''Palmolive Beauty Box Theater'' was an American

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

that featured an operetta or other musical each week from April 24, 1934, to October 6, 1937. It was sponsored by Palmolive soap and produced by Bill Bacher.Dunning, John
''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''
Oxford University Press, New York, 1998, p. 532. Hickerson, Jay, ''The New, Revised Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide to All Circulating Shows'', Third Edition, Jay Hickerson, 1996.Shilkret, Nathaniel, ed. Shell, Niel and Barbara Shilkret, ''Nathaniel Shilkret: Sixty Years in the Music Business'', Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, 2005. Shilkret, Nathaniel, Barbara Shilkret, and Niel Shell, ''Feast or Famine: Sixty Years in the Music Business'', archival edition of Shilkret autobiography, 2001 (copies deposited in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, The City College of New York Archival Library, The New York Philharmonic Archives, The Victor Archives (SONY)).

Nathaniel Shilkret Nathaniel Shilkret (December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982) was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director. Early career Shilkret (originally named Natan Schüldkraut) was born in New York City, United States, to parents ...

directed the orchestra through July 1935, for a total of 70 broadcasts. Announcer Tiny Ruffner introduced "the Palmolive Players, with John Barclay as director and leading man." In addition, there were well known guest stars, with

Gladys Swarthout Gladys Swarthout (December 25, 1900 in Deepwater, Missouri – July 7, 1969 in Florence, Italy) was an American mezzo-soprano opera singer and actress. Career While studying at the Bush Conservatory of Music in Chicago, a group of friends arran ...

appearing frequently.

Productions

Productions included ''

The Chocolate Soldier ''The Chocolate Soldier'' (German: ''Der tapfere Soldat''

he courageous soldier He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

or ''Der Praliné-Soldat'') is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus (composer), Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, ''Arms and the Man' ...

'', '' Carmen'', ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', and '' Hit the Deck''. A complete list of performances through July 1935 is in the archival edition of the Shilkret autobiography. Dunning wrote that the initial run "was a huge success, drawing an estimated 25 million people in its first year and tapering off sharply thereafter." A picture of Shilkret on page 12 of the November 1934 ''Radio Stars'' has the caption, "Nathaniel Shilkret, orchestra director of the ''Palmolive Beauty Box Theatre'', the program that ranks first"; and this was the only program the magazine rated as five stars. As of April 1935, ''Radio Stars'' ranked the ''Palmolive Beauty Box'' as third and rated it four stars. Five broadcasts are in the Shilkret archives, and Hickerson reports that the Christmas 1934 broadcast is also extant. Shilkret ended 20 years as a RCA Victor musician and executive in New York in mid-1935 to become a musical director and head of the music department at

RKO Radio 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-Orph ...

in Hollywood, thus ending his affiliation with the ''Palmolive Beauty Box'' program.

1937 finale

Al Goodman Alfred Goodman (August 12, 1890 – January 10, 1972) was a conductor, songwriter, stage composer, musical director, arranger, and pianist. Early years Goodman was born in Nikopol, Ukraine, (another source says that he was born in Odessa, Ru ...

was the musical director for ''Palmolive Beauty Box''’s remaining two years. The format remained the same, except that in 1937 the length of the show was cut from 60 to 38 minutes, seriously eroding its quality. In 1937, the show switched from NBC Radio to CBS Radio.

Jessica Dragonette Jessica Valentina Dragonette (February 14, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a singer who became popular on American radio and was active in the World War II effort. Early life Born in Calcutta, India, or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Jessica Valent ...

starred on the show in 1937. Her agreement to appear on the ''Palmolive'' program ended her seven-year stint as star of the ''

Cities Service Concerts The ''Cities Service Concerts'' were musical broadcasts which had a long three-decade run on radio from 1925 to 1956, encompassing a variety of vocalists and musicians sponsored by Cities Service. The concerts began with trial broadcasts in the Ne ...

'' on NBC and adversely affected her career as a radio star.Cox, Jim, ''Music Radio: The Great Performers and Programs of the 1920s through Early 1960s'', McFarland, 2005, pp. 99--101. DeLong, Thomas A., ''The Mighty Music Box'', Hastings House, 1980, pp. (198--202 and) 202-206. DeLong, Thomas A. ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers'', 1920 through 1960, McFarland, 1996, p. 82. Dunning, John, ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio 1925--1976'', Prentice-Hall, 1976, p. 467.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: ''Palmolive Beauty Box Theater''
1930s American radio programs American music radio programs NBC radio programs NBC Blue Network radio programs CBS Radio programs

Productions

1937 finale

See also

References

External links