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Academy Award Program
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Dee-Scription: |
Home >> D D Too Home >> Radio Logs >> Academy Award |
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Academy Award Theatre MP3 Cover Art
Squibb ad for Academy Award Theatre
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Academy Award was conceived to showcase some of the more important, Academy Award winning movies from the Golden Age of Film. E.R. Squibb and Sons set out to spare no expense in producing 100 of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' most significant award winning movies, performers, or technical acheivements. And to that end, the 39 scripted productions they did mount clearly accomplished that goal--but fell far short of their intended 100 productions.
As it was, The House of Squibb indeed spared little expense attracting some of Hollywood's greatest talent for its productions. It was estimated at the time that each production bore a price tag of over $5,600.00. But $1,600.00 of each production's overhead cost was directed towards The Academy's licensing demands and waivers. So it was that after only 39 productions, E.R. Squibb deemed the program too expensive to continue to sponsor--on their own. CBS considered continuing the series as a sustained production, but also failed to arrive at a more cost-effective arrangement with The Academy. One must remember that CBS was already mounting hundreds of competing early Television productions concurrent with their Radio broadcasts and, as such, received little--if any--economic sympathy from the Film Industry with which it was now competing head-to-head.
So it was that Academy Award met a premature demise; priced out of production by the very Motion Picture icon it was promoting every week. And it's a shame The Academy couldn't have been a bit more accomodating. The series was very well received, with each new feature greatly anticipated by its generally star-struck, loyal Radio audience.
But the War had ended and returning Vets--and their families--were still picking up the pieces of their interrupted lives. The series was perhaps ill-timed in that regard. In any case, it survives as a somewhat foreshortened showcase of Hollywood and 39 (actually 38--see Provenances Section) award winning productions in one category or another. Indeed, several of the selected award winning movies were multiple nominees or winners, often making for a confusing narrative for the series' Announcer, Hugh Brundage.
All in all, a highly collectable, historic snapshot of both Hollywood productions and the Awarding Body of Industry Members that honors Hollywood's Film efforts.
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Series Derivatives:
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None |
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Genre: |
Anthology of Golden Age Radio Movies Dramas having received an Academy Award [or Nomination] for Best Picture, Best Writer, Best Actor, Best Actress or Special Award. |
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Network(s): |
Columbia Broadcasting System |
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Audition Date(s) and Title(s): |
None. |
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Premiere Date(s) and Title(s): |
46-03-30 01 Jezebel |
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Run Dates(s)/ Time(s): |
46-03-30 to 46-12-18 |
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Syndication: |
None |
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Sponsors: |
The House of Squibb |
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Director(s): |
Dee Englebach |
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Principal Actors: |
Vary by Movie or Book adaptation |
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Recurring Character(s): |
Vary by Movie or Book adaptation |
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Protagonist(s): |
Vary by Movie or Book adaptation |
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Author(s): |
Vary by Movie or Book adaptation |
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Writer(s) |
Vary by Movie or Book adaptation |
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Music Direction: |
Leith Stevens |
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Musical Theme(s): |
Unknown |
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Announcer(s): |
Hugh Brundage |
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Estimated Scripts or
Broadcasts: |
39 |
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Episodes in Circulation: |
39 |
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Total Episodes in Collection: |
39 |
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Provenances: |
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RadioGOLDINdex, Hickerson Guide, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Washington Post, 'The Directory of The Armed Forces Radio Service Series'.
Notes on Provenances:
OTRisms:
1. Episode #03, is almost always incorrectly titled 'The Life of Louis Pasteur'. The Actual name of the movie is 'The Story of Louis Pasteur'.
2. The series name is Academy Award, not Academy Award Theatre. This has become a common misconception, owing primarily to some radio listings and Squibb magazine ads of the era.
3. Episode #20 is titled 'Watch On the Rhine', not 'The Watch On the Rhine'.
4. Episode #37 is titled 'Portrait of Jennie' from the book by Robert Nathan, not 'Portrait of Jenny'. (The award-winning movie, 'Portrait of Jennie', starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten wasn't released until 1948).
What you see here, is what you get. Complete transparency. We have no 'credentials' whatsoever--in any way, shape, or form--in the 'otr community'--none. But here's how we did it--for better or worse. Here's how you can build on it yourselves--hopefully for the better. Here are the breadcrumbs--just follow the trail a bit further if you wish. No hobbled downloads. No misdirection. No posturing about our 'credentials.' No misrepresentations. No strings attached. We point you in the right direction and you're free to expand on it, extend it, use it however it best advances your efforts.
We ask one thing and one thing only--if you employ what we publish, attribute it, before we cite you on it.
We continue to provide honest research into these wonderful Golden Age Radio programs simply because we love to do it. If you feel that we've provided you with useful information or saved you some valuable time regarding this log--and you'd like to help us even further--you can help us keep going. Please consider a small donation here:
We don't pronounce our Golden Age Radio research as 'certified' anything. By the very definition, research is imperfect. We simply tell the truth. As is our continuing practice, we provide our fully provenanced research results--to the extent possible--right here on the page, for any of our peers to review--or refute--as the case may be. If you take issue with any of our findings, you're welcome to cite any better verifiable source(s) and we'll immediately review them and update our findings accordingly. As more verifiable provenances surface, we'll continue to update the following series log, as appropriate.
All rights reserved by their respective sources. Article and log copyright 2009 The Digital Deli Online--all rights reserved. Any failure to attribute the results of this copywritten work will be rigorously pursued.
[Date, title, and episode column annotations in red refer to either details we have yet to fully provenance or other unverifiable information as of this writing. Red highlights in the text of the 'Notes' columns refer to information upon which we relied in citing dates, date or time changes, or titles.]
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Academy Award Series Log
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| Date |
Episode |
Title |
Avail. |
Notes |
| 46-03-30 |
1
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Jezebel
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Y
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Bette Davis: Best Actress, 1938, as 'Julie Morrison'
[ Premiere Episode ] |
| 46-04-06 |
2
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Kitty Foyle
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Y
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Ginger Rogers: Best Actress, 1940, as 'Kitty Foyle' |
| 46-04-13 |
3
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The Story of Louis Pasteur
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Y
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Paul Muni: Best Actor, 1936, as 'Louis Pasteur' |
| 46-04-20 |
4
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The Great McGinty
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Y
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Preston Sturges: Best Writing (Original Screenplay), 1940
Brian Donlevy and Gerald Mohr |
| 46-04-27 |
5
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Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
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Y
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Walt Disney: Special Award, 1938, for "significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field for the motion picture cartoon." |
| 46-05-04 |
6
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Stagecoach
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Y
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Stagecoach: Nominated for Best Picture, 1939.
(Stagecoach did actually win two Academy Awards in 1939 --
Best Supporting Actor: Thomas Mitchell
Best Music Score: Richard Hageman, Frank Harling, John Leipold, and Leo Shuken.)
With Randolph Scott and Claire Trevor
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| 46-05-11 |
7
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If I Were King
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Y
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Ronald Colman: Three Nominations for Best Actor, 1929/1930, and 1942.
(If they'd only waited a year, they'd have been able to cite Colman for an actual Best Actor Award for 1947's 'A Double Life', as Anthony John.) |
| 46-05-18 |
8
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My Sister Eileen
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Y
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Rosalind Russell: Nominated for Best Actress, 1942, as 'Ruth Sherwood'.
With Janet Blair |
| 46-05-25 |
9
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The Informer
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Y
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Victor McLaglen: Best Actor, 1935, as 'Gypo Nolan'.
With Wallace Ford, narrated by Gerald Mohr. |
| 46-06-01 |
10
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Arise My Love
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Y
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Arise My Love: Best Writing (Original Story), 1940, Benjamin Glazer and John S. Toldy.
With Ray Milland: Best Actor, 1945, for Lost Weekend, as 'Don Birnam'. |
| 46-06-08 |
11
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Ruggles Of Red Gap
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Y
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Ruggles Of Red Gap: Outstanding Production, 1935, Paramount.
With Charles Laughton: Best Actor, 1932, as 'Henry VIII' in The Private Life of Henry VIII and Charlie Ruggles. |
| 46-06-15 |
12
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Pride Of The Marines
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Y
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Pride Of The Marines: Nominated for Best Writing (Screenplay), 1945, Albert Maltz.
With John Garfield and Rosemary DeCamp |
| 46-06-22 |
13
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The Front Page
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Y
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The Front Page: Nominated for Outstanding Production, 1930/31, The Caddo Company.
With Adolphe Menjou: Nominated forBest Actor, 1930/31, as 'Walter Burns' and Pat O’Brien |
| 46-06-29 |
14
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A Star Is Born
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Y
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A Star Is Born: Best Writing (Original Story), 1937, William A. Wellman and Robert Carson.
With Janet Gaynor: Nominated for Best Actress, 1937, as 'Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester'; and Fredric March: Nominated for Best Actor, 1937, as 'Norman Maine /Alfred Hinkel'. |
| 46-07-03 |
15
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The Maltese Falcon
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Y
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The Maltese Falcon: Nominated for Outstanding Motion Picture, 1941, Warner Bros..
With Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, 1941, as 'Kaspar Gutman', Mary Astor, Peter Lorre |
| 46-07-10 |
16
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Young Mr. Lincoln
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Y
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Young Mr. Lincoln: Nominated for Best Writing (Original Story), 1939, Lamar Trotti.
With Henry Fonda |
| 46-07-17 |
17
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The Prisoner Of Zenda
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Y
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The Prisoner Of Zenda: Nominated for Best Art Direction (Lyle Wheeler) and Best Music Score (Alfred Newman), 1937.
With Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Virginia Bruce. |
| 46-07-24 |
18
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Foreign Correspondent
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Y
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Foreign Correspondent: Nominated for 1940's --
Best Supporting Actor: Albert Basserman as 'Van Meer'
Best Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen
Best Cinematography (B&W): Rudolph Maté
Outstanding Production: Walter Wanger
Best Special Effects: Paul Eagler (Photography) and Thomas T. Moulton (Sound)
Best Writing (Original Screenplay): Charles Bennett and Joan Harrison
With Joseph Cotten
[Add'l Note - Hugh Brundage cites Foreign Correspondent as having been nominated for only four Oscars. As noted above it was nominated for six Oscars, an extraordinary acheivement in it's own right.] |
| 46-07-31 |
19
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Hold Back The Dawn
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Y
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Hold Back The Dawn: Nominated for 1941's --
Best Actress: Olivia de Havilland as 'Emmy Brown'
Best Art Direction: Hans Dreier, Robert Usher and Sam Comer
Best Cinematography (B&W): Leo Tover
Best Music Score (of a Dramatic Picture): Victor Young
Outstanding Motion Picture: Paramount Pictures
Best Writing (Screenplay): Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder
With Olivia deHavilland and Jean Pierre Aumont
[Add'l Note - Hugh Brundage again incorrectly cites Hold Back The Dawn as having been nominated for seven Oscars. As noted above it was nominated for only six Oscars, but who's quibbling.] |
| 46-08-07 |
20
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Watch On The Rhine
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Y
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Paul Lukas: Best Actor, 1943, as 'Kurt Muller'.
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| 46-08-14 |
21
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Vivacious Lady
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Y
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Vivacious Lady: Nominated for --
Best Cinematography, 1938, Robert DeGrasse
Best Sound Recording, 1938, RKO Radio Studio Sound, John Aalberg.
With Lana Turner |
| 46-08-21 |
22
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Keys Of The Kingdom
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Y
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Gregory Peck: Nominated for Best Actor, 1945, as 'Father Francis Chisolm'.
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| 46-08-28 |
23
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One Sunday Afternoon
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Y
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James Stewart: Best Actor, 1940, for 'The Philadelphia Story', as 'Mike Connor'.
Narrated by Gerald Mohr. |
| 46-09-04 |
24
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Pinocchio
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Y
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Pinocchio: Best Music Score, 1940, Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith, Ned Washington.
Best Song, 1940, 'When You Wish upon a Star', by Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith, Ned Washington . |
| 46-09-11 |
25
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Shadow Of A Doubt
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Y
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Shadow Of A Doubt: Nominated for Best Writing (Original Motion Picture Story), 1943, Gordon McDonell.
With Joseph Cotten and June Vincent. |
| 46-09-18 |
26
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The White Cliffs Of Dover
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Y
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The White Cliffs Of Dover: Nominated for Best Cinematography (B&W), 1944, George Folsey.
With Irene Dunne. |
| 46-09-25 |
27
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Guest In The House
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Y
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Guest In The House: Nominated for Best Music Score of a Comedy or Dramatic Picture, 1945, Werner Janssen.
With Kirk Douglas, Anita Louise |
| 46-10-02 |
28
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My Man Godfrey
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Y
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My Man Godfrey: Nominated for --
Best Actor: William Powell, 1936, as 'Godfrey Parks'.
Best Actor in A Supporting Role: Mischa Auer, 1936, as 'Carlo'
Best Actress: Carole Lombard, 1936, as 'Irene Bullock'
Best Directing: Gregory La Cava
Best Writing (Screenplay): Eric Hatch and Morris Ryskind
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| 46-10-09 |
29
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It Happened Tomorrow
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Y
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It Happened Tomorrow: Nominated for --
Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: 1944, Robert Stolz
Best Sound Recording: 1944, Jack Whitney.
With Ann Blythe and Eddie Bracken |
| 46-10-16 |
30
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Blood On The Sun
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Y
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Blood On The Sun: Best Art Direction (B&W), 1945, Wiard Ihnen and A. Roland Fields
John Garfield |
| 46-10-23 |
31
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The Devil & Miss Jones
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Y
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The Devil & Miss Jones: Nominated for --
Best Actor in A Supporting Role: Charles Coburn, 1941, as 'John P. Merrick'.
Best Writing: (Original Screenplay), 1941, Norman Krasna
With Charles Coburn andViriginia Mayo |
| 46-10-30 |
32
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Suspicion
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Y
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Suspicion: Best Actress, 1941, Joan Fontaine, as 'Lina McLaidlaw'
With Cary Grant and Ann Todd |
| 46-11-06 |
33
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Cheers For Miss Bishop
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Y
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Cheers For Miss Bishop: Nominated for Best Music Score of A Dramatic Picture, 1943, Edward Ward.
With Olivia deHavilland |
| 46-11-13 |
34
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Night Train (To Munich)
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Y
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Night Train (To Munich): Nominated for Best Writing: (Original Story), 1941, Gordon Wellesley.
With Rex Harrison |
| 46-11-20 |
35
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Brief Encounter
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Y
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Brief Encounter: Nominated for --
Best Actress, 1946: Celia Johnson as 'Laura Jesson'
Best Directing, 1946: David Lean
Best Writing (Screenplay), 1946: David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan, Ronald Neame
With Greer Garson |
| 46-11-27 |
36
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Lost Horizon
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Y
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Lost Horizon: Best Art Direction and Film Editing, 1937, Stephen Goosson, (Art) and Gene Havlick and Gene Milford (Film Editing).
With Ronald Colman |
| 46-12-04 |
37
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Portrait Of Jennie
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Y
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Joan Fontaine: Best Actress, 1944, Suspicion, as 'Lina McLaidlaw'
With John Lund |
| 46-12-11 |
38
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Enchanted Cottage
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Y
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Enchanted Cottage: Nominated for Best Music Score of A Dramatic or Comedy Picture, 1945, Roy Webb.
With Peter Lawford, Joan Lorring |
| 46-12-18 |
39
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Lost Angel
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Y
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Margaret O’Brien: Special Award, 1944, as Outstanding Child Star of the Year.
[ Last Episode ] |
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Academy Award Biographies
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
(1927 --)
Founded: Hollywood, CA
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Emil Jannigs recipient of first Academy Award (for Best Actor) May 16 1929
May 16 1929 Academy Awards Banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel's Blossom Room
The 1950 Academy Awards Presentation was held at Hollywood's RKO Pantages Theatre and for the next 10 years thereafter.
The Academy Award of Merit
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The first Academy Awards were distributed on May 16, 1929. Coincidentally timed with the advent of talking movies, the first ceremony took place as a banquet in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel's Blossom Room. Attendance was limited to participants and their guests, with guest tickets going for $5.00. The relatively unstructured banquet was comprised of many rambling speeches, but presentation of the statuettes themselves was accomplished with rather brusque dispatch by Academy President, Douglas Fairbanks.
The first 15 awards came as no surprise to either the attendees--or award recipients--at the banquet, since The Academy had announced the results of the awards to the public some three months previous. For the following 10 years, the results of the award selections were given to The Press at 11 pm the night of The Academy Awards banquets. According to The AMPAS history site, this practice was discontinued when the Los Angeles Times attempted to 'scoop' their competitors by releasing the results for their Evening Edition, instead of their Overnight Edition.
As a consequence of the L.A. Times' indiscretion, The Academy began controlling the results of the Awards by sealed envelope with the 1941 Award Banquet. By 1942, demand for attendance was such that banquet venues were deemed impractical and The Award Presentations moved to local theatres instead; with the first being held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
The 16th Awards Presentation at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in 1942 was the first ceremony covered by national Radio. It was also broadcast overseas by The AFRS for the American Troops. Television had to wait another 11 years for it's first shot at televising The Academy Awards Presentation of 1953.
Highly anticipated from their inception, the Academy Awards Presentations have gone off as planned with three exceptions:
- 1938 - Local flooding throughout Los Angeles delayed the ceremonies one week.
- 1968 - Postponed three days out of respect for the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1981- Postponed for 24 hours due to an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
The iconic Academy Award of Merit or 'Oscar®' statuette wasn't distributed with the Awards until 1928. According to The Academy, The Oscar® statuette "depicts a knight holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel of film with five spokes, signifying the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers and Technicians." The statuette sits atop a base of Belgian black marble, weighs eight and a half pounds, and stands 13.5" tall, including the base.
The first documented mention of the trademark name, 'Oscar®' came after the sixth Awards Presentation of 1934. Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used it in reference to Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress win. The nickname wasn't officially adopted by The Academy until 1939.
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The House of Squibb (1901 - 1964)
a.k.a. E.R.Squibb & Sons (1858 - 1901)
(Sponsor)
(1939-1947)
Founded: Brooklyn, New York
Radiography:
1942
Music from The House of Squibb
1943
The Squibb Show
1944
To Your Good Health from The House of Squibb
1945
Jimmy Carroll Sings
1946
Academy Award
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Edward Robinson Squibb, M.D. c.1858
Edward Robinson Squibb M.D. (1819-1900)
Squibb Chemical and Pharmaceutical complex, Brooklyn, NY c. 1880
Squibb logo c. 1935
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Edward Robinson Squibb was born July 5, 1819. His parents, James Robinson and Catharine Harrison Squibb, had five children--three daughters and two sons. In 1831, the three daughters died within days of each other, to an unnamed disease. Edward's mother died in 1832, the following year, when he was only thirteen years old. When he was eighteen, his father had a stroke and needed to be cared for like a child.
For the next twelve years, Edward was raised in Philadelphia by two Quaker grandmothers, Sarah Laycock Bonsal and Mary Hamilton Squibb. He attended Jefferson Medical College, graduating in 1845, and practiced medicine until he joined the Navy in 1847 as Assistant Surgeon.
During his ten years in the Navy, E.R. Squibb witnessed, first-hand, the poor quality of the medicines available. The Navy formed a pharmaceutical laboratory to manufacture it's most needed drugs, appointing E.R. Squibb as the Assistant Director. There, he embarked on his life's work to create pure pharmaceuticals. While there, he discovered a distillation method to create ether of a consistent strength and less volatile combustibilty.
His father and paternal grandmother passed away in 1852 and later that year he met and married Caroline Lownds Cook. E.R. Squibb resigned his commission from the Navy in 1857 and moved to Louisville, Kentucky. His second son, Charles Fellows Squibb, was born the following year and by September 1858, he'd returned to Brooklyn to open his own laboratory on Furman Street. This was the official founding of E.R. Squibb & Sons.
Christmas Eve, 1858, a young assistant caused a volatile ether fire in the Squibb laboratory. Attempting to save his journals, E.R. Squibb caught fire himself. Fighting for life for weeks, he slowly recovered, but his face was badly scarred and his eyelids were permanently turned back (see second portrait, at left). Though he didn't lose his sight, for the remainder of his life he had to wear special protective glasses and tape his eyelids shut in order to sleep. Shortly thereafter, one of his hands had to be amputated, 'according to his own specification'. Despite these disabilities, the determined Dr. Squibb borrowed the financing to rebuild his laboratory by the end of 1859.
With his focus on the production of superior pharmaceuticals, his business flourished and by the onset of the Civil War in 1861, his pharmaceutical and chemical factory was producing products around-the-clock. With the growing demand for his products, he built a new facility, also in Brooklyn, on Doughty Street, doubling capacity in the process.
E.R. Squibb published all of his discoveries and findings, but never applied for patents for any of his formulas. It was his philosophy that scientific breakthroughs and discoveries should be available for public benefit. Unfortunately, several of his future competitors weren't as idealistic.
Indeed, E.R. Squibb opened his laboratory to a Dr. Merck, a German competitor, freely sharing all of his procedures and process drawings of his breakthrough distillation processes. Two years later, while touring Germany, he visited the Merck Laboratories, but his visit was confined to only two rooms of the vast facility. Clearly, Herr Doktor Merck didn't share Dr. Squibb's sense of altruistic largesse.
By 1895 most of the management responsibilities were turned over to his sons, Charles and Edward. following Edward Squibb’s death in 1900, the Squibb family sold the company to Lowell M. Palmer and Theodore Weicker in 1905.
Bristol-Myers and Squibb merged in 1989 to form the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world after . . . who else? . . . Merck. |
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