Radio Programs beginning with "J"
"Wanna buy a duck?"
.....
.....
These packages were the REAL stars of the Jack
Armstrong program!
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy
Star: Jim Ameche (Don's brother)
Sponsor: Wheaties
Network: CBS, NBC (Red), Mutual, ABC
Aired: 1933-1950
Type of Show: Juvenile Soap Opera
NB: Aimed at older children and teens. Most of the 15
minute program was a Wheaties commercial!
Jack Benny 
Souvenir
The Jack Benny Program
Stars: Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone (Mrs. Jack Benny), others
Sponsors: Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Chevrolet, General Tires, Jell-O,
Grape Nuts Flakes, Lucky Strike Cigarettes
Networks: CBS, NBC (Blue), NBC (Red)
Aired: 1932-1955
Type of Show: Comedy/Variety
NB: Reading his autobiography, I think the reason why Jack was
so successful was that he was fair to everyone and, except at home, rarely
stated his opinion on anything. Very different from his character
on the program. A true proof of his character was when actress Carole
Lombard was killed in a plane crash near Las Vegas in early 1942.
She had been his costar in the (then) yet to be released film, To Be
or Not To Be, and developed a close relationship with her husband,
Clark
Gable. When word came out that she had been killed (along with
everyone else), Jack accompanied Clark to Nevada and didn't show up for
his program that night. You know, the show doesn't have to go on....
Or it might go on without you!
The Jack Webb Show
Star: Jack Webb
Sponsor: sustaining (none)
Network: ABC (West Coast only)
Aired: 1946 (April-June)
Type of Show: Comedy/Variety
NB: This short-lived comedy series is a pleasant treat!
Jack Webb, who'd later gain notoriety as Joe Friday on Dragnet,
was really funny! Broadcast from KGO in San Francisco, it
was on the air for less than six months when the plug was pulled and Jack
Webb went back to Los Angeles to live with his mother and collect unemployment.
The "Ol' Schnoz" (so called because of his big nose!)
Jimmy Durante
Stars: Jimmy Durante, Garry Moore, Alan Young
Sponsors: Chase & Sanborn Coffee, Camel Cigarettes, Rexall
Drug Stores
Network: NBC (Red), CBS
Aired: 1933-1950
Trademark Facial Feature: His "Schnozola" (big nose)
Type of Show: Variety (Musical/Comedy)
NB: Not much to look at, but what an entertainer! Great
musician and great all-around human being!
Joe E.
Brown, best known for his huge smile!
The Joe E. Brown Show
Stars: Joe E. Brown, Paula Winslowe, Don Wilson, Hal March, Bob
Sweeney
Sponsor: Post Toasties ("The Wake-Up Food")
Network: CBS
Trademark Facial Feature: Big Mouth
Aired: 1938-1939
Type of Show: Comedy/Variety (similar to Jack Benny)
NB: I first heard this program on a set of tapes of an entire
broadcast day from radio station WJSV in Washington, DC (now WTOP).
[The background on this is that the Library of Congress recorded a typical
broadcast day, September 21, 1939. I don't know if other stations
did the same on other days. I purchased the collection from Metacom/Adventures
in Cassettes (that company merged with Radio
Spirits in 1998) in 1996. The 18 hour collection may still
be available somewhere; the original master recordings are housed in the
Library
of Congress.] I was really impressed with the Joe E. Brown
program. I never knew he did a radio show. Anyway, after hearing
it, I assumed this must have been extremely popular. Maybe it was
but it only lasted one year. Joe E. Brown's last motion picture was
Some
Like It Hot (starring Marilyn Monroe). I also remember he did
some commercials for Milky Way candy bars on TV in the late 1960s.
Joe Penner 
Official Songbook
The Joe Penner Show
Star: Joe Penner
Sponsor: Fleischmann's Yeast, Baker's food preparation products,
Cocomalt, Huskies, Ward's Tip Top Bread
Network: NBC (Blue), CBS
Aired: 1933-1940
Type of Show: Variety (vaudeville)
NB: Josef Pinter arrived in New York City as a child from Budapest,
Hungary. He changed his name to Joe Penner and was a successful comedian.
He was introduced to radio by Rudy Vallee. Radio made him a household
word. His was one of the first regular radio series to be regularly
broadcast from Los Angeles. He died at the age of 35 in 1941 from
stomach problems, while he was on tour performing in a musical play during
the one year he was off the air (1940-41). He was slated to return
to the air that fall.
Judy Canova
The Judy Canova Show ("Rancho Canova")
Star: Judy Canova
Sponsor: Colgate Toothpaste
Network: CBS, NBC
Aired: 1943-1953
Type of Show: Comedy/Variety (musical)
NB: Erroneously referred to as the Oklahoma version of Fanny
Brice (she was born in Florida), Judy Canova kept radio audiences laughing
for almost ten years.
Updated November 23, 2001
(I tried to make this page look like a Wheaties box. Pretty good,
huh?)
CHOOSE THE FIRST LETTER OF A RADIO PROGRAM
