Kraft Music Hall

Bob Burns will soon be seen on the screen in the Paramount picture coming around the mountain.

He appeared tonight to the courtesy of the Kraft Music Hall.

Bob has asked us to let you know that KMH will go on the air one hour earlier this Thursday.

Our music was directed by Louis Silvers, and your announcer has been Melville Ruick.

I'm your host Mark Lavonier.

Welcome to an hour of variety brought to us by the Kraft Music Hall, featuring Bing Crosby.

Sort of a light year for him on the air in terms of appearances on major network programs, though his music was often heard.

Following this episode, he would appear again on radio six months later on the Lux Radio Theater in an adaptation of the 1934 picture She Loves Me Not, which he starred in, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Music and Original Song, Love in Bloom, which would end up being Jack Benny's theme song.

This episode of the Kraft Music Hall was first heard on NBC on May 27th, 1937.

The Kraft Music Hall, starring Bing Crosby, with Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra, the Paul Keller Choristers, and tonight, back from his two-weeks fishing trip, Bob Burns.

And as Bing's special guest this evening, one of the screen's most charming comediennes, Miss Zasu Pitts, Miss Gale Patrick, star of Paramount Pictures, and Rudolph Ganz, one of America's leading pianists.

And here's Bing Crosby.

It sure is nice to hear someone else say that I'm a Paul Whiteman alumni, because when I say it myself, people think I'm bragging.

But, you know, you're right, Bill, about me meeting Paul at the Palais Royal, but it wasn't 'til 15 years later on The Kraft Music Hall when I finally got to play with the Whiteman Band.

Ain't that right, Paul?

That's right, Bob, but it wasn't my fault.

Ellington started making some of the g- the greatest recordings of his career in 1939 to 1943.

And then at the same time that the Big Band era comes along, Crosby really hits his peak because he becomes an enormous film star, and in 1935, he takes over the Kraft Music Hall and becomes the most popular variety performer on the air.

So, uh, people want to buy the Crosby records.

So Jack Kapp makes a deal with, uh, Sir Edward Lewis, um, who owned, uh, the Decca company in London, and, uh, they really, all he had with Bing was a handshake, and Bing was now being offered big money from every label that was...

Powell's estate was reportedly valued at $10 million at the time of his death.

Dick Powell and Bean Crosby worked together on the radio at least twice for specific featured broadcast guest spots, such as on Philco Radio Time in March 1948 and the Bean Crosby Show for Chesterfield in November 1950, alongside sharing the microphone during Powell's earlier visits to Crosby's Kraft Music Hall in the 1930s and 1940s.

For more amazing trivia, check out the Trivia Tracks podcast on your favorite listening platform.

Till next time, I'm Pryce Robertson.