TV Radio Mirror (Jan - Jun 1955)

TV Radio Mirror Award Winners for 1954-55 (Continued from page 36) even experimented with TV, has won its seventh straight Award for jovial Don McNeill — this year, as your favorite radio daytime variety program. The corresponding television Award goes to a comparative newcomer, The Bob Crosby Show, after only a couple of seasons on the CBS-TV network. Two frequent winners walked off with husband-and-wife team honors: ABC-TV's Ozzie And Harriet (of the famed Nelson family) and NBC Radio's Fibber McGee And Molly (Jim and Marian Jordan). As your favorite radio quiz program, Strike It Rich garnered still another gold medal for emcee •Warren Hull and producer Walt Framer, to add to the fistful already won in previous classifications (including TV and "Best Program on the Air") . Two For The Money, a radio Award winner last year, took the TV quiz prize this year, despite a strong bid by previous title-holder Whafs My Line? The panel prizes went to two first-timers: CBS-TV's I've Got A Secret and CBS Radio's Make Up Your Mind, both novelties in their field — the latter a unique daytime program indeed, as a panel show which is both entertaining and instructive. If there is a "serial queen" in broadcasting, it must surely be Jan Miner — the lovable Julie Nixon of Hilltop House — whom you have voted your favorite radio daytime drama actress for five years in a row. Perhaps Jan's winning ways are catching, for her husband, Terry O'Sullivan, has also been voted your favorite TV daytime actor, as Arthur Tate in Search. For Tomorrow; for the second consecutive year. Or perhaps talented Terry is catching the habit from sweet Mary Stuart, who plays Joanne Barron in Search For Tomorrow— and who has just won her third straight Award as TV daytime actress! Mary's closest rivals were the popular actresses in two serials produced by Richard Dunn: Peggy McCay, charming star of Love Of Life, and Virginia Dwyer, who was then appearing in The Secret Storm. Search For Tomorrow, a strong contender last year, gets your nod as the best TV daytime drama, with a well-deserved bow toward producer Myron Golden and director Charles Irving. Since the hottest competition for your votes is in this entire field of dramatic serials, The Romance Of Helen Trent — directed by Ernie Ricca and starring Julie Stevens — can be especially proud of its second straight victory as your favorite radio daytime drama. James Lip ton, portraying Dr. Dick Grant in The Guiding Light, also deserves great credit for his first triumph as your favorite radio daytime actor. Incidentally, The Guiding Light — last year's prize daytime drama on TV — was a close runner-up in both radio and TV this year, as produced by Lucy Ferri and directed by Ted Corday. In the field of evening drama, Lux Radio Theater has chalked up its eighth successive prize as your favorite radio dramatic series — and its second consecutive medal as the best program on radio! Barbara Britton and Richard Denning, the sleuthing Mr. And Mrs. North, repeated their last year's success as your favorite radio evening actors. Mama again won as the top TV evening drama, with Kraft Television Theater — also a previous winner — not far behind. It was the second consecutive year for lovely Loretta Young as your favorite TV evening drama actress, and the third for Jack Webb as TV actor. With Dragnet also winning its third TV Award — as mystery-adventure program — star-producer-creator Jack Webb can now count up at least ten TVRM prizes for both the show and himself, in both radio and TV. The big surprise in this field was scored by Gunsmoke, in capturing the radio mystery-adventure Award. Though Western in theme and set in an earlier day, Gunsmoke is almost documentary in its treatment, with psychological undertones and skillful characterizations. In the straight Western category, two hard-riding, sweet-singing cowboys continued their photo-finish race, and the result was simply a switch in the Awards they won last year. This time, the star and program honors went to Roy Rogers and his NBC-TV show, to Gene Autry and his CBS Radio show. In sports and news, your votes also went to previous Award winners. Bill Stern was your favorite radio sportscaster, with five earlier Awards already to his credit — including top honors in our very first poll. Mel Allen, who won twice in radio, now receives his second citation as your favorite TV sportscaster. Edward R. Murrow earned his third Award as top radio news commentator, and Douglas Edwards became a three-time medalist as your TV choice in the same classification. Queen For A Day, the Mutual "Cinderella show" emceed by. Jack Bailey, also made it three-in-a-row, as your favorite women's program on radio. But your television votes went to that kaleidoscopic $1,000.00 REWARD ... is offered for information leading to the arrest of dangerous "wanted" criminals. Hear details about the $1,000.00 reward on . . . TRUE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES Every Sunday Afternoon on MUTUAL Stations The SERGE RUBINSTEIN STORY— "Too Many Women, Too Many Motives" — the payoff of a playboy whose hobbies were women and money— in May TRUE DETECTIVE MAGAZINE at newsstands now. newcomer, NBC-TV's Home. And it was the spectacular man with the spectacles who scored a unique triumph by winning both medals in the daytime comedy field, for his Monday-through-Friday Robert Q. Lewis Show on CBS-TV and his Saturday Robert Q. Lewis Show on CBS Radio! Competition was keen for the emcee prizes, with most of them going to those dynamic personalities who handle more than one show. Art Linkletter — whose rollicking House Party is seen and heard weekdays on CBS Radio and CBS-TV, and whose People Are Funny is a nighttime feature on both NBC-TV and NBC Radio — achieved his seventh consecutive personal Award, as your favorite daytime master of ceremonies, radio division. Bill Cullen — busy as anybody on radio and TV, and now running a real Saturdaylong marathon on NBC's Roadshow — gets the evening radio Award, for his achievements on CBS's Stop The Music and NBC's Walk A Mile during the past year. Day and night, in both TV and radio, the winning masters of ceremonies were hard-pressed by such previous medalists as Bert Parks, Bud Collyer, Groucho Marx. It took a careful recount to prove that Garry Moore — whose big TV daytime show got many votes in several categories, and whose evening panel program, I've Got A Secret, did walk off with a prize — had snatched the TV daytime emcee Award from that irrepressible man, Godfrey. And the race was almost as close for the TV evening honors, which were ultimately won by Ed Sullivan. Sullivan and his mammoth entertainment, Toast Of The Town, got three gold medals this year. It was the fourth personal Award for Laughing Ed, the third consecutive year for Toast Of The Town as your favorite TV evening variety show, and Toast's first victory as the best program on television! A proud achievement indeed, and one that gathers greater glory by virtue of the strong competition from Arthur Godfrey and his programs. No one has yet topped Arthur and his "Little Godfreys" in the number of TVRM Awards your votes have given them — a total which has now reached some two-score citations for programs and personalities, on both radio and TV. Four of these were voted this year, with Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts winning its latest of many Awards, as your favorite radio evening variety program, and two of his fine singers virtually sweeping their entire category. This has been Eddie Fisher's great year, and only Eddie was able to break the charm which almost gave all four singer Awards to the Godfrey soloists. Actually, the fight in the male division was a threecornered battle, in both radio and TV, with Frank Parker, Eddie Fisher and Perry Como all in there swinging, right up to the final count. Result: Eddie gets his first gold medal, as your radio favorite — and Frank gets his fourth, as your TV choice this year. Marion Marlowe, your favorite female singer, won TV honors for the third consecutive season and radio honors for the second time. All of which proves, as usual, that the TV Radio Mirror Awards are "anybody's race" — just as the poll itself is "everybody's show." We know the winners of our gold medals will be grateful for your votes of confidence in a highly competitive field . . . and TV Radio Mirror is grateful for the discrimination and enthusiasm you have shown for your favorites — both winners and near-winners — which will help guide our selection of stories and pictures throughout the coming year.