Talk Show Hosts

Just what is a Talk Show Host, and what does it take to become one, and how have they become so powerful?

First, they are entertainers. Second, they say what some people want to hear. They are all, "smooth" talkers. Just what does it take to become one. Well, really nothing. You get a job at a radio station, sweep and mop, get coffee and donuts, do odd jobs,  for a few years, then maybe do the weather for a while, cover a few events, then maybe do a little news, and then, someone at the station lets you give your opinion on something, and WOW, you are a talk show host.

But remember, FIRSTLY, you are nothing more than an ENTERTAINER with a following of people who think the same way you do, and you tell them what THEY want to hear, and all of a sudden, you hit the big-time.

Recently, you build up a BIG following, you get on FACEBOOK, have a million or so friends, write a book every week, suggest it is better to read YOUR book in one of your T-shirts, while drinking coffee out of one of your cups, wearing your hat. Now, you not only have MILLIONS of people listening to you, following you on FACEBOOK, but you are making millions of dollars. You are so popular now, do you want to run for office ................... NO ................... it would be a pay cut. Don't do as I do, just do as I say!

All because you started sweeping out a few rooms and being a "gofor" at a radio station. Are we a great country, or what?

Monday AM Just Looking Back a Little

Just sitting here this Monday morning, drinking coffee and doing some remembering.

First one that came to mind was how we all used to listen to Don McNeill and his Breakfast Club that broadcast from Chicao. It was a morning ritual, when not in school.

I remember on a few occasions Dad would take us for a trip to Chicago, stay at the Palmer House, and in the morning, go to the Merchandise Mart and watch them broadcast the show. They almost became  "family" because over the years you got to know them well.

Much like Arthur Godfrey and Ruth Lyons, they were all costant companions while driving in the car or being at home.

Some information on the Breakfast Club ..........

The Breakfast Club helped to establish the morning show as a radio desirable. Until the popularity of The Breakfast Club, morning spots were ill-filled and not very profitable. Hosted by Don McNeill, the Breakfast Club was plugged as "a get-together time for all of us who smile before breakfast and then can’t break the habit all day long – a place to come to when a feller needs a friend.The show began with corny jokes, no sponsor, and a host with a dream. McNeill soon dropped the script and began doing the show by the seat of his pants, interviewing audience members and earned the The Breakfast Club its reputation as "radio’s most unrehearsed show. Listeners started tuning in, Cream of Wheat put up a sponsorship, and guests got better. Among the Breakfast Club regulars lie Jim and Marion Jordan (just before their fame as Fibber McGee and Molly), Marion Mann, Patsy Lee, Johnny Desmond, Alice Lon (famed later as the "Champagne Lady on Lawrence Welk) and Homer and Jethro.

Some more information that you probably don't know ..............

The Breakfast Club was a long-run morning variety show on NBC Blue Network/ABC radio (and briefly on television) originating in Chicago, Illinois. Hosted by Don McNeill, the radio program ran from June 23, 1933 through December 27, 1968. McNeil's 35-and-a-half-year run as host remains the longest tenure for an emcee of a network entertainment program, surpassing Johnny Carson (29½ years) on The Tonight Show and Bob Barker (34⅔ years) on The Price is Right.



Early radio, it don't get any better than that ..........

I actually have my earphones on and listening to a few old episodes while typing this ...

Ruth Lyons .. A broadcasting Pioneer

WOW, since I made mention of Ruth Lyons I have gotten a lot of response from a lot of people. Some remembered her, some vaguely remembered her and some had never heard of her. Here is a bio I got off of the internet.


Ruth Lyons is a Cincinnati institution, known both for her work as one of the nation's premier broadcasters in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and her charity, the Ruth Lyons Children's Fund. Ruth began her career in radio in the 1930s at Cincinnati's WKRC. She moved to WLW and WSAI in 1942 to host an afternoon show for women called "Petticoat Partyline." Next came "The WLW Consumer's Foundation" featuring Ruth, Frazier Thomas and organist Arthur Chandler. The show was later renamed "Morning Matinee." In 1949, while continuing her duties on "Morning Matinee," Ruth debuted the "50 Club" on WLW, the show for which she is best remembered. Named for the number of people in the studio audience each day, the 90-minute weekday show soon became the "50-50 Club" when it began simulcasting on WLW and WLWT television. By 1951, Ruth Lyons was a household name outside of Cincinnati. NBC aired the "50-50 Club" nationwide for 11 months that year, one of several programs produced in Cincinnati by WLWT and broadcast by every station in the network. The show marked another milestone in 1957 by becoming the first color TV broadcast in Cincinnati. Ruth had a number of co-hosts during her years on the "50-50 Club," including Paul Jones, Willie Thall, Peter Grant and Bob Braun. It was Braun who stepped in when Ruth retired in 1967. She died in 1988.

I remember listenting to her on the radio, and then TV. She had some regulars, a band, several vocalists, and her audience was always involved in the show. I remember when she was on TV, if anyone wanted exposure in the Midwest, you tried to get on her show. I remember “big stars” being on her show, and an appearance on her show got not only regional attention, but national as well.

She chatted with her regulars, the audience, her guests, the band, it was a “family” and you did not want to miss one day of it. It took years to get tickets to her show. They were in great demand.

I forget the products now, but many were introduced by Ruthie, and shelves were empty by the end of the day. Ruth said the product was good, that was all the public needed, they went out and bought it. I still only use Hellman’s Mayonnaise to this day. One of my doctors at our local hospital is sometimes referred to as Dr. Mayonnaise, I could remember her name by association, her name is Hellman.

Christmas and Ruth Lyons went together. She loved that holiday, and as you can see from above, she started a Children’s Fund to give to children when they entered a hospital. It got bigger and bigger each year.

Ruth Lyons was definitely a “pioneer” in broadcasting, both radio and TV. I am sure there were others around the country, but Ruth and Arthur Godfrey, started it all, their formats are still copied today, whether they know it or not. I don’t think either one get the recognition that they should.

Ruth is a part of my growing up, being sick and staying home from school, listening to her on the radio, some of the first TV I ever saw, Ruth Lyons, my first color TV show, Ruth Lyons.

Technology moves so fast that sometimes we forget those who have come and gone, yet did so much. Ruthie is one of those.

I Miss the Old Philco

Spent many happy hours in front of the old Philco radio at 319 South Brown Street, in Dayton, Ohio, back in the 30's and 40's.

Listened to Peter Grant do the news from WLW, Cincinnati, listened to Winchell, Kaltenborne and Heater do the news, the old Barn Dance from Cincinnati, and E. Howard Cadle, from the Cadle Tabernacle in Indianapolis, Indiana. The old Saturday Night Barn Dance, Lulabelle and Scotty, the Grand old Opry, lots of good stuff way back then.

The old Philco kept us abreast of the war during the 40's. I remember Edward R. Murrow broadcasting from London and other spots, hearing bombs dropping in the background. At night we listened to Bob Hope and Jack Benny, Red Skelton, and a bunch of other shows. After school, I listened to Jack Armstong and Captain Midnight, Terry and the Pirates.

I still think you get a better view of a basegall game listening to it over the old Philco. Waite Hoyt and others painted a more graphic image than ever came over a television set. I can still see Bobby Thompson hitting that home run in 1950, and I listened to that game on the radio.

Bill stern and his melodious tones could paint a vivid picture of what he was talking about on his sports shows. Football was great to listen to, vivid images. I think the mind did a better job than the eyes, on occasions.

The family gathered around the old Philco on Christmas Eve, listening to those special Christmas shows they did, some, the same show each year, but they were a part of the season.

I still remember the show, Grand Central Station, the whistle, the train pulling in to the station, and their special Christmas show. Benny and Hope and other, with the season shows, made the seasons more special.

I can still reflect and remember who, was in our living room, listening to shows at special times.

We had our home and office together, Dads medical office, in the same house, but next door. There was one door connecting the two. Many a night I remember him coming through that connecting door, tired after a long day, plopping down in his chair, and turning on the old Philco, catching up on the latest news, before climbing those long steps to their bedroom.

That old Philco holds a lot of good memories.