The editor of The Daily Planet, Perry White, and copy-boy Jimmy Olsen came from the radio program before the comic pages. Many elements that would become part of the Superman universe began on the radio, not in the comic pages. The Adventures of Superman began on WOR New York in 1940, less than two years after his premier in Action Comics #1. Perhaps the greatest of the comic book heroes was Superman. However, ratings began to slip after the war when there were fewer enemies to chase. As Terry matures, he joins the Army Air Corps and fights in the Pacific. Young Terry Lee is a " wide awake American Boy" in the Orient having adventures with his mentor Pat Ryan and a captivating cast of characters. She was a tough girl who wasn't afraid to scrap when it was needed.Īnother Funny Page success that came to the radio for kids is Terry and the Pirates.
Annie was not the spunky kid belting out "The sun will come out, Tomorrow…" whom modern kids know. Little Orphan Annie began as a comic page hit, and came to the radio in 1930. A list of favorites will almost sound like nostalgia cliché's: Little Orphan Annie, The Lone Ranger, Howdy Doody Time, The Green Hornet, Terry and the Pirates, Tom Mix and more. The Network Serials are some of the best loved and remembered. Soon there is so much exposition at the beginning of the program there is little time for the story, but this keeps us from getting lost. At 15 minutes apiece, the episodes are a lot of fun. Somehow, they must escape the island and find their way back to Los Angeles. They find her daughter on a man-made island, ruled by beings of enormous intellect. Gregory is setting out to find her long lost daughter in the South Seas. Listeners can expect to be carried all over the place on the way to that ending point! In the very first episode, we learn that Mrs.
The Magic Island (1935) is a closed serial that is the story arc has a definite ending point. Jerry at Fair Oaks follows those adventures. One day the circus owner, who has become Jerry's guardian, convinces Jerry that the best thing for his future would be to attend a Military School. In the series, Circus People do not meet the images we have of carneys today they are honest and hard working, and Jerry has a great upbringing.
Although not as well received as Cinnamon Bear, the series is exceptionally well done and presents some familiar Lewis Carroll-like characters, slightly refurbished.Īlso in 1937 Bruce Eells brought us Jerry of the Circus, the story of a young man who joins the circus after his parents die. The following year Jonathan Thomas and His Christmas on the Moon came out in the same 26 day format. The show remains well loved to this day, and many department stores advertise Paddy O'Cinnamon as Santa's right hand man. Some stations would jump the gun in Portland, Oregon, the tale finishes on Christmas Eve because it starts on Thanksgiving Day. Producer Bruce Eells gathered an incredible radio cast including Howard McNear, Gale Gordon, Barbara Jean Wong and Joseph Kearns, and created a lovely story, designed to play every afternoon between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This occurred with superb effect in the 1937 Christmas shopping season with The Cinnamon Bear. The Syndicated Serials were packaged and sold to local broadcasters in a form that would allow them to inject local advertising. The Cereal Serials were usually products of the networks and advertisers of national products. Of course, the serial format also ensured that the kids would come back, day after day, to see what would happen to their favorite characters. Advertisers made sure that young cereal eaters would want to be a Straight Shooting Cowboy just like Tom Mix, and if they ate Quaker Oats or Tootsie Rolls, they would always get their man like Dick Tracy. Like the Soap Opera, which targeted mothers, the popular Cereal Serials targeted their product at the consumer most likely to want it. Wholesome characters and an uplifting or moral message were always part of the story, but the show's main purpose was to sell the sponsor's product. With remarkably few exceptions, Children's programming from the Golden Radio Era (and into the early Television Age) made little pretense of "educating" kids. Producers and advertisers knew that, even though kids may not make the major purchasing decisions in the home (which is why the housewife is the target audience of the daytime Soap Operas), children and their desires did have a lot of influence on how a family's money got spent. Radio Shows for kids were a natural fit for producers, just like Saturday Morning cartoons during the Television age.