This reference work contains exhaustive histories of 31 of network radio's most durable soap operas on the air between 1930 and 1960. The soap operas covered are Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories, Backstage Wife, Big Sister, The Brighter Day, David Harum, Front Page Farrell, The Guiding Light, Hilltop House, Just Plain Bill, Life Can Be Beautiful, The Light of the World, Lora Lawton, Lorenzo Jones, Ma Perkins, One Man's Family, Our Gal Sunday, Pepper Young's Family, Perry Mason, Portia Faces Life, The Right to Happiness, Road of Life, The Romance of Helen Trent, Rosemary, The Second Mrs. Burton, Stella Dallas, This Is Nora Drake, Today's Children, Wendy Warren and the News, When a Girl Marries, Young Doctor Malone, and Young Widder Brown. Included for each series are the drama's theme and story line, an in-depth focus on the major characters, and a listing of producers, directors, writers, announcers, casts, sponsors, ratings, and broadcast dates, times and networks. Profiles of 158 actors, actresses, creators and others who figured prominently in a serial's success are also provided.

The period from 1925 to 1960 was the heyday of the American Radio Soap Opera. In addition to being part of popular culture, the soap opera had important commercial aspects as well that were not only related to their production, but also to the desperate need to sell products or perish. Both sides of this story are traced in this comprehensive compendium. The dictionary section, made up of more than 500 cross-referenced entries, provides brief vignettes of the more popular and also less well-known 'soaps,' among them Back Stage Wife, Our Gal Sunday, Pepper Young's Family and The Guiding Light. Other entries evoke those who brought these programs to life: the actors, announcers, scriptwriters, networks, and even the sponsors. Nor are the basic themes, the stock characters and the gimmick, forgotten. The book's introduction defines the soap opera, examines the span of the radio serial, reviews its origins and its demise, and focuses on the character types that made up its denizens. The chronology outlines the period and the bibliography offers further reading. Together, these elements make a comprehensive reference work that researchers will find invaluable long into the future.

The period from 1925 to 1960 was the heyday of the American Radio Soap Opera. In addition to being part of popular culture, the soap opera had important commercial aspects as well that were not only related to their production, but also to the desperate need to sell products or perish. Both sides of this story are traced in this comprehensive compendium. The dictionary section, made up of more than 500 cross-referenced entries, provides brief vignettes of the more popular and also less well-known 'soaps,' among them Back Stage Wife, Our Gal Sunday, Pepper Young's Family and The Guiding Light. Other entries evoke those who brought these programs to life: the actors, announcers, scriptwriters, networks, and even the sponsors. Nor are the basic themes, the stock characters and the gimmick, forgotten. The book's introduction defines the soap opera, examines the span of the radio serial, reviews its origins and its demise, and focuses on the character types that made up its denizens. The chronology outlines the period and the bibliography offers further reading. Together, these elements make a comprehensive reference work that researchers will find invaluable long into the future.

The first ever guide to 3,800 primary and seconary sources that explore radio's contribution to America's cultural heritage.Index integrates separate listings in Special Collections, Bibliography and Internet chapters and can be searched by program title, person or subject.

Thirteen essays treat children from the pre-Civil War generation to 1950 as active, influential participants in society. The essays are organized into four topics: cultural and regional variation, toys and play, family life, and the ways evolving memories of childhood shape how adults think of themselves.

This book surveys four key broadcasting periods from 1921 to 1996, and includes coverage of the recent impact of cable TV and home video. It presents new data from collections at the Library of Congress and the Library of American Broadcasting. Eschewing traditional coverage of FCC decisions and the physical nature of broadcasting, it considers issues of race, class, and gender while situating the industry firmly within the context of politics, society, and culture -- from cover.

Find biographical information on more than 115,000 modern novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists and scriptwriters. Sketches typically include personal information, addresses, career history, writings, work in progress, biographical and critical sources, authors' comments and informative essays about their lives and work. A softcover cumulative index is published twice per year (included in subscription).