Nostalgia Radio’s All-Time Favorites, Vol. 1 - Abridged

CBS Radio, Inc. is one of the largest major-market broadcast media operators in the United States and the undisputed leader in news and sports radio. Producing original audio and video content, live events, and exclusive programming broadcast via on-air, online, and mobile platforms, CBS Radio reaches more than 72 million consumers nationwide each week. As a part of CBS Corporation, the division owns and operates 117 radio stations in 26 markets.

Frank Sinatra (1915–1998) was a singer, actor, and producer and one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the twentieth century. He has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film, music, and television. He won eleven Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in From Here to Eternity.

Jack Benny (1894–1974) was an American comedian; vaudevillian; radio, television, and film actor; and violinist. Widely considered to be one of the top entertainers of the century, Benny portrayed his character as a miser, playing his violin badly. In character, he would claim to be thirty-nine years of age, regardless of his actual age. Benny was known for his impeccable comedic timing and the ability to create laughter with a pregnant pause or a single expression. His radio and television programs, popular from the 1930s to the 1970s, were a major influence on the sitcom genre.

Herbert Marshall (1890–1966) began his acting career on stage, working in London before the film era. Thanks to his mellow baritone voice, he easily made the transition from silent film to radio and sound movies. His versatility brought him roles in comedy and drama, playing everything from romantic lead to military officer, priest, and doctor—with varying degrees of villainy. By the 1950s, he lent his voice to some early sci-fi classics like Riders to the Stars, Gog, and The Fly, as well as early television playhouse programs and such series as 77 Sunset Strip.

James Francis “Jimmy” Durante (1893–1980) was an American singer, pianist, comedian, and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, New York accent, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and prominent nose helped make him one of America’s most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s. He often referred to his nose as the “Schnozzola” (from the Yiddish schnoz [nose]), and the word became his nickname.

Boris Karloff (1887–1969), born William Henry Pratt in England, adopted the stage name of Boris Karloff when he joined a touring company in Canada. When he ended up short of cash in Hollywood, he secured acting work in silent films, beginning in 1920. He appeared in eighty films before his big break came in 1931 when cast as the monster in Universal Pictures’ production of Frankenstein. On Broadway, he appeared as the murderous Brewster brother in the hit Arsenic and Old Lace, and a decade later he enjoyed a long run in Peter Pan, perfectly cast as Captain Hook. He was an actor also known for his voice work. He was the biggest star to lend his voice to a sound effect: Universal added his anguished scream over the dead Ygor from Son of Frankenstein (1939) to its stock sound effects library and used it for subsequent films, including House of Frankenstein (1944) as the cry when Daniel the hunchback falls from the roof. He provided the voice of the Grinch in the original 1966 animated film version of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and his voice was the basis for Tony the Tiger commercials by Kellogg’s. He also narrated many successful recordings of children’s stories. He won the AudioFile Earphones Award for his reading of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories, praised for his eloquent locution and full repertoire of creature voices delivered in his “inimitable style” And Library Journal says the stories are “read to perfection by Boris Karloff.”

Dick Powell (1904–1963) was a popular actor and singer who later became an Academy Award–winning director and producer for both television and movies. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he began acting in romantic leading man roles, but in 1944, his career changed dramatically when he was cast in the first of a series of noir films as private detective Philip Marlowe. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

John Dehner (1915–1992) began his career as an animator for Walt Disney Studios. He later worked as a DJ and professional pianist before finding work as an actor. He has dozens of films, television appearances, and radio shows to his credit in a wide range of genres. It was his rich voice and somewhat flamboyant demeanor that earned him roles in many Westerns and adventure films.