On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio [Hardcover]

John Dunning (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 1998

Now long out of print, John Dunning's Tune in Yesterday was the definitive one-volume reference on old-time radio broadcasting. Now, in On the Air, Dunning has completely rethought this classic work, reorganizing the material and doubling its coverage, to provide a richer and more informative account of radio's golden age.
Here are some 1,500 radio shows presented in alphabetical order. The great programs of the '30s, '40s, and '50s are all here--Amos 'n' Andy, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Lone Ranger, Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour, and The March of Time, to name only a few. For each, Dunning provides a complete broadcast history, with the timeslot, the network, and the name of the show's advertisers. He also lists major cast members, announcers, producers, directors, writers, and sound effects people--even the show's theme song. There are also umbrella entries, such as "News Broadcasts," which features an engaging essay on radio news, with capsule biographies of major broadcasters, such as Lowell Thomas and Edward R. Murrow. Equally important, Dunning provides a fascinating account of each program, taking us behind the scenes to capture the feel of the performance, such as the ghastly sounds of Lights Out (a horror drama where heads rolled and bones crunched), and providing engrossing biographies of the main people involved in the show.
A wonderful read for everyone who loves old-time radio, On the Air is a must purchase for all radio hobbyists and anyone interested in 20th-century American history. It is an essential reference work for libraries and radio stations.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Mystery writer and radio talk show host Dunning has expertly compiled and organized a massive amount of research data on hundreds of radio shows aired from the 1920s through the 1960s. The entries, listed alphabetically by show title, each contain a treasure trove of information?broadcast dates, casts and personnel, anecdotes, special analyses, and a detailed overview of each show's background, format, and content. Entries range from popular series such as Amos 'n' Andy and The Green Hornet to the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and the NBC University Theatre?everything from soaps, Westerns, and comedy to sports, drama, and documentaries. An extensive bibliography and index enhance the book's appeal. For those who once gathered around the console, the more than 700 pages of entries should provide a wonderful stroll down memory lane. Historians and researchers will also find this a valuable reference tool, offering new discoveries and insights. For reference libraries with large media collections.?Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

As he did in Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Prentice Hall, 1976), Dunning here provides a storehouse of information about the people and programs of radio's Golden Age (1930s, 1940s, 1950s). The storehouse, however, has been thoroughly remodeled and refurbished. The amount of material covered has been considerably expanded and its presentation carefully reorganized.

Some 1,500 radio shows, listed in alphabetical order, are described in concise articles linked with an extensive system of cross-referencing. The cross-referencing is crucial, because someone looking for Ozzie and Harriet or Sam Spade will need to know that both programs are listed in the main part of the text under The Adventures of.... The articles vary in length, from the briefest of paragraphs (The Billie Burke Show and Linda's First Love) to several pages (The Lone Ranger and The Mercury Theater of the Air). Each program entry consists of title and broadcast history (including exact starting and ending dates, day and timeslot, network, announcer, sponsor, etc.). This is followed by an essay that often imparts all manner of detail, or, in the case of those short entries, a capsule description of the program.

Although the majority of the articles are about individual programs, there are also a number of survey articles, such as sports broadcasts, concert broadcasts, and news broadcasts. Here, too, the cross-referencing is essential in order to find information about a specific program that might fall under one of those categories and is not listed separately. There is an extensive bibliography, which will be of great help to those wishing to pursue the subject further.

In the electronically connected world of today, it is hard to imagine a time (not so long ago) when there was but one medium of electronic information. The rich detail in this solid work helps convey the flavor of that earlier time. Devotees of classic television shows may be surprised to find out that such programs as Father Knows Best, Our Miss Brooks, Queen for a Day, and Sky-King all started as radio programs. A worthy addition to most reference collections, this volume is an interesting portrait of a time when radio was more than background music or xenophobic talk shows. Another recent publication, the Historical Dictionary of American Radio [RBB Ag 98], covers a wider range of topics related to radio but has far less coverage of individual programs.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 840 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1st edition (May 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195076788
• ISBN-13: 978-0195076783
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Pop Culture
  • #8 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Radio > Reference
  • #16 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Radio > History & Criticism

More About the Author

Although I have been writing fiction since childhood (and publishing novels since 1975), it was BOOKED TO DIE (1992) that gave me the freedom to write full time. I have always written out of my own life. My Bookman novels came from my ongoing experience in the used and rare book trade, coupled with my life as a Denver Post police reporter in the 1970s. I have written five novels about my book detective, Cliff Janeway, including THE BOOKWOMAN'S LAST FLING, to be published by Scribner in May 2006.

We have lived in Denver, it seems, forever, though I am a refugee from Charleston, SC. I have also been a glass cutter, a groom at Santa Anita and other racetracks, a publicist for political candidates (which is the same general thing)and did a radio show for more than 20 years.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive and a pleasure to read July 1, 2004

By Craig Clarke VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This review is going to be formatted differently than usual. Right off, I'm just going to start by saying that every old-time radio fan reading this needs to just stop reading right now and buy a copy of On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. John Dunning definitive encyclopedia of the golden age (and then some) of radio needs to be on the shelf of anyone who dares to call himself a fan.

Building from his earlier work, Tune in Yesterday, John Dunning (a long-time fan of radio himself) has written the encyclopedia of radio. I didn't have my copy for a long time and had no idea what I was missing. You'll not only be graced with full schedules and showtimes, but also the history of each show, sometimes with memorable quotes from favorite episodes.

The index alone is worth the price of the book, with actors cross-referenced to shows you didn't even know they appeared in. The bold page numbers steer the reader to the featured articles, but reading all the related articles is fun, too. Heck, even just browsing can while away hours of your time, as each show entry will remind you of another that you just have to look up. While looking up one show, the eye crosses the title of another on the page heading and, bang, you're away and have forgotten what you took the book down off the shelf for to begin with. In this way, you'll learn the names of favorite character actors whose voices you recognize from different shows, but whose name escape your memory (Frank Lovejoy and Elliott Lewis leap to my mind). Then, you can look them up in the index and discover more of their work for you to seek out.

Of course, even with a book this size, not all of the shows are going to have exhaustive articles, but Dunning has done as much as one man possibly can. He has compiled obscurities lovingly, interviewed living cast and crew members for memories, sought out archival copies of long-thought-lost shows, and researched like a madman to bring us On the Air. There is not likely to be another encyclopedia of radio that is so much fun to read. In this way, it equates the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll for sheer browsability.

I've read the Lackwanna book (The Encyclopedia of American Radio), and it's okay if you're on a budget or are interested in modern radio (which I'm not), but On the Air is the one that really gives you your money's worth, even though it costs considerably more. You'll be better off saving your money and buying this solid work than wasting less of it on an error-ridden lesser one. Also pick up Dunning's radio novel, Two O'Clock, Eastern Wartime, for a terrific read that is also a behind-the-scenes look at World War II-era radio.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Most useful as an educational tool too August 27, 1999

By F. Behrens HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The great value of this book as a "good read" or as an aid to sorting one's collection of old time radio recordings is covered very well by other reviewers on this site. I want to point out its use as an educational tool. Social Studies classes are all too often made boring by reliance on textbooks (which are either outdated or too politically correct to be of any use) or on films and tapes, which are better but still pretty factual (whatever the bias) and dull to many students. I have always in my classes used the music of the period to liven things up a bit; but what about using radio broadcasts? Each one of them is a reflection of the people and events that shaped these shows and so many of them are available on tapes and CDs from such catalogues as Radio Spirits. <On the Air> is a fantastic resource manual for a teacher who wants to see what is appropriate for any particular class and to provide the background information for the students. Oxford University Press might want to consider this angle in their advertizing. But even all this aside, it does make for some fascinating reading!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Book on Old-Time Radio September 25, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

John's 1976 "Tune In Yesterday" is a classic. "On The Air" is more than just a revision of his earlier book. Some 1,500 radio shows presented in alphabetical order. There is extensive information on each show's length of run, cast, writers, and directors. A comprehensive bibliography of Old-Time Radio (OTR) literature is included.

What really sets this book apart from other OTR books is John's insightful writing about the shows; he writes from the heart and with passion. John is an acknowledged expert on OTR; he had OTR shows on various stations in Denver, CO for over 20 years. John is also a best-selling author - his two novels on, cop-turned rare book seller/detective, Cliff Janeway are very readable.

If I could only buy one OTR book, this one is it!