American Cancer Society – 1957 Cancer Crusade

For its 1957 Cancer Crusade, the American Cancer Society issued a 16-inch disc (101845A/191845B) featuring messages from many celebrities, including two from Mr. Stewart. On the A-side, Stewart’s message ran about 57-seconds. It is introduced by an unnamed announcer, who also closes the message. The B-side messages are much shorter and feature four celebrities each…

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The 22nd Annual Academy Awards Show

As outlined in Jimmy Stewart on the Air, the 22nd Annual Academy Awards Show was broadcast over ABC on March 23, 1950, from the RKO Pantages Theatre, Hollywood. Paul Douglas was the master of ceremonies and he was assisted by Eve Arden and Ronald Reagan. The previews and ads which appeared in the newspapers were…

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Academy Awards Show – March 13, 1947

The 19th Academy Awards were presented at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, Ca, on March 13, 1947. Jimmy Stewart was nominated in the “Best Actor” category for his performance in It’s a Wonderful Life, losing to Fredric March. We cannot say with 100% accuracy that Stewart appeared on the radio broadcast. Most newspapers carried this…

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Photoplay 11th Annual Gold Metal Awards Dinner

The Photoplay magazine awards ceremony was broadcast by ABC on February 10, 1955, from 9:30-9:55 p.m. It was hosted by Dick Powell and Sheila Graham. The Indiana Gazette, Stewart’s hometown newspaper, ran this story about the awards and the upcoming radio show in its January 29, 1955, edition.   On the day of the broadcast,…

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The Prudential Family Hour of Stars

Originally called the Prudential Family Hour, the program began as a musical show. However, by 1948, its listener base was eroding and Prudential decided to change the format. This was announced in the August 23, 1948, edition of Broadcasting magazine. Interesting, although the show’s title carried the word “hour,” the new program would only be…

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Lux Radio Theatre – Magic Town

Jimmy Stewart and Jane Wyman had starred in the 1947 film, Magic Town, as Rip Smith and Mary Peterman. On December 15, 1947, they reprised those roles for the Sanford H. Barnett radio adaptation for the Lux Radio Theatre. The show was produced and hosted by William Keighley and directed by Fredric MacKaye. John Milton…

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Music from Magic Town

The 1947 film, Magic Town, starred Stewart and Jane Wyman. The music for the film was composed by Roy Webb, but the title track was written by Mel Torme and Robert Wells.The February 19, 1947, edition of Variety announced that Torme would be recording the title song: Torme’s label, Musicraft, placed this ad in Billboard…

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Academy Award Winners on the Air

In Jimmy Stewart on the Air, we had a listing for a 12-inch 78 RPM record titled Presenting James Stewart & Jane Wyman in “Blow-Ups” from Magic Town (HD7-MC-238). At the end of that listing, we mentioned that the recording had also been issued on the 1979 album, Academy Award Winners on the Air and…

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