''Gateway to Hollywood'' is an American

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

talent show. It was broadcast on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from January 8, 1939, to December 31, 1939. Like other programs from ''

Major Bowes Amateur Hour The ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was an American radio talent show broadcast in the 1930s and 1940s, created and hosted by Edward Bowes (1874–1946). Selected performers from the program participated in touring vaudeville performances, under ...

'' to ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

,'' the show sought to turn relatively unknown people into celebrities. The same title was used by an unrelated program that was broadcast on the

Don Lee Network The Don Lee Network, sometimes called the Don Lee Broadcasting System was an American regional network of radio stations in the old-time radio era. Origin Don Lee made a fortune as the exclusive West Coast distributor of Cadillac automobiles. He ...

in the mid-1930s.

Format

Cities across the United States were sites for auditions for people who wanted to appear on ''Gateway to Hollywood''. Contestants auditioned in teams of one male and one female, with the ultimate winning team receiving a screen test from

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

. In addition to the screen test, each member of the winning couple received membership in the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

and screen names that they would use in their acting careers. Judges were five people from RKO, with criteria for selection being "photographic potential, personality, and dramatic ability." Wrigley's gum was the sponsor. Contestant teams that survived early elimination and appeared on the program performed a playlet with a well-known star. Each round of competition involved 13 teams and lasted 13 weeks,

Personnel

Film producer

Jesse L. Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life Born in to ...

was the host of ''Gateway to Hollywood''.

Ken Niles Ken Niles (December 9, 1906 – October 31, 1988) was an American radio announcer. Niles was born in Livingston, Montana. He was married to Nadia Niles, and had two children, Kenneth Niles and Denise Niles. His brother, Wendell Niles, was also a ...

was the chief announcer and talent coach. Assistant announcers were Cliff Howell and Gary Breckner. Charles Vanda was the initial director, with Lasky taking over that role when the series resumed in the fall of 1939. Ray Wilson was the head writer. Bobby Brown was the producer.

Wilbur Hatch Wilbur Hatch (May 24, 1902 – December 22, 1969), was an American music composer who worked primarily in radio and television. He was born in Mokena, Illinois, and died in Studio City, California.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An I ...

and Carl Hohengarten provided the music.

Selected participants

Winners

*Ralph Bowman received a contract with RKO and the screen name John Archer. *Josephine Cottle became actress

Gale Storm Josephine Owaissa Cottle (April 5, 1922 – June 27, 2009), known professionally as Gale Storm, was an American actress and singer. After a film career from 1940 to 1952, she starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, '' My Litt ...

. She later married her ''Gateway to Hollywood'' teammate, Lee Bonnell, who took the screen name Terry Belmont.

Non-winners

* Kathryn Adams *

Hugh Beaumont Eugene Hugh Beaumont (February 16, 1909 – May 14, 1982) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963; and as private detec ...

Linda Darnell Linda Darnell (born Monetta Eloyse Darnell; October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965) was an American actress. Darnell progressed from modeling as a child to acting in theater and film. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in ...

* Linda Hayes

Don Lee Network program

Beginning in 1936, the Don Lee Network broadcast a program titled ''Gateway to Hollywood'' on the West Coast. It used an amateur-hour format but featured "tried and experienced professional entertainers" who hoped the exposure would give them an opportunity to get into film, radio, or other fields of entertainment. Approximately a dozen acts competed on each broadcast; members of the audience selected each winner with votes submitted via telephone and mail.

References

External links

Streaming

An episode of ''Gateway to Hollywood'' from the Internet Archive — the final round to select the future Gale Storm and Terry Belmont
1939 radio programme debuts 1939 radio programme endings CBS Radio programs 1930s American radio programs {{US-radio-show-stub