Radio Digest (June 1932-Mar 1933)

11 21, and a daughter, Beta, now nearly two." NELLIE Your "Good night, pleasant dreams, God bless you" on the radio became a household expression. And I've heard any number of stories — all different — explaining its origin. What is the real story, Mr. Rothaf el ? ROXY "Well, Nellie, it was really an accident. I used it in my first broadcast from the Capitol theatre in 1924. I had prepared a fine sounding closing address to sign off the program. But when the time came to deliver, I couldn't recall a word of it — not a syllable. Of course, I couldn't stand there tonguetied, so I said what I felt, 'Good night, pleasant dreams, God bless you.' NELLIE And coming from the heart you couldn't have said anything better. You know, folks, Roxy is the typical executive, a man of quick decisions. I asked him for an appointment. "Okay," he said, "I'll see you at 3 o'clock Thursday." He met me right on the second in the reception room of his elaborate offices, to escort me to his private sanctorium. A huge oil painting of the late B. F. Keith, founder of vaudeville, looks down from the walls of his office. I paused before it in reflection. "Well, Nellie," remarked Roxy, Roxy as he appears while being interviewed "when I first knew you, I never expected that I would occupy the office of B. F. Keith." "Why not?" I said, "you began where he left off." Roxy does everything on a big scale and he has to have a lot of room in which to operate. That's why he is to conduct in Radio City the biggest amusement enterprise the world has ever known. Why, Roxy, just naturally has to produce and be where things are produced. He even selected as his birthplace, Minnesota, a place of wide open spaces where they produce wheat, the staff of life. You know, folks, most men would be lucky if they got a monument after they're gone. But Roxy . . . well, his monuments are built while lie's alive. If you don't think the Roxy influence is a factor in the life of the city, the nation and the world, it's because you don't get around much. Take a peek at the New York Telephone Directory, for instance. There are Roxy Coffee Shops and even a Roxy Doughnut Shoppe. There are Roxy barber shops, Roxy shoe shining parlors and, of course, Roxy restaurants and delicatessen stores galore. There are Roxy pants pressers and there is even a Roxy Button Works — everything, in fact, ex cept the Roxy Readymade Post Hole Co. And when you get in the neighborhood of the Sixth avenue side of Radio City where are located the Roxy theatres . . . just take a look at the signs you see on the shops and stores. The merchants and shopkeepers in that locality are certainly Roxy-minded. Here's a splendid insight into the fine character of the man. Having been a Marine, his interest in the service and service men is sincere and heartfelt. He took his company entertainers to the government hospitals on frequent occasions. He noticed they had no radios and the thought occurred that the long hours of our unfortunates could be made less dreary if they had ear phones. So he went to Washington with his idea and told it to President Coolidge. The President listened and then made one of his characteristic longwinded speeches. (You know how colloquial Cal is.) "I like it," he said, and it wasn't long before earphones were installed in every veterans' hospital in America . . . and many parts of Canada. All of Roxy's dreams have a way of coming true, but this was one of the greatest of them all. It brought groat joy to our war heroes, than whom there are no greater. Goodnight. Friends.