Monitor: The Last Radio Variety Show

"…’Monitor’ was the first program, the first entity, the first medium, to tie the United States together on a real-time, live basis. Television could not do that. The technology had not evolved. ’Monitor,’ in effect, was the Internet of its day. For all of those weekends, for those thousand weekends, people in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, listening to ‘Monitor,’ were part of a single enterprise, simultaneously hearing the same things and participating. And that, for all of those weekends, was magic."

--Dennis Hart, author of Monitor – The Last Great Radio Show, interviewed by NPR in 2005.

Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4700009

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

Monitor was an American weekend radio program broadcast from June 12, 1955, until January 26, 1975. Airing live and nationwide on the NBC Radio Network, it originally aired beginning Saturday morning at 8am and continuing through the weekend until 12 midnight on Sunday. However, after the first few months, the full weekend broadcast was shortened when the midnight-to-dawn hours were dropped since few NBC stations carried it.

The program offered a magazine-of-the-air mix of news, sports, comedy, variety, music, celebrity interviews and other short segments (along with records, usually of popular middle-of-the-road songs, especially in its later years). Its length and eclectic format were radical departures from the traditional radio programming structure of 30- and 60-minute programs and represented an ambitious attempt to respond to the rise of television as America's major home-entertainment medium.

The show was the brainchild of legendary NBC radio and television network president Sylvester (Pat) Weaver, whose career bridged classic radio and television's infancy and who sought to keep radio alive in a television age. Believing that broadcasting could and should educate as well as entertain, Weaver fashioned a series to do both with some of the best-remembered and best-regarded names in broadcasting, entertainment, journalism, and literature taking part. Monitor and the Sunday-afternoon TV documentary series Wide Wide World were Weaver's last two major contributions to NBC, as he left the network within a year of Monitor's premiere.

Monitor Beacon

The enduring audio signature of the show was the "Monitor Beacon" - a mix of audio-manipulated telephone tones and the sound of an oscillator emitting the Morse code signal for the letter "M", for "Monitor". It was described by one source as "a tape loop made from a sequence of 1950s AT&T telephone line switching tones generated by analog oscillators".

The Beacon introduced the show and was used in transitions, for example, to station breaks, accompanied by the tag line: "You're on the Monitor beacon."

Anchors and Hosts

From Radio Central, anchors and hosts, initially dubbed "communicators", presided over three or four-hour segments of the show. As well-known entertainment and broadcasting figures, they gave Monitor an impressive marquee. Cindy Adams, Johnny Andrews, Jim Backus, Red Barber, Frank Blair, Bruce Bradley, David Brinkley, Ed Brycer, Art Buchwald, Al "Jazzbo" Collins, Brad Crandall, Bill Cullen, James Daly, Jerry Damon, Dan Daniel, High Downs, Frank Gallop, Dave Garroway, Peter Hacks, Bill Hanrahan, Bill Hayes, Bob Haymes, Candy Jones, Durward Kirby, Jim Lowe, Frank McGee, Barry Nelson, Leon Pearson, Tony Randall, Peter Robers, Ted Steele, John Cameron Swayze, Tony Taylor and David Wayne were all communicators during the 20-year run.

Features and Personalities

Remote segments originating from locations around the country were a regular part of Monitor, setting it
apart from studio-bound broadcasts and taking advantage of network radio's reach. A weekend might include reports from a festival in Tucson, a golf championship in North Carolina, NBC's correspondent in Moscow, or on preparations for the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.

Regular segments included "Celebrity Chef", "Ring Around the World", and "On the Line with Bob Considine". On-the-spot live remote broadcasts from New York City jazz clubs on Saturday evenings included both jazz groups and vocalists, such as Al Hibbler.

In the show's early years, weather reports were delivered in a breathy, sexy voice by actress Tedi Thurman in the role of Miss Monitor. Various broadcasting personalities heard delivering reports and segments included Jerry Baker (the Master Gardener), Morgan Beatty, Joyce Brothers, Al Capp, Paul Christman, Marlene Dietrich, Len Dillon, Chris Economaki, Arlene Francis, Betty Furness, Curt Gowdy, Skitch Henderson, Chety Huntly, Graham Kerr (the Galloping Gourmet), Joe Kirkwood, Jr., Fran Koltun, Sandy Koufax, Bill Mazer, Lindsey Lenson, Kyle Rote, Gene Shalit, Jim Simpson, Barbara Waltyers, Ted Webber, Tony ‘Zappone and many NBC News correspondents.

Comedy

In addition to Bob and Ray, several Monitor regulars in its early years helped the show bridge the classic and Many comedy talents appeared through the years including Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Slema Diamond, Phyllis Diller, Bob Hope, Ernie Kovacs, Bob Newhart, Jean Shepherd and Jonathan Winters. The comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May appeared on Monitor, as did Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Bob and Ray, who won a 1957 Peabody Award for their Monitor comedy routines, often remained at NBC during the weekend to step in if technical problems developed with remote segments. In addition to Bob and Ray, several Monitor regulars in its early years helped the show bridge the classic and modern radio eras.Henry Morgan had been a controversial radio comedian in the 1940s. Clifton Fadiman was the legendary host of Information Please, the highbrow quiz show. Mel Allen and Red Barber were familiar baseball voices (respectively, the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers) since the 1940s. Garry Moore rose to fame as Jimmy Durante’s radio sidekick. Bert Parks was host of the radio hits Stop the Music and Break the Bank.

Several radio comedy shows were revived in the form of regular five-minute Monitor segments, including Duffy’s Tavern. Jim and Marian Jordan, better known as old-time radio favorites Fibber McGee and Molly, held down a regular Monitor segment and were said to be negotiating a new, long-term commitment to the show when Marian died of cancer in 1961. Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce, vintage radio's Ethel and Albert, also performed five-minute Monitor vignettes from 1963-1965. Lynch made several of the vignettes available on compact disc for OTR collectors.

The Final Weekend

On January 25 and 26, 1975—just four-and-a-half months shy of celebrating its 20th anniversary—Monitor spent its last 12 hours looking back on its 20-year history (approximately 20,000-plus hours) with hosts Big Wilson and John Bartholomew Tucker. Many clips were played, including Dave Garroway's interview with Marilyn Monroe on the show's first day, Frank McGee's talk with Martin Luther King Jr. in the early 1960s, Bob and Ray spoofing "Miss Monitor" and reporter Helen Hall riding on a roller-coaster.

On January 26, Wilson hosted from noon to 3pm while Tucker hosted from 3-6pm. The program's last guest was Hugh Downs, who talked about his earlier days on Monitor with Tucker. During the show's final minutes Sammy Cahn sang about the show's history ("Monitor: It's Been a Long, Long Time"), followed by Tucker thanking the viewers and staff, after which he said his last farewell. The final sound heard on Monitor was of the "Beacon", followed by the NBC chimes at 5:58:50pm.

Approximately 125 stations still carried the program on its last day; however, very few were in major markets.

In 1983, NBC revived the title for a short-lived news show, Monitor, hosted by Lloyd Dobyns.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_(NBC_Radio)