Newsletter January 2025

Carl’s Corner

by Carl Amari

THE FRED ALLEN SHOW

By Carl Amari and Martin Grams

Fred Allen’s humor was topical and his material often covered events in the week’s newspapers.  Throughout the 1930s he established a strong position on radio, especially with Town Hall Tonight, a series set in a fictional town.  The program was renamed The Fred Allen Show and its most popular segment was “Allen’s Alley,” which featured a number of local citizens including Senator Claghorn (the initial inspiration for Foghorn Leghorn), Titus Moody (“Moody by name and moody by nature”), and the grandmotherly Mrs. Nussbaum (played by Minerva Pious).  Allen, a master of satire and an accomplished ad-libber, used his fictional neighbors to put a comic, often absurd, spin on current events as well as lampooning other shows and taking a swipe at radio network heads.  For a lengthy spell his real-life wife, Portland Hoffa, was part of the cast and became almost as well known as her husband.  Fred Allen received the Peabody Award (ironically, during a season when he was not on the air) for top comedian of the year and generated some of the highest ratings in radio history.  His technique for persuading listeners to stay tuned to the show was to withhold the resolution of the comic episode until the following week.  Allen’s long-standing (and fictional) feud with Jack Benny, which began back in 1936, benefited both comedians and their respective radio networks.  The two appeared on each other’s radio shows and were good friends in real life.  Allen starred and co-starred in a number of movies, including It’s in the Bag (1945), which he produced.  By 1948, Fred Allen’s ratings started plunging as a result of stiff competition from radio shows that offered “givaways,” in particular Stop the Music.  In retaliation, he tried to insure callers for up to $5,000 against the loss of any jackpot through listening to his show instead of the quiz program.  He also changed “Allen’s Alley” to “Main Street,” proving to be an unpopular move and loyal listeners were further disappointed when he dropped a lead character, Kenny Delmar’s Senator Claghorn, in favor of a Russian named Strogonoff.  Allen ultimately retired from radio and began appearing on TV variety and panel quiz programs (including What’s My Line?), although he had often expressed his dislike for the medium.  “Television is a device that permits people who haven’t anything to do to watch people who can’t do anything,” he once remarked.  

SUPER EXCITING NEWS FROM CARL AMARI:

 I licensed all 41 complete radio series produced by Frederic W. Ziv, the most prolific radio syndicator in history.  All 10,000+ radio episodes have been preserved on Mr. Ziv’s personal 16 inch master transcription discs.  So far, I’ve launched three different Kickstarter campaigns to raise the funds necessary to professionally transfer these 16 inch discs so that the complete series for each can be enjoyed for generations to come in brilliant sound quality! 

If you have pledged to help save these important radio series, thank you!  If not, feel free to learn about these three radio series and their campaigns by clicking the links below.  All three of these Kickstarter campaigns were successful and are now closed.  If you missed out on obtaining these complete radio series, call me to order them on audio CDs or via digital download links.  FYI: The cost is slightly higher than the Kickstarter pricing.  To order, call 1-815-900-7535.  

Bold Venture (all 78 episodes)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boldventure/bold-venture-complete-50s-radio-show-w-bogart-and-bacall

Boston Blackie (all 219 episodes – the Kickstarter says 218 but it is actually 219 episodes)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boldventure/boston-blackie-radio-series-1945-49-w-dick-kollmar-complete

I Was a Communist for the FBI (all 78 episodes)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/boldventure/i-was-a-communist-for-the-fbi-the-complete-radio-series

Thank you for helping to keep these theater-of-the-mind radio shows thriving!  

LEND ME YOUR EARS by Lisa Wolf

KEEP ON LOVING YOU, by REO SPEEDWAGON

RELEASED: 1980

Watch On YouTube

“That song is a yin-yang thing, where there is obviously trouble in paradise in the verses, but I always believed that people are capable of changing, and that if your life runs into a tough spot, it doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to run from it. You can also look it in the eye, and if there is enough worthwhile in the relationship to keep it going, then you give it all you’ve got, and that’s what I did.”   ~ Kevin Cronin, Lead Singer

In the winter of 1980, REO Speedwagon stood at a crossroads. After years of touring and building a dedicated following through hard rock performances, the band was about to release a deeply personal power ballad that would forever change their trajectory. “Keep on Loving You,” born from lead singer Kevin Cronin’s marital struggles, would become more than just their first #1 hit—it would help define an entire genre and era of music.

“I wrote ‘Keep on Loving You’ at my lowest point,” Cronin revealed in later interviews. The song emerged from real-life marital turmoil, with Cronin channeling his raw emotions into what would become REO Speedwagon’s signature hit. The band, known primarily for their harder-edged rock sound, initially hesitated to record such a vulnerable ballad. However, this authenticity would prove to be the very element that connected so deeply with audiences. 

The song has found new life through both streaming platforms and prominent media appearances that have introduced it to new generation – most notably, the 1982 movie “The Last American Virgin”.

Watch On YouTube