On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
by John Dunning
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Book Summary Information
Author: John DunningEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-05-07
ISBN: 0195076788
Number of pages: 840
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Book Reviews of On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
Book Review: Disappointing, depressing product
Summary: 2 Stars
Why 2 stars instead of 1 star?
Because it lists a ton of shows (in alphabetical order) and has too many pages for it to get 1 star.
Why 2 stars instead of 5 stars?
Here are the reasons:
1) It's missing All-Star Western Theater. This show spanned over 2 years and over 100 episodes and starred Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. The Riders of the Purple Sage appeared in several other shows, and you can find a non-descriptive mention of them in the other shows they appeared in, but not one mention of the fact that they starred in their own show. Not one mention of Cottonseed Clark in the entire book. No mention in the Index. For a show of its importance due to the wealth of talent it had on the show (Dale Evans, Smiley Burnette, Tex Ritter, Johnny Mack Brown, Jack, Jennifer, and Tim Holt, etc), it's not only surprising that this program didn't get plenty written about it, but it's not even mentioned. And when I got this book in the mail and tore open the packaging and sat down to read, I immediately went to All Star Western Theater in the index and in the alphabetical listings, and it wasn't there. The beginning of my depression. How do you miss this entry? How do you miss any reference to this program's existence?!
2) You have around 800 pages worth of alphabetical listings of shows, and the majority of the listings give a very small mention of the show. I wanted to read about Have Gun Will Travel. It took less than a minute to read all about it, and they credited Virginia Gregg with starring as "Missy Wong" rather than Miss Wong. You might as well say John Dehner starred as "Meesah Paladin". What you have for most of these pages is the name of the show, what station it was on, what time it aired, and a brief description that you already know if you went to the bother of looking up the show. So I have a book that, in most cases, tells me what I already know. At this point it might as well be a book that just lists every show ever made, and nothing else.
Looking up Challenge of the Yukon, I knew that there were a few regular Sgt Prestons, but sometimes one of the characters that would typically play a villain or a friend on the show (as well as on the Lone Ranger) would also appear as Sgt Preston. I wanted to find out who that was. Nope! This book doesn't go into detail. Again, a small amount of info on the show, no info on why the Sgt Preston changed so often early on in the show, and as for a cast of characters, it was basically: See Lone Ranger.
3) No mention of how many episodes were part of each show. So if you're an OTR collector and want to make sure you have every episode of a series, this book doesn't give you that information. I know who sponsored some of the shows and I know that such and such obscure show had a 6:30 time slot, but no idea how many episodes. This would've been great information.
4) Inconsistency in descriptions of the shows. Many of my favorite shows had very small descriptions. Jack Benny had 7 pages worth of description. Nothing wrong with that, but there was more information on Frank Nelson's part-time role on the Jack Benny show than there was information on entire programs in most cases.
5) The entire book is an alphabetical order listing of many shows, followed by an index. If you're searching for a subject, such as a breakdown of all the westerns or a breakdown of all the sci-fi shows, you're out of luck. If you are really into Lights Out and want more shows like that, how are you to know that the Mysterious Traveler or Murder At Midnight are shows that you might like as well? Unless you want to read through 1500 shows and see which ones are horror, etc, then you won't know.
6) Because of the format, there's no history lesson here. Which shows started the trend of old time radio? Which ones ended it? Which shows were affected by WWII? There is so much history to old time radio. So many stories that can be told in a book this size. This is a catalog.
7) What if you want to learn a lot more about the individual actors and writers that made up these great shows? There aren't sections for these artists. Just an alphabetical list of shows with synopses.
It'd be great to see a timeline of old time radio, biographies on the bigger stars, great stories from the shows that can put the reader in the seat of a live audience that gets to watch one of these shows play out. I wasn't around in the 30's - 50's so I have no idea of what attending a show was like back then, and I still have no idea. There isn't even a mention of Jack Benny doing a USO tour. Maybe I have to look something up besides the Jack Benny Show. If I do, I have no idea what it'd be. And that's one of the biggest problems in an encyclopedia that is cluttered with thousands of shows that many will have no interest in. How did WWII change old time radio? This isn't the book to tell you that!
If the people who made HISTORICA could write a book on OTR, then that would be a book worth the $75 price. For $75 (I bought mine for $22 and still feel I didn't get my money's worth), you should at least get the number of episodes per show.
Because of how much was left out of the book for the sake of putting in as many shows as possible (while accidentally leaving out very important shows), I can't give this more than a very disappointing 2 stars. And I'm STILL left looking for a definitive Old Time Radio book. Hopefully one will be written before everybody who was around in that era is dead, and we're left with nobody who has first-hand stories to tell.
Summary of On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
Now long out of print, John Dunning's Tune in Yesterday was the definitive one-volume reference on old-time radio broadcasting. Now, in On the Air, Dunning has completely rethought this classic work, reorganizing the material and doubling its coverage, to provide a richer and more informative account of radio's golden age.Here are some 1,500 radio shows presented in alphabetical order. The great programs of the '30s, '40s, and '50s are all here--Amos 'n' Andy, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Lone Ranger, Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour, and The March of Time, to name only a few. For each, Dunning provides a complete broadcast history, with the timeslot, the network, and the name of the show's advertisers. He also lists major cast members, announcers, producers, directors, writers, and sound effects people--even the show's theme song. There are also umbrella entries, such as "News Broadcasts," which features an engaging essay on radio news, with capsule biographies of major broadcasters, such as Lowell Thomas and Edward R. Murrow. Equally important, Dunning provides a fascinating account of each program, taking us behind the scenes to capture the feel of the performance, such as the ghastly sounds of Lights Out (a horror drama where heads rolled and bones crunched), and providing engrossing biographies of the main people involved in the show.
A wonderful read for everyone who loves old-time radio, On the Air is a must purchase for all radio hobbyists and anyone interested in 20th-century American history. It is an essential reference work for libraries and radio stations.
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