If you’re unfamiliar with Information Please outside of the yearly almanac,
you should check out this book by the Isaac Asimov of old-time radio
publishing, Martin Grams—but if you’re in a hurry, allow me to crib a quick
description of the program from the latest “Friends of the Archive” newsletter,
composed by Director Tom Brown and Preservation Manager Harlan Zinck:
Both of us have always been fans of the more obscure shows
from radio's past. We enjoy the mainstream shows like The Jack Benny Program, The
Phil Harris/Alice Faye Show, and The
Shadow of course -- but it's the lesser-known programs that really strike
our fancy.
One that really delights Harlan is Information Please, the bright and witty quiz program hosted by Clifton Fadiman and featuring a "brain trust" of quick-witted panelists like Franklin P. Adams, John Kieran, Oscar Levant, and guests ranging from Basil Rathbone and Groucho Marx to Alexander Woollcott and Alice Duer Miller. Though at first glance, it would seem that such a program would be of primary interest to intellectuals and literary enthusiasts, those who have taken a chance and listened to a few programs have been pleased to discover that the shows were and remain highly entertaining for modern day audiences.
The very concept of the program - turning the usual game show concept backwards by making the experts, rather than the average man or woman, answer the questions - made it an early success with audiences ranging from truck drivers to college professors (particularly when none of the panelists could answer a relatively simple question). Likewise, the experts chosen to participate in the quiz, though all knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects, were not eggheads or dull researchers; Levant, for instance, made a career out of being a piano prodigy playing and composing both classical and popular pieces, as well as by being a popular character actor in the movies. John Kieran was a well-known sports columnist while Frank Adams, or 'FPA', as he was best known, had for many years authored the popular "Conning Tower" column in various New York newspapers, documenting the words, phrases, poetry, and goings-on of the Manhattan theater and literary scene. Despite their knowledge and memories, all of the regular panelists - as well as many of the guests - frequently demonstrated a very low-brow love of bad puns, old jokes, and word play -- and it was common on many a broadcast for the entire group to break into iffy barbershop harmony and perform a vocal rendition of some old-time favorite!
One that really delights Harlan is Information Please, the bright and witty quiz program hosted by Clifton Fadiman and featuring a "brain trust" of quick-witted panelists like Franklin P. Adams, John Kieran, Oscar Levant, and guests ranging from Basil Rathbone and Groucho Marx to Alexander Woollcott and Alice Duer Miller. Though at first glance, it would seem that such a program would be of primary interest to intellectuals and literary enthusiasts, those who have taken a chance and listened to a few programs have been pleased to discover that the shows were and remain highly entertaining for modern day audiences.
The very concept of the program - turning the usual game show concept backwards by making the experts, rather than the average man or woman, answer the questions - made it an early success with audiences ranging from truck drivers to college professors (particularly when none of the panelists could answer a relatively simple question). Likewise, the experts chosen to participate in the quiz, though all knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects, were not eggheads or dull researchers; Levant, for instance, made a career out of being a piano prodigy playing and composing both classical and popular pieces, as well as by being a popular character actor in the movies. John Kieran was a well-known sports columnist while Frank Adams, or 'FPA', as he was best known, had for many years authored the popular "Conning Tower" column in various New York newspapers, documenting the words, phrases, poetry, and goings-on of the Manhattan theater and literary scene. Despite their knowledge and memories, all of the regular panelists - as well as many of the guests - frequently demonstrated a very low-brow love of bad puns, old jokes, and word play -- and it was common on many a broadcast for the entire group to break into iffy barbershop harmony and perform a vocal rendition of some old-time favorite!
I am in 100% agreement with both Tom and Harlan on the
merits of Information Please—and not
just because they can get me work. You see, one of the broadcasts in this
CD set (from June 20, 1939) features a guest appearance (on the panel) from
George Burns’ better-half, Gracie Allen—who, contrary to previous accounts,
doesn’t completely abandon her “dumb Dora” persona (you gotta love Gracie—she
never broke character) but at the same time demonstrates she’s got plenty of
Moxie on the ball by holding her own in answering questions. (I listened
to this particular show last year for a project that is currently in limbo
right now.) So I’m really looking forward to hearing to the rest of the
shows: these 1939 broadcasts include such notables as Rex Stout (Nero Wolfe’s
creator), Russel Crouse, John Gunther, H.V. Kalterborn and Lillian Gish.
There’s also a February 7, 1939 broadcast featuring a young Michigan University
student named Myron Wallace—whom OTR fans might remember as an
announcer-performer (The Green Hornet,
Sky King) and others as a celebrated
investigative reporter for the CBS television network on shows like 60 Minutes (I think he was answering to
“Mike” by that time).
And while I’m on the subject of the First Generation Radio
Archives, just a quick reminder that you still have plenty of time to enter
their Adventures by Morse contest,
which will award one lucky winner a rare test pressing—a one-sided, white vinyl
disc containing program #40, “Land of the Living Dead” (Chapter 1, Part
2). All you have to do to enter is purchase one of the two Premier
Collections (or both if you want two chances to win) this month, Volume 3 of Adventures by
Morse or Volume 2 of
The Chuck-Wagon Jamboree (hosted by Ken “Now, Matthyoo…” Curtis)…or if your
tastes learn toward NTR (new-time radio), either (or both) Volume 10 or Volume 11 in the Twilight
Zone radio series. So don’t miss out—order and enter today!
