Radio Roundups by Joseph Gurman and Myron Slager
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:53 pm
This is a 1932 book apparently collecting a "Ripley's "style newspaper comic panel about radio personalities of the day. Each left hand page has text only bios and each right hand page features cartoons and caricatures. Its fun to read about folks such as Jack Benny and Bing Crosby who were just starting out. My favorite is Walter(Gildersleeve, Phil Harris, etc) Tetley, here known for his "Wee Sir Harry Lauder" role, already a radio star a decade before Gildersleeve! Some folks, like Stoopnagel and Budd and orchestra leader Frank Black, who get short shrift in most modern radio histories have considerable coverage here. I found this in a used bookstore about ten years ago. Check your local library or see if they can get it on inter-library loan. If you know a lot about early radio, it's fascinating. If you know very little, it's educational.