1. EMC2410
Intro to Electronic Media
Edward Bowen
Lecture Seven
The Golden Age of Radio
Radio Dramatic Techniques

2. The Golden Age of Radio: 1934 - 1950
So what was everyone listening to
on all these radios, anyway?
3. The Golden Age of Radio: 1934 - 1950
Not surprisingly:
Music
News
Sports
Talk
Weather
Quiz Shows
More Surprisingly:
Comedy
Drama
4. Radio was intimate.
It was a member of your family.
It sat in your living room,
brought the world into your home,
and it told you stories.
5. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood this, and used radio to talk directly, simply and quietly to each individual American.
6. The Great Depression
Unemployment reaches 25%
7. His Fireside Chats helped calm a nation through both the Great Depression and World War II.
http://youtu.be/z9CBpbuV3ok
8. The serial nature of radio allowed for character to be developed through the course of a series, for comedy and drama to be based on personalities made familiar over time.
9. Jack Benny was one of the leading American entertainers of the 20th century.
His radio show was one of the most popular of the Golden Age of Radio.
He established a clear persona:
A penny-pinching miser
claiming to be a perennial 39 years of
age
a horrible violin player who
thinks hes a virtuoso
an actor with a less than stellar track record.
On his radio show, he played himself as the star of his own radio show.His supporting cast were the actors who worked with him on his show.
10. The Jack Benny Show
March 28, 1948
2:26
11. The Jack Benny Show
March 28, 1948
1:56
12. The Jack Benny Show
December 7, 1947
1:06
13. The Jack Benny Show
December 7, 1947
5:00
14. The Jack Benny Show
December 7, 1947
4:09
15. Amos n Andy
1928-1960
"I can recall walking past motion picture theaters and seeing signs promising to stop the movie and turn on the radio when it came time for the show. ----Jack Benny
16. Amos n Andy
1928-1960
Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll
17. Radio: The Theater of the Imagination
18. I like radio more than television.
The pictures are better.
19. Stretching the Imagination
Stan Freberg and Sarah Vaughn, 1966
Radio Advertising Bureau
20. Lights OutThe Chicken Heart
1937
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwgmmMYshJQ
21. Lights OutThe Chicken Heart
1937
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwgmmMYshJQ
22. WonderfulnessChicken Heart
Bill Cosby, 1966
4:58
23. The Thing on the Fourble Board
Quiet Please, August 9, 1948
Ernest Chappell
Wyllis Cooper
2:57
24. The Thing on the Fourble Board
Quiet Please, August 9, 1948
5:28
25. Leiningen Vs. the Ants
Escape, 1948
William Conrad
26. Leiningen Vs. the Ants
Escape, 1948
27. Leiningen Vs. the Ants
Escape, 1948
28. Leiningen Vs. the Ants
Escape, 1948
29. Leiningen Vs. the Ants
Escape, 1948