RadioGram for February, 2014

AND NOW A WORD FROM UNCLE SAM • BOOK REVIEW • FROM THE PRESIDENT • CONVENTION 2013 PHOTOS
sperdvac
Volume 38 • Number 9
February 2014
The Place
Child Performers
Called School
graciously extends its gratitude to these individuals
who have contributed $50 or more to sperdvac during the past
12 months. If you wish to be a sponsor of sperdvac and join this
select group your tax-deductible donation to sperdvac can be
mailed to Jerry Williams at P. O. Box 125 in Oroville, CA 95965.
Thank you!
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• ALICE AKINS in memory of Glen Akins
• DAVE AMAREL in memory of Jim Harmon
• ARTHUR J.M. ANDERSON in memory of
Orson Welles
• ERIC BAELEN
• JUDIE BARTELL in memory of Harry Bartell,
Ben Wright and Vic Perrin
• PAUL M. BENNETT
• OLIVER BERLINER in memory of John Guedel, Martha Tilton and Lena Romay
• FRED BONDY in memory of the whole
Gunsmoke gang
• GEORGE BRECKENRIDGE
• DAVID & LINDA BRENINGER
• BUD BRESNAHAN in memory of Richard
Crenna
• RICHARD A. BROCKELMAN
• DENNIS B. BURK in memory of Phil Harper
• CHRIS M. BUZZARD
• RICHARD CHANDLEE in memory of Truda
Marsen Chandlee
• GEROLD M. CLEMENSEN
• WARD L. COCHRAN
• BERT H. COHEN
• RICHARD F. COLAVECHIO in memory of
Bryna Raeburn, Craig McDonnell, Bill Zuckert and Florence Robinson
• JOHN COLLINS
• THOMAS W. COLLINS in memory of William Conrad
• TOMMY COOK in memory of Arch Oboler
• IVAN CURY in memory of Bob Novak
• DIX DAVIS
• LLOYD DE LLAMAS
• ROSEMARY DOBBS
• JUNE FORAY DONAVAN in memory of
Hobart Donavan
• WIL DUFOUR
• BOB DUNCAN, JR.
• HERB ELLIS in memory of Larry Dobkin,
Harry Bartell and Parley Baer
• JAY ELZWEIG in honor of the Long Island
Radio & TV Historical Society, the WCWPFM Alumni Association and Staff, John
“The Movie Man” Carpenter and Eddie
“The Old Philosopher” Lawrence
• HENRY C. ENGELHARDT III in memory of
Michael Meredith
• CARMEN FINESTRA
• DAVID FOLKMAN
• ART FORSTER in memory of Gil Stratton
and William Conrad
• JACK FRANCE
• LISA FROUG-HIRANO in memory of Wil-
liam Froug
• BARBARA FULLER in memory of John Newland, Peggy Knudsen and Laughter
• JACK GAGNE
• BARRY GERBER
• STANLEY D. GINSBURG
• RICHARD GLASBAND in honor of Bobb Lynes
and Barbara Watkins
• KATHLEEN GRAMS-GIBBS in memory of Mary
Grams
• TOM J. GRIMSLEY in memory of Rosemary
Dobbs, Art Linkletter and Stuart Lubin
• JOHN F. HALLEY
• BARBARA HARMON in memory of Art Hern,
Jack Lester and Curley Bradley
• HELPING HANDS FOR THE BLIND
• BOB HICKS
• GORDON HIGBEE
• DR. MICHELE HILMES
• STEPHEN E. HOLDEN
• GERALD A. HOLZMAN
• JAMES F. HORNER in memory of The KNX
Radio Drama Hour
• SEAMAN JACOBS in memory of Fred S. Fox
• ROBERT JANOVICI
• SALLY JANUS
• DENNIS C. JOHNSON
• RALPH M. JOHNSON
• SAM KAMLER
• CASEY KASEM
• GLENDA KELLY in memory of Stuart Lubin
• NILAN L. KINCAID
• ALBERT J. KOPEC
• DENIS KRAY in memory of my beloved
parents, Norbert and Florence Kray, and in
memory of Glenn, Ray, Marion, Tex and all
the boys in the band
• RON LANGSETH
• JEFFREY J. LEBRUN in memory of all departed
voice artists
• ALFRED LUCAS
• LON McCARTT in memory of Smilin’ Ed
(Froggy the Gremlin) McConnell
• ROBY & JOYCE McHONE
• ESTHER GEDDES McVEY in memory of my
leading man, Tyler McVey
• JAN MERLIN in memory of Frankie Thomas
and Mona Bruns Thomas
• MELVIN MOREHOUSE in memory of Brace
Beener
• MIKE MORITZ in gratitude for all of old-time
radio
• JAMES L. MORRISON
• MILLIE MORSE in memory of Jim Harmon
N
A
K
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RADIOGRAM • FEBRUARY 2014
• BOB MOTT to all the SFX artists when radio
was still radio
• GEORGE (BOB) & VIRGINIA NEWHART in
memory of Bill Quinn
• JAN ELLIS O’HARE in loving memory of
Antony Ellis
• ROBERT OLSEN
• DR. WAYNE OTT
• FORREST F. OWEN
• GARRY PAPERS
• DAVE PARKER in memory of Fred Foy
• PHIL PROCTOR
• BRIAN E. RAMSEY
• CHESTER RAWSKI in memory of Carrolyn
Rawski
• MARIE RAYMOND
• RONALD M. REISNER, M.D.
• DICK RICHARDS
• D.W. RICHARDSON
• STEPHEN K. SHUTTLEWORTH
• STUART & JANIS SIMON
• CHUCK SIVERTSEN
• LOREN SLAFER
• KENNETH L. SLEEPER
• LEE SMITH
• MICKEY SMITH
• C. W. STAUFENBERG in memory of Paul
Rhymer and members of the “Vic and Sade”
cast
• RICHARD STONE
• ROBERT A. SUMMERS
• JON D. SWARTZ in memory of Jim Harmon
• RICHARD & MADELENE TEPERSON in
memory of Gil Stratton
• JOAN TREMAYNE in memory of Les
Tremayne
• EDMUND TOTMAN
• EUGENE J. WARD
• WASHINGTON OLD TIME RADIO CLUB in
memory of Jim Harmon
• EDWARD C. WEAVER
• BETSY L. WEINBERG
• LESLIE C. WEST
• JERRY & BARBARA WILLIAMS in memory of
Michael Rye
• JAMES C. WORDEN
U
O
Y
sperdvac
Volume 38 • Number 9 • February 2014
The Society to
Preserve and Encourage
Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
president
Larry Gassman
•••
Glenda Kelly • Barbara Harmon
John Gassman • Jerry Williams
Jerry Haendiges • Walden Hughes
Officers
Treasurer...................................................... Jerry Williams
Secretary........................................................ Glenda Kelly
Activities Chair.........................................Barbara Harmon
Acquisitions Chair...................................... John Gassman
Membership Chair......................................... Barry Opliger
Elections Chair............................................ Neil J. Mitchell
Catalogs...................................................... Bob Steinmetz
New Members................................................... Rex Quinn
Editor
PATRICK LUCANIO
RADIOGRAM is published monthly except December by
sperdvac, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio
Drama, Variety and Comedy, a California nonprofit public
benefit corporation, P.O. Box 125, Oroville, California 95965.
Dues are $25 for first year and $15 for renewals; $30 American currency for Canadian members. Annual subscriptions
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property of sperdvac. Opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of sperdvac All rights to letters sent
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no responsibility for inconveniences or damages resulting
from editorial error or omissions. Publisher is not responsible
for typographical errors. All photographs and illustrations
are believed authorized for reproduction as set forth within.
Entire contents are copyright © 2014 by the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy.
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EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS should be sent to Radiogram,
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sperdvac
“And now
a word from your Uncle Sam”
ne of the most overlooked of
all radio genres has always
been the military recruitment
broadcast. This was a type
most prominently aired during the 1950s and 1960s. For rather obvious reasons, many of us have never
developed a nostalgic attachment
toward these shows like we have
forged for the great comedies
and dramas of times past.
However, there was a time
when it was impossible
to channel surf the kilocycle dial without running
across at least one of
these full-throated pitches
for the Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marines or National
Guard. These syndicated
shows survive today not only as
intriguing artifacts of the Cold War
but also as highly listenable entertainment—if
given a chance.
In their day, military recruiting programs
served several purposes, foremost which was
to sell branches of the military to prospective recruits in much the same manner that
Madison Avenue was selling toothpaste and
frozen dinners. The target audience was
composed of young men of draft age and
young women who might conceivably be
persuaded by a life of travel and adventure in
the armed forces. Typically a successful radio
recruitment broadcast was built on either a
musical or sports theme. Such programs ran
for varying lengths but most commonly for
five or fifteen minute installments, neither
taxing the listening span of its audience nor
overstaying its welcome on the airwaves. The
participating radio stations benefited as well,
receiving credit for airing these public service
programs, a decided benefit when license
renewal time rolled around. Participating
stations also received free programming
which just happened to include some of the
biggest names in entertainment and sports of
the day. Unlike today, when many if not most
entertainment and sports figures are loath to
be seen or heard promoting the military, the
1950s to mid-1960s was not only a different
era but seemingly a different world.
Programs like Army Bandstand, The Air
Force Hour, Broadway in Review, Country Style
USA, Navy Star Time, The Eddy Duchin Show,
Navy Hoedown, Theatre of Hits and Stars on
Parade were just a few of the almost limitless
supply of syndicated titles the various services
fed to commercial radio.
The old 16” transcription discs used by the
Armed Forces Radio Service during World
War II and immediately afterward were
supplanted by the Long Playing
33 1/3 microgroove records
in the 1950s. Military syndication usurped the LP
as the principle means
of distributing its shows
but also made use of 45s
and audio tape recordings when applicable to
deliver recruitment messages.
As already mentioned,
sports programs also figured
into the military programming
schedule. One short-lived but prominent series was Tops in Sports and was an Air
Force production. The series premiered on
October 19, 1960, and managed to co-opt
the services of three top professional sports
announcers at various stages in the run
of the series.. First up was Harry Wismer
whose announcing career dated back to the
1930s. Wismer may possibly have accepted
the Tops in Sports role in part because of his
just acquired ownership of the newly minted
Titans of New York. But if Wismer had hoped
that his stint on Tops in Sports would help
boost the fortunes of the Titans he was soon
proved wrong. The Titans soon morphed into
the New York Jets and Wismer gave up his
franchise due to financial problems. When
Wismer left Tops in Sports, Kyle Rote Sr. took
over the announcer’s role for a few months
and then Bud Palmer came on board for the
duration of the series. Tops in Sports was
only a five minute series and thus the format
had to be simple and straight forward. After
a quick introduction the program would turn
to a well-crafted recruitment message extolling the many advantages of joining the Air
Force team and what the potential recruit and
the Air Force could do for each other. The
show was then handed back to the announcer
who would conduct a two and a half minute
interview with one of the leading sports figures of the day. Guests over the course of the
Continued Page 14
FEBRUARY 2014 • RADIOGRAM
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by Jim Cox
cFarland recently released what’s
believed to be the first compendium
of frontier-and-plains radio series
published in a single volume. Radio
Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western
Drama on the Air 1929-1967 was compiled
by two vintage radio journalists of venerated
repute. Jack French and David S. Siegel cor-
An August 14, 1950, trade advertisement
extols the popularity of The Cisco Kid, one
of many westerns covered in Radio Rides
the Range.
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RADIOGRAM • FEBRUARY 2014
ralled the manuscripts of more than a score
of contemporary scribes whose own achievements attest to the elevated caliber of research
in this 232-page edition.
“Westerns are eternal,” notes Hollywood
thespian Will Hutchins in the tome’s foreword. “There will always be a fascination for
the wide open spaces,” he allows. French and
Siegel follow in the preface citing the cowboy as “the most romanticized, and possibly
most misrepresented, character in American
popular culture.” They acknowledge that his
playing time on history’s stage was pithy, 1870
to 1890. Out of those decades came enough
scintillating ideas to captivate millions of
listeners when radio emerged not long afterward. The medium beckoned with a voracious
appetite, having lots of time to fill. Legions
of narrative wordsmiths responded by turning
to the not-too-distant past to install intriguing
figures, emblematic settings and gripping accounts to engage juveniles, youth and adults
in adventurous tales of yesteryear.
The editors, who determined the West begins at the Mississippi River (for their book,
anyway), compartmentalized the series into
five patterns: anthologies, juvenile adventure,
legend and lore (both educating and amusing adolescent fans), adult-oriented yarns,
and western-themed soap operas. While the
encyclopedic volume will be priceless to researchers, its topics will fascinate and inform
readers for pleasure. Many patrons will gravitate toward more familiar features (The Cisco
Kid, Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch, Gunsmoke,
The Lone Ranger, The Roy Rogers Show, Sky
King, et al.). Yet there is a wealth of lesser
known series which aired in radio’s incubation
era or on regional hookups, in syndication, or
with limited runs that will also appeal to some
(The Black Ghost, Frontier Fighters, Hoofbeats,
Horizons West, Saunders of the Circle X, Tales
from the Diamond K, et al.).
There’s plenty to savor within.
The casual eye picks up the fact that during the 1950-51 radio season—with nearly 4
million adherents—Hopalong Cassidy drew
crowds larger than any other western. And
this was in an era when U.S. domiciles began
to abandon radio! At that juncture, the aural series’ hero, depicted by author William
Nadel as “the 19th century embodiment of the
medieval knight, righting wrongs and fighting
for truth and justice,” aired in a primetime
Saturday evening slot over CBS. That would
have easily boosted the audience by adding
a respectable adult deputation to Cassidy’s
habitual adolescent gang.
Radio Rides the Range paints some of the
foibles of acclaimed author O. Henry, the
pen name of ex-journalist William S. Porter.
While that scribe may be recalled best for a
Christmas narrative, The Gift of the Magi, his
fabrication of special interest here is The Cisco
Kid. Once again Nadel weaves an absorbing
tale of a writer with a beguiling backstory:
Porter (Henry) spent three years in jail after
embezzling funds from an Austin, TX bank
that employed him after he quit publishing
a satiric newspaper. This engaging character—as much so as the romantic “adventurer,
friend, avenger of wrongs perpetrated by the
greedy or wicked on the helpless and unsuspecting” that came from his typewriter—
produced all his great works within the first
decade of the 20th century. The profuse
creator’s passing in 1910 in poverty, riddled
with tuberculosis and diabetes while on drugs
and alcohol, lends a mesmerizing account.
Contributor Martin Grams, Jr., shared a
poignant memory of just how abruptly the
departures of the last radio yarns were. Quoting actor John Dehner, lead figure Paladin of
Have Gun, Will Travel, Grams reported that
the tale met a screeching end in November
1960 sans notice in the trade columns. Said
Dehner: “It dwindled away to nothing—like
a dead leaf in the wind. . . . We as actors were
aghast at the brutality of the networks. . . . All
of a sudden the powers that were in charge
of the industry just said ‘The hell with it. We
don’t need you. Good-bye and go home.’ And
they closed the doors and it was that fast. It
was a shock to all of us.” And to many in the
aural audience as well.
One of the fine inclusions in the write-ups
is that episodes, series and jobs in sundry
mediums are cross-referenced by contributors. This helps readers grasp the immense
significance of an individual or show as action
spills over from one place to another. Few
additions would have made the text better
but we would like to have seen more detail on
the personal lives of several (Brace Beemer,
William Boyd, William Conrad, Fran Striker
come to mind with engaging backstories).
Continued Page 14
sperdvac
From the President
Hello all.
Well, it has been almost a year since I was
elected along with the rest of the sperdvac
board. We have made several promises and you will see another
one confirmed and fulfilled later this month.
Some hard work has gone into planning, typing and completing catalog pages. It has been some time since the organization
has released a page but that is about to end. Thanks to so many
people including Jerry Haendiges, Roger Rittner, Barbara Williams, Barbara Watkins, Sandi Hughes and others who have
worked towards creating and forming this new data base which
you will shortly begin seeing.
Jerry and Roger were instrumental in creating the data base.
It took many hard hours of work and we are indebted to them
for their efforts.
We plan to have a new catalog page out to you and many more
in the months to come.
So when you have a moment, take some time to send off a
thank you note to those who volunteer.
I apologize in advance if I have forgotten anyone.
Quite a bit of the material you will see is uncirculated. So
enjoy!
We still need some on-site volunteer help with our storage
building. If you can spare a few hours please let sperdvac know
and we’ll let you know when we will need you.
Continued Page 14
sperdvac
FEBRUARY 2014 • RADIOGRAM
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CONVENTION 2013 PHOTOS
CAMDEN SINGER is made a “friend of sperdvac.”
LANA NUTTER performs in The Velveteen
Rabbit.
SOUND EFFECTS for Jeff Regan, Investigator by
Penny Swanberg and Jerry Williams.
WALDEN HUGHES presents awards during the Jack Benny Beverly Hills Beavers
panel.
RADIO DEEJAY PANEL with Shotgun Kelly, Wink Martindale, Don Barrett and Walden Hughes.
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RADIOGRAM • FEBRUARY 2014
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FEBRUARY 2014 • RADIOGRAM
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RADIOGRAM • FEBRUARY 2014
sperdvac
The Place Child Performers Called School
ilton Berle attended this school. So did Helen Mack, Dick Van Patten, Penny Singleton, and Anne Francis. Its other famous alumni include Donald O’Connor,
Beverly Sills, Ruby Keeler, and Joan Blondell. Plus Huntz Hall and some of “The Bowery Boys”
as well as most of the supporting casts of radio’s Coast to Coast on a Bus and Let’s Pretend.
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of
the Professional Children’s School (PCS), a
respected Manhattan institution dedicated to
educating juvenile radio performers, Broadway thespians and TV and movie actors, in
addition to musicians, dancers and athletes.
Its long standing tradition of academic excellence, combined with flexible scheduling, has
made it a life-saver to young performers with
unusual work hours complicated by auditions,
rehearsals, and even performances on tour.
While its creation date, January 6, 1914,
is firm in history, as well as the identity of its
two founders (both of them church ladies),
the actual impetus for its beginnings is somewhat muddled in time. Most versions involve
several children in the cast of the “1913
Broadway hit” Daddy Long Legs. The PCS
yearbook states that Jane Harris Hall (at far
right) noticed a group of children, who were
rehearsing this play, come into the Rehearsal
Club on West 45th Street for lunch. Hall
discovered that the youngsters, while bright
and animated, could barely read or write as
their school attendance was minimal. To alleviate this, Hall with close friend Jean Greer
Robinson (near right) organized PCS a few
months later.
In a feature article about PCS, which appeared in the October 28, 1951, issue of the
New York Times Magazine, it told of Jane Hall,
a deaconess from the Little Church Around
the Corner, meeting the young cast members
of Daddy Long Legs and determining that,
although talented youngsters, their reading
and writing skills showed lack of education.
At that time performing juveniles were not
required to attend school. The article stated
that months later, in early 1914, Hall began
PCS with six young cast members of Daddy
Long Legs.
Arthur Anderson, a child radio actor
who has spent a lifetime in the performing
arts, relates a different and more colorful
beginning. Anderson relates that Jean Greer
was backstage to visit a friend performing
in Daddy Long Legs when she came upon
a group of children in the wings who were
playing poker for money. Greer asked them
where they went to school and they replied,
“Oh, we don’t go to school; we’re in a show.”
Anderson cleverly terms this a “Well! We’ll
see about that” moment for Greer who then
with the help of friends founded PCS and
began holding classes in space borrowed
from the Rehearsal Club. It should be noted
in the interest of historical accuracy that
Jean Webster’s stage play, Daddy Long Legs,
debuted at the Gaiety Theatre in New York
City on September 28, 1914, which would be
nine months after PCS was founded. The play
ran for a total of 264 performances, closing
in May 1915. This would strongly suggest that
the original students at PCS must have been
in a different Broadway play.
But whichever version that one is inclined
to believe, the rest of PCS’s progress and
history are better documented. After a few
months at the Rehearsal Club, the school was
moved to a new location in the Union Methodist Church on 48th Street, west of Broadway. By 1915 it had over 100 students and as
the curriculum expanded the school moved to
larger rented quarters. The year 1917 marked
its relocation to a spacious private home on
72nd Street. Grades 1-12 were taught (in our
recent era, it was streamlined to grades 6-12).
High School commencement exercises, which
had begun in 1916, were traditionally held in
a Broadway theatre, with a prominent actor
or theatre official presenting the diplomas.
Only four students were in the senior
class which graduated on June 8, 1916, with
commencement ceremonies being held in
the Princess Theatre. The graduates were
presented with their diplomas by popular actress Elsie Ferguson, and the honored guests
included the prominent actor John Drew.
The next move, in 1927, took the school
into three rented floors in a new commercial
high rise at 1860 Broadway at 61st Street
where it would remain for the next three
decades. It was here that 13-year-old Arthur
Anderson enrolled in 1936 in grammar school;
the curriculum included English, French,
mathematics, history, and civics. He recalls
the academic work was demanding but the
educational environment was both supportive
and congenial. Tuition in the 1930s was $100
annually; today its yearly costs are greater
than some colleges: $35,200.
Referring to the 1860 Broadway location,
the Associated Press said: “You would never
dream that the stern-faced skyscraper was
Broadway’s little red school house.” But
thanks in part to PCS, juveniles were then re-
Jack French is an otr historian, researcher, and author. His book Private Eyelashes: Radio’s Lady Detectives won the Agatha Award for Best
Non-Fiction. A new book just released by McFarland Publishers, which he compiled with David S. Siegel, is titled Radio Rides the Range. It is
an encyclopedia covering over 100 western radio drama series from 1929 to 1967 (see review on page 4).
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FEBRUARY 2014 • RADIOGRAM
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Yearbook page shows Ivan Cury, Joy Nathan, Gay Nathan, Alan Lindgren and Maggie Huber
enjoying fellowship at PCS.
spected members of the acting profession and,
moreover, roles for youngsters were becoming routine on the legitimate stage. Playbill
in 1949 praised the school by stating: “One
suspects that the chief reason for this general
excellence is the existence of an organization
known as the Professional Children’s School.”
Joy Nathan, now a Washington, DC actress,
remembers the building at 1860 Broadway in
the 1950s was called the “Daddy Browning
Building” by some students; PCS occupied
floors four through six. The fourth floor
contained grades 1-4, the auditorium with
full stage, and the lunchroom where food
was prepared; however, most of the students
packed their own lunches. There was no recess
as such but according to Nathan, “Our wonderful science teacher, Ed Preble, organized
and taught the square dancing at our fabulous
lunch hours.” On other days, a classmate
would play the piano while other students
sang and danced. The fifth floor encompassed
grades 5-8, the business offices, and the principal’s office. On the 6th floor were the high
school, science lab, and
the French room. Students
were not allowed to use the
building’s elevators during
school hours.
Anderson and his PCS
fellow students, Buddy
Mangan, Sidney Lumet,
Vivian Block, Estelle Levy
(who later adopted the
professional name, Gwen
Davies) and Elliott Reid, attended classes
from 10 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. so those actors in
a play could make the matinee. If their show
went on tour their schooling continued by
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RADIOGRAM • FEBRUARY 2014
correspondence until they returned to New
York City.
Graduation from grammar school was a
big deal in the thirties. Anderson graduated
in May 1936 and prominent actor Alfred
Lunt signed his diploma and presented it to
him during the graduation ceremony. The lad
continued in the professional arts, primarily
radio acting, and he ultimately graduated
from PCS high school in May 1941. He candidly admits that it took him five years to
complete high school as he had to repeat
some academic subjects (probably because
of his heavy performing schedule). PCS high
school graduation that year was held in the
John Golden Theatre and Golden himself
presented the diplomas.
While PCS was certainly the best established private school for students in the
performing arts in the New York City area,
it was not the only one. Ivan Cury, Mutual’s
first Bobby Benson who went on to Portia
faces Life and other network shows and is
now a popular guest at otr conventions, attended three other private
schools in the 1950s prior
to enrolling in PCS. The
Dorothy E. Kane School
had originally been a training school for stenography
but morphed into a high
school which tried to attract show-biz kids by hiring a few more teachers
who were accredited. Cury
recalled so-called “seminar classes” from his
brief time there.
He next attended Leonard Quintano’s
School for Young Professionals, a private
school in the vicinity of Carnegie Hall. It did
attract a few professional youngsters as students over the years, including Diane Lane,
Sal Mineo, and Patty Duke, but like the Kane
School it was not up to PCS’s quality and both
went out of business decades ago. Cury’s next
educational institution was Rhodes, a prep
school which also attracted some juvenile
actors. But he (and his parents) were not
satisfied until he entered PCS.
Manhattan also had a public high school
geared toward theatre and dance students
called Performing Arts High School (think
in terms of Fame on television). However,
Performing Arts HS was not structured to
permit students to leave classes for their
jobs. Pat Ray, who attended PCS in the early
1950s, switched to Performing Arts HS and
was happy at first with her choice. But after
winning a role on Martin Kane, Private Eye (a
radio and television series) Performing Arts
wouldn’t give her the time off for rehearsals
or performances and so she withdrew from
Performing Arts and re-enrolled at PCS so
she could do the role.
Top flight actors giving the high school
commencement speech and passing out the
diplomas was a time-honored custom at PCS.
In June 1942, the graduation speaker was
Howard Lindsay. At the time, Lindsay had
been playing the title role in Life with Father
for the past three years, during which time he
had logged 1,100 performances.
Acclaimed actress Gertrude Lawrence at
one of PCS’s commencements reviewed the
history and financial fragility of that school by
telling her audience: “There is nothing haphazard or slipshod about the scholastic program of the Professional Children’s School.
It is chartered by the New York State Board
of Regents and ranks with the best schools
in the country—carrying its pupils from first
grade through high school and conducting a
correspondence course for those who go on
the road. Because of the uncertainty of theatrical incomes, the school keeps its tuitions
low, so low that they do not meet the cost of
operation. For the remainder, and it is a considerable sum, it is dependent on gifts from
outside. I urge that those of you who have
found enjoyment on the stage, television, and
radio performances of those talented children
will help out the school.”
Joy Nathan attended PCS one year behind
Ivan Cury. In his senior year, he was the editor
of the yearbook while she was its art director. However, unlike Cury, who had been to
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several schools in the New York City area,
Nathan had been enrolled in first grade at
PCS by her parents and she completed the full
12 years. As a grade-schooler, she began acting on radio and television and also did some
modeling. She had leading roles on Daffy Time
Playhouse, a juvenile drama on radio, and she
also did The Bell Telephone Hour commercials
live on the Carnegie Hall stage. Joy performed
the live weekly TV commercials for Little
Lady Cosmetics.
She told me that “PCS was a magical place
with excellent teachers and terrific students.
I was accepted at Barnard College because
of the thorough academic preparation that
PCS gave me.” She had many great teachers
there, some of them still clear in her memory
after 50 years. Edna Cosgrove taught her impeccable English in the 8th grade. Ruth Lavy
not only taught history brilliantly but she was
also Nathan’s 12th grade homeroom teacher,
college advisor, and mentor.
Cury attested to the fact that the school
was rigorous. French was taught from grade
one through the last year of high school. The
last year of French had the students reading a
novel a week in French and then discussing it
in French. Three to five page English papers
were a weekly assignment. Mrs. Lavy’s Senior
English class called Backgrounds of Literature explored man’s desire to explain natural
phenomenon from Greek Mythology through
Roman, Norse, and Native American beliefs
and how that was expressed in literature. The
second semester dealt with the same subject
with regard to the Bible. Cury termed it: “One
of the best classes I’ve ever taken.”
Joy’s earliest grade years at PCS are tied to
her memories of Don McNeill’s The Breakfast
Club, a radio show that aired from Chicago
over the ABC network. Nearly every school
day morning the Nathan family listened to
this one hour show, which McNeill broke
up into four 15 minute segments or “calls
for breakfast.” If they were ready to go by
3rd call to breakfast, her father would walk
her the short distance from 57th Street to
1860 Broadway. But if they heard 4th call
to breakfast (9:45!), that meant hailing a taxi
and a race to school, hoping she wouldn’t
have to wait for the elevator when they got
there. Until she was old enough to get there
by herself her father took her every morning
and her mother picked her up.
The disparity between the total expenses
of running PCS and the tuition revenues (to
which Gertrude Lawrence referred above)
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made continuing fund-raising
a vital part of keeping the
school solvent. Even in the
early twenties, fund raisers
were important. The July 14,
1922, issue of The Huntington
(NY) Long Islander reported
that a PCS significant fund
raiser was being held at the
local Crescent Theater. Nathan recounts the activities
of the beloved student organization called SUFOLLA
(“All of us” spelled backwards) that put on fundraising bazaars, parties, and
exceptional talent shows.
They even took the talent
shows on the road, calling
themselves “The Gertrude
Lawrence Players” in honor
of her patronage.
Class sizes were always
small. The graduation totals
of each succeeding senior
class was typically from 12 to
15. In the fifties, most of the
show-biz students were active
on stage, in radio, and in the
emerging television industry.
Page from Ivan Cury’s 1955 yearbook shows classmates along
PCS students in this decade
with top illustration by Joy Nathan.
included Ronnie Lee, who
was in the cast of both Plain
and Fancy and Peter Pan. Lee also played in 1956 and was the ladies singles figure-skatthe part of the Crown Prince in the original ing champion in 1960. Like most skaters her
King and I production with Yul Brynner and age, she practiced under her coach’s eye for
Gertrude Lawrence.
hours before and after school classes. Another
Other students in the 1950s included Re- skater, one of the youngest to be accepted
gina Jouvin, who voiced Barbara in radio’s into the Ice Follies, was 15-year-old Janet
long running CBS soap opera Hilltop House. Champion, who in 1961 was a PCS student.
Her stage credits include Finian’s Rainbow
Alan Tobias was a good friend of Ivan Cury
as well as A Young Man’s Fancy. Cliff Sales for their respective years at PCS. Tobias won
was playing the pesky little brother on A Date several boys’ lawn tennis championships,
With Judy, airing on WJZ-TV. Yet another regionally and nationally. At that time, he
PCS student, Betty Jane Seagle, had a role was being coached by All-Pro Tennis champ
in Seventeen, a musical comedy produced by Pancho Segura. Not often was a PCS student
Milton Berle, which was based upon Booth both a superb athlete and show-biz success,
Tarkington’s 1916 novel of the same name.
but this was the case of Bobby Gusikoff, the
The large percentage of show-biz students son of musical parents. Bobby was a successful
at PCS was prevalent through the forties actor and singer who also played a drum set;
although by the fifties, young athletes and in addition, he was a champion table-tennis
sports stars began joining their ranks. This player and was inducted into the Table Tennis
was logical since their practice sessions and Hall of Fame. He was in the Broadway play
performances also necessitated a school with Miss Liberty and was chosen as “The Star of
flexible scheduling. Carol Heiss, a superb ice Tomorrow” based upon his imitation of Al
skater, was a junior at PCS when she won the Jolson during an appearance on the Tex and
North American figure skating championship Jinx Falkenburg show. The lad went on to win
FEBRUARY 2014 • RADIOGRAM
11
several table-tennis championships in the U.S.
and abroad. Ivan recalled that Bobby would
spot him 20 points in a table-tennis game and
still beat him.
In describing the after-school social activities, Cury recounted that “parties often
began and ended late because classmates in
Broadway shows didn’t get out until after the
final curtain. Many of the kids were professional dancers and musicians so that the level
of dancing or singing at a party was enviable. Timmy Everrett, who was the sensational lead
dancer in the film version of The Music Man,
was a treat to see and regularly exhausted
all other dancers at any party. Josh White’s
kids, Beverly and Josh Jr., came to the parties so when their dad came to pick them up
after his last show at Café Society, we’d get a
spectacular private show.”
Regarding the social side of PCS, Joy Nathan recalled that, “yes, there were parties and
my parents loved all of our friends, so often
the parties were at our apartment. We were
a very close knit group, in and out of school.
To this day, I count some of my schoolmates
from PCS among my closest friends.”
New York state has long had the most
protective laws regarding children in the
performance workplace. Every youngster had
to obtain a valid work permit every year and
several things had to be documented annually
before it was issued. The child’s age had to
be verified, documents had to certify to the
youngster’s health, it had to be established
Two members of the PCS student body, Billy Halop and Huntz Hall.
that the child was attending an accredited
school, and that a trust fund was in place to
safeguard all their earnings. Apart from all
of that, Cury noted that some of the kids were
allowed to retain a significant portion of their
earnings so that contributed to an unusual
sense of what was the norm for a typical high
school student.
The year 1956 marked the end of PCS renting space, for it had purchased its own sevenstory building at 132 West 60th Street, near
the location of what would become the new
Where it all began: The Rehearsal Club, a non-profit residential home for young actresses
founded by Jane Harris Hall and Jean Greer Robinson. On January 6, 1914, PCS admitted
its first two students in a rented room upstairs.
12
RADIOGRAM • FEBRUARY 2014
Lincoln Center, within walking distance of
both Julliard School of Music and the School
of American Ballet. The close proximity of
these institutions changed the student body of
PCS from primarily actors in the performing
arts to students studying ballet and classical
music. Prominent musicians such as Yo-Yo
Ma and Marvin Hamlisch were but a few of
these new students.
Being a graduate, or even a student, at
PCS was and still is a mark of achievement
frequently mentioned in the regional press.
In January 1965, a NY newspaper noted that
Philip Caplan Fox, the senior class president
of PCS, had had recent featured roles on the
series The Doctors and The Eternal Light. Over
four years later, in March 1969, the same
newspaper, in announcing Fox’s scheduled
marriage, again made mention of his graduation from PCS.
Improvements continued to be made to the
PCS building on West 60th and in 2004, on
the 90th anniversary of the institution, work
was completed on a $9 million renovation and
expansion. Additional classrooms and office
space were put in place, as was a new cafeteria,
a two-story auditorium, and a new top floor
(the 8th) which boasted a gymnasium. The
two church ladies, Jane Harris Hall and Jean
Greer Robinson, who had founded “Broadway’s Little Red School House” in 1914, could
certainly not have imagined this structure in
their boldest dreams.
Today PCS has an enrollment of ap-
Continued Page 14
sperdvac
CONVENTION 2013 PHOTOS
A CHRISTMAS CAROL features Bart Williams, Kate McKnight, Larry Gassman,
Camden Singer, John Gassman and Terry Moore.
JAN MERLIN examines his script.
LUIS LUNA performing in The Velveteen
Rabbit.
THE BYRON KANE AWARD is given to a surprised
Janet Waldo as daughter and son Lucy Lee and
Jonathan Lee look on.
GREGG OPPENHEIMER directs I
Love Lucy: The Untold Story Continues.
BEVERLY WASHBURN
JEFF REGAN, INVESTIGATOR features Ivan Cury and Tommy Cook.
ENGINEER CHRIS KNUDSEN at the
console.
CAMDEN SINGER in
The Bickersons.
sperdvac
TOMMY COOK leads the cast in The Velveteen Rabbit.
FEBRUARY 2014 • RADIOGRAM
13
Uncle Sam
From the President
series would include such luminaries as Gene
Tunney, Eddie Arcaro, Ted Williams, Wilt
Chamberlain, Vince Lombardi, Stan Musial,
Sandy Koufax and Duke Snider. After the
interview the Air Force would receive a final
parting nod and the program would sign off.
The public seemed to lose interest in old
time radio and many of its messages at about
the same time. That will always be the public’s loss.[
Thanks to John Tefteller who recently
guested with George Noory on Coast To
Coast AM. They divided up his time and he
spent one hour for old Blues music excerpts
and talk and one hour for call-ins from the
audience. John plugged sperdvac and we
have received some calls for membership
information as a result.
Our sperdvac web site continues to grow. If
you haven’t had a chance to visit, go to:www.
sperdvac.com.
Sperdvac also wishes to thank all of you
who attended our most recent convention.
It was a rousing success.
We also would like to thank the many who
donated money to “Kickstarter.” We raised
$5000 which helped us pay for hotel rooms
and airfares for our out of town radio guests.
If you have questions, call me: sperdvac
(877) 251-5771 or home: (714) 449-1958;
e-mail: LarryGassman@Roadrunner.com.[
OTR Oaters
Pictorial content and a few appendices add to
the work. Among the latter we most liked a
timeline of western programming plus sources
for audio copies and scripts of western shows.
The softcover Radio Rides the Range is
available at $49.95 by calling 800-253-2187 or
from www.mcfarlandpub.com. It will earn a
spot on many otr buffs’ shelves.[
Educating the Stars
June 3, 1950 • June 10, 1950
Mutual Broadcasting System
Orchestra Conducted by George
S. Howard with vocals by Sgt.
Glen Darwin and featuring Robert Landers, Maj. Wes McPheran
and Lt. John Hollowell. Sgt.
Cass Fieldsky is announcer.
Produced and Directed by Capt.
Mark D. Miranden.
ARCHIVES LIBRARY
MASTER REEL 71
Our giant printed catalog containing
thousands of the best of old-time radio
is available for $25. Order today from:
Bob Steinmetz
P. O. Box 669
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-0669
Barry Opliger
435 Garfield Ave. Apt. 306
South Pasadena, CA 91030-2241
proximately 200 students who attend grades 6
through 12. The student body is very diverse,
with students from 17 different states and 11
foreign countries. As it has been for many
decades, the student body includes talented
actors and musicians, world-class athletes,
successful dancers, models, and recording
artists.[
The author wishes to thank Joy Nathan and Ivan Cury
for their generosity in sharing their memories and memorabilia of their years at PCS. In addition he acknowledges
the resources and assistance from: Anderson, Arthur:
An Actor’s Odyssey: Orson Welles to Lucky the Leprechaun
(Bear Manor Media, 2010); Cury, Ivan: Personal Correspondence (Nov 2013-Jan 2014); Dunning, John: On
the Air; The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Oxford
University Press, 1998); Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 20,
1942; Huntington (NY) Long Islander, July 14, 1922; Internet Broadway Database: http://www.ibdb.com/; Lakeport
Union Sun & Journal, February 18, 1961; Nathan, Joy:
Personal Correspondence (Nov 2013-Jan 2014); New York
Labor Law website: http://labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/
laborstandards/secure/child_index.shtm; New York Times
Magazine, October 28, 1951 (Author: Lewis Funke); Professional Children’s School Website: http://www.pcs-nyc.
org/; Professional Children’s School, “The Spotlight” (1955
Yearbook) ; Rockaway Beach (NY) Wave, January 7, 1965
and March 6, 1969.
ACQUISITIONS
Cleaning out the closet of otr discs, tapes and printed materials?
Then contact sperdvac. We may be interested.
John Gassman
249 South Jensen Way #1
Fullerton, CA 92833
(714) 449-1958
McGee’s Closet is a free service to our members and honorary members. Send your wants in OTR-related material
to sperdvac@aol.com (the preferred method) or write to
McGee’s Closet, P.O. Box 125, Oroville, CA 95965. Please
specify desired taping format (cassette, open reel, recordable
CD, or DAT). Also, please include your membership number
with your advertisement.
February 8
Mid-Valley Library • North Hills
•
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Mid-Valley Library • North Hills
•
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Mid-Valley Library • North Hills
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Mid-Valley Library • North Hills
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Mid-Valley Library • North Hills
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NBC UNIVERSITY THEATRE presents
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Find information about membership, events, catalog
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with WALLY MAHER • TED VON ELTZ • EARL LEE
LARRY DOBKIN • HOWARD McNEAR • JOHN DEHNER
PARLEY BAER • TONY BARRETT • DON DIAMOND
SPERDVAC HOLLYWOOD MUSEUM HM 274
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Please order from only one library per form. OK to reproduce form.
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