Christmas 1936 - Part 2 - Radio

We continue to hang around Christmas 1936 to see what radio listeners had going for them.

The biggest news by our standards was that 1936 was the year that John Barrymore subbed as Scrooge for his brother Lionel, whose wife Irene had passed away on December 24.

That broadcast from the Louella Parsons series "Hollywood Hotel" does not survive. That's too bad, as it would be fascinating to hear John take on the Scrooge role. Word is that he performed the show imitating Lionel!

There actually aren't a ton of radio broadcasts that survive from the mid-1930s, but there are some and we're glad to have them.

I had shared an excerpt of the George Burns and Gracie Allen Christmas show a while ago, but here's the whole broadcast from December 23rd:

We can't hear John Barrymore in "A Christmas Carol," but we can enjoy Gracie's wacky take on the story!

And for a bonus, here's that program's singing heartthrob Tony Martin with a Christmas song from 1941:

Fun fact: Tony Martin was born on Christmas Day in 1913!

Back in 1936, we're again fortunate that the Christmas show of George and Gracie's good friend Jack Benny also survives. Here it is, from December 20th:

As another bonus, here's that show's star singer, Kenny Baker, with both sides of a Christmas 78 rpm record from 1938:

It's interesting to hear those early episodes from Burns and Allen and Jack Benny, as they have a different vibe from their shows from the 1940s, which are more commonly heard and more similar to their respective TV shows.

It's especially odd, I think, to hear George and Gracie presented as both being single although they had been married since 1926. It wasn't until 1941 that their radio show was rebooted to more of a sitcom with them as a married couple, which is how they're best-remembered (when they're remembered at all!) these days.

Jack Benny's show gradually evolved, but its format didn't change all that much throughout its long run. He had been married to his costar, Mary Livingstone, since 1927, but the show never presented them as husband and wife.

1936 is an interesting year for the Benny program, as it was the first year to feature Phil Harris as the orchestra leader, but Eddie Anderson had not yet appeared as "Rochester." 

During this time, Kenny Baker was the featured singer rather than the now more familiar Dennis Day. Kenny was popular on the show, but didn't enjoy playing the "dumb kid" character and left the show in 1939. When Dennis replaced Kenny, however, he took that persona and ran with it!

Announcer Don Wilson was already on board in 1936 and he, Mary, Phil, Dennis and "Rochester" formed a great cast for Jack's program during its best-remembered years.

Elsewhere on the 1936 dial, we have "The Cavalcade of America Series" with the story of Christmas Seals from December 9th:

Here's what the Christmas Seals for 1936 looked like:

So, a small sample of what radio listeners heard during the 1936 holiday season!

Next: What was at the movie theater?