''The Hour of Charm'' 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 ...

music program. It debuted 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 ...

on May 18, 1934, and had its final broadcast on CBS on May 2, 1948. The program also was broadcast on

Armed Forces Radio The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

, and after its network broadcasts ended, a new version was syndicated via transcriptions.

Schedules

The table below shows the program's varied schedules and sponsors during its time on network radio. Source: ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''

Personnel

Evelyn Kaye from Army-Navy Screen Magazine Number 22

The musical group featured in the program was originally called Phil Spitalny's All-Girl Orchestra. Spitalny directed the group that, as the name implies, was composed only of females. In time, however, the group became so associated with the program that it became known as the Hour of Charm Orchestra. Violinist Evelyn Kaye was the

concertmistress The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signif ...

and featured player. On the air, she was identified only by her first name —as was Spitalny's policy with all of his musicians — billed as "Evelyn and Her Magic Violin". She was with the group from its inception until its disbanding, and she married Spitalny in 1946. Rosalind Green was the initial on-air hostess, a role that

Arlene Francis Arlene Francis (born Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001) was an American actress, radio and television talk show host, and game show panelist. She is known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game s ...

filled later. Announcers were Ken Roberts, Ron Rawson, and Richard Stark. The director was Joseph Ripley.

Critical reception

The trade publication ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' published two reviews of ''The Hour of Charm''. The March 7, 1936, review called the program "a tuneful affair, revealing several excellent arrangements, the better ones being of the South American tang ..." A brief review in the December 31, 1938, issue pointed out several shortcomings of a remote broadcast from the Hotel Biltmore in New York. Daniel Richman described the broadcast as "so laden with arrangements, production trappings, descriptions of the girls' clothes and talents, and so much general excess baggage that it sounded more like the Ford Sunday Evening Symphony than a dance remote." The August 1, 1942, issue of ''Billboard'' reported that

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

considered ''The Hour of Charm'' to be his favorite radio program.

Transcribed broadcasts

In 1951, the

RCA Thesaurus thumb RCA Thesaurus, a brand owned by RCA Victor, was a supplier of electrical transcriptions. Efforts were made as early as 1936 to consolidate The RCA Victor Transcription service with NBC's independent transcription service within the NBC radio n ...

electrical transcription Electrical transcriptions are special phonograph recordings made exclusively for radio broadcasting,Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat, Eds. (2001). ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture''. The University of Wisconsin Press. . P. 263. which wer ...

service launched a new ''Hour of Charm'' radio series. Stations that broadcast the program included WFLA AM and FM in Tampa, Florida.

References

External links

Logs

Log of episodes of ''The Hour of Charm'' from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio LogsLog of episodes of ''The Hour of Charm'' from radioGOLDINdex

Streaming

Audition program No. 5 for ''The Hour of Charm'' from the RCA Thesaurus music libraryEpisodes of ''The Hour of Charm'' from the Internet ArchiveEpisodes of ''The Hour of Charm'' from the Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hour Of Charm 1934 radio programme debuts 1948 radio programme endings 1930s American radio programs 1940s American radio programs CBS Radio programs NBC radio programs American music radio programs