July 26, 70 Years Ago

Bits and Pieces of BC Radio History

July 26, 70 Years Ago

Postby cart_machine » Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:11 am

Writing a daily radio column, I suppose, leaves one wondering where they’ll find the material to fill it, especially in Vancouver of 1950. There were only five stations. The nearest TV station was 120 miles away in another country. So it was that Dick Diespecker of the Province found a tenuous connection between local radio and Theatre Under the Stars, and filled the required space 70 years ago today.

There’s a connection with cartoons as well. Paul Kligman and Peg Dixon provided voices for the 1967 Spiderman series while Ed McNamara (Mr. Peg Dixon) had the misfortune to be heard in Rocket Robin Hood.

Stan Lettner later returned to CKMO. Juan Root had briefly been the morning man at CKNW.

“Detective’s Wife” was a sitcom starring Lynn Bari which had a brief run on CBS.

To make up for the lack of radio material, I’ll copy the evening programming schedule for the local stations. If you’re intrigued by CKMO’s “Curley and Bob,” Curley Kemp and Bob Dresesler sold accordions at a store at Seymour and Pender. I suspect they played 15 minutes on the station in exchange for plugs for their shop.

Around Your Radio Dial Tonight
RADIO STARS IN TUTS

There was some excellent news this week about Vancouver's Theatre Under the Stars . . . the word that new attendance and ticket sale records had been made.
It is an encouraging sign for show business in Vancouver, and it must be a source of great satisfaction to a number of radio artists who are closely associated with TUTS.
The new producer of Theatre Under the Stars for example, Bill Buckingham, has been for about 15 years and still is a radio star. It is quite true, of course, that Mr. Buckingham began his acting career with the University Players Club and later with the UBC Alumni Players Club both as an actor and director. He has also done a great deal of work with the Vancouver Little Theatre.
But from a professional point of view, he has relied for many years now on radio work, and in the summer seasons, Theatre Under the Stars. This is his first year as producer of TUTS, and radio people, not only in Vancouver, but all across Canada are going to be glad to see his new venture so successful.
As a matter of fact, if you begin examining Theatre Under the Stars programs, it is surprising how many radio people you will find in the cast lists.
Doris Buckingham has now been a regular and most successful member of the TUTS family for several years. It would be difficult to imagine the shows in the Park going on without E. V. Young, or Frank Vyvyan, both of whom are known to CBC listeners from coast to coast. Much the same thing is beginning to apply now to James Johnston and Ed McNamarra [sic]. Some new arrivals via radio are Peg Dixon and Babs Hitchman, both of whom have made hits with audiences for their stage work.
In the musical department, it would be equally strange to think of Theatre Under the Stars without Harry Pryce or Beverley Fyfe, both of whom have been known to radio listeners for many years ... a number of them before TUTS ever came into existence.
Stan Lettner, who once announced for a local station, is appearing in the park shows with great success. And Betty Phillips, who has become a favorite of CBC listeners for her charming voice, is also doing well in the park.
In the past, there have been others, too. John Bethune and Paul Kligman, both now in Toronto; Catherine Graham, John Emerson and Juan Root . . . all normally earning their living by radio, have also at various times appeared with Theatre Under the Stars.
And there are others . . . some who have gone to Eastern Canada or the United States, and still others who are still here in Vancouver. They may not appear in this season's shows . . . but they will quite possibly be there next year.
This is not intended to prove anything particularly . . . certainly it is not written with any intent to suggest that Theatre Under the Stars could not get along without radio people. But it is nice to know that the two media . . . both definitely show business . . . can work so closely together, and that artists can move from one to the other and perform in both with equal ease and excellence.
The mere fact that these people can stand up to the American stars and match their performances speaks well for artistic talent in Vancouver. –
* * *
TONIGHT'S BEST BETS
6:00 p.m.—It Pays to be Ignorant, KIRO; Dangerous Assignment, KOMO.
7:00 p.m.—The Big Story, KOMO; Lone Ranger, KJR; The Haunting Hour, CJOR.
7:30 p.m.—Hollywood Music Hall, KIRO; Dr. I.Q., KJR.
8:00 p.m.—Open House, CKMO; McGill String Quartet, CBR. 8:30 p.m. M-G-M Theatre, KJR; Vaughn Monroe, CKWX; The Falcon, KOMO.
9:00 p.m.—Prima Donna, CBR; Lacrosse, CKNW; Baseball CKMO.
9:30 p.m.—Mr. District Attorney, KOMO; Take a Number, CKWX.
TELEVISION TONIGHT, KING-TV, Channel 5
6:00, Test Pattern; 6:20, Telenews Daily; 6:30, Hopalong Cassidy; 7:45, Detective Wife; 8:15, Baseball; 9:00, Sherman Clay Music Room; 9:30, Telenews Daily.
* * *
CJOR 600
5:00, Easy Listening; 5:15, Racing Highlights; 5:30, Easy Listening; 6:00, “2000 Plus”; 6:30, Easy Listening; 7:00, The Haunting Hour; 7:30, Palais Royale Orchestra; 8:00, News; 8:15, Racing Highlights; 8:30, China Vallee; 8:45, Parsons and Poole; 9:00, Dal Richards, 9:30; Yesterday; 9:45, Bing Sings; 10:00, News; 10:15, Racing Highlights; 10:45, News and Vic Waters; 11:00, Who Beat Who; 11:15, Vic Waters Show.
CKWX 980
5:00, Challenge of the Yukon; 5:30, Superman; 5:45, Barry Wood; 6:00, News at 6; 6:15, Bob White Show; 7:00, News; 7:15, Dick Haymes; 7:30, Doris Day; 8:00, News; 8:15, Cecil Solly; 8:45, Vaughn Monroe Orchestra; 9:00, Russ Morgan; 9:30, Take a Number; 10:00, Province News; 10:15, Dream Weaver; 10:30, Close of Day; 10:45, Chapel of Chimes; 11:00, News and Bill Ward’s Doghouse.
CBR 1130
5:00, Rendezvous Room; 5:30, Prelude to Dusk; 5:45, Something in Harmony; 6:00, Neighbourly News; 6:15, Intro Wednesday Night; 6:30, Canadian Poetry; 7:00, CBC News; 7:15, News Roundup; 7:30, Distinguished Artist; 7:45, Quentin Maclean; 8:00, McGill String Quartet; 8:30, The Well of English; 9:00, Prima Donna; 10:00, CBC News; 10:15, Supplement; 10:30, Piano Playhouse; 11:00, New Concert Orchestra; 11:30, St. Francis Hotel Orchestra, News.
CKNW 1320
5:00, News; 5:15, Rangers Cabin; 5:30, Eddie Arnold; 5:30, Children’s Stories; 6:00, News; 6:15, All-Time Hits, 7:00, News and Bing Crosby; 7:30, Parade of Hits; 8:00, News; 8:15, Man With a Story; 8:30, Town Hall; 9:00, News; 9:15, Lacrosse; 10:00, News, 10:15, Lacrosse; 10:30, Owl Prowl; 11:00, News and Owl Prowl.
CKMO 1410
5:00, Records on Review; 5:30, Personality Time; 5:45, March Time; 6:00, British Empire Programme; 6:30, News and Sports; 6:45, Supper Serenade; 7:00, Al Goodman’s Orchestra; 7:30, Curley and Bob; 7:45, South American Way; 8:00, News; 8:15, Open House; 9:00, News; 9:15, Vancouver Capilanos Baseball; 10:15, Trade Winds; 10:30, Wilf Ray’s DX Prowl.
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