year between the 1929–30 and 1934–35 seasons (it was second only to Amos 'n' Andy during the 1930–31 season). Host Vallée appeared along with regulars Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson (1932), followed by Tom Howard and George Shelton (1935). Actor Will Aubrey (1892–1958) appeared as the Bard of the Byways, and another regular was character actor Henry Armetta (1888–1945).

Guests

Vallee and Alice Faye, 1933 Rudy Valee Alice Faye Fleischmanns Yeast Hour 1933.jpg
Vallée and Alice Faye, 1933

On this program, the American listening audience heard many future stars for the first time, as it introduced such talents as Milton Berle, Burns and Allen, Alice Faye, the Mills Brothers, Joe Penner, Kate Smith and Red Skelton. [2] Gloria Swanson and Vincent Price made their radio debuts on the show. [3] Other guests included Ray Bolger, James Cagney, Fanny Brice, Ilka Chase, Helen Hayes, Leslie Howard, Bert Lahr, Ethel Merman, Margaret Sullavan, Fay Wray and A. A. Milne. Edgar Bergen became the first ventriloquist to successfully perform on national radio when he and Charlie McCarthy initially appeared on Rudy's show on December 17, 1936. Subsequent appearances led to their inclusion on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in May 1937. [4] [5] In 1937, at Vallée's insistence, Louis Armstrong hosted the show during Vallée's summer vacation. This made Armstrong the first African American to host a national network program.

Title change

In the 1936–39 run as The Royal Gelatin Hour, guests included Noël Coward, Bob Hope, Willie Howard, Gertrude Lawrence, Pat O'Brien, Carmen Miranda, Tyrone Power, Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou, Peter Lorre, Ed Wynn and Roland Young. The yeast and gelatin products were both made by Standard Brands, so the sponsorship remained the same.

The program came to an end on September 28, 1939. Vallée continued on NBC with sponsors Sealtest, Kraft Foods, Procter & Gamble's Drene Shampoo and Philip Morris cigarettes.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgar Bergen</span> American ventriloquist, comedian and actor (1903–1978)

Edgar John Bergen was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer. He was best known for his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen pioneered modern-day ventriloquism and has been described by puppetry organization UNIMA as the “quintessential ventriloquist of the 20th century”. He was the father of actress Candice Bergen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudy Vallée</span> American singer, actor, and entertainer (1901–1986)

Hubert Prior Vallée, known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, saxophonist, bandleader, actor, and entertainer. He was the first male singer to rise from local radio broadcasts in New York City to national popularity as a "crooner".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Skelton</span> American comedian (1913–1997)

Richard Bernard Skelton was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program The Red Skelton Show. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in radio and television, and also appeared in burlesque, vaudeville, films, nightclubs, and casinos, all while he pursued an entirely separate career as an artist.

<i>The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show</i> American comedy radio program

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, was a comedy radio program which ran on NBC from 1948 to 1954 starring Alice Faye and Phil Harris. Harris had previously become known to radio audiences as the band-leader-turned-cast-member of the same name on The Jack Benny Program while Faye had been a frequent guest on programs such as Rudy Vallée's variety shows. After becoming the breakout stars of the music and comedy variety program The Fitch Bandwagon, the show was retooled into a full situation comedy, with Harris and Faye playing fictionalized versions of themselves as a working show business couple raising two daughters in a madcap home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter O'Keefe</span> American actor

Walter O'Keefe was an American songwriter, actor, syndicated columnist, Broadway composer, radio legend, screenwriter, musical arranger and TV host.

<i>The Chase and Sanborn Hour</i> A series of American comedy and variety radio shows

The Chase and Sanborn Hour is the umbrella title for a series of American comedy and variety radio shows sponsored by Standard Brands' Chase and Sanborn Coffee, usually airing Sundays on NBC from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the years 1929 to 1948.

The year 1929 in radio involved some significant events.

<i>Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou</i> American radio program (1938–1946)

Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou is a radio situation comedy broadcast in various time slots from 1938 to 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertha Brainard</span>

Bertha Brainard, known to her friends as Betty, was a pioneering NBC executive responsible for setting trends in network broadcasting.

Fleischmann's Yeast is an American brand of yeast founded by Hungarian-American businessman Charles Louis Fleischmann. It is currently owned by Associated British Foods and is sold to both consumer and industrial markets in the United States and Canada.

<i>Shell Chateau</i> 1935-1937 musical variety radio series

Shell Chateau was a musical variety radio series heard on NBC from April 6, 1935 to June 26, 1937. Sponsored by Shell Oil, the hour-long program, sometimes called The Shell Show, was broadcast on Saturday evenings at 9:30pm.

Carroll S. Weinschenk, known professionally as Carroll Carroll, was an American advertising executive, humorist and, most famously, a writer for comedians.

Avalon Time is an American old-time radio comedy/variety program that ran from 1938 to 1940 on NBC's Red Network. The program was named after its sponsor, Avalon cigarettes. Over the course of its run, Avalon Time was also sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh Pipe Tobacco and the Bulova Watch Company.

The Raleigh Cigarette Program was an American old-time radio comedy program that starred comedian Red Skelton.

The Fred Allen Show was a long-running American radio comedy program starring comedian Fred Allen and his wife Portland Hoffa. Over the course of the program's 17-year run, it was sponsored by Linit Bath Soaps, Hellmann's, Ipana, Sal Hepatica, Texaco and Tenderleaf Tea. The program ended in 1949 under the sponsorship of the Ford Motor Company.

The Pepsodent Show is an American radio comedy program broadcast from 1938 to 1948, during the Golden Age of Radio. The program starred Bob Hope and Jerry Colonna, alongside Blanche Stewart, Elvia Allman, and a continuously rotating supporting cast of actors and musicians which included, for a time, Judy Garland, Frances Langford, and Desi Arnaz and his orchestra.

Eddie Green was an American actor, film director, composer, and radio personality best known for his vocal work in the radio programs Amos 'n' Andy, and Duffy's Tavern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie McCarthy</span> Fictional character

Charlie McCarthy was the famed dummy partner of American ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Charlie was part of Bergen's act as early as high school, and by 1930 was attired in his famous top hat, tuxedo and monocle. The character was so well known that his popularity exceeded that of his performer, Bergen.

References

  1. Taylor, Timothy D. "Music and Advertising in Early Radio". Echo. 5 (2). ISSN   1535-1807 . Retrieved 25 October 2022. See FN 30
  2. Gehring 2008, pp. 72–77.
  3. Elder 2009, p. 40.
  4. Baker, Terry. "The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show". Reps Online. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  5. Dunning 1998, p. 150.

Bibliography

Listen to