by Gerald Nachman
Whenever I read a book that makes many historical references, the first thing I do is check out the entries on subjects I know, to see if the book can be considered accurate. Unfortunately, I found quite a few errors in Raised on Radio. (They are listed in the Cave Canem). I therefore have to regard all the information he gives on subjects that I don’t know, to be suspect.
Raised on Radio isn’t a reference book per se, like the error-riddled Same Time, Same Station, it’s more a narrative history in the vein of Leonard Maltin’s The Great American Broadcast. His chapters include several on comedians (‘’Wise Guys Finish First, ’’ ‘’Jokes, Inc.’’), Westerns (‘’Saddle Sore’’), ethnic comedy (‘’No WASPs Need Apply,’’ ‘’A Voice of Another Color’’), crime shows (‘’Radio Noir – Cops and Grave Robbers’’) and soap operas (‘’The Soap Factory’’). Within these chapters are reminiscences of actors, writers, sound effects artists, etc.
Unlike Maltin, Nachman takes a hard look at the ‘dark side’ of radio – the egos of certain actors and directors, the racism of Amos and Andy and other comedy shows, and the sexism (Maltin covers this in an entire paragraph about how there were no announcing jobs for women in radio; Nachman points out the stereotypical roles women had to play in several of his chapters.) The harm the blacklist did to radio actor’s careers is not really dwelt on in either book, but it and Joe McCarthy are at least mentioned several times in Nachman’s.
Nachman also rides on the gay subtext bandwagon. He gets in little comments whenever he can. For example, The Lone Ranger was a former Texas Ranger whose company had been ambushed and killed by the Butch Cavendish gang – only one, badly wounded, survives. Nachman says: ‘’’’Me….Tonto,’’ the Indian introduced himself to the wounded Texas lawman, John Reid. Nestled in the arms of Tonto, Reid gasped, ‘’What happened to the other Rangers….’’ Nestled in the arms of Tonto? More likely Tonto was busy binding the Ranger’s wounds, or perhaps supporting his head with one arm while he gives him water to drink.
Another example, Batman. Nachman says, ‘’It was almost as if Donald Trump were to lead a secret life fighting crime in New York dressed in fruity blue tights and boots (no doubt where rumors started that Batman and Robin were more than just friends).’’
Actually, very few radio listeners in the 40s would have gotten that idea from the comic books, or from the radio (Batman and Robin appeared frequently on the Superman program, they never had their own show). It was not until the 60s [and the advent of gays demanding recognition as human beings with rights] with the debut of the television program that it was felt necessary to introduce ‘Aunt Harriet’ into the Wayne household so that more sophisticated audiences wouldn’t get the incorrect idea regarding the relationship between Batman and Robin. [There’s definitely a gay subtext in the latest Batman movies, but that’s because producer Joel Schumacher put it there.]
Nachman critiques many radio programs and why they succeeded or failed throughout the years (he concentrates mainly on the comedy programs in this, complaining that all the drama series are now creaky), giving good food for thought regardless of whether or not you agree with his conclusions. Unfortunately, his work suffers from his narrative tone, which is full of condescension for the radio programs he professes to enjoy. Quite often when he gets through praising a certain subject, he damns or dismisses it in the next paragraph. This tendency is seen from the very beginning.
‘’…it’s thought of now almost as a frivolous, faintly embarrassing craze somewhere between pinball machines and marathon dances.’’ Nachman says of old time radio in his introduction, leading one to ask, who thinks of it this way? Most of the current generation don’t even know there was a time before television, but those who do know about it, think of old time radio as an important medium. Nachman again says in his introduction, ‘’Of course, it is possible to make too grandiose a claim for radio, which was, after all, simply cheap entertainment, much of it silly and trashy.’’ The same can be said for every entertainment medium – from books to theatre to television to motion pictures. It’s the nature of the beast.
If constant quips don’t get on your nerves, and if you know enough about old-time radio to know when he’s giving accurate information and when he isn’t, this is a book worth reading.
This review copyright
May 24, 2000.
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