Ruth Lyons (broadcaster)
| Ruth Lyons | |
|---|---|
Ruth Lyons
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| Birth name | Ruth Evelyn Reeves |
| Born |
October 4, 1905 Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Died | November 7, 1988 (aged 83) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Show |
Your Sunday Matinee Collect Calls From Lowenthal Petticoat Partyline Consumer's Foundation Your Morning Matinee The 50 Club The 50/50 Club |
| Station(s) |
WSAI WKRC WLW WLW-TV |
| Spouse(s) | John D. Lyons (married August 6, 1932-???) (divorced) Herman Newman (married October 3, 1942) |
| Children | Candy Newman |
Ruth Lyons, (born Ruth Evelyn Reeves October 4, 1905, died November 7, 1988) was a pioneer radio and television broadcaster in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is said Ruth Lyons accidentally invented the daytime TV talk show. Like Arthur Godfrey and others of the era, Ruth built a TV empire.
A little-known fact is that Ruth Lyons' radio career began with a one-shot appearance as an accompanist for a singer on WMH in 1925, and a regular post as pianist on WSAI beginning in 1925. She went to work full-time at WKRC in 1928; she worked as a radio show pianist/organist and as the station's music librarian. Ruth's first broadcast was accidental. She was pressed into service one morning when the station's only female show host called in sick. She needed only a couple of minutes to become comfortable and familiar with how things were handled behind the microphone, and took over as host.
Lyons' prestige grew when she and other staffers broadcast non-stop during the Great Flood of 1937, calming listeners and asking for donations for the victims. Lyons praised the big-heartedness of Ohio Valley residents, but listeners said that their generosity flowed because they considered her a real friend and friends helped friends in need. While at WKRC, Lyons hosted a weekly radio show called Your Sunday Matinee; an amateur songwriter, she wrote a new song for each Sunday broadcast of the show. Bandleader Paul Whiteman was a guest on the show in 1938 and was impressed by Lyons' songwriting abilities. He offered to buy some of Lyons' original compositions with one stipulation: the music would need to be published under his name. Lyons politely declined. In 1942, WKRC lost Lyons to WLW over a ten dollar raise. Owner Hulbert "Hub" Taft (Taft Broadcasting) later said that the ten-dollar raise had cost his company millions in advertising.
At WLW, she was the hostess of Petticoat Partyline and Consumer's Foundation. Lyons was then teamed with Frazier Thomas, first on Collect Calls From Lowenthal and then on Your Morning Matinee, a popular morning radio show. After WLW parent company Crosley Broadcasting purchased New York City radio station WINS in 1946, the show was also heard over the station for two years. Lyons and Thomas co-hosted the show until he left to establish his own media production firm.
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