1900's - a look back

Radio

The Golden Age of Broadcasting began about 1925 and lasted until the early 1950's. During this period, radio was a major source of family entertainment. Every night, many families gathered in their living rooms to listen to comedies, action-packed adventure dramas, music, and other kinds of radio entertainment. Children hurried from school to hear afternoon adventure shows designed for them. In the daytime, millions of women listened to dramas called soap operas because soap manufacturers sponsored many of them.

Radio's famous comedians included Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, and Bob Hope. The ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy, Charlie McCarthy, hosted a weekly comedy program with famous stars as guests. Situation comedies included the "Amos 'n' Andy" show, starring Freeman Gosden as Amos and Charles Correll as Andy; and the "Fibber McGee and Molly" show, featuring the husband-and-wife team of Jim and Marian Jordan. The husband-and-wife comedy team of George Burns and Gracie Allen also gained fame in radio. Other comedies included "The Great Gildersleeve," "Duffy's Tavern," "Henry Aldrich," and "Our Miss Brooks."

Radio also brought to the home the music of every famous band leader, including Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Guy Lombardo, and Glenn Miller. Exciting radio dramas included "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," "Gangbusters," "The Green Hornet," "Inner Sanctum," "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy," "The Lone Ranger," "The Shadow," and "Superman." Some radio soap operas were "The Guiding Light," "John's Other Wife," "Just Plain Bill," "Ma Perkins," "One Man's Family," "Our Gal Sunday," and "Stella Dallas."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States from 1933 to 1945, used radio very effectively. Roosevelt held informal talks called fireside chats. The talks did much to help Roosevelt gain support for his policies. Earlier Presidents, beginning with Woodrow Wilson in 1919, had spoken on radio. But Roosevelt was the first to fully understand the great force of the medium and the opportunity it provided for taking government policies directly to the people.