 Radio's own show, Behind the Mic. With a switch of a dial, radio brings you tragedy, comedy, entertainment, information, education. A whole world at your command. But there are stories behind radio, stories behind your favorite program, and favorite personalities and radio people you never hear of. Stories as amusing, dramatic, and as interesting as any make-believe stories you hear on the air. And that's what we give you, the human interest, the glamour, the comedy, and information that are behind the mic. And now with Graham McNamee in Washington, in preparation for the broadcasting of tomorrow's inauguration ceremonies, behind the mic will be carried on this afternoon by the genial master of ceremonies of one of radio's newest programs, Your Happy Birthday. And now here he is, Tiny Ruffner. Thank you, Gilbert Martin, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Well, this afternoon we first take you behind the scenes of NBC's hookup for the broadcast of the inaugural ceremonies from Washington, D.C. Then an audition of two singers for a possible sustaining spot on the NBC Blue Network. More humorous mistakes, your favorite announcers made on the air. A salute to an old favorite program, A Man from Cooks with Malcolm Le Prud. And finally, a powerful human interest story behind radio's oldest dramatic show, Still on the Air, Death Valley Days. Tomorrow will mark an historic occasion for the first time in the history of the United States, a president will be inaugurated for a third term. This afternoon, we give you the pre-inauguration behind the mic scene. We take you to Washington to the various points from which the description of the inauguration will be broadcast to the United States and to most of the rest of the world to show you the radio hookup being tested. All so that tomorrow's important program can be brought to you with technical perfection. And now we take you to Washington for these tests, where first you will hear the voice of behind the mic's regular master of ceremonies, Graham McNamee. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the radio audience. NBC's core of 40 engineers, announcers, commentators, and news observers are this afternoon preparing for the radio coverage of the third inauguration of President Roosevelt. More than 24 microphones have been installed in observation booths along the streets of the nation's capital. Other mics are in army bombers, in army scout cars, in the tip of the Washington Monument, in the Capitol Dome, in the inaugural stands at the White House. Let's listen to NBC's men and women behind the mic getting ready for the inauguration. Let's listen to the engineers at work. Woof test, one, two, three, four. Here's some peaks. Woof, 60, woof, 60, woof, 40, woof, 60, woof, 100, woof, 80. One, two, three, four, test. Here's some more peaks. Woof, 60, woof, 80, woof, 80. And covering the Capitol will be Carlton Smith, the presidential announcer. What do you see, Carlton? I see the focal point of the nation's spotlight, the inaugural stand at the United States Capitol Building, where tomorrow a new governmental administration is begun. John Nance Garner, present vice president, retiring from public service after 38 years in Washington, will administer the oath to Henry Agadwalas. And the 79-year-old Chief Justice of the United States will for the third time swear in Franklin D. Roosevelt as President of the United States. Here the drama takes place. Here will be 100,000 persons watching and listening. From here NBC will send its word picture to its tens of millions of listeners. And at the Treasury Building is Buck Hage. Come in, Buck. Buck Hage is talking with my two colleagues here from the corner of the Treasury. We're looking down this wonderful sweep of Pennsylvania Avenue. Way down there I can see the dome of the Capitol floating in this blue haze that is typical of the atmosphere of Washington. Right up here they'll march tomorrow, and we'll watch them, won't we? Here they come right up to our very feet. Then they swing around to the left, go up 15th Street to make one more turn, then come up to the quarter of Freedom, where the President will review them. We see every one of them. We'll expect to hear from you too about those. You know this is a wonderful spot. It was here that that famous picture was taken when the Union armies marched up this very street. There are buildings over there. The Willard Hotel was there. It's in the picture. You can see it sometime if you look at it. They swung up here, came around, finally were reviewed by President Lincoln up further. And then tomorrow, tomorrow perhaps this parade that we're going to see is going to be one of the greatest pageants in all history, as great as any of these others. And with luggage are Patricia Lou Head, age 11, and Townsend Pagter, 10. They'll describe the event tomorrow for the nation's school children from coast to coast, who of course will be at their classes on Monday. What will you talk about, Patricia? I will talk about the inauguration of the first president who has had three terms. It's also the first inauguration I've ever seen. You see those little boys sitting up in those empty seats in the bleachers? You think they'll be over there tomorrow? No, I certainly don't. Any of your friends up there, do you suppose? Well, I don't believe so. But I hope all of them won't be there tomorrow because I want to describe the parade to them over the radio. And you, Townsend? I'm hoping to see tomorrow Franklin D. Roosevelt being inaugurated for his third term. He is the only president ever to be so far to be inaugurated for three terms. That makes it very important. Incidentally, the entire world will hear this inauguration. It will go out in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and German to Central and South America and to Europe. Some 70 stations in South America will rebroadcast the entire inaugural ceremonies. Let's listen to the International Division as we test their mics. Come in, in Italian. And now in French. The Portuguese language. Come on in, in German. The International Broadcasting Company brings the inauguration of a Sunday from the capital city of Washington, according to President Roosevelt's third term as president of the United States. And now finally in Spanish. And that's only part of the vast arrangements being completed by NBC to bring you a ringside seat for tomorrow's inauguration, which you will hear over this station beginning at 11.30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. And now back to New York to continue with Behind the Mic. Thank you, Graham McNamee and the NBC Special Events Division for making this broadcast possible. Now we present another behind the mic first. You are about to hear two singers auditioning for NBC's program board so that they might be considered for a sustaining spot on the Blue Network. But before you hear them, here is Robert E. Button, assistant program manager of NBC's Blue Network to tell you something about this audition. Ladies and gentlemen, Bob Button. Before singers can appear on a network sustaining program, they have to audition before the program board, isn't that so? Yes, Tony. Well, when do these singers audition? Well, provided any have been presented for audition, we listen to them once a week after the program board's business meeting. Incidentally, what does the program board consist of? Well, Tony, the program board is made up of the manager, an assistant manager of the Blue Network, and mostly the heads of various departments. So Bob, after listening to these singers and provided that the board believes that they have real possibilities, does that secure them a spot on the networks? No, Tony. However, when there's a spot open for a singer, it means naturally that the approved artist will get consideration. Well, does this entire board decide who will sing on network sustaining shows? The final decisions are up to the manager of the network. He makes the decisions himself. Of course, the enthusiastic approval of a singer by the rest of the board would certainly influence the manager in making a decision. Incidentally, Bob, who are these singers who audition for the board? They are generally speaking people who have been recommended by the members of the sales force or talent division or other departments of NBC or by members of the boards themselves. If we hear a singer at a nightclub or at a hotel or on a smaller station who seems to have a great deal of talent, such a singer is very often recommended for an audition. In other words, you've got to have a lot on the ball before you get to try out in the first place. Absolutely. Well, this afternoon, Bob, behind the mic is going to present two singers to be considered for sustaining spots on the Blue Network. Now, we're told that the members of the program board will be listening to this broadcast and that next week you'll be back here to give us their reactions. Isn't that so? That's right, Tony. Now, ordinarily in an audition for the program board, as I understand it, the singer usually has a piano accompaniment. But since it's behind the mic who's presenting these young ladies, we're going to give them a better break and use a full orchestra. First, we present Miss Jane Clifton, whose lovely voice has been heard on various smaller radio stations in New York, but who has never appeared on NBC before. Miss Clifton will sing Let's Dream This One Out. It was been a hit at the Persian Room of the Plaza and at other swanky spots. Miss Francine sings I Hear a Rhapsody. Bob Button will be back next week to tell us on Behind the Mic just what the program board which heard you this afternoon thought of your performances. Behind the Mic salutes a program you loved. We in radio believe that radio has a tradition of which it can well be proud, a tradition of good programs that linger fondly in our memory. And so each week we bring you a star or part of a program you used to hear, a program that you loved. Now this afternoon we salute WJZ's first commercial program, The Man from Cooks, sponsored by the famous travel agency, Thomas Cook and Son, written by and featuring Malcolm Le Prud. This program started in April 1925 and ran continuously until the spring of 1939. Now with Malcolm Le Prud in person, we present a portion of that program, The Man from Cooks. This particular program dates back eight or nine years. Ladies and gentlemen, Malcolm Le Prud. One of the great attractions of traveling in Europe is this. The complete change of scene adds a new interest to everything you do, even to such routine matters as three meals a day. Now suppose we look over the map of Europe for a few characteristic settings that give special flavor to breakfast, lunch and dinner. To the average American, his cup of coffee is the most important breakfast item. And you may have heard that it's impossible to get a good cup of coffee in Europe. Vienna is an outstanding exception to the rule. Good coffee is universal in this historic city, which after all introduced coffee drinking to Europe and to America via Europe. This happened more than 250 years ago when the Turkish armies laid siege to Vienna and camped around its walls. Eventually they were forced to retreat and did it so hurriedly that they left behind the most of their equipment and supplies. Among these were bags of coffee beans, fine Arabian coffee, favorite beverage of those old Turkish generals. Now a certain Viennese pastry cook got hold of a bag of coffee and he baked a lot of rolls shaped like crescents. And through the streets of Vienna he went carrying his tray from door to door, inviting the people to drink the Turkish drink and to eat the Turkish emblem to celebrate victory. Coffee and crescent rolls at a cafe on the Ringstrasse, a table on the balcony of your favorite cafe where you can watch the crowds go by and enjoy the atmosphere of this city which can never forget that it's the home of the walls. And when you're there, something of the rhythm of the beautiful blue danube gets into your bones, yes, even into your breakfast. Now for luncheon, a luncheon with pictures, let's hop across the map to Belgium, famous for good cookery. 17 miles south of Brussels on the edge of the field of Waterloo, there's a little tavern where they know how to serve a typical Belgian lunch. And you'll look out over the rolling wheat fields where the most dramatic pitched battle of history was fought 125 years ago. Off to the southwest on a little hill seated on his white horse and surrounded by a few staff officers you will see Napoleon. Watching with troubled eyes the heroic efforts of his cavalry to break the British squares. 4,000 men in steel breast plates surging around immovable rocks of infantry. And you'll hear the sound of the bagpipes and you'll see the kilties of the black watch rise up and swarm down the hill after the retreating French hanging to the stirrups of their own Scots grays. You'll have a glimpse into the past, a mighty panorama of action floating over these fields of wheat that are so quiet and peaceful today. Venice is an ideal setting for dinner. Dinner at Florian's on St. Mark's Square, a restaurant that hasn't closed its doors for more than 300 years. Make it a late dinner with a moonlight view of this square, the most harmonious collection of ancient buildings in all the world. The pigeons have all gone to roost now among the domes of St. Mark's Church. Except for the clothes of the people who sit at the cafe tables and walk about the square, this picture belongs to a thousand years ago, to the days when the Venetian galleys sailed up the Grand Canal with their cargoes of silks and spices from the east. Dinner in the moonlight on St. Mark's Square. Yes, we all remember those travel hours with the men from Cook's and we remember how pleasant it was to go to Europe in those days. Do you think it'll ever be the same again, Mr. Le Prade? Yes, I do, tiny. Nothing can end the romance of travel. Europe will again be Europe. There'll always be an old world. And the man from Cook's to tell us about it, I sincerely hope. Thank you, Malcolm Le Prade, for recreating such a fine program. Studies in radio. Presenting odd little true-behind-the-mic stories that help make radio sometimes amusing, sometimes exasperating, but always interesting to the people in it. This week's oddity. Examples of fluffs are mistakes of your favorite announcers, which we presented to you twice before in this program, have been so entertaining that we decided to bring you more of them with some fluffs of other personalities thrown in. A few years ago, Mel Allen in announcing a comedy program was supposed to say, pick and pat in pipe-smoking time. But it came out like this. Pick and pat in smite-poking time. An announcer who will be anonymous announcing the demise of a United States senator was supposed to say, today this famous senator died of septicemia. But he actually said, today this famous senator died of skepticism. Deems Taylor in introducing Sigmund Romberg was supposed to say, Sigmund Romberg is a great fern fan. Here's what he said. Sigmund Romberg is a great fern can. Gabriel Heder, well-known commentator when somebody was supposed to say, this is a fine state of affairs when we have privately manufactured munitions. But it came out like this. This is a fine state of affairs when we have privately manufactured musicians. And finally, a former guest of this program, CJ Ingram, on his own show and interviewing a movie actress said, tell me, Miss So-and-so, what was the dirt of your birth? Now, for a real life story behind the oldest traumatic half-hour program still on the airwaves and now going into its 11th consecutive year, I mean the Pacific Coast Borax Company's Death Valley Days, which dramatizes true stories of the pioneers who settled the Old West told by people who live in the famous Death Valley section of California today. After one broadcast, a letter was received addressed to the narrator of Death Valley Days, the Old Ranger. He's the man who tells these stories which are dramatized. Here is Jack McBride in the character of the Old Ranger to read us the actual letter he received from a woman listener after the broadcast. Ladies and gentlemen, the Old Ranger. And now, Old Ranger, will you please read us that letter? It was written to me by a woman in Ohio for obvious reasons I won't mention her name. It said, Dear Old Ranger, here is a true life drama that even you have never thought possible. One of your stories saved two lives, my babies and mine. It was in late summer. One night my husband left me and my child. He'd done it many times before, sometimes for weeks at a stretch. It was on a Thursday that this happened. I thought we were just in his way and would be better off dead. So I made plans to kill both my baby and me that night. It was just getting dark here when I happened to remember that it was Death Valley Days time. I hadn't missed a program since it started, so I tuned in and sat down with my little two-year-old boy in my arms. Finally, the story came. And incidentally, tiny, this ain't in the letter, but I play the part of Pratt in this Death Valley Days story. And now the letter goes on. It told of a lady that was running a neatin' place. For some reason, she had no use for men at all. And as soon as they'd finished eating, she made them clear out. This night, one of them lingered on. He'd offered her a job to go into partnership with him. At first, she didn't want to, but... What's that you said, Pratt? I want you to go along as my partner in the business. Me? Yes. You see, my scheme is to have a combination store and neatin' place where folks can stop their teams and get outfitted in Fed. Yeah? Well, I can run the store part of it, but you see, I got to have help with the restaurant. I need somebody who knows how to feed folks and feed them well. Well, somebody just like you. Oh, thank you. Tell me, how come you picked on me instead of somebody else? Well, you're a blame-good hasher. Besides, I don't want to run no chance of getting roped in by a woman. I was married once. Oh, so you figured you'd be safe with me, huh? Well, I know you like men just about as much as I like women. I hate men, all of them. Well, I don't hold that against you. In fact, I look on it as a distinct advantage. Ah, queer partnership, we'd make. Oh, you're just the person I want. All business, no sentiment, and a darn fine cook. Well, how about it, Mrs. Brasson? I'll do it. There goes on. So they went into business together, and it was just that. It was strictly business. Many years later, a man from the city stopped for lunch. He knew her, but she denied that he did. He'd been the cause of her hating men. When her partner came in, she made the stranger clear out by telling him that she was married to her partner. Then when the stranger left, she turned to her partner and said, I shouldn't have lied like that about our being married, but to see him standing there sneering, I... Well, that's all right. Suppose that fellow that was just here should go repeating to folks what you told him that we was married. Oh, I never thought of that. You know, he stuck me as just the kind of wood go bladding about. Well, you don't think he really would, do you? Well, he might. You'd hate to be caught in a lie, wouldn't you? By him of all people. Well, then suppose we, uh... suppose we turn the tables on him and get married. Pat, after all these years, well, I thought you was a woman-hater. Besides, I'm an old woman. Oh, fiddlestick. Oh, I'm 59 next birthday. Well, I'm 62 myself, Mrs. Preston. Well, I... All right. Good. By the way, if I'm gonna marry you, I can't keep on calling you Mrs. Preston. Oh, hardly. What shall I call you then? All my life, I wish somebody'd call me baby. All right. All right, that's fine. And, you know, I'd like it if you'd call me Bill. Will you? Yeah. Well, before we get married, uh, Bill, I want to tell you about that man who was just here. Oh, you don't need to tell me anything. Well, I said I'd never seen him before. That's your story and you sticked it. Now, come on along, baby. Now, the letter concludes, that story old ranger put more spunk and pep in me than anything ever done. She didn't let a man lick her and I made up my mind right there that I wasn't gonna let any man lick me either. So with tears I laughed at what a fool I come near being. And the funny part of it was my husband came back about in midnight that night, and when I told him what I'd almost done, almost killing my boy and me, he promised on his knees never to go away again. We never miss your program. See what it did for us. And that's the actual letter. Here's tiny it is. I have the original letter in my possession. Well, thank you, old ranger, for your contribution to our store of interesting crew behind the mic stories. Sure to listen next week when you'll hear the dramatic story behind one of Frank Luther's broadcasts. A salute to an old favorite program, Andy Cinella, his tensile orchestra, and more of the glamour, the tragedy, and the comedy that are found behind the mic. Ray and McNamee will return to this program next Sunday. This is Tiny Wrap New Saying. Good afternoon. This is the National Broadcasting Company.