''For the interview program of the same name, see '' Hollywood Star Time (interview program)''.'' ''Hollywood Star Time'' was a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

dramatic Dramatic may refer to: * Drama, a literary form involving parts for actors * Dramatic, a voice type classification in European classical music, describing a specific vocal weight and range at the lower end of a given voice part * Dramatic soprano, ...

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a di ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It was broadcast on CBS January 6, 1946 – March 27, 1947.

Format

A newspaper article announcing the debut of ''Hollywood Star Time'' described it as "featuring big-name movie talent and hit films." The first episode featured

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

and

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in ''Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films '' In the Meantime, Darling'' (1944 ...

starring in '' Seventh Heaven''. Other works presented on the program and leading actors in them included the following: *''The Song of Bernadette'' –

Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby; December 8, 1911February 11, 1976) was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage. He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectabl ...

and Vanessa Brown *''Riders of the Purple Sage'' –

George Montgomery George Montgomery may refer to: * George Montgomery (actor) (1916–2000), American actor *George Leslie Montgomery (c. 1727–1787), Irish Member of Parliament *George Montgomery (set decorator) (1899–1951), American set decorator * George Thoma ...

and

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

*''The Lodger'' –

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wa ...

*''Talk of the Town'' –

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

and Marguerite Chapman."Dunning, John (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925–1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. . pp. 285–286. ''Hollywood Star Time'' was one of several radio programs classified as "prestige drama". That genre included ''

The Screen Guild Theater ''The Screen Guild Theater'' is a radio anthology series broadcast from 1939 until 1952 during the Golden Age of Radio. Leading Hollywood stars performed adaptations of popular motion pictures. Originating on CBS Radio, it aired under several dif ...

'', ''Hollywood Premiere'', ''

Academy Award Theater ''Academy Award'' (also listed as ''Academy Award Theater)''Terrace, Vincent. (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 8. is a CBS radio anthology series, which presented 30-minut ...

'', ''

The Dreft Star Playhouse ''The Dreft Star Playhouse'' was a daytime radio program in the United States, presenting adaptations of romantic movies in serial form.Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925–1976''. Prent ...

'', and the '' Screen Directors' Playhouse''. Radio historian John Dunning evaluated ''Hollywood Star Time'' by writing, "Its production was the equal of ''Screen Guild'' and a notch or so behind ''Lux''."

Personnel

By its nature, a program like ''Hollywood Star Time'' had few people who appeared regularly. The spotlight was on guest stars, who varied from week to week. Nevertheless, a few people did have continuing roles. Beginning October 12, 1946,

was the program's permanent host. The other person heard regularly on the program was announcer

Wendell Niles Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was an announcer during the American golden age of radio and later in television. Early years Niles was born in Livingston, Montana and grew up there. He attended New York University and t ...

. Behind the scenes, Robert Redd and Jack Johnstone were directors, and

Alfred Newman Alfred Newman (March 17, 1900 – February 17, 1970) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Aca ...

was composer-conductor. Milton Geiger wrote the scripts.

Tie-ins with studios

Early on, ''Hollywood Star Time'' had a business arrangement with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

whereby the program had exclusive rights to use of the studio's movies in return for free plugs on broadcasts. Fox apparently was not satisfied with the arrangement, however, and dropped it at the end of 13 weeks. Later, the program obtained an agreement with

Universal-International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

for "exclusive rights to a series of U-I properties for consecutive presentation."

References

{{Reflist

External links

Episodic log of ''Hollywood Star Time'' from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs

Streaming episodes of ''Hollywood Star Time'' from the Internet Archive

Streaming episodes of ''Hollywood Star Time'' from the Old Time Radio Researchers Group
1940s American radio programs American radio dramas CBS Radio programs 1946 radio programme debuts 1947 radio programme endings

Format

Personnel

Tie-ins with studios

See also

References

External links