HOLLYWOOD HOTEL'S DICK POWELL & LOUELLA PARSONS; KATE SMITH, AND LES TREMAYNE AND BARBARA LUDDY OF FIRST NIGHTER.

FRIDAY’S ALL TIME TOP TEN

Friday was always considered “movie” night during Network Radio’s Golden Age and with good reason. Friday was generally payday when those who had a job, even during the Depression, could treat their families to a night out. As a result, theater ticket sales always spiked on Fridays without the additional lures of “Bank Night“ giveaways or cheap dinnerware premiums that were common at neighborhood movie houses on other weeknights in the 1930‘s. 

Two elements from Network Radio Ratings, 1932-1953 can be cited as additional proof that listeners had other activities to occupy their time on Friday nights instead of listening to the radio.

​First, the Top Ten on Friday night had the lowest rating average of any weeknight. Secondly, if early evening Multiple Run programs were calculated into this look at Friday’s All Time Top Ten, five of them would have been winners - led by Numbers One and Two - the nightly Lowell Thomas newscasts and Amos & Andy.

In other words, many listeners left the house by eight o’clock on Friday night and in-home radio listening took a nose-dive.

Nevertheless, the quality of the night’s programs didn’t suffer. Friday was home to the first major program originating from the West Coast, Hollywood Hotel, hosted by Louella Parsons and Dick Powell,(left), Kate Smith’s variety show and the long-running anthology of light drama, First Nighter which starred the well dressed Les Tremayne and Barbara Luddy for seven seasons of its 16 year network run.

Friday was also the breakthrough night for the resurgent ABC in the late 1940’s with The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, This Is Your FBI and The Fat Man.

Excluding Multiple Runs, only 15 programs or personalities had three or more Top Ten seasons on Friday. They‘re listed below in alphabetical order along with the number of seasons they achieved the night’s Top Ten status.

Once again you’re challenged to test your knowledge of Network Radio’s Golden Age and rank Friday’s All Time Top Ten in order from this list:  
                                            
                            Program/Personality & Friday Top Ten Finishes
                            The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet - 4
                            The Adventures of The Thin Man - 4
                            Cities Service Concerts - 5
                            The Court of Human Relations - 3
                            The Fat Man - 5
                            First Nighter - 9
                            Grand Central Station - 3
                            Hollywood Hotel - 5
                            Jimmy Durante & Garry Moore - 4
                            Kate Smith - 5
                            The Life of Riley - 3
                            The March of Time - 4
                            People Are Funny - 6
                            Phil Baker - 3
                            This Is Your FBI - 7

Hint: The Top Six scored at least five seasons in Friday’s Top Ten.

Look below the familiar book cover and you'll learn how the millions of Network Radio listeners - who weren’t at the movies - ranked Friday’s All Time Top Ten.

Friday’s All Time Top Ten

1/ First Nighter was a prime example of a success despite its inconsistencies in scheduling. The light drama anthology debuted on Blue’s Thursday schedule at 8:30 in 1930 and before it left the air in 1953, it had been broadcast in one or more of its 16 rated seasons on all four networks at nine different times on every night except Monday. Its longtime sponsor, Campana-Balm, (1930-1949), was responsible for most of the switches. Nevertheless, First Nighter was heard on Fridays for nine seasons, accounting two finishes each in first, second, third, and sixth place plus one in fourth for 71 points.

2/ This Is Your FBI led ABC’s resurgence to popularity on Friday. After a low-rated debut in 1945-46, the docudrama broke into Friday’s Top Ten the following season and remained there until it left the air in 1953. Often compared to The FBI In Peace & War on CBS, This Is Your FBI was similar in content and style but scored better on its night of broadcast. The ABC show was Friday’s Number One program twice, it finished twice three times, and scored one season each in fourth and ninth place for a total of 56 points. (See FBI vs. FBI on this site.)

3/ Kate Smith enjoyed the finest hours of her long CBS Network Radio career on Friday nights. “The Songbird of The South’s” variety show was moved by sponsor General Foods after three Thursday Top Ten seasons to Friday in 1939 where she immediately racked up four consecutive years as the night’s Number One attraction and another in second place. Then her popularity was shattered in 1944 when the show was moved to Sunday opposite Jack Benny on NBC. (See The 1944-45 Season.) Nevertheless, Kate Smith’s Friday night successes resulted in 49 points.  (See Kate's Great Song on this site.)    

4/ People Are Funny began its Network Radio run on NBC’s Friday schedule in 1942, two seasons after the similar stunt show, Truth Or Consequences, debuted. The listening public immediately took to John Guedel’s People production, hosted in its first season by Art Baker, succeeded a year later by its co-creator, Art Linkletter. During People Are Funny’s six seasons on Friday the show finished in second place twice and once each in third, fifth, sixth and seventh for 41 points. It was then moved to Tuesday night where it enjoyed even greater success. (See People Are Funny and A John Guedel Production on this site.)

5/ Hollywood Hotel established Hearst movie columnist Louella Parsons as a radio star. The gushing “Lolly” and her singing co-host Dick Powell ushered scores of movie stars through their CBS variety hour over the show’s five season run. (The film actors appeared in skits and interviews without pay to curry the influential columnist’s favor.) Attracting listeners who were eager to hear their movie favorites appear on the show, Hollywood Hotel registered one season as Friday’s Number One show, two in second place, and one each in fourth and seventh place for 39 points.

6/ The Fat Man, portrayed by veteran radio actor J. Scott Smart, preceded This Is Your FBI on ABC’s Friday schedule for five successful seasons from 1946 to 1951. The private eye series, for which creative credit was superfluously given to author Dashiell Hammett, rose in successive seasons from eighth place to seventh to fourth and capped its run with two consecutive finishes as Friday‘s Number One show with a total of 34 points.  (See The Curse of Dashiell Hammett.)

7/ The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet bounced between the CBS and NBC Sunday schedules for five seasons until it found a home and sizable audience in ABC’s Friday night lineup in 1949. The family sitcom, starring former bandleader Ozzie Nelson and his vocalist wife Harriet Hilliard, later enjoyed 14 highly rated years on ABC-TV. But before leaving Friday radio, the couple registered one season each in the eighth, fourth, second and first place for 29 points.  (See Ozzie & Harriet.)

8/ Cities Service Concerts was symbolic of classical and traditional music’s popularity in the early days of Network Radio. When the Golden Age began in 1932, Cities Service Concerts had already been a fixture on NBC’s Friday schedule for five years. And in one of radio’s truest demonstrations of sponsor loyalty, Cities Service Petroleum remained the program’s sponsor on NBC through its conversions to Highways In Melody and The Band of America for 29 consecutive years. The program’s greatest popularity, however, was in its earliest years when it starred young soprano Jessica Dragonette. From 1932 to 1937 Cities Service Concerts placed once in fourth place, once in fifth, twice in sixth and once in ninth for 24 points.

9/ The Adventures of The Thin Man was, like First Nighter, a highly traveled program - making three network stops on five nights at five different times over its eight year run from 1941 to 1949. The smartly scripted and acted detective comedy series based on the Dashiell Hammett ‘s husband and wife sleuths, starred Claudia Morgan as Nora Charles with Les Damon, Les Tremayne and David Gothard alternating as Nick. The Adventures of The Thin Man hit Friday’s Top Ten four times, once each in second, fourth, seventh and ninth place for 22 points.  (See The Curse of Dashiell Hammett on this site.)

10/ The Life of Riley made movie tough guy William Bendix a sitcom star as the lovable blue collar husband and father of two teens, Chester A. Riley. Bendix also gave America a catch phrase which he uttered in frustration in nearly every show, “What a revoltin’ development this is!“ With Bendix and a strong supporting cast of veteran radio character actors, The Life of Riley enjoyed three successful seasons on NBC’s Saturday schedule before moving to Friday in 1948 where it scored two consecutive third place finishes and one in sixth for 21 points.

The other five eligible weekly programs with at least three Top Ten finishes on Friday were The March of Time - 20 points, Jimmy Durante & Garry Moore and Phil Baker - 19 each, Grand Central Station - 12, and The Court of Human Relations - 9.

Multiple Runs: As noted earlier, Multiple Runs ruled Friday night. Those Multiple Run shows that would have overturned the order of Friday’s All Time Top Ten were Lowell Thomas News in first place with 102 points, Amos & Andy in second with 86. H.V. Kaltenborn’s nightly news/comment would have wedged in between The Fat Man and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet with 33 points, The Lone Ranger tied Ozzie & Harriet at 29 and Beulah was the fifth Multiple Run winner on Friday with 23 points.

            Copyright © 2015 Jim Ramsburg, Estero FL    Email: tojimramsburg@gmail.com