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The Great American Broadcast
The noted film critic brings to life the golden age of radio, profiling its great actors and characters--including Orson Wells, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and others--and offering behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the radio soap operas, variety shows, comedies, thrillers, and westerns that transformed American life. Reprint.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Leonard Maltin
183 books72 followersLeonard Maltin, is an American film and animated-film critic and historian.
Maltin began his writing career at age fifteen, writing for Classic Images and editing and publishing his own fanzine, Film Fan Monthly, dedicated to films from the golden age of Hollywood. After receiving a journalism degree at New York University, Maltin went on to publish articles in a variety of film journals, national news-papers, and magazines, including Variety and TV Guide.
Maltin in 1990
As an author, Maltin is best known for Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, (some editions titled as his ...Movie and Video Guide), a compendium of synopses and reviews that first appeared in September 1969 and has been annually updated since October 1987. (It was published under the title TV Movies until the 1990s, and in 2005 spawned a spin-off, Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide, limited to films released in 1960 and earlier to allow the regular book to cover a larger number of more recent titles.) He has also written several other works, including Behind the Camera, a study of the art of cinematography, The Whole Film Sourcebook, Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia, Our Gang: The Life and Times of the Little Rascals, and Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons.
Since May 29, 1982, Maltin has been the movie reviewer on the syndicated television series Entertainment Tonight. He also appears on the Starz cable network, and hosted his own syndicated radio program, Leonard Maltin on Video, as well as the syndicated TV show Hot Ticket with Boston film critic Joyce Kulhawik (originally E! personality and game show host Todd Newton). He currently hosts a television show entitled Secret's Out on ReelzChannel movie network. He also spearheaded the creation of the Walt Disney Treasures collectible DVD line in 2001,[4] and continues to provide creative input and host the various sets.
He appeared on Pyramid twice as a celebrity player, in 1987 on the CBS $25,000 version and in 1991 on the John Davidson version. He appeared on Super Password as a celebrity guest in 1988.
In the mid-1990s, he became the president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and is on the Advisory Board of the Hollywood Entertainment Museum. For nearly a decade, Maltin was also on the faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York City. He currently teaches in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.
In 1998, Maltin settled a libel suit brought by former child star Billy Gray, of Father Knows Best fame, whom Maltin identified as a drug addict and dealer in his review of the film Dusty and Sweets McGee for the movie guide book. The statement appeared in print for nearly twenty-five years before Maltin publicly apologized for the error.[5]
He currently hosts "The Maltin Minute" for DirecTV customers. Maltin also teaches at the University of Southern California.
Maltin began his writing career at age fifteen, writing for Classic Images and editing and publishing his own fanzine, Film Fan Monthly, dedicated to films from the golden age of Hollywood. After receiving a journalism degree at New York University, Maltin went on to publish articles in a variety of film journals, national news-papers, and magazines, including Variety and TV Guide.
Maltin in 1990
As an author, Maltin is best known for Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, (some editions titled as his ...Movie and Video Guide), a compendium of synopses and reviews that first appeared in September 1969 and has been annually updated since October 1987. (It was published under the title TV Movies until the 1990s, and in 2005 spawned a spin-off, Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide, limited to films released in 1960 and earlier to allow the regular book to cover a larger number of more recent titles.) He has also written several other works, including Behind the Camera, a study of the art of cinematography, The Whole Film Sourcebook, Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia, Our Gang: The Life and Times of the Little Rascals, and Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons.
Since May 29, 1982, Maltin has been the movie reviewer on the syndicated television series Entertainment Tonight. He also appears on the Starz cable network, and hosted his own syndicated radio program, Leonard Maltin on Video, as well as the syndicated TV show Hot Ticket with Boston film critic Joyce Kulhawik (originally E! personality and game show host Todd Newton). He currently hosts a television show entitled Secret's Out on ReelzChannel movie network. He also spearheaded the creation of the Walt Disney Treasures collectible DVD line in 2001,[4] and continues to provide creative input and host the various sets.
He appeared on Pyramid twice as a celebrity player, in 1987 on the CBS $25,000 version and in 1991 on the John Davidson version. He appeared on Super Password as a celebrity guest in 1988.
In the mid-1990s, he became the president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and is on the Advisory Board of the Hollywood Entertainment Museum. For nearly a decade, Maltin was also on the faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York City. He currently teaches in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.
In 1998, Maltin settled a libel suit brought by former child star Billy Gray, of Father Knows Best fame, whom Maltin identified as a drug addict and dealer in his review of the film Dusty and Sweets McGee for the movie guide book. The statement appeared in print for nearly twenty-five years before Maltin publicly apologized for the error.[5]
He currently hosts "The Maltin Minute" for DirecTV customers. Maltin also teaches at the University of Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 29, 2008
I had only a minimal acquaintance with old-time radio when I read this book. I'm a fan of movies from the 20's - the 40's and had listened to a few episodes of Lux Radio Theater that featured my favorite actor, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. But The Great American Broadcast got me hooked. It's divided into sections (Acting, announcers, sponsors, and my favorite - sound effects) and filled with anecdotes Maltin collected from hundreds of personal interviews he conducted over the years with people who worked in this lost entertainment medium. It takes you back in time and helps you understand how important radio was to Americans during the depression and during the War. Thank goodness so many program still exist and can be found on the internet. I am now a big fan of Vic & Sade, Fibber McGee & Molly, Easy Aces, Jack Benny and dozens of other shows. You're in for a good time when you read this fascinating book.
August 25, 2016
I have a great love for Old Time Radio. And besides that I find it fascinating to study how the first big nation-wide media affected our American culture.
This book was good. Some of the content was disappointing, but on the whole it was educating and delightful~like sitting down with friends 80 years out of the past. Everything from the radio writer's hardships and joys to the personal memories, music, and advertising gave me a glimpse of their work and world of radio that I had not seen before.
Now, I will make it clear that, although I rapidly devoured this book, unless you already are familiar with the personalities and shows of OTR and are VERY interested in it, I don't recommend this book to you as it will be a slow and tedious read at best.
But to those, like me, who have a fondness for this forgotten form of storytelling (and of the era and culture) this book will be like joining the radio "family" for dinner and drinking in their life and work stories.
This book was good. Some of the content was disappointing, but on the whole it was educating and delightful~like sitting down with friends 80 years out of the past. Everything from the radio writer's hardships and joys to the personal memories, music, and advertising gave me a glimpse of their work and world of radio that I had not seen before.
Now, I will make it clear that, although I rapidly devoured this book, unless you already are familiar with the personalities and shows of OTR and are VERY interested in it, I don't recommend this book to you as it will be a slow and tedious read at best.
But to those, like me, who have a fondness for this forgotten form of storytelling (and of the era and culture) this book will be like joining the radio "family" for dinner and drinking in their life and work stories.
September 15, 2011
When I was in junior high I was lying in bed listening to the radio and happened upon a broadcast of an old radio show. That is what started my interest in learning about olt time radio shows. For anyone that is interested this is a fantastic read. You can really tell that Leonard Maltin loves the history of radio and doesn't just talk about the shows. He tells the history of the writers, actors and of radio. For anyone who loves to read about history in show business this is a good book to start with.
November 2, 2021
Turn back the dial to the age of yesteryear as the Golden Age of Radio gets an impressive overview with “The Great American Broadcast: A Celebration of Radio's Golden Age.”
The first chapter starts off by offering the reader an overview of how radio began to enter the homes of Americans; following are chapters detailing the various aspects of OTR including (but not limited to!): Actors, Writers, Directors, Sound Effects, Sponsors, and even the Music side (a personal favorite for me, I never knew how essential live music was to the early days of radio).
There’s countless photographs, anecdotes, and bits of trivia throughout. A new personal favorite story was one included in the chapter devoted to sponsors: in one instance there would be people checking employees to make sure that the cigarettes they smoked were the sponsor’s brand, going as far as checking the packs in pockets; some would try and get around the loyalty the sponsors demanded by slipping Lucky Strikes into empty Philip Morris cartons and taking special care to light the end of the cigarettes with the name so it wouldn’t be evident as to what brand they were. Jack Benny went as far as even writing it into his contract that his wife, Mary, would be allowed to smoke cigarettes even if they weren’t owned by his sponsor Lucky Strike!
This book is fantastic even for the most casual of listeners. I enjoyed it immensely and in addition to the facts, it gave me more shows and episode titles to investigate and listen to.
The first chapter starts off by offering the reader an overview of how radio began to enter the homes of Americans; following are chapters detailing the various aspects of OTR including (but not limited to!): Actors, Writers, Directors, Sound Effects, Sponsors, and even the Music side (a personal favorite for me, I never knew how essential live music was to the early days of radio).
There’s countless photographs, anecdotes, and bits of trivia throughout. A new personal favorite story was one included in the chapter devoted to sponsors: in one instance there would be people checking employees to make sure that the cigarettes they smoked were the sponsor’s brand, going as far as checking the packs in pockets; some would try and get around the loyalty the sponsors demanded by slipping Lucky Strikes into empty Philip Morris cartons and taking special care to light the end of the cigarettes with the name so it wouldn’t be evident as to what brand they were. Jack Benny went as far as even writing it into his contract that his wife, Mary, would be allowed to smoke cigarettes even if they weren’t owned by his sponsor Lucky Strike!
This book is fantastic even for the most casual of listeners. I enjoyed it immensely and in addition to the facts, it gave me more shows and episode titles to investigate and listen to.
February 15, 2025
3.5 stars. This is a celebration of what we now call OTR radio programs, from their birth in the late 20s/early 30s to their unfortunate demise in the 60s. Maltin looks at the business as a whole from various perspectives: sponsors, directors, writers, actors, announcers, musicians, sound effects men, even the live audiences that some of the top shows played in front of. I started listening to RadioClassics on SiriusXM a couple of years ago, and I really do enjoy listening to the stories and using my imagination to fill in the gaps. I kinda wish I had been alive during this version of radio's heyday because I think it would've been at least a little big magical. Thank goodness so many of the shows were taped and still exist to be enjoyed today!
This is not a compendium or even an exhaustive list of all the shows/writers/performers who filled 24 hours of airwaves back in the day, and Maltin doesn't claim that it is. He gives those books that do provide such information their due, and its certainly a treasure trove worth exploring for fellow fans.
All the same, I do have fond memories of local radio from my own childhood (does local radio really even exist anymore??), and one of my favorite TV shows is WKRP in Cincinnati, so at some level, I just find the medium itself fascinating.
This is not a compendium or even an exhaustive list of all the shows/writers/performers who filled 24 hours of airwaves back in the day, and Maltin doesn't claim that it is. He gives those books that do provide such information their due, and its certainly a treasure trove worth exploring for fellow fans.
All the same, I do have fond memories of local radio from my own childhood (does local radio really even exist anymore??), and one of my favorite TV shows is WKRP in Cincinnati, so at some level, I just find the medium itself fascinating.
April 26, 2012
If you know nothing about this history of popular broadcasting in America, this might be a 5 star book to you. For those of us who know the subject, it is merely a fun stroll through the past. The telling is breezy, the book is fun to read, but this is not the book for real insights or undiscovered information.
April 11, 2011
A nice history of old time radio, but I think it is best if you already have some knowledge of the shows and personalities before reading this one.
Want to read
September 19, 2011This was probably my best score of the evening at Book Nook. I know I'm going to enjoy it!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews