Radio doings (Dec 1930-Jun1932)

ON WITH THE SHOW! "When You re Blue, And Kinda Lonely Too, A Little Smile Will Go a Long, Long Way . . ." EACH night at eight, this cheery musical advice is sent out over the ether waves, and for the next hour George Taylor and his KYA joy brigade provide the impetus for that "little smile." And of the 200 persons who nightly gather in the studio to personally attend "On With the Show," there is no record of one ever leaving without teeth flashing in a big, broad grin. "On With the Show" began last May as an experiment. Something was wanted at KYA to pep up that allimportant hour between 8 and 9 P. M. when more people gather 'round the radio than at any other time of the day. Rush Hughes, then program director of the station, made the radical suggestion of a nightly frolic, dedicated to nothing in particular but merriment. One hundred and twenty-five chairs were placed in the main studio, and announcement was made that any who cared to could come to KYA and attend "On With the Show." The curtain rose on the first night with a "full house." "Opening night" was a success, judging from the visible audience. With Rush Hughes at the helm, everyone pitched in with songs and jokes ,and tomfoolery. Within a week applications for invitations were coming in faster than they could be taken care of. "But it won't last," said the all-wise newspaper radio editors. "You can't keep people interested in that kind of a program every night." "On With the Show" has played every night, except Sunday, since that eleventh of May. The seating capacity of the studio has been enlarged, and now 200 persons crowd in nightly, and half that many are turned away. Invitations are given out on receipt of telephone request, and the studio is "sold out" continually six nights in advance. If 200 persons nightly attend a studio to watch a program, how many must listen in? A glance at the daily pile of fan mail gives us an indication. George Taylor's desk is piled up with letters each morning, and every additional delivery brings new letters — requests for numbers — appreciation for the previous night's progam — thanks for having brought a bit of cheer to a sick bed — mash notes — letters from little children — big children — bankers — • plumbers — all having one element in common — the love of good fun. Now let's see who furnishes the motive power for this program. Prepar SYDNEY DIXON ing and handling such an hour each night is no small task, and when you have two a day, in addition to the other heavy duties of program director of a large station, the job assumes Herculean proportions. George Taylor has for many years been master of ceremonies, stage director, prop boy, and leading performer of the "Sunshine Hour," a morning edition of its now big, though younger, brother, "On With the Show." George has been with KYA for four years. He is a tenor, but his good qualities are so numerable that one soon Adele Burian, whose i m p e r s o nations of Marlene Dietrich, in addition to straight singing, have won her wide favor. From her childhood in Austria to her radio career, life lias been one thrill after another for this petite artist. forgives that. He was promoted to the job of program director last June, and though he had had no experience in that kind of a position, he stepped into the picture like an old timer. One of his first achievements was to engineer a tie-up with the Radio-KeithOrpheum circuit and the Fox-West Coast Theaters. By this arrangement the cream of the vaudeville stage visiting San Francisco appear as guest artists on the "Show." One night a week is designated as R-K-0 Night, and already such luminaries of the stage and screen as Olsen and Johnson, Trixie Friganza, Rae Samuels, Larry Rich, and others have appeared. In many instances, the headliner takes over the entire show for the evening, and brings along several other acts. One night which especially stands out in the memory of the radio audience was that on which Olsen and Johnson brought their entire army of funsters, captured the studio, and laid down a one hour barage of mirth. Another joyous evening was provided recently by Larry Rich and his Oompahs. Naturally George welcomes such occasions as these, as it gives him and his over-worked staff a night of rest, when they can sit back and laugh and munch doughnuts with the audience. If a popularity contest for San Francisco's most popular radio team were to be conducted, a high place would have to be awarded to Adele (Person Page Twenty-two RADIO DOINGS