The Jack Berch Show
| Other names | Jack Berch and His Boys The Kitchen Pirate The Sweetheart Serenader |
|---|---|
| Genre | Variety and talk |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Syndicates | ABC CBS Mutual NBC |
| Announcer | Joe Bier Eddie Dunn Ed Herlihy John Reed King |
| Written by | Howard Blake Dick Charles |
| Directed by | Dick Charles Henry Hull, Jr. Herb Leder |
| Produced by | Robert Ross Smith |
| Original release | 1935 – 1954 |
| Sponsored by | Fels Naptha Soap Gulfspray Insect Killer Kellogg Prudential Insurance Sweetheart Soap |
The Jack Berch Showwas aradiovariety/talk program in theUnited States.It was broadcast onABC,CBS,Mutual,andNBCat various times 1935–1954.[1]The program at times went by other names, includingThe Kitchen Pirate(1935–36) andThe Sweetheart Serenader(1939-1941).[2]
Format
[edit]The Berch programs featured "light music and informal chatter. When housewives tired of listening to the tribulations of their soap opera characters, they turned for relief to the songs of Berch."[2]
Berch usually began his program with a whistle and a song. In an article in the January 1949 issue ofRadio and Television Mirror,he gave the reason for that: "I was reading the morning paper. Suddenly I realized that the whole front page was full of disaster -- fires, murders, political troubles, jealousy and strife between persons and between nations.... 'Now,' I said to myself, 'something ought to be done about this. And, in my own small way, I'm the guy to do it.' Then and there, in theory at least, the Heart to Heart Hookup and the Good Neighbor Club came into being."[3]
The Heart to Heart Hookup and the Good Neighbor Club were features of Berch's program. Heart to Heart Hookup featured Berch reading "letters dedicated to the encouragement of more unfortunate people in the world."[4]The Good Neighbor Club highlighted good deeds sent in by the program's listeners.[4]
In that same article, Berch wrote: "There's a certain informality about the Jack Berch Show. We like to think of ourselves as coming into your living room for a visit every morning... you'd get pretty tired of stiff and formal guests every day, wouldn't you?"[3]The program featured a variety of types of songs, "from the old favorites to the latest popular tunes fromTin Pan Alley.[5]
The show's ability to not only entertain listeners but to prompt them to act was demonstrated in 1950. After a listener wrote to Berch requesting used Christmas cards for a project, NBC received more than 5 million Christmas cards.[6]
Reviews
[edit]A review in the April 20, 1937, issue of the trade publicationRadio Dailycommented: "Berch offers an enjoyable program of singing and chatting that is well geared to appeal to the feminine ears. Jack's style is friendly, and he slips in the commercial remarks in a manner that makes them easy to take."[7]
Another comment in the same publication four months later said, "The singing of Berch is particularly well designed to give the day a sunny sendoff."[8]On the other hand, a 1943 comment in the trade publicationBillboarddescribed Berch's program as "strictly a long quarter-hour of flimsy whimsy."[9]
Personnel
[edit]Musicians heard on the programs includedJerry Colonna,Raymond Scott,Johnny Williams,[10]Nick Tagg,[11]John Gart,Carl Kress,Sammy Prager,[12]Mark Warnow,Charles Magnante,[2]Tony Mottola,andGeorge Wright.[13]
Ed Herlihy,[14]John Reed King,[12]Eddie Dunn, and Joe Bier[15]were the announcers.[3]
Dick Charles was both writer and director for the program.[16]Other directors included Herb Leder[17]and Henry Hull, Jr.[18]Other writers included Howard Blake.[14]Robert Ross Smith was a producer.[19]
Schedule
[edit]The broadcast schedule ofThe Jack Berch Showvaried widely during its time on the air. The table below gives pertinent information.
| Years | Days | Network | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1935-1936 | Fridays | Blue | NA |
| 1936-1937 | MWF | Mutual | Wasey Products Corporation[15] |
| 1937 | MWF | CBS | Fels Naphtha Soap[15] |
| 1937 | Thrice weekly | Mutual | NA |
| 1939-1940 | Twice weekly | NBC | NA |
| 1939 | MWF | Blue | Sweetheart Soap[14] |
| 1939-1940 | Twice weekly | Mutual | NA |
| 1941 | Tuesday/Thursday | Station WHP | Gulfspray Insect Killer[12] |
| 1943-1944 | Weekdays | Mutual | Kellogg |
| 1944-1946 | Weekdays | ABC | Prudential Insurance |
| 1946-1951 | Weekdays | NBC | Prudential Insurance |
| 1951-1954 | Various days | ABC | Prudential Insurance |
Source:The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio,[1]except as noted.
References
[edit]- ^abDunning, John(1998).On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio(Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 363.ISBN978-0-19-507678-3.Retrieved2019-09-11.
- ^abcDeLong, Thomas A. (1996).Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960.McFarland & Company, Inc.;ISBN978-0-7864-2834-2.p. 30.
- ^abcBerch, Jack (January 1949)."World Full of Neighbors".Radio and Television Mirror.31(2): 34–35, 83–84.RetrievedNovember 26,2015.
- ^ab"Letter Praising Work of Mrs. Lester Fry Read Over NBC Radio Stations Today".The News-Herald.Pennsylvania, Franklin. The News-Herald. November 4, 1949. p. 11.RetrievedNovember 30,2015– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^Reed, Ted (August 1, 1939)."Radio: A 'Lucky Bum' Has His Day on 'We, the People' Tonight".Harrisburg Telegraph.Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Harrisburg Telegraph. p. 11.RetrievedNovember 30,2015– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"(NBC advertisement)".Sponsor. April 10, 1950. pp. 60–61.Retrieved2 December2015.
- ^"Air Parade in Review: Jack Berch"(PDF).Radio Daily. April 20, 1937. p. 5.Retrieved28 November2015.
- ^"Program Reviews and Comments"(PDF).Radio Daily. July 20, 1937. p. 6.RetrievedDecember 2,2015.
- ^"Comment".Billboard. November 6, 1943. p. 10.Retrieved2 December2015.
- ^Gerhard, Inez (April 22, 1948)."Star Dust".The Waterloo Press.Indiana, Waterloo. The Waterloo Press. p. 2.RetrievedDecember 1,2015– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"Jack Berch Show Heard Over KPLT".The Paris News.Texas, Paris. The Paris News. October 7, 1951. p. 8.RetrievedNovember 30,2015– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^abc"Berch Is Back".Harrisburg Telegraph.Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Harrisburg Telegraph. June 7, 1941. p. 24.RetrievedNovember 30,2015– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"Radio Guide".Altoona Tribune.Pennsylvania, Altoona. Altoona Tribune. March 4, 1947. p. 11.RetrievedNovember 30,2015– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^abcGrunwald, Edgar A., Ed. (1940).Variety Radio Directory 1940-1941.Variety, Inc. Pp. 283, 457.
- ^abcGrunwald, Edgar A., Ed. (1938).Variety Radio Directory 1938-1939.Variety, Inc. P. 353.
- ^Pincus, Herman (August 10, 1945)."Words and Music"(PDF).Radio Daily. p. 6.Retrieved2 December2015.
- ^"Coming and Going"(PDF).Radio Daily. March 1, 1946. p. 2.Retrieved2 December2015.
- ^"Dial Chatter".The la Crosse Tribune.Wisconsin, La Crosse. The La Crosse Tribune. January 12, 1952. p. 7.RetrievedNovember 30,2015– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^Alicoate, Jack, Ed. (1951).The 1951 Radio Annual.Radio Daily Corp., p. 987.