Major Bowes

Edward Bowes
Major Bowes as hisAmateur Hourbecame a national radio program in 1935
Born	June 14, 1874 San Francisco, California,U.S
Died	June 13, 1946(1946-06-13)(aged 71) Rumson, New Jersey,U.S
Pen name	Major Bowes
Occupation	Radio personality
Spouse	Margaret Illington ​ ​ (m.1910; died 1934)​

Edward Bowes(June 14, 1874 – June 13, 1946), professionally known asMajor Edward Bowes,was an Americanradiopersonality of the 1930s and 1940s whoseMajor Bowes Amateur Hourwas the best-known amateur talent show on radio during its 18-year run (1935–1952) onNBC RadioandCBS Radio.

Early life and radio career

Bowes’ father died when he was six years old, and young Edward worked as he could to augment the family income. After leaving grammar school he worked as an office boy, and then went into the real estate business, until the cataclysmic1906 San Francisco earthquakewiped out his fortune. He then moved toNew York Cityin search of other opportunities, soon realizing that the theatrical world was lucrative, and he worked busily in New York as a musical conductor, composer, and arranger. He also producedBroadwayshows such asKindlingin 1911–12 andThe Bridal Pathin 1913. He was married toKindlingstarMargaret Illingtonfrom 1910 until her death in 1934.

He became managing director of New York'sCapitol Theatre,which he ran with military efficiency. He insisted on being addressed as "Major Bowes," a nickname that sprang from his earlier military rank, though historians are divided on whether he was an active duty officer inWorld War Ior held the rank as a member of the Officer Reserve Corps.

Bowes brought his best-known creation to New York radio stationWHNin 1934. He had actually hosted scattered amateur nights on smaller stations while manager of the Capitol. Within a year of its WHN premiere,The Original Amateur Hour—its original name, according to historianGerald Nachman,wasMajor Bowes and His Capitol Family—began earning its creator and host as much as $1 million a year, according toVariety.

The rapid popularity ofThe Original Amateur Hourmade him better known than most of the talent he featured. Some of his discoveries became stars, includingoperastarsLily Pons,Robert Merrill,andBeverly Sills;comedianJack Carter;pop singerTeresa Brewer;andFrank Sinatra,fronting a quartet known as theHoboken Fourwhen they appeared on the show in 1935.

The show consistently ranked among radio's top ten programs throughout its run. Bowes' familiar catchphrase "Round and round she goes, and where she stops nobody knows," was spoken in the familiaravunculartones for which he was renowned, whenever it was time to spin the "wheel of fortune," the device by which some contestants were called to perform. In the early days of the show, whenever a performer was simply too terrible to continue, Bowes would stop the act by striking a gong (a device that would be revived in the 1970s byChuck Barris's infamousThe Gong Show). Bowes heard from thousands of listeners who objected to his terminating these acts prematurely, so he abandoned the gong in 1936. Nachman recorded that Bowes, "a businesslike fellow with a mirthless chuckle who, unlike mostemcees,had a gift for nongab, "went out of his way to make contestants feel at ease, often taking them to dinner before their appearances. Nachman credits Bowes for featuring more black entertainers than many network shows of the time.

Death and legacy

The grave of Major Edward Bowes and wifeMargaret IllingtoninSleepy Hollow Cemetery

Major Bowes died on the eve of his 72nd birthday at his home in the New Jersey suburb ofRumson, New Jersey.The following week, his talent coordinatorTed Macktook over hosting duties. Nineteen months after Bowes' death, on January 18, 1948, the program, with Mack as host, debuted on the DuMont Television Network. As a measure of the affection attached to Bowes' name, the show continued to be calledMajor Bowes' Original Amateur Houruntil the 1950-51 season, when it became simplyThe Original Amateur Hour,and in 1955 becameTed Mack and the Original Amateur Hour.Mack continued to host the show throughout the remainder of its run, during which it ran on all four major networks, until 1970. The radio version, also with Mack, ran until 1952.

Bowes was referred to in Cab Calloway's "I Love to Singa" from the movieThe Singing Kid(1936), and in the Dorothy Fields lyrics for "Never Gonna Dance," from the Astaire-Rogers filmSwing Time(1936). He is also referenced in the songI'm Still Herefrom Sondheim's 1971 musicalFollies.

Major Bowes is referenced in twoThe Twilight Zoneepisodes: "Static"(1961), where his show is heard on a mysterious radio that tunes into channels that no longer exist; his famous catch phrase" round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows, "is mentioned; as well as the episode “Young Man’s Fancy”(1962).

Bowes was a benefactor of the Catholic Church. Our Lady of Victory Church in Lower Manhattan is built on land donated by Bowes. Also, the auditorium at Archbishop Stepinac High School inWhite Plainsis named in his honor. He donated some of the rare books at St. Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers.

In 1939, Major Bowes donated his multi-acre Ossining estate,known as "Laurel Hill," to the Lutheran Church, where it is still being enjoyed as an ecumenical retreat center. Run by a board of Lutheran lay persons and clergy, it is known as Major Edward Bowes Memorial Retreat, and operates year-round for students, church, and community groups in the greater New York metro area.

Further reading

• Gerald Nachman,Raised on Radio(New York: Pantheon Books, 1998)

External links

• Edward BowesatIMDb
• Encyclopædia Britannicaarticle on Edward Bowes
• Old Time Radio Researchers Database of People and ProgramsArchivedJuly 23, 2011, at theWayback Machine