Ted Malone (May 18, 1908 - October 20, 1989)
[DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 180-181.] (born Frank Alden Russell, the son of a
grocer
A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food preservation, packaged ...
), was an American
radio broadcaster
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...
.
Childhood
Malone was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado,
[ the son of Frank Arthur Russell and Grace Aurora Gunter Russell. His father was a minister.] He became interested in oral performance when he attended high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. He was also a debater in college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
, and graduated from William Jewell College in 1928.
Career
Malone had a career in 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 transmit ...
as a storyteller and reader of poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
. Malone's broadcasting style was that of a friendly neighbor dropping by to chat.
He was one of the few broadcast interpretationists recorded in the history of radio. Malone had a career in radio for more than forty years.
Malone began work as an announcer & ukulele soloist at KMBC
KMBC-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside CW affiliate KCWE (channel 29). Both stations share studios on Winchester Avenue in the Ridge ...
, Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, in 1929.[ He acquired his ]pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
, Ted Malone, when asked to fill in for a program by reading poetry. Malone was asked to fill time by reading poetry when scheduled performers did not show up on time. Too embarrassed to use his own name, another announcer introduced him as Ted Malone.[Sies, Luther F. ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960.'' McFarland & Co., 2000. p. 351][ The positive audience response to his reading led to his radio program "Between the Bookends".] Because he felt that "poetry was sissy stuff," he agreed to do the poetry program only under a pseudonym.[ ][ Malone once said of his approach to ''Between the Bookends'': "I never prepare a program. I just get before a microphone and talk and talk and talk. What about? Oh, just small talk on anything that occurs to me."]
Malone's ''Between the Bookends'' program was broadcast on the CBS radio network beginning in 1935 and was presented two to five times a week for thirty years. During its first year of broadcast, ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' reported that the program had received more fan mail than any other network sustaining program. Malone actively sought poetry contributions from his listeners. He published the works in a regular anthology, ''Ted Malone's Scrapbook''.[ Malone also published a regular "Between the Bookends" column in ''Radio Mirror'', where readers were invited to submit their own poetry for cash prizes and had a similar arrangement with '' Good Housekeeping'', where he was the poetry editor between 1940 and 1944.][ Malone was popular enough to be called "The Voice of Poetry" by the ]Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
; when the "Between the Bookends" radio show was in danger of cancellation, the fans of the program were able to convince the network to keep the show on the air.[
His organist in the early days of that program was ]Hugh Studebaker
Hugh Studebaker (May 31, 1900 – May 26, 1978) was an American actor, born in Ridgeville, Indiana, who starred in old-time radio programs. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Studebaker.
Early years
As a student, Studebaker was the male lea ...
. Andy McKay, an associate of Ernie Kovacs
Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer.
Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years afte ...
said that the program inspired Kovacs to create his character, Percy Dovetonsils
Percy Dovetonsils is a fictional character created and played by television comedian Ernie Kovacs. It is probably the best remembered of Kovacs' many TV incarnations. Percy was always introduced with a sweeping flourish of harp music as a "poet l ...
. As his popularity increased, Malone began writing for other programs, and soon became production manager, production director, and program director at his radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Malone began to do other types of broadcasts, such as variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...
s and quiz shows
A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities ...
, and went overseas to broadcast as a war correspondent, providing human interest soldier stories for his listeners.[''New York Times'' October 27, 1989. "Ted Malone, 81; Was Radio Pioneer With Talk Programs", Obituaries.] By 1957, Malone had established his own company, "Ted Malone Productions". The firm offered production and consultation for radio, television and the film industry.[ Malone partially retired in the 1970s.][
]
Recognition
Malone has a star at 1628 Vine Street in the Radio section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.
Death
Malone died in 1989 spending more than 60 years in broadcasting and its development.[
]
Legacy
The University of Missouri–Kansas City is home to the Ted Malone Collection, which includes more than 4,000 scripts from radio programs, more than 20,000 poems, more than 450 photographs and other items related to Malone's career.
Works
His works include:
*''The American album of poetry'', (January 1, 1938)
*''A Listener's Aid to Pilgrimage of Poetry: Ted Malone's Album of Poetic Shrines'' (NBC) by Ted Malone (January 1, 1939)
*''Ted Malone's Mansions of imagination album: A listener's aid to "American pilgrimage"'' (1940)
*''Ted Malone's Scrapbook: Favorite Selections From Between the Bookends'' (1941)
*''American pilgrimage'', (January 1, 1942)
*''Between the Bookends with Ted Malone Volume Five'' (Hardcover - 1942)
*''Pack up your troubles: A collection of verse'' (January 1, 1942)
*''Yankee doodles: A book of American verse'', (January 1, 1943)
*''The Pocket Book of Popular Verse'' (1945)
*''Ted Malone's Adventures in Poetry'' (1946)
*''The All-American book of verse;: Yankee doodles'' (January 1, 1948)
*''Ted Malone's Favorite Stories'' (1950)
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Ted
American radio personalities
1908 births
1989 deaths
People from Colorado Springs, Colorado