Mever-Told Tales of Grace Moore's Unrevealed Self! Four Radio Women Tell How They Got What They Wanted MEDAL OF MERIT WHEN DEATH RODE DOWN THE AIRWAYS TO STUN THE WORLD INTO A HORRIFIED SILENCE - RADIO'S HEROES CARRIED ON! VIATION'S greatest disaster of officers, who protected the safety of recent years has given radio its the passengers by waiting for calm A greatest heroes. They are Her­ ground winds before trying to land. bert Morrison, an announcer. and Then into Morrison's microphone Charles Nehlsen, an engineer. burst the horrified cry: "Fire! It's They had been sent by Station WLS burning up!" For before his eyes was from Chicago to Lakehurst, N. J., to QCCuring the tragedy that shook the make a recording fOT later broadcast world of aviation! Through his hot of the arrival there of the giant dirigi­ lips he begged, "God save those poor ble Hindenburg, concluding its tirst people!" Then, crying with the utter flight of the new season. Morrison horror of it, hysterical at the sights and Nehlscn little guessed that the of suffering, he told in tears the most greatest eye-witness reporting job in tragic tale ever to reach a microphone. history was the assignment Fate would For forty-flve minutes, the recording hand them. They expected to report apparatus turned at its task of pre­ routine news. Instead, they recorded serving a record of Ute terrible scene history! -turned, because Engineer Nehlsen They waited tweh'e hours for their kept his wits, protected his apparatus, story to begin, for the sky monster calmed the shaken announcer at his was delayed by adverse weather and side. Onto the wax disc was graven head winds. Then the dirigible circled aviation's unhappiest story. Lakehurst, headed for the first of three times toward the mooring mast. FOR this most wonderful of all re~ And then Morrison began his greatest porting jobs under the most terriflc of all recordings; then Nehlsen faced strain ever endured by a broadcaster, his greatest test. Into the recording RADIO GUIDE stands with the rest ot microphone, Morrison spoke of the Ute world in admiration of Herbert Engineer Charles Nehl5en. left, and Announcer Herbert Morrison: crowd gathered to witness the safe Morrison and Charles Nehlsen. To Filte c:.lled them to what they thought was a routine asaignment­ landing; of the beauty of the sky­ them RADIO GUIDE is proud to present instellld they found themselves brOildcilIting history in the maklngl ship's sleek sides; of the wisdom of the its Special Medal of Merit! •• Radio Guid•• W••k hdi.9 Noy 22, 1917 3 IN T HIS ISS UE Week Ending May 22. 1937 M. L. ANNEN BERG Publliher CURTIS MITCHELL, Editorial Director I Small Towners in a Big Town It pays 10 come from Podunk! by KATtlERINE ALBERT 3 Puns VL Personality How 10 stay on top--ln radio! by Do:. McNEILL 8 Fake Publicity rackel-erposed! by KEN W. PuRDY 10 I I Grace Moore Crown Prill('eu of Song by ERIC L. ERGENBRIGliT 4 Ann Leaf, Mrs. Richard Crooks, Mrl. Phil Baker. Helen Jep&On Four Women Who Got What They Wanted by GLADYS OAKS 6 Mark Warnow Let's Go Partying! 22 Muriel Wilion The photo-slory of her life! 26 I~ I The Radio Week The Latesl Radio News 12 Music of the Masters b,Y CARLETON SMITII 14 Plums and Prunes by EVANS PLUMM£R 15 Inside Stuff by MARTIN LEWIS 15 Short Waves by CU-'RLES A. MORRISON 20 I Pic+or a ~,Features I Radio Show-1937 Model Setting this year's pace---on Mell yo". bellot to the Star of Star. Election Tell.,••, Radio Culde, 731 Ply_ the air! 16 mo"th Court, Chl.,a.,o, lllinoi.. P".t., il On a penny po••urd, if you wl.h. We Applaud- Deems Taylor, Bemty Goodman and his band, Charlie Butter­ worth, Maxine SteHman and Thomas L. Thomas 21 Unmasking Radio's Black Chamber (Part 11) 9 DAYS TO GO! Air horrors-in the ?lIaking! 24 I Stories of Near-by Stations 17 Slar of Slars Standings 17 NLY nine days are have your ballot count RADIO GUIDE'S X-Word Puzzle 18 left in 1937-50 as much as any other. Voice 01 the Listener 19 O far as the Star of As RADIO GUIOI!: goes to Short Wave Programs 20 Stars Election is con­ press this week, the stars Contests on the Air 46 cemed---only nine days hold their present posi­ in which to cast your bal­ tions in the ranking only lot! That means that if by virtue of very small I you haven't already margins. Thousands of Sunday. May 16 29 voted, you'll have to do ballots are pouring in, the Monday, May 17 31 it at onee---or miss your mail is growing heavier Tuesday, May 18 chance completely this each day, and yet the Wednesday. May 19 "36 year. Midnight of May voting is close. With each Thursday. May 20 39 successive tabulation Friday. May 21 41 31 is the absolute dead­ Saturday, May 22 44 line-ballots postmarked there is a good deal of later than that wiD not nuctuatiOD in the stand- be counted! ings, and it is quite possi­ Now-though littie ble that the tide may tum more than a week re­ Barbara Luddy: Actress sharply at any time. that mains-you still have Number 6 as the Slar of !tars of lesser ranking lime to vote! Votes sent Stars Poll nears its end! may rise above those who in right away will gel in hold the lead today. That on time-but you must act immediately! depends upon your votes! Your ballot-and There is no time to lose! LiWe things are the ballots of your friends-are the only bound to come up [rom time to lime to things that can make this change possible. make you put off doing the things you This is positively your last opportunity to intended to do---and they'll cost you your give them your support. Vote now, while vote this year if you don't figure on them. the balloting is still open! Make sure that The only way to be sure of your vote is your votes are in before the final dead­ to get it in the mail at ODce! The lime line! Get your ballots in the mail-today! is limited-but you can still vote-and (See Star of Stars Slandings on Page 19) 2 SMALL-TOWNERS F YOU come from a little town, don't small town sort of gets in your bones. ever, ever again be ashamed of that Those little places set out on the arid I fact. Don't, for instance, tell people IN dust fields of Kansas, in the low you were born "near Chicago." No, sir, swamps of Mississippi, on the great step right up and name the town and plains of Montana-the towns them­ be proud of it. selves are fighting valiantly for sur~ For it takes the small-town boys BIG TOWNS viva! against the power and wealth and girls to show the city folk the and industrialism of the great cities. meaning of success. If you hail from Like a sound-vibration on your radio, a "wide place in the road," throw out I think the village citizens pick up this your chest, pat yourself on the back. IF "HOME" TO YOU IS MERELY A WIDE courage, realize that they must fight, You're in good company. too, that both town and themselves Small-town born myself, I'm thrilled may survive. to walk, geographically at least, with SPOT IN THE ROAD-DON'T BE ASHAMED, the great. With very few exceptions, EVERY little town has its lessons to heroes and geniuses grew to be big FOR YOU'RE IN THE BEST OF COMPANY! teach. Listen to some of the les­ frogs in mighty little puddles. Now sons learned by the new crop of suc­ where, for instance, do you think cessful radio entertainers. Thomas A. Edison was born? In a The first who comes to mind is little place called Milan, Ohio, listed Willie Morris, who was born in the today with a population of 678. Inci­ BY KATHERINE ALBERT doggondest-sounding place on the map. dentally, Edison had but three months' It's caHe<! Mexico, Missouri, if you can schooling. Well, he did all right for think of anything more incongruous. himself. It was, Willie explains with pride, "on And perhaps you're foggy enough on the route to Mexico," which is how it your history to suppose that Napoleon got its name. How Missouri happened boasted Paris or Marseilles as his famous are small~ Now, I've been try­ to be a port-of-call for Mexico, I was birthplace. Not much! Mr. Bonaparte towners. You've read ing to analyze what it too weak to ask. Besides, Willie was first saw the light of day in the little their stories, you know is that llttle towns telllng me-with even more pride in village of Ajaccio in Corsica. where they come from have which makes suc­ her voice-that John B. Morris who And what about Shakespeare? From and where they arc going. With few cess happen. Oh, you small-towners founded the city was her great-grand­ the great city of London? No, ma'am. exceptions they're from the sticks. may complain. You may say, "every­ father. Why, you would never have heard of And this capture of the city by one here is so narrow.