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Lux Radio Theatre

January 01, 1970

Lux Radio Theatre, sometimes spelled Lux Radio Theater, a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company [ABC] in 1943–1945); CBS Radio network (Columbia Broadcasting System) (1935–54), and NBC Radio (1954–55). Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays[1] during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences. The series became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, broadcast for more than 20 years and continued on television as the Lux Video Theatre through most of the 1950s. The primary sponsor of the show was Unilever through its Lux Soap brand.

Lux Radio Theatre
Performing before a studio audience in 1948
GenreAnthology drama
Running timeOne hour
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Home stationWJZ (10/14/34-06/30/35)
CBS WABC (07/29/35-05/25/36)
CBS (06/01/36-06/28/54)
NBC (09/14/54-06/07/55)
TV adaptationsLux Video Theatre (1950–57)
Hosted byJohn Anthony, Albert Hayes, Cecil B. DeMille, William Keighley, Irving Cummings
Written byGeorge Wells, Sanford Barnett
Directed byAntony Stanford, Frank Woodruff, Sanford Barnett, Fred MacKaye, Earl Ebi, Norman Macdonnell
Recording studio1934–1936 New York City
1936–1955 Hollywood
Original releaseOctober 14, 1934 –
June 7, 1955
No. of series21
No. of episodes927
Audio formatMonaural sound
PodcastLux Radio Theater

Broadcasting from New York, the series premiered at 2:30 pm, October 14, 1934, on the NBC Blue Network with a production of Seventh Heaven starring Miriam Hopkins and John Boles in a full-hour adaptation of the 1922–24 Broadway production by Austin Strong. The host was the show's fictional producer, Douglass Garrick (portrayed by John Anthony). Doris Dagmar played another fictional character, Peggy Winthrop, who delivered the Lux commercials. Each show featured a scripted session with Garrick talking to the lead actors. Anthony appeared as Garrick from the premiere 1934 episode until June 30, 1935. Garrick was portrayed by Albert Hayes from July 29, 1935, to May 25, 1936, when the show moved to the West Coast.[2]

Famed studio executive and film producer and director Cecil B. DeMille took over as the host on June 1, 1936, continuing until January 22, 1945. That initial episode with DeMille featured stars Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable in The Legionnaire and the Lady.[1] On several occasions, usually when he was out of town, he was temporarily replaced by various celebrities, including Leslie Howard and Edward Arnold.

Lux Radio Theatre strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance. In 1936, when sponsor manufacturer Lever Brothers (who made Lux brand soap and detergent) moved the show from New York City to Hollywood, the program began to emphasize adaptations of films rather than plays. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's actual stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.

Radio regulars edit

 
Cecil B. DeMille, host of Lux Radio Theatre (1936–1945)

Though the show focused on film and its performers, several classic radio regulars appeared in Lux Radio Theatre productions. Jim and Marian Jordan, better known as Fibber McGee and Molly, appeared on the show twice and also built an episode of their own radio comedy series around one of those appearances. Their longtime costar, Arthur Q. Bryan (wisecracking Doc Gamble on Fibber McGee and Molly), made a few Lux appearances, as well. Bandleader Phil Harris, a longtime regular on Jack Benny's radio program and his wife Alice Faye, who became radio stars with their own comedy show in 1948, appeared in a Lux presentation. Fred Allen, Jack Benny (with and without his wife, Mary Livingstone), and George Burns and Gracie Allen were also among the other radio stars who were invited to do Lux presentations.[3]

Lux Radio Theatre once presented an adaptation of the film version of a radio series, The Life of Riley, featuring William Bendix as the Brooklyn-born, California-transplanted, stumbling but bighearted aircraft worker he already made famous in the long-running radio series (and eventual television hit) of the same name. At least once, Lux Radio Theatre offered a presentation without any known performers; its adaptation of This Is the Army during World War II featured a cast of American soldiers.

A famous urban legend claimed that actor Sonny Tufts was slated to appear as a guest alongside Joan Fontaine for a production of The Major and the Minor on Lux Radio Theatre. When Joseph Cotten read the names of the next week's cast, he supposedly said, with a mixture of shock and astonishment, that listeners would hear "that new, talented personality... Sonny Tufts?!" However, this never happened. The legend began as a fake segment on one of Kermit Schafer's popular "Bloopers" albums, which have been criticized for their recreations, fabrications, and lack of accuracy. In actuality, Tufts was introduced by Cotten on the radio series Suspense, but Cotten's introduction was perfectly normal.[4]

AFRA closed shop edit

A clash over closed shop union rulings favored by the American Federation of Radio Artists ended DeMille's term as host of Lux Radio Theatre. AFRA assessed members a dollar each to help back a campaign to enact closed-shop rulings in California. DeMille, an AFRA member but a stern opponent of closed shops, refused to pay because he believed it would nullify his opposition vote. When AFRA ruled those not paying faced suspension from the union, thus a ban from appearing on the air, DeMille was finished in radio (because he also refused to let anyone else pay the dollar for him).

In his 1959 autobiography, DeMille alleged that a former member of the American Communist Party later confided to him that the party had consciously orchestrated these circumstances of his exclusion from radio, as they considered him to be one of their two foremost enemies in radio.

Hosts edit

Lux Radio Theatre employed several hosts over the following year, eventually choosing William Keighley as the new permanent host, a post he held from late 1945 through 1952.[3] After that, producer-director Irving Cummings hosted the program until it ended in 1955.[5] For its airings on the U.S. Armed Forces Radio Service (for which it was retitled Hollywood Radio Theater), the program was hosted by Don Wilson in the early 1950s.

 
A studio audience gathers prior to a live production at Hollywood's CBS Radio Playhouse, located one block south of Hollywood and Vine at 1615 North Vine Street.

During its years on CBS in Hollywood, Lux Radio Theatre was broadcast from the CBS Radio Playhouse at 1615 North Vine Street in Hollywood, one block south of the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine. The theater was owned by aviator, industrialist, and film producer Howard Hughes in the early 1930s. When it was purchased in 1954 by philanthropist Huntington Hartford, it was briefly called the Huntington Hartford Theater and then the Doolittle Theater.[6] It is now the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre.

Notable stars edit

Many of the leading names in stage and film appeared in the series, most in the roles they made famous on the screen. They included Abbott and Costello, Lauren Bacall, Wallace Beery, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Adriana Caselotti, Bing Crosby, Bette Davis, Irene Dunne, Deanna Durbin, Henry Fonda, Ava Gardner, Judy Garland, Betty Grable, Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth, Katharine Hepburn, William Holden, Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, Gene Kelly, Hedy Lamarr, Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy, Jeanette MacDonald, Fredric March, Robert Mitchum, Dennis Morgan, Paul Muni, Laurence Olivier, Robert Preston, Tyrone Power, Edward G. Robinson, Ginger Rogers, Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, Gloria Swanson, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Taylor, Shirley Temple, Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, John Wayne, and Orson Welles.[2][7]

Episodes edit

Overseas edit

Australia edit

An Australian Lux Radio Theatre was broadcast on the Major Broadcasting Network during the late 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. It was heard nationwide at 8.00 pm on a Sunday evening. Many U.S. theatrical, movie, television and radio personalities made the long flight to Australia, simply to appear on the Australian version of Lux Radio Theatre.[8]

On Sunday evening 3 September 1939 and as part of Lux Radio Theatre, the Major network was broadcasting a performance of Leah Kleschna, which was suddenly interrupted by the voice of the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Robert Menzies, announcing that Australia was now at war with Germany.[9][10]

In 2018 and as recently as 2020 and 2021 (despite COVID-19 restrictions) a group of entrepreneurs has recreated the Lux Radio Theatre as a theatrical event which toured Australian cities and towns. As in the original radio programs, the cast are all dressed formally, and those purchasing audience tickets were also encouraged to wear their best clothes. Many famous plays, particularly some Agatha Christie mysteries are being performed.[11][12]

South Africa edit

A South African version of Lux Radio Theatre ran on Springbok Radio between 1950 and 1985. While having the same name and sponsor, it departed from the American show in that, additionally, British and Australian works were adapted into the hour-long radio formats. Many of the early episodes were direct rebroadcasts of the Australian programs. Lux Radio Theatre was the most enduring show on Springbok Radio, running from the first night of the network's broadcasting life until six months before it went off the air.

Television edit

On October 2, 1950, Lux Video Theatre began as a live 30-minute Monday evening CBS Television series, switching to Thursday nights during August 1951. In September 1953, the show relocated from New York to Hollywood.

In August 1954, the show moved to NBC Television as an hour-long show on Thursday nights, telecast until September 12, 1957. James Mason was the host in the 1954–55 season.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Elliott, Jordan (Summer 2015). "Hooray for Hollywood!". Nostalgia Digest. 41 (3): 24–30.
  2. ^ a b Audio Classics Archive Radio Logs: Lux Radio Theater
  3. ^ a b Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-507678-8.
  4. ^ Snopes
  5. ^ TCM: Irving Cummings
  6. ^ Suzanna Andrews (12 June 2010). "Hostage to Fortune". Vanity Fair. No. December. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  7. ^ radioGOLDINdex : Lux Radio Theatre
  8. ^ "Lux Radio Theatre (AUS)".
  9. ^ Robert Menzies speech 1939: Declaration of War, archived from the original on 2021-12-12, retrieved 2021-03-14
  10. ^ McLaughlin, Bill, From Wireless to Radio: The 3DB Story, The Herald and Weekly Times Limited Melbourne, 1985
  11. ^ "Radio drama re-imagined for Victorian festival". 21 September 2020.
  12. ^ https://www.facebook.com/TheLuxRadioTheatre/ [user-generated source]

External links edit

January 01, 1970
radio, theatre, sometimes, spelled, radio, theater, classic, radio, anthology, series, broadcast, blue, network, 1934, owned, national, broadcasting, company, later, predecessor, american, broadcasting, company, 1943, 1945, radio, network, columbia, broadcasti. Lux Radio Theatre sometimes spelled Lux Radio Theater a classic radio anthology series was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network 1934 35 owned by the National Broadcasting Company later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ABC in 1943 1945 CBS Radio network Columbia Broadcasting System 1935 54 and NBC Radio 1954 55 Initially the series adapted Broadway plays 1 during its first two seasons before it began adapting films These hour long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences The series became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio broadcast for more than 20 years and continued on television as the Lux Video Theatre through most of the 1950s The primary sponsor of the show was Unilever through its Lux Soap brand Lux Radio TheatrePerforming before a studio audience in 1948GenreAnthology dramaRunning timeOne hourCountry of originUnited StatesLanguage s EnglishHome stationWJZ 10 14 34 06 30 35 CBS WABC 07 29 35 05 25 36 CBS 06 01 36 06 28 54 NBC 09 14 54 06 07 55 TV adaptationsLux Video Theatre 1950 57 Hosted byJohn Anthony Albert Hayes Cecil B DeMille William Keighley Irving CummingsWritten byGeorge Wells Sanford BarnettDirected byAntony Stanford Frank Woodruff Sanford Barnett Fred MacKaye Earl Ebi Norman MacdonnellRecording studio1934 1936 New York City1936 1955 HollywoodOriginal releaseOctober 14 1934 June 7 1955No of series21No of episodes927Audio formatMonaural soundPodcastLux Radio Theater Broadcasting from New York the series premiered at 2 30 pm October 14 1934 on the NBC Blue Network with a production of Seventh Heaven starring Miriam Hopkins and John Boles in a full hour adaptation of the 1922 24 Broadway production by Austin Strong The host was the show s fictional producer Douglass Garrick portrayed by John Anthony Doris Dagmar played another fictional character Peggy Winthrop who delivered the Lux commercials Each show featured a scripted session with Garrick talking to the lead actors Anthony appeared as Garrick from the premiere 1934 episode until June 30 1935 Garrick was portrayed by Albert Hayes from July 29 1935 to May 25 1936 when the show moved to the West Coast 2 Famed studio executive and film producer and director Cecil B DeMille took over as the host on June 1 1936 continuing until January 22 1945 That initial episode with DeMille featured stars Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable in The Legionnaire and the Lady 1 On several occasions usually when he was out of town he was temporarily replaced by various celebrities including Leslie Howard and Edward Arnold Lux Radio Theatre strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible usually paying them 5 000 an appearance In 1936 when sponsor manufacturer Lever Brothers who made Lux brand soap and detergent moved the show from New York City to Hollywood the program began to emphasize adaptations of films rather than plays The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable based on the film Morocco That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man featuring the movie s actual stars Myrna Loy and William Powell Contents 1 Radio regulars 2 AFRA closed shop 3 Hosts 4 Notable stars 5 Episodes 6 Overseas 6 1 Australia 6 2 South Africa 7 Television 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksRadio regulars edit nbsp Cecil B DeMille host of Lux Radio Theatre 1936 1945 Though the show focused on film and its performers several classic radio regulars appeared in Lux Radio Theatre productions Jim and Marian Jordan better known as Fibber McGee and Molly appeared on the show twice and also built an episode of their own radio comedy series around one of those appearances Their longtime costar Arthur Q Bryan wisecracking Doc Gamble on Fibber McGee and Molly made a few Lux appearances as well Bandleader Phil Harris a longtime regular on Jack Benny s radio program and his wife Alice Faye who became radio stars with their own comedy show in 1948 appeared in a Lux presentation Fred Allen Jack Benny with and without his wife Mary Livingstone and George Burns and Gracie Allen were also among the other radio stars who were invited to do Lux presentations 3 Lux Radio Theatre once presented an adaptation of the film version of a radio series The Life of Riley featuring William Bendix as the Brooklyn born California transplanted stumbling but bighearted aircraft worker he already made famous in the long running radio series and eventual television hit of the same name At least once Lux Radio Theatre offered a presentation without any known performers its adaptation of This Is the Army during World War II featured a cast of American soldiers A famous urban legend claimed that actor Sonny Tufts was slated to appear as a guest alongside Joan Fontaine for a production of The Major and the Minor on Lux Radio Theatre When Joseph Cotten read the names of the next week s cast he supposedly said with a mixture of shock and astonishment that listeners would hear that new talented personality Sonny Tufts However this never happened The legend began as a fake segment on one of Kermit Schafer s popular Bloopers albums which have been criticized for their recreations fabrications and lack of accuracy In actuality Tufts was introduced by Cotten on the radio series Suspense but Cotten s introduction was perfectly normal 4 AFRA closed shop editA clash over closed shop union rulings favored by the American Federation of Radio Artists ended DeMille s term as host of Lux Radio Theatre AFRA assessed members a dollar each to help back a campaign to enact closed shop rulings in California DeMille an AFRA member but a stern opponent of closed shops refused to pay because he believed it would nullify his opposition vote When AFRA ruled those not paying faced suspension from the union thus a ban from appearing on the air DeMille was finished in radio because he also refused to let anyone else pay the dollar for him In his 1959 autobiography DeMille alleged that a former member of the American Communist Party later confided to him that the party had consciously orchestrated these circumstances of his exclusion from radio as they considered him to be one of their two foremost enemies in radio Hosts editLux Radio Theatre employed several hosts over the following year eventually choosing William Keighley as the new permanent host a post he held from late 1945 through 1952 3 After that producer director Irving Cummings hosted the program until it ended in 1955 5 For its airings on the U S Armed Forces Radio Service for which it was retitled Hollywood Radio Theater the program was hosted by Don Wilson in the early 1950s nbsp A studio audience gathers prior to a live production at Hollywood s CBS Radio Playhouse located one block south of Hollywood and Vine at 1615 North Vine Street During its years on CBS in Hollywood Lux Radio Theatre was broadcast from the CBS Radio Playhouse at 1615 North Vine Street in Hollywood one block south of the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine The theater was owned by aviator industrialist and film producer Howard Hughes in the early 1930s When it was purchased in 1954 by philanthropist Huntington Hartford it was briefly called the Huntington Hartford Theater and then the Doolittle Theater 6 It is now the Ricardo Montalban Theatre Notable stars editMany of the leading names in stage and film appeared in the series most in the roles they made famous on the screen They included Abbott and Costello Lauren Bacall Wallace Beery Ingrid Bergman Humphrey Bogart James Cagney Ronald Colman Joan Crawford Adriana Caselotti Bing Crosby Bette Davis Irene Dunne Deanna Durbin Henry Fonda Ava Gardner Judy Garland Betty Grable Cary Grant Rita Hayworth Katharine Hepburn William Holden Bob Hope Betty Hutton Gene Kelly Hedy Lamarr Carole Lombard Myrna Loy Jeanette MacDonald Fredric March Robert Mitchum Dennis Morgan Paul Muni Laurence Olivier Robert Preston Tyrone Power Edward G Robinson Ginger Rogers Mickey Rooney Frank Sinatra Red Skelton Barbara Stanwyck James Stewart Gloria Swanson Elizabeth Taylor Robert Taylor Shirley Temple Spencer Tracy Lana Turner John Wayne and Orson Welles 2 7 Episodes editList of Lux Radio Theatre episodesOverseas editAustralia edit An Australian Lux Radio Theatre was broadcast on the Major Broadcasting Network during the late 1930s 1940s and 1950s It was heard nationwide at 8 00 pm on a Sunday evening Many U S theatrical movie television and radio personalities made the long flight to Australia simply to appear on the Australian version of Lux Radio Theatre 8 On Sunday evening 3 September 1939 and as part of Lux Radio Theatre the Major network was broadcasting a performance of Leah Kleschna which was suddenly interrupted by the voice of the Prime Minister the Rt Hon Robert Menzies announcing that Australia was now at war with Germany 9 10 In 2018 and as recently as 2020 and 2021 despite COVID 19 restrictions a group of entrepreneurs has recreated the Lux Radio Theatre as a theatrical event which toured Australian cities and towns As in the original radio programs the cast are all dressed formally and those purchasing audience tickets were also encouraged to wear their best clothes Many famous plays particularly some Agatha Christie mysteries are being performed 11 12 South Africa edit A South African version of Lux Radio Theatre ran on Springbok Radio between 1950 and 1985 While having the same name and sponsor it departed from the American show in that additionally British and Australian works were adapted into the hour long radio formats Many of the early episodes were direct rebroadcasts of the Australian programs Lux Radio Theatre was the most enduring show on Springbok Radio running from the first night of the network s broadcasting life until six months before it went off the air Television editOn October 2 1950 Lux Video Theatre began as a live 30 minute Monday evening CBS Television series switching to Thursday nights during August 1951 In September 1953 the show relocated from New York to Hollywood In August 1954 the show moved to NBC Television as an hour long show on Thursday nights telecast until September 12 1957 James Mason was the host in the 1954 55 season See also editAcademy Award Theater Author s Playhouse The Campbell Playhouse Cavalcade of America CBS Radio Workshop The Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players Curtain Time Ford Theatre General Electric Theater Hollywood Hotel Lux soap The Mercury Theatre on the Air The MGM Theater of the Air The Screen Guild Theater Screen Director s Playhouse Stars over Hollywood Suspense Theater Guild on the AirReferences edit a b Elliott Jordan Summer 2015 Hooray for Hollywood Nostalgia Digest 41 3 24 30 a b Audio Classics Archive Radio Logs Lux Radio Theater a b Dunning John On the Air The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio New York Oxford University Press 1998 ISBN 0 19 507678 8 Snopes TCM Irving Cummings Suzanna Andrews 12 June 2010 Hostage to Fortune Vanity Fair No December Retrieved 2012 01 22 radioGOLDINdex Lux Radio Theatre Lux Radio Theatre AUS Robert Menzies speech 1939 Declaration of War archived from the original on 2021 12 12 retrieved 2021 03 14 McLaughlin Bill From Wireless to Radio The 3DB Story The Herald and Weekly Times Limited Melbourne 1985 Radio drama re imagined for Victorian festival 21 September 2020 https www facebook com TheLuxRadioTheatre user generated source External links editLux Radio Theatre collection Margaret Herrick Library AMPAS Lux Radio Theater Australian version at the National Film and Sound Archive Lux Radio Theater 1936 52 in the Internet Archive s Old Time Radio Collection OTR Network Library Lux Radio Theater 276 1936 55 episodes http zootradio com uploads Lux Radio Theater Lux Radio Theater txt Lux Radio Theatre Log at Audio Classics Archive Lux Radio Theatre 1934 1955 RSS Lux Radio Theater War Of The Worlds Portals nbsp Radio nbsp 1930s nbsp 1940s nbsp 1950s Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lux Radio Theatre amp oldid 1185970699, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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