This weekend, hubby and I grabbed a stack of vintage radio guides, issues of the “Radio Guide”, and paging through them we discovered the joys of ye old radio. Which means today, you get to enjoy ye old radio. Specifically, gems from a bit in the Vol. 8 No. 49, September 22, 1939 “Radio Guide” titled “How Are You On Radio Quiz Games?”

The column features Bob Hawk, “Gayest quizmaster on the air,” who was the host of Mutual’s (MBS) “Name Three.” Hawk was called the “funniest ad-lib man in radio” by Stoopnagle and Bud (”Bud” as spelled in this article) — but Hawk went on to become “one of Chicago’s top announcers” anyway. (Ba-dum-chh!)

“Name Three” was a big dealio, I guess. In 1939, “Time” said this about the radio quiz show:

Name Three, a quiz show based on bank night, is a Monday night MBS half-hour sponsored by Dunhill Cigarettes. Candidates picked from the studio audience, asked to name, for example, three vegetables beginning with S, win $2 for each right answer. If a mike-scared quizee can think of spinach, cannot remember squash or salsify, he wins only $2, and the remaining $4 goes into a jackpot. Near the program’s end the candidates get a chance to share the jackpot by writing answers to a Toughie (e.g., Name three State capitals named after Presidents). If there is still no winner, the money goes into next week’s pot. Biggest jackpot thus far, a three-weeker: $88.

Now, you might think, as I move onto the guts of this Thursday Thirteen, that I’m done with facts — but, nay; we’ve only just begun!

Here are thirteen questions from this vintage “Radio Guide” column. How many do you know? Would you have won the giant $88 jackpot?

From “True or False” (NBC)

#1 A person traveling on a railroad pass is known as a “deadhead.”

#2 A hoofer is a backstage errand-boy.

#3 When you buy a section in a Pullman car, you are entitled to a private room.

From “Dr. I.Q.” (NBC)

#4 Under what conditions may a man purchase his discharge from the U.S. Army?

From “Information, Please” (NBC)

#5 Name the last three Presidents who wore mustaches in office.

From “Battle of the Sexes” (NBC)

#6 What is the difference between an octogenarian and a centurion?

#7 When you eat the following, are you eating flower, bud or leaf?

a) Cabbage
b) Brussels sprouts
c) Cauliflower.

From “Name Three” (MBS)

#8 Name three works which have become famous but are defective or incomplete.

#9 Name three things you should keep.

From “Kay Kyser’s College” (NBC)

#10 Who was lost in Spencer Tracy’s latest picture, “Stanley and Livingstone?”

#11 What was lost in the song, “A Tisket A Tasket?”

From “Ask-It-Basket” (CBS)

#12 Which of these men was the author of the following quotation: “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

a) Abraham Lincoln
b) Thomas Paine
c) Thomas Jefferson.

#13 What furnishes the motive power for ships passing through the Panama Canal?

Answers will be given next week. Feel free to post your guesses in the comments.

================

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

---

Article Tags: bob hawk, mbs radio, nbc radio, quiz show, radio guide, radio quiz shows, Thursday Thirteen, vintage magazines, vintage radio guides, vintage radio programs, vintage radio shows

================

Gotta Collect? Then You Gotta Connect - Join our Collectors’ Community!

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 4:50 am and is filed under collecting fyi, flea market finds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.