Comments on: W2XBS Schedule, Week of April 14th, 1940 http://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/06/w2xbs-schedule-week-of-april-14th-1940/ Keeping Obscure TV From Fading Away Forever Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:20:19 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Barry I. Grauman http://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/06/w2xbs-schedule-week-of-april-14th-1940/comment-page-1/#comment-19182 Barry I. Grauman Sun, 13 Dec 2009 07:24:20 +0000 http://www.tvobscurities.com/?p=3217#comment-19182 Note that one of the "Stars Of the Future" that appeared on April 18th was young Beverly Sills (formerly "Bubbles Silverman" on radio), who wasn't an "actress" as much as she was a SINGER....who later became a famous opera star, appearing at the "Met" and opera houses all over the world. This was probably her earliest appearance on TV. Note that one of the “Stars Of the Future” that appeared on April 18th was young Beverly Sills (formerly “Bubbles Silverman” on radio), who wasn’t an “actress” as much as she was a SINGER….who later became a famous opera star, appearing at the “Met” and opera houses all over the world. This was probably her earliest appearance on TV.

]]> By: Eric Paddon http://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/06/w2xbs-schedule-week-of-april-14th-1940/comment-page-1/#comment-9764 Eric Paddon Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:00:20 +0000 http://www.tvobscurities.com/?p=3217#comment-9764 The Giants-Dodgers game of April 19 was the home opener for Brooklyn against their hated cross-town rival. The Dodgers ended up pounding the Giants, 12-0 with Hugh Casey the starter getting the win. The Giants-Dodgers game of April 19 was the home opener for Brooklyn against their hated cross-town rival. The Dodgers ended up pounding the Giants, 12-0 with Hugh Casey the starter getting the win.

]]> By: Barry I. Grauman http://www.tvobscurities.com/2009/06/w2xbs-schedule-week-of-april-14th-1940/comment-page-1/#comment-9749 Barry I. Grauman Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:53:04 +0000 http://www.tvobscurities.com/?p=3217#comment-9749 As previously mentioned, NBC [W2XBS] had access to hundreds of "obscure" B-movies from previous years, especially from the defunct Chesterfield studio {"The Dark Hour" (1936), a murder mystery starring Ray Walker, Berton Churchill and Irene Ware}, foreign films {including future international movie star James Mason's little curio, "I Met A Murderer", filmed in 1937 and released in Britain the year before, co-starring his future wife Pamela (brother of the film's director, Roy Kellino)}, and various short travelogues, industrial and commercial films of recent vintage ["Hits, Runs and Errors", "Let's See America", "California Holiday", and so on] to fill their "experimental schedules" during the 1939-'41 period, as the major Hollywood studios flatly refused to allow their "current" films to be seen on TV, even in its embryonic stage (they already perceived the medium to be a potential "enemy" to their theater business, and would continue to do so until the mid-'50s, when most of them finally allowed some of their pre-1949 film libraries made available to local stations, as well as producing TV series for syndication and network use). Parker Fennelly, featured in "The Old Bookshop", was a character actor on stage and radio who specialized in "New England types"- and became famous as "Titus Moody" {"Howdy, Bub!"} in the "Allen's Alley" segments of Fred Allen's radio show, later in the '40s. During the '60s and '70s, Fennelly was also the voice behind Pepperidge Farm's commercials {"..because Pepperidge Farm remembers"}. As previously mentioned, NBC [W2XBS] had access to hundreds of “obscure” B-movies from previous years, especially from the defunct Chesterfield studio {“The Dark Hour” (1936), a murder mystery starring Ray Walker, Berton Churchill and Irene Ware}, foreign films {including future international movie star James Mason’s little curio, “I Met A Murderer”, filmed in 1937 and released in Britain the year before, co-starring his future wife Pamela (brother of the film’s director, Roy Kellino)}, and various short travelogues, industrial and commercial films of recent vintage ["Hits, Runs and Errors", "Let's See America", "California Holiday", and so on] to fill their “experimental schedules” during the 1939-’41 period, as the major Hollywood studios flatly refused to allow their “current” films to be seen on TV, even in its embryonic stage (they already perceived the medium to be a potential “enemy” to their theater business, and would continue to do so until the mid-’50s, when most of them finally allowed some of their pre-1949 film libraries made available to local stations, as well as producing TV series for syndication and network use).

Parker Fennelly, featured in “The Old Bookshop”, was a character actor on stage and radio who specialized in “New England types”- and became famous as “Titus Moody” {“Howdy, Bub!”} in the “Allen’s Alley” segments of Fred Allen’s radio show, later in the ’40s. During the ’60s and ’70s, Fennelly was also the voice behind Pepperidge Farm’s commercials {“..because Pepperidge Farm remembers”}.

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