Opening Lines In Radio Programs

[happyfilmluvguy]

Here is an example of an opening line on the radio. In many episodes of Jack Benny, Don Wilson would start by introducing Jack Benny with a funny line.

Dated 11/23/1947

 

[Fletch]

My dad fondly remembers the opener for Duffy's Tavern:
"Y-ello, Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet t' eat...Duffy ain't here, Archie speakin'..."

And who could forget The Adventures of Superman:
"Faster than a speeding bullet...More powerful than a locomotive...Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound..."

But I think the Lux Radio Theater did it the simplest - and best:
"Sunday, January 28th...LUX PRESENTS HOLLYWOOD!"

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

I think the Lux Radio Theater did it the best (and simplest):

"Sunday, January 28th...LUX PRESENTS HOLLYWOOD!"

Ah but you forget what they said after that. Introducing the host and a description of the film and cast.

 

[jamespowers]

"He's walking into that drugstore...he's stepping onto the scales...(SNICK! CLICK!) Weight: 237 pounds...Fortune: Danger! Whoooo is it? The...Fat Man!"
As an aside, anyone know where you can get the 1951 film of the same name?

Regards,

J

 

[Sunny]

*RRRRING*
- Sam Spade Detective Agency.
- Me, sweetheart!
- Sam!

"Get this and get it straight! Crime is a sucker's road and those who follow it wind up in the gutter, the prison, or the grave. There's no other end! But they never learn."
[The Adventures of Philip Marlowe]

*RRRRRRING*
Ladies and gentlemen, the ringing of that phone bell brings you mystery! Adventure!
"Nero Wolfe's office, Archie Goodwin speaking."

"PERSONAL NOTICE. Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you got a job for me, George Valentine. Write full details."
[Let George Do It]

Tired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... ESCAPE!
Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure!

"Broadway's my beat. From Times Square to Columbus Circle, the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world."
[Broadway Is My Beat]

From Hollywood, it's time now for...
*RRRING*
"Johnny Dollar."

I think you can tell what genre I listen to the most...

 

[Fletch]

"As a bullet train seeks its target, shining rails in every part of our great country are aimed at Grand Central Station, heart of the nation's greatest city...
"Drawn by the magnetic force of the fantastic metropolis, day and night great trains rush toward the Hudson River...sweep down its eastern bank for 140 miles...
flash briefly by the long red row of tenement houses south of 125th Street...
dive with a roar into the 2 1/2 mile tunnel which burrows beneath the glitter and swank of Park Avenue and then...
Grand Central Station! Crossroads of a million lives! Gigantic stage on which are played a thousand dramas daily."

–Opening from Grand Central Station, NBC-Blue Network, 1937.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"From the home of happy feet -- the Savoy Ballroom, in Harlem USA, the National Broadcasting Company brings you the music of...."

 

[Fletch]

"Musical Smoke Rings blown your way by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra...broadcasting 65 stories nearer the stars, from the Rainbow Room, RCA Building-Radio City-New York."

And from a regular program featuring that same band on another network:
"CAMELS - NEVER GET - ON YOUR NERVES."

 

[52Styleline]

Out of the clear blue of the western sky, comes Sky King.

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. With a cloud of dust and a hearty hi-ho Silver. It's the Lone Ranger.

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

"Henry! Henry Aldrich!" "Coming Mother!"

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

*sound of female footsteps

*wolf whistle

*another wolf whistle

Male voice: "Heya, Babsie! How about..."

*sound of Slap!

Female Voice: "Does that answer your question, Buddy?"

Male Announcer: "The Adventures of Maisie - Starring Ann Southern..."

 

[carebear]

My knowledge of old radio is lacking but this thread brought something to mind.

TV shows had similar regular voice intros up through the 80's but now seem to open like movies, with a brief snippet of story before the credits (which I assume has an industry name).

Knight Rider....

A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist.

Michael Knight, A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent,
the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

The Hulk

Manimal

Six-Million Dollar Man

I kinda miss them, hokey as they were.

 

[flat-top]

How about the WWII era sign on by newsman/ commentator Gabriel Heatter: "There's good news tonight...."

 

[Fletch]

TV shows had similar regular voice intros up through the 80's but now seem to open like movies, with a brief snippet of story before the credits (which I assume has an industry name).

That's a trick borrowed from the movies. I'm trying to think who pioneered it and when. I'm thinking it was sometime around 1960.

But yeah, TV.

MAN.
WOMAN.
BIRTH.
DEATH.
INFINITY.

I remember being at the Museum of TV & Radio and hearing the audio from a 1938 TV experiment by NBC. (The video never got filmed...we have less than 10 minutes of TV film from before 1948, total, worldwide. )

The program opened with an orchestral march, and an announcer intoned:
"Pictures...Through the Air!
The National Broadcasting Company presents a program of radio sight and sound - through the medium of the RCA Television System."

It sounded like a filmed intro; if the film ever turned up it would be a priceless find. Meantime, here's a nifty test pattern from the era, such as you would have seen during the half hour before airtime, as you listened to some of those big 16" Thesaurus transcriptions Lizzie has...as an honored guest of one of the 200-odd company big shots who were the only people authorized to have a set.

 

[jamespowers]

Now we have the King of the voice intro being mostly one man who we have hardly ever seen except in a Geico commercial---Don LaFontaine.
Now when movies need an introduction or shows want a deep voice announcing their fares they go to John. Seeing him for the first time, I couldn't believe that voice came out of him. You have heard him before on movie trailers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJMGS7l0wT8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzrerZ0133c

Regards,

J

 

[J.B.]

“Pat Novak For Hire. That’s what the sign out in front of my shop says... It’s about the only way to make a living down on the waterfront in San Francisco. Because around here a set of morals won’t cause any more stir than Mother’s Day in an orphanage...”

“Pat Novak For Hire. That’s what the sign out in front of my office says... It’s up there in block letters but down on the waterfront in San Francisco good printing doesn't mean a thing. You get that on a death certificate...”

 

[dhermann1]

How about the inimitable Milton Cross, with that sing songy intonation saying "Texaco, presents the Metropolitan Opera!"

 

[52Styleline]

I am not LDS, but I am aware of these opening lines that have been introducing the same radio program since 1929

"From the crossroads of the West, we welcome you to a program of inspirational music and spoken word."

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's first network radio program, Music and the Spoken Word was first transmitted on July 15, 1929. The organ, choir, and announcer shared a single microphone which was attached to the ceiling of the tabernacle. The announcer stood on a ladder in order to speak into it.
Since its first broadcast, the program has run continually for more than 75 years and has been broadcast over 4,000 times. The unbroken length of broadcasts makes Music and the Spoken Word the oldest continuous nationwide network broadcast in the world.

 

[Earp]

"Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!"
"Coming Mother"

 

[John in Covina]

Music and location.

I always liked the way a music program was announced, something like :

"From the beautiful Cinnamon Room atop the the Crystal Hotel in Morongo City, we bring you the fabulous Willy Wizenheimer and his orchestra!"

It just brings you there with all the excitement and glamour.

 

[dhermann1]

This was how they did it on TV, and I'm sure it was exactly the same on the radio: "The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports is on the Air!"
(Lizzie: Please correct me if I'm wrong.)