Old-Time Radio (OTR) and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the dominant home entertainment medium in the 1950s.
During this period, when radio was dominant and the airwaves were filled with a variety of radio formats and genres, people regularly tuned in to their favorite radio programs.
In fact, according to a 1947 C. E. Hooper survey, 82 out of 100 Americans were found to be radio listeners. The end of this period coincided with music radio becoming the dominant radio form and is often marked in the United States by the final CBS broadcasts of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar on September 30, 1962
Life Of Riley - Babs Has Ten Dates - The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s, originally with Jackie Gleason playing Bendix's role.
Life Of Riley - New Years Eve - The first Life of Riley radio show was a summer replacement show heard on CBS from April 12, 1941 to September 6, 1941. The CBS program starred Lionel Stander as J. Riley Farnsworth and had no real connection with the more famous series that followed a few years later. The radio program starring William Bendix aired on the ABC Blue Network from January 16, 1944 to June 8, 1945. Then it moved to NBC, where it was broadcast from September 8, 1945 to June 29, 1951. The supporting cast featured John Brown, who portrayed not only undertaker Digger O'Dell but also Riley's co-worker Gillis.
Life Of Riley - Riley Invites Himself To The Bosses Party - Beginning October 4, 1949, the show was adapted for television for the DuMont Television Network, but Bendix's film contracts prevented him from appearing in the role. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred along with Rosemary DeCamp as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. John Brown returned as the morbid counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell ("Well, I guess I'll be... shoveling off"; "Business is a little dead tonight").
Father Knows Best - The Baby Sitter - Father Knows Best is an American radio and television sitcom of the 1950s and 1960s, which portrayed middle class life of the era. It was created by writer Ed James. The series began August 25, 1949, on NBC Radio. Set in the Midwest, it starred Robert Young as General Insurance agent Jim Anderson. His wife Margaret was first portrayed by June Whitley and later by Jean Vander Pyl.
Andy Does Not Get An Invite To The Party - The Anderson children were Betty (Rhoda Williams), Bud (Ted Donaldson) and Kathy (Norma Jean Nillson). Others in the cast were Eleanor Audley, Herb Vigran and Sam Edwards. Sponsored through most of its run by General Foods, the series was heard Thursday evenings on NBC until March 25, 1954. The show is often regarded as an example of the conservative and paternalistic nature of American family life in the 1950s and it is also cited as an overly rosy portrayal of American family life.
Couple Next Door New Years Resolution - Ethel and Albert (aka The Private Lives of Ethel and Albert) was a radio and television comedy series about a married couple, Ethel and Albert Arbuckle, living in the small town of Sandy Harbor. Created by Peg Lynch (born 1916), who scripted and portrayed Ethel, the series first aired on local Minnesota radio in the early 1940s, followed by a run on NBC, CBS and ABC from May 29, 1944 to August 28, 1950
Red Skelton A New Years Puzzle - Listen to The Red Skelton Show "A New Years Puzzle" 12-31-1950
Andy Needs a Tuxedo For New Years - 01/03/1954 Andy needs a tuxedo for new years eve and the Kingfish tries to find a way to make a profit from it.