Radio doings (Dec 1930-Jun1932)

Here's An Article That Tells You Everything You've Been Wondering About Amos V Andy — Who Takes All of the Various Parts, and How It Is Accomplished Behind Those Closed Doors in the NBC Studios Where No One Is Allowed To Enter. "Kingfish,'' "Brother Crawford" "Lightning" and All the Others Are Revealed In This Story About Radio's Most Popular Comedy Team UTH About ANDY! . on the Confederate side during the Civil War, and at the end of the struggle, was one of the group of seventy-five "Mosby Men,, who refused to surrender to the Federal Government. A beautiful Southern lady and a handsome Irish gentleman were the parents of Charles J. Correll. His great grandmother was a cousin of that fiery Confederate president, Jeff Davis. Andy, in his youth, had a newspaper route. He once washed towels at a Y.M.C.A. and roles he happens to be portraying. Although they try to avoid it, sometimes it is necessary for Correl lor Gosden to carry on an extended conversation with himself, in two different roles, and when this happens, he bobs back and forth in front of the "mike" in a manner which might cause someone who was unaware of the necessity for the changes to doubt his sanity. To look at them, to meet them in an elevator, to bump into them at a club, is to come in contact with two "charmin' and dig'ified" gentlemen. There is nothing of the theatre about them. That is usually the way with supreme showmen. Their intrinsic charm lies in their unassuming air. Blue eyes sparkle when Freeman J. Gosden, "Amos" to the world, speaks. His blond hair, darker now than in the summer time, when hours in the sunlight have bleached it. is brushed straight back from a broad brow. He quivers with vitality. Andy, or Charles J. Correll, pierces one through with a pair of black eyes that snap, symbol of his Celtic ancestry, while a whimsical smile plays about a humorous mouth that reminds one, vaguely, of a "battered derby man," who has been heard in many hundreds of radio skits and who, unthinkingly, causes Amos no end of trouble. If Amos hadn't had a flare for the theatre — he used to put on shows when he was a youngster — he might have been one of the best cobblers in Richmond, Va., where he was born. In fact, he was learning the shoe repair business when wanderlust seized him. Having limited means, and an unlimited desire to see a great deal, he joined the navy. He may have inherited a martial strain. Gosden is saturated with the tradition and pride of the South. It was inculcated in him at birth. His father fought he excelled as a bricklayer. At circuses he would extol the thirst-quenching proclivities of ice-cold lemonade. At night he would play the piano, amusing himself, as he still does after his broadcasts. But the theatre was in his blood. Amateur theatricals caught his fancy, and thus it is no tsuch a coincidence that Amos 'n' Andy should find themselves working for the same booking company. Then and there originated that famous team which would one day take people away from dinner, cut down the number of telephone calls and induce silence in households at given periods. A nation waited in suspense when Ruby Taylor lay dying. It tingled with excitement at the machinations of a crook attempting to put a phone booth into the Fresh Air Taxicab Company's office. It took a vacation when this pair went away for a few weeks to catch fish. What is the secret of holding such a vast audience, of becoming part of its daily routine? Naturalness and simplicity! That is the answer. Everybody understands what is going on. Everybody "sees" these two very human individuals in the mirrors in which they see themselves and their friends. They have no race. They have no creed. They are — Amos V Andv! Amos (Freeman Gosden) and Andy (Charles Correl) as they are. If you met them in an elevator, you'd meet two charmin "digitied" gentlemen — you'd never guess their true identities. RADIO DOINGS Page Nino