 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 radio isn't all on the surface. There are stories behind radio, stories behind your favorite program and favorite personality, 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 tragedy, the comedy, and information that are behind the mic. Now presenting a man whose name since the beginning of broadcasting has been a byword in radio, Graham McNamee. Thank you very much, Gil Martin, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the radio audience. One of NBC's most unusual programs features Joseph Marais. Joseph Marais was born in South Africa on the Bush Felt, and his program, Sundown on the Felt, consists of stirring grammars late in Africa, interspersed with African songs which he has adapted. With his background, it would be strange indeed if he hadn't at least one interesting behind the mic story. He has, and here he is to tell it. Joseph, will you please tell our audience the interesting story you told me the other day? Well, Graham, before I came to this country, I had a program on the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC, a program called On Trek, which was very similar to my present program, Sundown on the Felt. It consisted of dramas and African songs. One evening I was walking on a little street in Soho, London, going to get my car from the garage, when I passed a little native club which was in the basement of a building just off the West End. As I was passing, I heard a man talking Zulu. I turned and saw a magnificent figure of a colored man. My curiosity was aroused, and as I approached him, I heard him say, I beg your pardon, I thought I heard you speak Zulu. Was I right? Yes, I am a Zulu. I'm a South African myself. It's strange finding a Zulu in London. Would you mind telling me what a man like yourself is doing here? Well, of course. I came here with a Zulu choir to sing in a cinema. The rest of the choir went back to Zululan, and I stayed here to try my luck. Oh, so you sing Zulu songs? Yes, of course. Well, I have a program on BBC in which I use African songs. Do you mind humming something for me now, right here? Well, I think, of course. Very interesting. I wonder if you'd come to see me at the studio tomorrow. I might be able to use you on my program. Here's the address, Broadcasting House, Langham Place. Well, Graham, I auditioned him the following day at the studio, and he really had a fine voice. I might add that he was no ordinary Zulu. His name was Tukili, and he informed me that he was a descendant of Quechuao, a famous Zulu chief, and was related to the present Prince Regent, Micheal Iaini. I believed him because he had all the poise and dignity of a noble. Well, the following week I had him appear on my program, and he sang the Zulu song he'd hum for me in the street. Tukili was a tremendous success, and I might add that later, he got several very lucrative nightclub engagements and appeared in the London play. But to get on with my story, I announced that he would appear on our program the following week. The next day, I received a letter from a woman who signed herself Pendula. In the letter, she told me that she always listened to my program with a great deal of effort. And she said, well, I'm going to do it. In the letter, she told me that she always listened to my program with a great deal of interest. But she had a particular interest in wanting to come to my next week's broadcast, and would I please send her a ticket? Which I did. The following day, after the broadcast, a very dignified colored woman approached me and said in perfect English, How do you do, Mr. Marry? I wrote you a letter last week, and it was very kind of you to send me a ticket. Oh, yes. Your Pendula. Yes. You see, I listen to your program of African songs every week, because I am Zulu, although I have never seen Zulu land. My father was a chieftain who was exiled from his country before I was born. I was born in England. Oh, were you? Yes. When I heard that man, Tupkele, sing on your program last week, I felt I had to come here. I was very anxious to meet the man who sang that song, because I remember my father singing a similar song to me as a child. And it stirred up in my mind visions of a land I always loved, but had never seen. Oh, I'll be glad to introduce you to. I'm sure you'll both find it. And Graham, those two people, both with royal blood in their veins, were interested in each other immediately, and the interest grew, so that before I left England to come to this country, Tupkele told me that as soon as he had enough money, he intended to return to Zulu land with Pendula as his wife. Thank you, Joseph Marry, for the most interesting, very interesting story. Audities in Radio. Presenting odd little true stories that help make radio sometimes amusing, sometimes exasperating, but always interesting to the people in it. Audity number one. When radio broadcasting first started, studios were not nearly as careful in the choice of their personnel as they are today. Among the almost impossible to believe happenings that actually occurred is this story. A broadcasting executive took a fancy to the speaking voice of an elevator man at the radio station and actually had him installed as an announcer. Unfortunately, the elevator man's knowledge did not quite match his voice. One day, he came up to Milton Cross and said in a puzzled voice, Uh, same mill, I can't quite make out some of this musical stuff. What's bothering you? Well, what does it mean when they give you something like this to announce? Pictures at an exhibition. Masorgsky Revelle. I can't get what they mean by Masorgsky-Revelle. Well, in a case like that, it generally means the first name is the name of the man who composed the music and the last name, the one after the hyphen, is the name of the man who arranged it. In other words, pictures at an exhibition composed by Masorgsky and arranged by Revelle. Oh, I get it. And that's why about three days later, listeners were amazed to hear the following. And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's him to the sub. Audity number two. Ace announcer, Ernest Chappell. We'll take this over because this happened to him. Ernest Chappell. Well, Graham, this is another one of those early days of radio stories. I was an announcer at a station up in Syracuse. One day we were broadcasting an orchestra concert from a theater. Perhaps I should explain that our station was on the top floor of a hotel. It was before the days of special wires, and the broadcast of this concert was transferred over regular telephone wires through the telephone switchboard in the hotel, up to our studio on the top floor for rebroadcast. Well, we'd been on the air for about three minutes, and the orchestra was playing the familiar Libestrom. Love's Dream. When I got a phone call from the studio engineer who said to me, Hey, Chappell, you might just as well cut that music. You're off the air. Off the air? Well, what's the matter? What happened? Well, I'll tell you, you know how our broadcast goes through the hotel telephone switchboard? Yeah, uh-huh. Well, while you were broadcasting that orchestra music, our wire got crossed with another wire in which your husband and wife were having an argument. You should have heard what went out over the air along with that Love's Dream music. It was a done-it. It's not even about a phone to do while you are in service. Listen, I don't have to get permission from you every time I leave town on business. Don't you talk to me like that. Who do you think you are? I'm sure a thing or two. Just you keep that open. So you can see from that, Graham, it was a little wonder that the station did take us off the air. Love's Dream, huh? You mean Love's Nightmare. Thank you. Thank you, Ernest Cappell. NBC's sport expert, Bill Stern broadcast a major football game. Do you ever wonder how, when a player is run off, Bill is able to call off its minute details, details which you as a spectator in the stands would miss, and how he immediately identifies each player that took part in it, how he knows so much about the background of every participant in the game, and in short, how he is able to bring to you in your living room so accurately the football game you hear. Well, here's Bill Stern to tell you about it himself. Bill, you don't pull all that information right out of your hat, do you? Good grief, Graham. I don't have to tell you how to do a football game. After all, you broke me into sports announcing you were a pioneer in all this. All we're doing is copying what you've already done. You know, your name has always been assembled a good football broadcast, and as you know, Graham, the accurate broadcast of the game with all the color material involved is only made possible by the cooperation of the coaches, the officials, and even the players themselves on the various teams. Well, do you mind describing to our listening audience just what you mean by cooperation, Bill? Well, I think the best way to do that, Graham, would be to recreate a telephone conversation between myself and Major Swede Larson, who's the coach and Navy, which I asked the Major for permission to broadcast the Navy Notre Dame football game in Baltimore, which will be played on Saturday, November the 9th. Now, the Major's here in the studio now to help me do this, and so if you don't mind. A few weeks ago, I called the Major to Naples, and I said to him, Hello, Major, this is Bill Stern at NBC. Hello, Bill, what can I do for you? Well, look, Major, we'd like to sort of broadcast that Navy Notre Dame taffy pull you're going to have in a couple of weeks. Will that be all right with you? Yes, Bill, but it won't be a taffy pull. Well, look, we, you know, you have a lot of broadcasting booths down there at the municipal stadium. Now, if you could please let me know the number of the booth that NBC will be using while we can, in turn, inform the telephone company so they can run in the correct wires into our booth. Well, yes, Bill, I'll let you know in plenty of time which booth you have. What material would you like to help you in the broadcast? Major, I wish you'd make me up an alphabetical list of the players with their corresponding numbers, and then, too, I'd like a description of the various players and information about their background as well. Didn't you get most of that in our booklet which we sent you at the beginning of the season? Yes, I did, Major Larson, but I'd like to know if there's been any change in those numbers or if you have any new men on the team or perhaps if some of the boys have been dropped. All right, Bill, I'll have all that material ready when you get down here. Oh, thanks very much. And look, Major, most important of all, I'm going to need a very good spotter to identify your players for me. I'll have a good boy ready for you, Bill, a boy that's been on the squad all season. He knows all the plays and the players and be with you on the press spot to identify our men on the field. Is there anything else that you'd like? Yes, I'd also, if it's not too much trouble, Major, like permission to watch your team practice. I'll try and stay out of the way. I'd like to get a pretty good idea on your formations. Well, that'll be fine. I'll let you know exactly when we'll practice. I'd also like to show you some special plays that we have so that you'll be ready for them when we pull them on Notre Dame. Would you like to watch us on Friday, the 8th? Well, if it's all the same to you, Major, I'd like to watch your team on Thursday. I'll tell you why. Notre Dame is pulling in the Baltimore on Friday, and that's the only day I have to watch them. Okay, that'll be fine with me. And yes, here's one more thing. If possible, I'd also like to see some moving pictures of your Navy team in action. I know that those pictures were taken from the top of the press box, and they're going to give me a very good idea of what your team looks like actually from the broadcasting booth. When you get down to Annapolis, we'll set up the equipment in the jam and I'll show them to you there. Is there anything else that... One more thing, Major, before we say goodbye here. I wonder if you can let me have a list of the songs that your band is going to play during the game and also in the order that they're going to be played. What has that got to do with the football game, Bill? Well, you see, certain of these songs, Major Larson, are restricted on the air and they can only be broadcast by the payment of a large fee. So if you'll be good enough to let me know in advance what numbers you're going to play and in what order that they're going to be played, why, if there are any that we can't clear, we'll just fade down the music and I'll talk right over and the microphone won't pick up those tunes. Fine, I'll have that ready for you too when you arrive. How many tickets do you want for the game? Well, let's see. I'd like a ticket for your spotter. That's the Navy spotter. For the Notre Dame spotter, that's two. The announcer's three. Two engineers is five. Western Union operator, he's the one who gives us the scores. Another ball game is six. And I think I'll need one myself. That's seven and all. Is that all right, Major? That's fine. Is that all, Bill, that I can do for him? Yes, Major Larson. A million thanks to you for your cooperation. Good night. Good night. As if I ever had to tell you, is the real lowdown on how I or any other sports announcer goes about preparing for a football broadcast. For a most interesting interview. And, Mike, congratulations to you, Major, in regard to that grand victory that your boys gave you yesterday afternoon against Princeton. And the Mike 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 your memory. Programs you recall with nostalgic sweetness. And so each week, we intend to bring you a star or a part of some program you used to hear. A program that you loved. And tonight, behind the mic, salutes the old Maxwell House showboat. Who among us that once heard and loved the old Maxwell House showboat program can ever forget it? What a swell program that was, with Charlie Winninger as Captain Henry, Mary Lou, Lanny Ross, Conrad Thibault, molasses in January, Tiny Ruffner, and the rest of that grand group of entertainers. So once more, or a few brief moments, let this program you loved cast its spell upon you as the old Maxwell House showboat wends its way down the swirling waters of the Mississippi. And there's a moon above casting a silvery gleam on the waters, and on the upper deck stands lovely Muriel Wilson. The original Mary Lou of the old showboat, singing a glorious moment from the old Maxwell House showboat, a program whose tradition is still carried on by the new showboat now heard on the air. From listeners. Each week we invite the listeners of Behind the Mic to write us questions about radio and the 304 we consider to be of most general interest. We have answered on the air by the radio editor of some outstanding newspaper or magazine. Tonight's questions will be answered by Miss Betty Coakley, radio editor of the New York Herald Tribune. James J. Connery of Bristol Long Island asks, how are baseball games broadcast when the announcers are not at the actual game and in some instances, not even in the city where the game is taking place? Well, Mr. Connery, in some broadcasts of baseball games, a sportscaster is sitting in the studio receiving reports of the game as it progresses through Western Union tickers. A real baseball expert knows enough about the idiosyncrasies of the players. Their habits went at the plate and in the field and all color material necessary to recreate the game so that the listener at home imagines actually hearing the real game. Sound effects of the crack of ball on bat, crowd noises and so forth are produced by records which give the broadcast an authentic background. Mrs. H. F. Unger of Plainfield, New Jersey writes into ask, do comedians write their own jokes? Well, Mrs. Unger, almost every comedian has one writer or a staff of writers to assist him in preparing his program. One well-known comedian is known to have had from 10 to 12 writers working for him at the same time. But this number is unusual. Mr. R. G. Thompson of Providence, Rhode Island asked this question. Is there a rule in radio that our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, must be played to completion once it has been started? As far as I know, there is no written regulation to that effect. But good taste and respect for the national anthem have suggested the policy that the Star Spangled Banner be played until it's completion. Thank you, Ms. Coakley, for answering those questions. Thank you. In May 1934, anchored in Tagus Cove, the Galapagos Islands Pacific Ocean, was a 32-foot catch, the swap. Its owner was William Albert Robinson, Massachusetts shipbuilder and famed author of 10,000 Leagues Over the Sea and voyage to Galapagos. His crew consisted of his lovely young wife Florence and his cousin Daniel West. They had sailed from Port Washington, New York, on a trip of adventure, the tragedy had struck. In the cabin of the swap, Leigh Robinson doubled up with pain. The pain had crept remorstously over to his right side, down below his ribs, and had concentrated there. Still hurt so badly. It's awful. I think it's appendicitis. Well, whatever it is, we've got to get you to a doctor as quickly as we can. We can steer for guac hill. No good. We'll have to buck too many currents and winds. It would take us two weeks to get there. And Panama's a thousand miles away. We couldn't get there in less than 10 days. Look, Florence, you and Dan take the boat across the Strait to Narborough. There may be a fishing trawler there, and maybe we can use their radio to get some medical advice. The next day, on Monday morning, May 21st, the swap arrived across the Strait. Fortunately, the fishing trawler, Santa Cruz, was anchored in the harbor. Florence Robinson explained the desperate situation to the captain of the Santa Cruz, and she was turned over to the radio operator who sent a message to the RCA station in California describing William Robinson's symptoms. And then Florence Robinson was in the cabin with the operator. It certainly seems to be taking a long time to get a reply. Well, this is part of the RCA ship medical service, and it takes time. They communicate with the hospital and get the advice of surgeons. They've got to do that before they can reply to us. Well, here's something now. Good. Allow the patient no food or drink. Keep affected parts packed in ice. Move patient at once to hospital. Move at once to hospital? But where? Here's more ice, dear. Does it still hurt so badly? Don't bother about me, Florence. I'll be all right. Well, one thing, you don't have to worry about your appendix bursting, Robbie. You've still got a lump there. I felt it when I put the ice on. As long as that lump is there, it hasn't burst. The captain of the Santa Cruz told me that. He once had appendicitis himself. Of course it hasn't burst. Well, I'm going to see that radio operator again. I'll be back in a little while. As long as there's a lump, it's all right. And let me see. Ah, there is no lump. I can't feel any. It's burst. It means peritonitis. That's dying. Ah, I'm tired. So tired. But I mustn't fall asleep. As long as I can stay conscious, I can't die. I mustn't fall asleep. Operator, isn't there some way that we can get a doctor? Well, Mrs. Robinson, I heard the captain speak of a case where the Navy once came to the aid of a sick sailor on a fishing boat off the California coast. The Navy? Well, can't we get a message through to them? Maybe there's a ship nearby. Well, let me see. We can try to get a message through to Admiral Crosley at the naval base in Balboa and ask them if a Navy vessel is in the neighborhood. There might be a doctor aboard. Oh, there's got to be a ship. Our is dragged by. But a radio dead spot between Tegas Cove and Balboa, Panama, 1,000 miles away, barred them off like a wall. The message couldn't be received. At last, the shore radio station at Chatham, Massachusetts, picked up the appeal and relayed it back to Panama at midnight came word from the Admiral. Regret. No ship in vicinity. Well, I've just about tried everything. You know, Operator, it's a strange thing to say in a situation like this, but... I can't help thinking that there's something wonderful about radio, the way it sends its messages on unseen wings through the air. At least that's the way it seems to me. Unseen wings? That's a good way to put it, Mrs. Robinson. Unseen wing. Planes. That's it. Gosh, I never thought of that. I'll send another message to Balboa. Admiral Crosley, Balboa. Situation desperate. Can plane with surgeon reach Gallipagos. Oh, they've got to do something. I can't bear to think of Robbie suffering down there in that cabin. I've got to stay awake. If I stay awake, I'll be all right. Look at those waves. We're in a hurricane. Lawrence, Dan, don't worry. The swap has written out worse terms than this. Ready about. I had to stop it. No, no steady on your course. Steady. Hey, stay, just stay awake. Robbie, Robbie, we've just got this message. Destroyer and planes leaving with surgeons from Balboa at once. A few hours later, two Navy planes with two surgeons aboard arrived at Narborough. Later the destroyer Hale arrived as well. William Robinson was operated upon successfully in the ward room of the destroyer. And he's alive today, both to tell about it and to write about it in his book, Voyage to Gallipagos. Once more, radio had played its part in saving human lives. Ladies and gentlemen, if you have any questions about the inside of radio that you wish answered on the air, write a letter to us. Address it to Graham McNamee behind the mic National Broadcasting Company, New York City. As many questions as possible will be answered by mail. And those we feel to be of most general interest will be answered on this program. Be sure to listen next week when we will bring you the story of how John Jay Anthony's advice on his Goodwill Hour program helped prevent a murder. The unusual story of how Haven Macquarie of your marriage club accidentally affected a strange cure. A salute to another program you love and more of the human interest, the glamour, the comedy and the drama that are found behind the mic. This is Graham McNamee speaking. Good afternoon all. The mic was written by Mort Lewis. Original music is composed and conducted by Ernie Watson. This is the National Broadcasting Company.