Ling Toy

Bits and Pieces of BC Radio History

Ling Toy

Postby cart_machine » Sat Apr 25, 2020 8:46 pm

Here’s the Province radio column for Tuesday, October 10, 1950. The second half of it deals with Ling Toy. She used to go across Canada demonstrating cosmetics at department stores. For some reason, she had an extended stay in Vancouver and ended up on the air some time in August. By year’s end, she was on the road again. The last demonstration I have found for her was in Montreal in 1962.

I’ve left in the first half of the column dealing with a community service event involving both Victoria radio stations. And you can see what was on TV on the one channel available in Vancouver. Sorry, accompanying picture is not available. Neither are some commas that Diespecker should have in his copy.

cArtie.

Your Radio Dial Tonight
By DICK DIESPECKER
REAL PUBLIC SERVICE
Two Victoria radio stations, CJVI and CKDA demonstrated last week just how good a public servant radio can be, when they pitched in and helped Community Chest officials and their fellow citizens put the Red Feather drive over the top in one evening.
In one of the most amazing demonstrations of co-ordination between all citizens, services and communication media, Victoria as you know raised $181,000 for the Community Chest in a matter of about four hours.
M. "Ches" Chesnut, manager of CJVI and Gordon Reid of CKDA were co-chairmen of the Community Chest publicity committee. When the idea was hatched, they decided that radio must play its part to the full.
The deadline was 7 o'clock Monday night. Just before that, CJVI's production chief Dick Batey in a TCA courtesy DC-3 packed with newsmen and photographers circled the city. It was fairly dark until the zero hour. Then thousands of porch lights flashed on all over Victoria, Batey described the scene and then listeners heard a three-way description from Batey, an observer on the roof of the Central Building and another at Red Feather headquarters.
As Batey in the plane spotted sections without enough lights, he so reported and as they came on he congratulated the citizens over the air. For the rest of the evening, CJVI broadcast special programs and broke in for five minutes each half hour with the latest progress report.
Meantime CKDA wiped out all programs from two minutes before zero hour until 10:30. Terry Garner, Dave Hill and Hal Yerxa, on top of the Douglas Hotel, from a radio equipped car and from Prince Robert House kept listeners, canvassers, donors and headquarters informed of every step in the drive.
At Red Feather headquarters, Gordon Reid, Tom O'Neill and Ray Nicholl sent messages to canvassers so that 90 district captains all with radio equipped cars could move about and deploy their forces like generals in the field.
The campaign slogan "Stay where you are until you give" was carried out by citizens who were able to follow every move over their radios.
The campaign was unique. It was a credit to all concerned and it demonstrated that radio can play a major part, not only in time of disaster, (as was demonstrated during the 1948 Fraser Valley floods) but also in normal times for a fine cause. All Canadian radio should be proud of the job which was done last week by CJVI and CKDA, Victoria.
LADY DJ
Each Tuesday night at 9 over CJOR, there is a program called The Golden Dragon. The music is nice and commentary pleasant. By all standards it is a good disc jockey show.
But what makes it unusual is that the disc jockey is a lady . . . and a very charming one too. Her real name is Olive Mark, which she assures me is Chinese in spite of its apparent Western sound. On the air she is known as Ling Toy.
Ling Toy is a native Torontonian. After completing her education there, she modelled and instructed in modelling. Then she began to travel from one end of Canada to the other demonstrating and selling cosmetics. During these junkets she was interviewed frequently on radio stations, and came to Vancouver. Keith Cutler of CJOR interviewed her.
Jack Short heard the interview, was impressed, asked her if she would like to go into radio. The answer was "yes," Jack found a sponsor and now CJOR and Vancouver has the only lady disc jockey on the air. And she is well worth listening to. A glance at the accompanying picture will also convince you that it is too bad we have not yet got television in Vancouver.
TONIGHT'S BEST BESTS
5:00 p.m. Mark Trail, CKWX; Rendezvous Room, CBR; Waitin's for Wakely, KJR.
6:30 p.m. Fibber McGee and Molly, KOMO; Truth, or Consequences, KIRO.
7:30 p.m. Dr. Kildare, KJR; Cisco Kid, CKWX; Waltzes with Strauss, CKNW.
8:30 p.m. Cavalcade of America, KOMO; Open House, CKMO; Mr. and Mrs. North, KIRO.
9:00 p.m. Golden Dragon, CJOR; Bob Hope, KOMO; Guy Lombardo, CKWX.
9:30 p.m. Boston Blackie, CKWX; Piano Playhouse, CBR; Beulah, KIRO
TELEVISION TONIGHT, KING-TV, Channel 5
5:00, Howdy Doody; 5:30, Time for Beany, Birthday Club; 6:00, Test Pattern; 7:00, King's Queen; 7:30, Toni Twin Time; 8:00, Milton Berle Show; 9:00, The World, Today; 10:00, Jack Haley.
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