Radio revue (Dec 1929-Mar 1930)

8 RADIO REV U E strel show at Richmond, Mr. Robb answered Gosden's request for a job with a part as a dogger and end man in his presentation. He did so well in the part that Mr. Robb gave him a permanent position as his assistant. Correll was working for Mr. Robb at the time and when the youths met they started rooming together and thus began the team now known as "Amos 'n' Andy." Thrown together constantly for the next few months, the two men discovered that their voices blended and that they made a good team. The show went to Chicago and eventually closed. Correll and Gosden, "just for the fun of it." asked for an audition at Station WEBH in Chicago. The manager of the station put them on the air, but told them there would be no salary for their efforts. That was in 1925. Their first broadcasts were so successful that a contract to broadcast from WGN, the Chicago Tribune station, followed. On January 12, 1926, "Sam and Henry" made their radio debut. Two years later, when the Tribune contract expired, they went to Station WMAQ in Chicago and "Amos 'n' Andy" were born to the radio world. They started their work over a national network of NBC stations under the sponsorship of the Pepsodent Company on the night of August 19. 1929. Their popularity has steadily increased since that time. No Time for Temperament Concerning" the personalities of the pair, Mr. Robb declares, "I don't believe these boys ever heard of the word 'artistic temperament.' Every place we went when we were appearing on the vaudeville circuit, the managers always complimented me on their workman-like attitude. They don't let anything interfere with them when they're on the job. With a radio performance six times a week and with as many as six and eight personal appearances during one day on their schedule, they simply haven't time for temperament." Concerning his management of the team, Mr. Robb says, "I didn't have to worry about booking appearances because, after they became known, there weren't enough appearances to go around. All I had to do was select the ones we wanted. The hardest part of the business was keeping the boys undisturbed while writing their episodes, what with hundreds of fans seeking interviews with them." Correll and Gosden aren't quite sure what makes their two radio characters so successful. "How yo' spell that word 'exaginate,' Andy," asks Amos, "wid a 'k' or wid a 's'?" "Wait a minute, Amos, wait a minute," replies Andy. "Nevah min' exaginate. Chanqc dot word to 'lie.' " "Maybe it's what they say ... or maybe it's the way they say it," Correll said. "And probably it is both," Gosden added. If there is any secret in their success, it is based on the fact that Correll and Gosden have made living characters out of the personalities they created. So much so, that at times, it would appear, neither they nor the radio audience are quite convinced that Amos and Andy do not exist. When Amos needs a ring for Ruby Taylor, for instance, the sympathetic public sends dozens of rings of all sizes and descriptions. And when Andy gets too rough with his meeker and milder buddy, his mail is filled with letters warning him to "lay off." Follow Fans' Suggestions Fortunately for the feelings of such fans, the letters do not go unheeded. Many of the doings of the two characters come as a result of some suggestions, made either consciously or unconsciously, by these letter writing enthusiasts. In order to get material for their act — and to write a different fifteen minute sketch every night is a real job— the two men spend much time among Negroes, studying their accents and natural witticisms and picking up ideas for situations. The Open Air Taxicab idea is a counterpart of a real situation they discovered in one small city and many of their stories or droll remarks have been picked up in New York's Harlem or in the negro section of Chicago. So fair and deft have been their characterizations of the southern Negro transplanted to the north that never have there been protests from the colored race about the programs. In fact, many of their most ardent admirers are of the same race as the characters in the radio program. Taylor Buckley Leaves NBC Taylor Buckley, baritone, who has been with the NBT for several years, recently severed his connection with the National in order to accept an excellent offer to continue with the "Evening in Paris" Hour, which has switched from the NBC to the Columbia chain. Mr. Buckley had been with the program since its advent on WEAF. His place in the Salon Singers has been filled by Edward Wolter, baritone. Darl Bethman has replaced him as baritone of the Serenaders quartet. William Daniels has taken his place in the Ramblers trio.