Radio Articles

To the confidential tones of “Whispering” comes the melancholy voice of Art Gillham, one of the most famous of radio stars and the “Master of Pessimism.” He sighs and moans and pleads with everyone not to smile. His theory is that a good cry makes most folks happy.

He really excites pity when he describes himself as a bald old man weighing 375 pounds. But like his Syncopated Pessimism which may paint the world dark but leaves the cloud’s silver lining always ashining, this Art Gillham, instead of weighing 375 pounds, weighs about 170, he is six feet tall and very erect – not bald headed, for he has a wealth of dark hair and he is always in a hurry but he needs to be – for besides drinking about 15 cups of coffee daily, Art broadcasts the “Afternoon Variety” program on WIL from three to four, the “As You Like It” program nightly from 11:30 to 12:30, and the famous “Syncopated Pessimism” programs on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 7:45 p.m. Besides, Art has charge of WIL’s Artist Bureau.

Gillham graduated from the old Central High School here in St. Louis. After much persuasion he decided with the family that he would study medicine and so entered St. Louis University Medical School. Two weeks passed and a traveling orchestra came to town; one performance and Art’s resolution took flight and so did Art. He traveled to the Pacific coast with the orchestra and became its leader. It was while traveling with the orchestra that he and two of the boys collaborated in writing the words and music of “The Hesitation Blues,” which was an instant hit and four million copies were sold.

In December 1922 Art became an accompanist on Station WDAP, the Drake Hotel in Chicago. One night the boys dared him to sing over the radio, he took the dare, and since then, Art has whispered his way up the ladder of radio success. He was one of the first troubadours of the air and has sung over three hundred stations. He participated in the first national hookup program in the United States. In 1924 he became and exclusive Columbia Recording Artist and has made over 170 records for them. He has written over 30 popular song hits. February 1930 he signed up as an exclusive Columbia Broadcasting System Artist.

Last July, when Art’s mother was injured in an accident, he dropped his work and came to St. Louis to be with her. When he realized that her recovery would be slow he decided to remain in St. Louis.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 12/5/1931)

Holland E. Engle, popular rapid-fire KMOX announcer was one of the first artists to be heard on the radio. Holland was just a youngster of thirteen when Dr. Frank Stanton first put Station KDKA, the pioneer broadcasting station of the world on the air from his garage in back of his home in East Pittsburgh, Pa., and as Holland had a short wave transmitter with some youngsters in the town, he became vastly interested in this new form of broadcasting. So the next day found Engle headed for Pittsburgh which was eighty miles away from his home.

Anyone who knows a youngster of thirteen knows that they usually get what they go after, and of course Engle and the two boys with him finally convinced the friendly inventor they should see the new station.

Not long after that, through a friend connected with the General Electric Company these young radio “hams,” as they were called, were fortunate enough to get hold of some tubes and other equipment and built themselves a broadcast station. Engle laughingly said “And what a station, if it didn’t spill over we could be heard clear across town.”

And that was the beginning of a very colorful life for the young man who today is one of the country’s best-known radio announcers.

Engle soon became connected with several of the stations that were springing up all over the country and in the summer when there was no school took long trips just for the privilege of broadcasting from these new stations. He played the piano and crooned much in the style of the well-known “Little Jack Little” and found that it soon became a profitable occupation. “In fact,” says Engle, “it was so profitable that while still going to college I quit school and took up radio as a serious business.”

Since that time Engle has broadcast from over 100 of the country’s biggest stations. He has in the past four years been station manager of two large broadcasting stations, and came to St. Louis sixteen months ago to take up the duties of Announcer with KMOX where he is now located.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 2/13/1932).

Hildred Ransom, who is known to the Early Morning Farm Folks on KMOX as Aunt Sarah, has a pretty hard time keeping up her end with all the kidding she has to take from the group of entertainers that make up the program. She does her bit – too much of a bit says nephew Charlie Stookey – each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6:45 a.m.

It’s pretty hard to be argumentative at so early an hour but Aunt Sarah has the good of the public on her conscience and she feels that they ought to be told about a great many helpful things. True, nephew Charlie doesn’t agree that there is such a thing as a waterwitch nor that potatoes ought to be planted in the light of the moon, but Aunt Sarah knows about these things and she feels that she should give the listeners the benefit of her advice.

As a matter of fact, Aunt Sarah is very elusive but we have our doubts if she even faintly resembles the gossipy widow from Hidalgo that she represents. She is a very busy stenographer during the working days but not so busy that she doesn’t have time to think up ways to defeat Charlie. What’s more, she does it, for all of the fan letters side with her judgment.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 3/4/33)

Radio station WIL has contributed much to the growth of St. Louis. Thirty-five years ago WIL broke all radio records in capturing almost 100% of all radio receivers, numbering about 1,200 in St. Louis and several thousand more within the 300-mile radius reached by the radio phone of the Benwood Company, 1110 Olive Street, which cooperated with the Star in broadcasting St. Louis’ first concert.

The event was a big step forward in local wireless history. It was the first elaborate radio phone entertainment to be given in the Middle West. On the program were Nelson Cuniff, director of Public Welfare, Harlan Eugene Read, Max Steindel, famous cellist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Jean and Charles Granese, feature vocalists at the Orpheum Theater of that day, Mrs. Karl Kimmel, well-known soloist, Charles Borelli, pianist, and Dr. Charles Klenk, radio expert. In addition, there were selections on a player piano.

Mr. L.A. Benson, founder of the corporation and now president of the Missouri Broadcasting Corp. and owner and operator of Station WWIL in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., did all the announcing and programming in addition to engineering the entire broadcast.

(Text of newspaper ad published 2/5/1957)

Franklyn MacCormack, former Program Director of WIL, is now with the Columbia Broadcasting System as announcer for the Lavoris Easy Aces program heard every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7 p.m. over KMOX.

Competing with twenty-eight other announcers for the program, MacCormack secured the appointment. Jane and Goodman Ace are under contract for four years to the sponsors and he will continue to be the announcer for the skit of American home life.

While Franklyn was at WIL, he was program director, announcer, soloist, and became famed for his Dream Boat, a group of poetical readings each evening. He came to St. Louis a year ago from Denver where he had been in radio work, and previous to that had been widely experienced in stage and dramatic work. Neil Norman is his successor as program director of WIL.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 3/11/33)

Uncle Billy isn’t a venerable old man with whiskers and spectacles; in fact, he isn’t old at all!

Really, he is Don Hunt, an artist of long standing at KMOX and far too young to have some 5,000 nephews and nieces. He is the sort that all little boys would want to be like and the type that little girls would like to have for their Prince Charming when they grow up. He is blonde and tall and amusing, this Uncle Bill who appears each afternoon at five o’clock to sing to little girls and boys and tell them fairy tales.

Some 2,000 of them write in to him each week seeking membership in his Peter Pan club and telling him when their birthdays are so he can keep them in his Lucky Book and have the Cuckoo bird wish them happy birthdays. He keeps close tab of all and has them recorded in case he should forget one of so many relations. No danger of his forgetting, though, for he has the Lucky Book full of them, up to little Benjamin Ballow of East St. Louis whose birthday is December 27.

And does he like those letters he receives! We found him poring over a huge stack of them which he reads and answers every day. He showed proudly the Cuckoo bird which is his sole assistant in these afternoon broadcasts. He fingered excitedly through them to show what the different authors said to him in these letters, which he described as the very “breath of radio.”

Being virtually hurled through the air one night some seven years ago quite by chance at KMOX, he became an announcer there. Since that time, he has sung and played and done dramatic sketches in stations from one end of the country to the other. He even wrote the music for and produced a play on Broadway.

One of his most successful skits was with Gwen of “Myrt and Marge” when he played in a travelogue called “Cinderella and the Cross-Eyed Bear” over KFI in Los Angeles.

Uncle Billy went to school here and has the delightful knack of remembering when he was small and the things that appealed to his very fanciful imagination. Some of the stories he tells his young followers are from a book his mother bought him when he was five years old. He learned to recite them in a high piping voice long before he could read.

Colorful figures from fairyland appeal to him and he likes to think that he is making five o’clock a happy time for little boys and girls throughout the 49th State and in far away places. In his pocket he has a snapshot of a chubby little boy who truly is his nephew.

Each youngster who becomes a member of his club receives a button, a long letter cautioning them to eat spinach and be generally model children, as well as an elaborate certificate of membership. He records their names and then they are full-fledged members of the eternally young club of which he is such an admirable exponent.

He plays and sings and likes most to do dramatic sketches which show how nicely (sic) romantic life can be. He has lived in the West and ridden cowboy ponies and listened to the howl of coyotes. Most of all he likes to drive open Fords across the Western plains which he has done several times.

A gay and charming fanciful person is he – “Bill – your Uncle Bill.”

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 3/26/32).