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Bing Crosby Entertains

Bing Crosby Entertains
Bing Crosby Entertains advert.jpg
Other names The Makers of Woodbury Facial Soap Present Bing Crosby
Genre Music
Running time 30 minutes
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
Home station KHJ
Syndicates CBS
Starring Bing Crosby
The Boswell Sisters
The Mills Brothers
Announcer Ken Niles
Written by

Claude Binyon

Ralph Huston
Produced by Burt McMurtrie
Recording studio Hollywood, USA
Original release October 16, 1933 (1933-10-16) – June 11, 1935 (1935-06-11)
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 72
Opening theme Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)
Sponsored by Woodbury Soap Company

Claude Binyon

A weekly show which ran for two seasons during 1933-1935, it was to cement Bing Crosby’s reputation as a radio star. Bing Crosby Entertains was Crosby’s most important radio series to date and it enabled him to fully develop as a rounded radio personality instead of a singer who did not speak.

Bing Crosby’s radio career had taken off with his nightly nation-wide broadcasts from New York in 1931-32 and he moved on to the two nights a week Music That Satisfies show which ran for 13 weeks early in 1933. The nightly shows required him to do separate shows for the East Coast and for the West Coast because of the time difference. That was avoided for the Music That Satisfies series as Crosby broadcast at 9:15 p.m. Eastern which meant that it was heard at 6:15 p.m. in California. By this time, Crosby was making three films a year and undertaking stage appearances. A once-a-week radio show which did not have to be repeated for the West Coast was ideal for him and Woodbury Soap agreed to sponsor such a show on the CBS network.

The show made its bow on Monday, October 16, 1933 at 5:30pm. Pacific Time. Musical support came from Lennie Hayton’s orchestra and Ken Niles was the announcer. The guest was eighteen-year-old songstress, Mary Lou Raymond. Bing was paid $1,750 per broadcast for a minimum of 13 weeks plus a figure to be agreed for a further six broadcasts.

The shows opened with Ken Niles saying: “Bing Crosby entertains” followed by a word of welcome from Crosby and an opening song. “After that Niles would deliver a message from Woodbury whose slogan: “For the skin you love to touch,” represented considerable aesthetic improvement for Crosby over coughless cigarettes and saliva-free cigars.” The Woodbury program is significant for it gave Crosby some dialogue for the first time, his personality emerging in light banter with Niles and introductions to his songs. It also began the system of cross-promoting his own work as he featured songs and guest stars from his own films and sang songs he had recorded.


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