The Bold Venture Program

Background

One can only imagine the number of Ad agencies, networks, sponsors, and syndicators that lined up month after month to pitch a Radio project to Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. That's undoubtedly a story in itself. What the Bogarts finally settled on has become something of a cult favorite in the world of Golden Age Radio.

And they settled on a gem--for both its day and for generations of Golden Age Radio fans to come. The concept of Bold Venture had to have piqued the Bogarts' interest from the first pitch. Having already bought their beloved Santana schooner from Dick Powell and June Allyson, they'd become one of America's leading seafaring families within just a couple of years. The wanderlust aspect of the concept of Bold Venture had to have been one of the project's most persuasive elements.

Add to that the Bogarts' impending departure for the bowels of Africa to film Bogie's classic, The African Queen (1951) and Frederick Ziv's willingness to bend over backwards to get at least thirty episodes of Bold Venture taped before their departure . . . then mix in an amazing back-of-the-mike staff that included David Rose as composer and music director, Henry Hayward to direct, and both Morton Fine and David Friedkin to write the radioplays. And if that wasn't enough incentive to assure an amazing production, consider the supporting cast of some of Radio's finest voice talent. And last but by no means least, legendary choral director, songwriter and composer Jester Hairston in the almost cameo role of sidekick 'King' Moses. All in all, an amazing repertory company for the Bogarts' debut as leads in their own Radio program.

Frederick Ziv had been in a bidding war with the Columbia Broadcasting System for the series, but Ziv obviously emerged the winner. Apart from the understandably attractive multi-tasking aspects of producing Bold Venture for transcribed syndication, the Bogarts--reportedly making $5,000 for each transcription session--had planned from the outset to put all of the proceeds into their son Stephen's trust fund. Contrary to reviewer John Crosby's article at the left sidebar, the couple weren't in fact banking a dime of the proceeds for themselves while off in Africa filming The African Queen. And so it was that Bold Venture was a bold venture, indeed--for The Bogarts. But it was also an excellent experiment in transcribed syndication for other performing couples--and singles--who followed them. One would imagine that this simple, yet successful, masterstroke by the Bogarts--and the Colmans, the Menjous and Irene Dunne and Fred MacMurray before and after them--hung like a sword of Damocles over virtually all Radio production contract negotiations that followed--with major networks and sponsors, alike.

John Crosby, the caustic reviewer at left, was not a great fan of any form of violence over Radio, as any reading of his reviews of the era makes patently obvious. Crosby was more a fan of the armchair type of mystery popularized in the 1930s and early 1940s--such as Sherlock Holmes, Philo Vance, Nick Carter and Nero Wolfe. But his natural prejudices weren't fair to the elements of this fine production that he appears to have overlooked.

The genius of the manner in which each script stood on its own, made it far easier for the hundreds of network affiliate stations and independents that subscribed to the syndication later than the initial set of a reported ninety-two subscriber stations, was that they could air them in virtually any order they wished--and without any serious continuity issues for their listeners. It's estimated that in excess of 500 radio outlets eventually signed up for Bold Venture. This made it one of the more financially successful syndications of its era.

Unfortunately, that particular syndication method made it all the more difficult for future archivists to catalog the respective programs in any meaningful, as transcribed or as broadcast order. In researching the hundreds of newspapers that both ran listings for the production as well as posting local sponsor notices for the production, it's clear that only a handful of the larger local outlets made an effort to broadcast every program in its as transcribed sequence. At the other end of the spectrum, some sponsored notices printed what amounted to Cliff Notes of the script in their weekly newspaper radio listing synopses. Thus, tracking and logging this elusive production is either feast or famine, depending on the outlet--and newspaper--being researched.

Also note that the as transcribed order wasn't necessarily "1" through "78" in production sequence. It seems apparent from both the production chronology and reports of the Bogarts' progress in taping them, that they weren't transcribed in 1 to 78 sequence. We have only the radioGOLDINdex to base this on at present, since we have yet to hold an actual Ziv-produced transcription in our own hands. We do, however, take Mr. Goldin at his word that he has. The first proof of this hypothesis lies in the alleged Ziv Transcription No. #57, The Mystery of The Mary K which we can demonstrate first aired on December 13, 1951--again from contemporaneous newspaper listings. Accounts of the Bogarts' progress in taping Bold Venture cite no more than thirty to forty programs having been completed before their departure to film The African Queen. Nor could they possibly have completed another seventeen programs between their return to the U.S., September 19, 1951 and Transcription No. #57's first broadcast date of December 13, 1951. The KGLO-CBS run was demonstrably broadcast out of Ziv transcription order, as were several other broadcast outlets. Irrespective of whether subsequent transcription records surface, the 'as broadcast' references--primarily newspaper listings--tend to vary by as many as three to seven episodes from the evolving theoretical transcription-numbered run order.

This would make sense if one was the production manager for the series. There must have been certain decisions of economy in sequencing taping sessions for the seventy-eight known scripts. From efficiently scheduling supporting performers to sound effects, music composition and common storylines, it would have made more economic sense to schedule scripts with common resources and performers during the same taping sessions--or set of taping sessions. Frederick Ziv Productions was certainly well-experienced in this regard.

Bold Venture framed a very Bogie-like environment for its protagonist, Slate Shannon:

• He owned both a humble hotel--'Shannon's Place' [a la Casablanca's Café Americain]--and a charter boat service [a la Key Largo]--both themes from any number of Humphrey Bogart vehicles of the past.
• Slate Shannon was framed as a man with a past filled with intrigue, a war background, possible espionage, and several get rich quick schemes. Again, drawing on several Bogart themes ranging from The Big Sleep to Key Largo.
• He had a loyal, black, musical sidekick, 'King' Moses [a la 'Sam' from Casablanca].
• The stories were set in the Caribbean [a la To Have and Have Not and Key Largo].

The comparisons--favorable or not--go on and on. But by contrast, Bold Venture also introduces several new wrinkles both informed by, and as a consequence of, Slate Shannon's evolving relationship with his 'ward', Gail "Sailor" Duval, Vassar-educated daughter, left orphaned by a close friend of Slate Shannon.

The title for Bold Venture is derived from Slate Shannon's powerboat, 'Bold Venture'. The boat, as depicted in promotional copy from Frederick W. Ziv, appears to have been a recreational trawler, or a small, fast, converted sport fisher of the day. In any case, it was a very versatile, sturdy craft--as many of the scripts underscore week after week.

Taping sessions for Bold Venture had been suspended from March 1951 for the Bogarts' trip to film The African Queen, but the couple returned to the U.S. in September 1951, to--among other chores--resume taping sessions for the remainder of the production run of seventy-eight programs. They'd reportedly taped thirty or so before they'd departed for Europe, at a reported three programs a week, for ten weeks. That left another approximate four months of taping sessions to complete the scheduled Bold Venture run (at three programs a week for sixteen weeks).

As you can see from the provenances in the sidebar to the left, Louella Parsons notes that Bold Venture was on the Bogarts' plate upon their return from Europe in September 1951. From the note further down, we can see that, according to Frederick Ziv, the Bogarts did, in fact record all seventy-eight contracted programs of Bold Venture. We can only surmise how they managed it. Lauren Bacall was pregnant upon the Bogarts' return to the U.S. and carried her daughter, Leslie, through the first eight months of 1952. So she probably couldn't fly back to New York for further taping sessions there. Ziv must have made some sort of accommodation for the Bogarts so they could stay on the West Coast to finish taping the remaining thirty to forty programs. Indeed, the overwhelming number of artists employed in the series were based on the West Coast.

Bogie undertook Deadline U.S.A in October 1951, which kept him occupied through the Spring of 1952. He was also actively campaigning for Oscar nominations for The African Queen on both coasts. And of course once he won the Oscar for The African Queen, both of the Bogarts were busy fulfilling interview requests, ad nauseam. Especially ad nauseam for Lauren Bacall, since she'd have been quite pregnant indeed by May and June of 1952. In the midst of everything else, the terrible Southern California flooding of the Winter of 1951-52 made Lauren Bacall leery of remaining in their precariously stilted hilltop home in the Hollywood Hills, so they moved to a new mansion during April and May of 1952. How they ever managed to work in ten to sixteen more weeks' taping sessions is probably another story in itself.

As one listens to each succeeding program it becomes obvious that both scripts and performances continued to improve throughout the chronological run. Many of the second set of recordings had very complicated, twisty plots, with layer upon layer of often intricate subtlety underscoring each succeeding installment. Jester Hairston and Nestor Paiva, began getting more script time and character depth, which also improved the overall breadth of the programs. The West Coast players employed in most of the second set of recordings were also a refreshing addition to the second half of the run. Unfortunately it's these programs that are the most scarce for the moment. Betty Lou Gerson is heard more frequently, as were William Conrad, Peter Leeds, Tony Barrett, and Gerald Mohr.

Lauren Bacall's performances also appear to have hit their stride by the second half of the run, which helped to flesh out her contribution to the remaining programs as well. Given the fact that she had to have been quite pregnant indeed for at least the last fifteen to twenty episodes it's just as well that she was performing for Radio by then. And of course that had to have made for some interesting moments in the recording studio in the course of some of the later scripts as well. What appears obvious to most listeners is the Bogarts' full engagement in almost all of the later programs of the run. One gets the sense that they were beginning to enjoy their alter egos in the production. Which, given how extraordinarily busy their lives were in 1952, is as much a tribute to their own professionalism as to the repertory ensemble with which they surrounded themselves throughout the production.

In the end, it appears that Lauren Bacall enjoyed the experience more than Bogie did. Frederick Ziv had originally contracted with the Bogarts to option as many as four seasons of Bold Venture. But given their far busier lives in the interim, the Bogarts opted out after one and a half seasons. Of the experience Bogart is quoted as saying:

"I got tired of it. I never listened to it, but Betty did. She liked to hear her voice."

As with most elements of Bogart's life, when he did something, he did it with full passion or none at all. His passion for Bold Venture had apparently waned. As a practical matter, he was the father of two children at the end of 1952. He'd become an Oscar winner and was up to his eyeballs in new projects that inevitably open up for any Oscar winner. The re-hashing of seventy-eight (or more) further incarnations of Bogie's seafaring characterizations in Film and Radio may well have been contributing factors as well. All the more reason to marvel at the one and a half seasons the Bogarts managed to leave us.

Frederick Ziv's contribution to the production can't be overstated. The better recordings that survive were beautifully produced and clear as a bell. Having the Bogarts do one of Ziv's syndication projects had to have been quite a feather in his cap, and he seems to have lavished his attention on this production in particular. Of course it didn't hurt that he was also leveraging the name recognition of the Bogarts to persuade other celebrity couples to give transcribed syndication a shot. After all, if a couple as busy as the Bogarts were in 1951 and 1952 could manage to get seventy-eight programs in the can in a year, Ziv had a very persuasive argument to coax other name stars and couples into the fold.

Bold Venture was a classy production from start to finish. At an estimated cost of $36,000 per taping week [or about $12,000 per episode], it pretty much had to have been. Even subtracting the Bogarts' contribution of $5,000 per episode, that still left $7,000 per episode to fund the remaining production costs and talent. That's about $420,000 a week in today's dollars. More than enough budget to ensure a top notch production. The cost to the sponsor-subscribers reportedly varied between $25 a week to as much as $250 a week, depending on the size and reach of the target market(s). That would have yielded anywhere from $975,000 to $9.75M over the course of three years of Bold Venture's sales. Even arbitrarily averaging the varying theoretical sales would have yielded on the order of at least $5M to Ziv and company over three years. Subtracting even $1M in production and marketing costs would have yielded at least a $4M profit.

Though still only trickling into circulation from the existing 78-program run, as the number of circulating programs expand, so does interest in them. If you're already a fan of the Bogarts' chemistry this series simply reinforces that magic--and in a somewhat more intimate way. But even if you can take the Bogarts or leave them, the combination of Caribbean setting, interesting and fast moving plots, and absolutely superb production values make the better recordings from this syndicated production very entertaining indeed.

Radio wasn't the end of the line for Bold Venture. Ziv Television syndicated a William Conrad-directed Television version of Bold Venture from 1959 to 1960. Dane Clark portrayed Slate Shannon. Television's version of Shannon was an ex-Marine who ran a small hotel and charter service in Trinidad, since the dynamics between the U.S. and Cuba had already begun a marked decline by 1959. Joan Marshall portrayed Sailor Duval and Bernie Gozier portrayed 'King' Moses.

Series Derivatives:

Notes on Provenances:

OTRisms:

All above cited provenances are in error in one form or another. The most helpful provenance were newspaper listings. The less accurate provenance was John Dunning's On The Air. The least accurate of all was the Hickerson Guide.

Once Bold Venture got fully into syndication there were as many as 500 subscribing outlets for the production. As such, virtually any day of the week for almost four years between 1951 and 1955, Bold Venture could be heard. Indeed, some nights it could be heard at different times on different networks in the same market--CBS and MBS for example. The most common days, if there really were any, were Wednesdays and Thursdays in the vast majority of outlets--both independent and affiliate. The entire run was ostensibly scheduled to commence with a March 26, 1951 broadcast date. But as David Goldin so often reminds us, transcribed syndicated productions could commence any day, any time the broadcaster chose to air them.

In this instance, precious few initial outlets began to air the production simultaneously around March 26, 1951--a Monday. Indeed most major markets didn't even begin broadcasting the initial 52-week run until mid-April. There was undoubtedly a business reason for these broadcast decisions. As you'll note from the representative list of local sponsors of the series that we've cataloged above, this series was almost entirely supported by local broadcast sponsors. In the rare instance that a station broadcast it as sustaining, it appears that local sponsors came and went throughout the otherwise sustained run.

And so it is, that in logging this production we've adopted the old military axiom, 'lead, follow, or get out of the way'. Where there are ambiguities between multiple newspaper listings or plausible accounts of physical transcription sequencing, we've made a sequencing, naming or dating decision based on three criteria:

• Are there at least three provenances to support the decision.
• If not, are there at least two provenances to support the decision and at least one other authoritative [read non-'commercial otr'] source that agree.
• And finally, if there is only one provenance, is there at least one other authoritative source that concurs.

In the absence of any of the above criteria being met, we've relied on the handful of known Ziv Transcription tape or disc numbers published by David Goldin and his radioGOLDINdex and/or any hints as to a chronological air date that might be present. Indeed, even after applying the above criteria, there were a handful of episodes that we simply had to assign our best informed guess. We've annotated those instances accordingly.

Program #2 should be titled, The Kuan Yin Statue, not Kwan Yen Statue or the Quam Yi Statue. Kuan Yin is the correct name of the Buddhist deity referred to in the script. [see sidebar at left]

Program #11 should be titled, The Blue Moon, not Blue Moon. The 'blue moon' referred to in the script is a boat named The Blue Moon.

Program #18, arbitrarily dated 51-08-07 should be titled A Twelve Year Old Promise, not Twelve Year Promise. The title represents an intentional ambiguity in the script. The listener is initially led to believe that it's the promise between Matt Wallace and Slate Shannon concerning an agreement to split the proceeds of any oil strike the two might achieve with Matt as the wildcatter and Slate as the silent partner. As the story develops we learn that the real promise is the promise Wallace kept making to his estranged wife regarding an imagined 'oil strike' in Brazil to keep her believing in him and waiting faithfully. In addition, in every newspaper listing we compared, Ziv Program #35 is broadcast out of sequence with the other programs. Most archivists place this program in November of 1951, but the only newspapers that identify this program by plot were from December. We're left to wonder whether the radioGOLDINdex citation of the Ziv transcription number for 'Twelve Year Promise' is accurate. There are other ambiguities as well among radioGOLDINdex's citations. Until another like set of physical orginal transcriptions turns up, the ambiguities remain so.

Program #39 should be titled The Tabard of Pizarro, not Tappard of Pizaro nor Tapard of Pizaro nor Tabbard of Pizarro. A tabard is an article of ancient clothing. 'Tappard' is nothing but a surname.

Program #41 should be titled Crazy Old Carlo, not Crazy Old Carlos. Nowhere in the script is the name Carlos ever heard.

This is as good a place as any to address the bewildering number of aprocryphal titles that have accumulated in the Bold Venture canon over the years:

• There is no such thing as "Fetsui Jade." Fei Tsui jadeite, by contrast, has retained it's preeminence as one of the most popular green jadeites in China and is used almost exclusively in fine jade jewelry. Indeed, it's the jade referred to in Raymond Chandler's book, Farewell, My Lovely and the film, Murder, My Sweet.
• As indicated above, the name 'Carlos' is never once uttered in the episode, Crazy Old Carlo, although virtually every single apocryphal title in circulation and in 'authoritative' books and logs throughout the world unfathomably persist in titling it Crazy Old Carlos, Crazy Carlos, Carlos and Juan, or Carlos Ruiz.
• Episode No. 56 persists in being apocryphally titled Freddie Nay, Freddie Naye, or Freddie Nye. The name of Sailor's alleged 'husband' is Freddie Ney. But irrespective of who's posing as Sailor's putative hubby, the episode isn't about him. It's about Sailor's predicament in being framed for his murder, and of course the proceeds of the supposed $50,000 death benefit.
• The episode surrounding the search for Tommy Reed is unfathomably often named 'Amy Reed Wants Her Husband Found' or words to that effect. There is no character in The Search for Tommy Reed named Amy. Tommy Reed's wife is named Janice.
• The 'historical' character behind Señor Rufio's Legacy of Death is Señor Rufio, not Señor Ruffio.
• The word 'Sheba' is never uttered in The Tears of Siva.
• No character in A Bullet For Shannon is named Johnny Price.
• Episode No. 3 makes no mention whatsoever of 'crates of apples'. The cargo referenced in the spurious Bill of Lading refers to crates of apple juice, not apples. Raw apples, being a highly perishable commodity, couldn't possibly have supported the plot. Nor is more than one, single Bill of Lading ever mentioned.
• Even the newest round of Bold Venture releases is already contaminated by at least one inaccurate title: there is no one named Gary Martin in the recently released Episode No. 13.

It's perfectly understandable why these inaccuracies persist so tenaciously in the 'commercial otr world' in particular--it's commercial . . . purely commercial. Revised disk and cassette labels, book addenda, and 'highly credentialed expert logger' corrections and revisions take time, effort, money--and a willingness to concede historical or audible facts. OTR is, after all, primarily a commercial endeavor. And of course there are highly credentialed--and fragile--egos to contend with. Once one of these 'highly credentialed otr wags' pronounces something 'accurate'--or even worse, 'certifed accurate,' there's no way the vast majority of such 'credentialed authorities' would ever swallow their pride or 'reputations' and admit to an inaccuracy. That's the now legendary 'Microsoft Model': never ever admit to an error. In such an historically hostile environment as commercial otr, expediency will always trump historical accuracy.

It's also very easy to understand why many of these bewilderingly anecdotal 'titles' occur in the first place. In the 'commercial otr' world for the most part, expediency being what it is, the vast majority of 'credentialed otr experts' employ what we refer to as the 'two-minute rule,' in logging, tagging, 'researching', or 'certifying' an epsiode or a series: no more than two minutes is devoted to actually listening to an episode--if they even bother. Indeed, the single common denominator in every one of the above cited errors is the unalterable fact that the person or persons who arrived at the more preposterous titles never really listened to the episode they anecdotally named. . . . but we're willing to bet they're listening to them now.

The WSYR broadcasts of Bold Venture, as sponsored by The Genesee Brewing Company, were first 'teased' in Syracuse newspapers on April 9th and April 10th. When Bold Venture actually premiered on April 11, 1951 over WSYR, the announcement by The Genesee Brewing Company and WSYR took up a half page spot ad in Syracuse newspapers. We deliberately elected not to employ the WSYR run, primarily because there were no true provenances as to titles or sequence in any of the WSYR newspaper listings for the series. In fact, the entire OTRR log, for example, is extrapolated from a Big Spring, Texas run that began on March 26, 1951--still not the earliest broadcasts of Bold Venture. The earliest announced, advertised, and broadcast runs we were able to find were a March 23, 1951 premiere (a Friday) over WPCF in Florida and a March 25, 1951 premiere (a Sunday) over WGET in Pennsylvania.

Another obvious shortcoming employing the previous ''WSYR-based log'' was an election to use a Monday night schedule sequence to kick off a catalog effort. The WSYR run began airing on Wednesday nights, as can be provenanced in the premiere announcement in the sidebar (at left). [Update: Other loggers are now extrapolating their fictional logs citing an early run of Bold Venture over WBST, Big Spring, TX. That log is also unsustainable because there are no provenances whatsoever as to titles for that run].

Let's make this perfectly clear:

There was no complete, continguous newspaper listing run--with titles--for Bold Venture. Any log, ours included, that states otherwise is lying--period, no matter what its "credentials." A lie is a lie, no matter which 'highly credentialed member of the otr community' utters or writes it.

We had employed the color red to indicate the dates of the longest contiguous run we could find--the KGLO-CBS run, but we're aware that the Janesville Daily Gazette run spanned fifty-two listed weeks. We do not represent any 1951 dates as either the best broadcast dates or a complete chronological sequence of titles. They're simply chronological placeholders, though they all represent actual contiguous run listings.

The most consistently detailed descriptions we could find for Bold Venture were from the Janesville Daily Gazette, a WCLO run that began on June 20th 1951 and appears to have run as far as the first fifty-two episodes of Bold Venture to June 11th 1952. The WCLO broadcasts were sponsored by Yagla's Camera and Record shops of Janesville and Beloit. The Mason City Globe-Gazette KGLO-CBS listings ran for only thirty-three weeks.

Bold Venture Premiere Dates in Representative Newspapers

• 51-03-23 Panama City News-Herald Premiere - 8:30 p.m. WPCF
• 51-04-10 Mason City Globe-Gazette Premiere - 9 p.m. KGLO
• 51-04-11 Syracuse Herald Journal Premiere - 10:30 p.m. WSYR
• 51-04-19 Los Angeles Times Premiere - 6:30 p.m. KFI
• 51-06-20 Janesville Daily Gazette Premiere - 7:30 p.m. WCLO
• 51-09-06 Wisconsin State Journal Premiere - 8:30 p.m. WIBA
• 51-10-21 New York Times Premiere - 5:30 WNBC

Ziv Transcription No. 1

Since Bold Venture was a syndicated package, it was left to individual stations to air the initial fifty-two transcriptions in any order they deemed appropriate for their audience or sponsor. There was indeed some scant continuity built into the series. That continuity would have been lost airing the episodes out of order, but neither Ziv--nor the listening audiences--had any control over that process--at least for the first fifty-two episodes. The radioGOLDINdex states that Ziv Transcription No. 1 is "Deadly Merchandise", an anecdotal title. The script revolves around some questionable cargo and features Jay Novello in at least two roles. There is a considerable amount of intentionally ambiguous exposition at the beginning of the script. One is left to wonder whether that exposition frames the remainder of the current script or indeed, makes reference to earlier episodes. We believe it to be the former.

In three of the newspaper listings we found--that roughly described the first episode--each makes reference to a death at the knived claws of fighting cocks as well as oblique references to a revolutionary group. That's the basic arc of the episode that radioGOLDINdex cites as Ziv transcription No. 1. Given that markets large and small launched Bold Venture throughout the first three quarters of 1951, often two to three months apart from each other, we can only assume that each of those launches and subsequent broadcasts aired the transcriptions in the same order. We haven't enough descriptions from all of those overlapping markets to make that determination at this time. What we can determine is that the initial set of Bold Venture that Ziv's vaunted 100 salesmen were selling as an exclusively sponsor-targeted package, was a set of fifty-two installments of Bold Venture. When we can prove more, we'll publish more.

As of this writing, Bold Venture is still a moving target. And as such, we caution anyone using this log for other than episode sequences, corroboration, and/or comparison of titles and details, to hold off redating files until we can either determine--or abandon--a sustainable, provenanced date sequence. We invite you to check back periodically as we complete our ongoing vetting of the ostensible episode order and details. If we end up anchoring chronological dates for all seventy-eight episodes on the Ziv-announced national release date, we'll simply refer to those dates as theoretical or arbitrary since a run that early can't be consistently sustained with newspaper listing provenances alone--nor engineering logs for that matter. In any case, we're loathe to merely create yet another 'suspension of disbelief' log so much the fashion of late among 'highly credentialed members of the otr community.'

The simplified transcription order log below--with more detailed title provenances further below to support them--from any combination of newspaper listing references, as long as they agree, may be the only current practical solution. Since several Ziv productions such as Bold Venture were unique in being marketed directly to sponsors, the patchwork quilt of overlapping sponsorships--with the lone exception of the Yagla's sponsorship over WCLO--can only ever yield a theorectical chronological 1951-1952 run of fifty-two contiguous broadcast dates. Several of the more popular Ziv and M-G-M productions of the later 1940s and early 1950s pose the same problem--Ziv's Bright Star and M-G-M's Maisie, spring to mind.

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's 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.

Bold Venture Basic Program Log [1951-1952 Run] -- Detailed Log Further Below

Bold Venture Ziv Log [radioGOLDINdex]

Bold Venture Detailed Program Log [1951-1952 Run]

51-06-13 Janesville Daily Gazette
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall will be heard regularly in a new program to be broadcast on WCLO and WCLO-FM beginning next Wednesday at 7:30 p. m. Their program, Bold Venture, casts the two Hollywood stars in stories of the tropics. The dramas are in the mystery and adventure category. "Bold Venture," starring Bogart and Bacall, will be sponsored by Yagla's, of Janesville and Beloit. The premier broadcast is at 7:30 p. m. next Wednesday.

51-06-20 Janesville Gazette
Bogart-Bacall Discover
Death on "Bold Venture"
Humphrey Bogart as "Slate" and Lauren Bacall as "Sailor" find spine-tingling adventure and mystery in tropical Havana in tonight's "Bold Venture" tale.
The myterious Scarno, the likable Havana "poet," Mario, and the exotic Bebe bring tragedy and death in their wake. What is the mysterious "merchandise?" How are the lives of these concerned with Slate, Sailor and Slate's cruiser, "Bold Venture?"
Tonight's story at 7:30 on WCLO and WCLO-FM is sponsored by the Janesville Sand and Gravel Co. Each Wednesday evening at 7:30, listen for another thrilling dramatic tale starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

51-06-27 Janesville Gazette
Bogarts Star in Thrilling
Weekly Show, "Bold Venture"
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, stars of such stirring movies as 'To Have and Have Not," "The Big Sleep," "Key Largo," and "Casablanca," team up again in one of the most exciting, action-packed radio adventures ever aired.
It's "Bold Venture," sponsored by Yagla's Radio and Camera Shops and heard every Wednesday night at 7:30 on WCLO and WCLO-FM. It's a show filled with danger and drama.
Moody, magnetic Lauren Bacall plays "Lady Sailor" in the rough and tumble setting of a tropical waterfront.
Humphrey Bogart as "Slate Shannon" is as rugged as ever. He plays the stubborn, independent owner of the cruiser, "Bold Venture," and the Havana hotel, "Shannon's Place."
Tonight's adventure concerns the Kuan Yin statue, Sam Chu and Mickey, the silent man with the big fists.

51-08-01 Janesville Gazette
Mystery Mixes With Atomic
Scientist on Bold Venture
Yagla's Radio and Camera Shops of Janesville and Beloit present another in the exciting series of program on Bold Venture tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Bold Venture, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, is a weekly presentation of WCLO AM-FM. Tonight's story revolves around an atomic scientist who is being sought by severeal countries. Our stars are neatly involved in the turmoil and bring the styory to a smashing climax. For intrigue and mystery with two top stars hear Bold Venture tonight.

51-08-08 Janesville Daily Gazette
An exciting story is on tap tonight when Yagla's Camera and Record stores in Beloit and Janesville present another in the series of Bold Venture with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Tonight's story revolves around a young woman who murders her husband for his insurance money. The insurance company sends a detective to investigate the circumstances. The detective turns blackmailer and then the action really starts. Our stars are involved in the story and bring it to a smashing conclusion. Bold Venture is at 7:30 p.m. as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall bring thrills to the airways.

51-08-15 Janesville Gazette
"Forged Passports" Provide
Story on Bold Venture
Yagla's Radio and Camera Shops of Janesville and Beloit present Bold Venture, another in the exciting series of programs aired each Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. Bold Venture has two great stars to provide the drama, Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart.
Tonight's story, "Forged Passports," centers around the attempts of two criminals who attempt to rpint passports for the people of Puerto Rico. When the printer dies under mysterious circumstances in which our stars are involved in the action steps up and ends in a blazing and exciting finish.

51-08-22 Janesville Gazette
Another Exciting Mystery
on "Bold Venture" Tonight
When Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are involved in a plot with impersonations, you can be assured there will be action and fireworks. That's the basis of tonight's show when an enterprising young girl decides to impersonate Sailor Laval played by Lauren Bacall. When somebody is murdered and the police find that the murdered man's appointment was supposedly with Sailor Laval, the story really gets exciting. Yagla's Record and Camera shops of Janesville and Beloit present Bold Venture over WCLO AM-FM at 7:30 p. m. every Wednesday with the two great stars in the leading roles.

51-08-29 Janesville Gazette
Bold Venture
Yagla's Camera and Record shops of Janesville and Beloit present another in the series of dramatic show of Bold Venture tonight at 7:30. Tonight's story is another thriller and promises a program of good listening. A plea for a young daughter's welfare gets Slate Shannon into an ugly position where he's fighting for his own in a brawling drama aboard "Bold Venture" when Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall appear in their roles as Shannon and Sailor Duval over WCLO AM-FM. When Shannon attempts to help a man remove his daughter from the influence of the operatior of a gambling ship he runs afoul of a confidence game where victims are fleeced through a rigged roulette wheel. There's real trouble ahead as Slate has difficulty with the girl and learns that Sailor is being held prisoner on the gambling ship.

51-09-05 Janesville Daily Gazette
Bold Venture
An old-time shipmate of Slate Shannon brings trouble in big doses when he comes to Havana and asks Shannon to keep a packet of jewels for him in tonight's exciting "Bold Venture" that takes stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, as Shannon and Sailor Duval, to Port au Prince in search of a killer at 7:30 p.m. over WCLO AM-FM. The shipmate killed, jewels stolen and Sailor's life in peril, Shannon takes off on a dangerous trip in "Bold Venture" that finds him casting deadly harpoons in a grim battle to board a killer's boat and bring him to justice. Bold Venture tonight at 7:30 p.m. is brought to you
each Wednesday evening at this time by Yagla's Camera and Record Shops of Janesville and Beloit.

51-09-12 Janesville Daily Gazette
Bold Venture
A half million dollar payroll is at stake when gunmen warn Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall away from a friend they are meeting at the Havana Airport in a stirring Bold Venture tale at 7:30 p. m. over WCLO AM-FM tonight. Henchmen shoot down the plane, forcing friend Gary Martin to crash in the wilderness of the Island. The ensuing search for the missing man with a half million dollars takes a rough and tough Bogart, as Shannon, and Bacall, as Sailor Duval, into another exciting half-hour where cunning wits and flying fists are their most valuable weapons. Life and death depend on who reaches Martin first This stirring drama is brought to you by Yagla's Camera and Record shops of Janesville and Beloit.

51-09-19 Janesville Daily Gazette
Bold Venture
The high price of treason hangs heavily over Sailor Duval's head in tonight's suspenseful Bold Venture drama when Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall portray their vivid roles of Slate Shannon and Sailor at 7:30 p. m. over WCLO AM-FM. Their adventures are presented tonight and every Wednesday evening by Yagla's Camera and Radio shops of Janesville and Beloit. Phony evidence planted in government files results in an order for Sailor to leave Havana and agents responsible make a deal with Shannon to steal Carribean defense plans in exchange for killing the evidence against her. Desperate for the return of his ward, Shannon shares in the treasons acts and delivers the vital papers to a girl accomplice--but the sudden appearance of a living corpse turns the tables on the traitors.

51-09-26 Janesville Daily Gazette
At 7:30 ''Bold Venture" takes over, presented by Yagla's Camera and Radio Shops of Janesville and Beloit. Storms at sea and a diabolical scheme conspire to frustrate plans of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall to rescue a young girl in distress, in a dramatic thriller tonight

51-10-03 Janesville Daily Gazette
Bogart-Bacall
Four machinegunned bodies in a drifting lifeboat arouse the curiosity of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, stars of a thrilling "Bold Venture" drama at 7:30 p. m. over WCLO AM-FM presented every Wednesday by Yagla's Camera and Record shops of Janesville and Beloit. That upsets the carefully guarded secret of a slave ship and promises danger to anyone who interferes. When the dead men are found to be refugees of a schooner, supposedly lost at sea a year ago, operators of the ship take steps to quell meddling and lure SLate and Shannon aboard. Refugees, ripe for revenge, follow Shannon in a mutinous attack against the ship in a bold blow for freedom.

51-10-10 Janesville Daily Gazette
Bold Venture
A newlywed couple planning brilliant future find their past catching up with them in a tangled web of crime and deceit that involves Humphrey Bogart, their host at Shannon's hotel, and Lauren Bacall, as Sailor Duval, in tonight's dramatic story over WCLO AM- FM at 7:30 p. m. A Cuban private eye with an eye for blackmail comes to Havana with a complete dossier on the newly marrieds who have left an unpleasantly cold corpse behind them and collected a bit of hot Insurance. The two-fisted Bogart, too mixed up in the matter to withdraw gracefully, plunges In with both fists flying and before the issue is settled, there's another body to be explained.

51-10-17 Janesville Gazette
Bogart Bacall
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, stars of tonight's thrilling "Bold Venture" are involved in a story of a fake oil strike which a friend of Shannon's, portrayed by Bogart, has planned to hold his wife's interest. Hoodlums, one a big, ugly heavyweight fighter, attack Shannon in a desperate effort to take over the oil. Shannon, capitalizing on the experienced pugilist's show of strength, craftily instigates a brawl between the hoodlums and that leads to a quick decision without need of a referee. "Bold Venture" heard at 7:30 p. m., is presented by Yagla's Radio and Camera shops of Janesville and Beloit.

51-10-24 Janesville Gazette
Another "Bold Venture"
Thriller Tonight at 7:30
Slate Shannon's ship, "Bold Venture," becomes a ferryboat for the dead . . . and . . . the dying . . . as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are tricked into a plot to conceal murder in tonight's stirring drama at 7:30 p. m. over WCLO AM-FM. The show is presented by Yagla's Radio and Camera Shops of Janesville and Beloit.
An unfaithful wife and her current love, an unlicensed doctor, bury the murdered husband in a watery grave from the decks of "Bold Venture" only to find new evidence that won't be buried. Suspicions are aroused by the native workmen of the deceased . . . and blame for the unworthy deed falls on Sailor, portrayed by Lauren Bacall. In the ensuing skirmish, a more vitriolic poison, in the form of a native dart, falls on the unlucky Sailor. The next moments are action packed on tonight's show.

51-10-31 Janesville Gazette
Bold Venture
Suspicion of foul play turns into proof of murder when Slate Shannon looks into the disappearance of a wealthy woman's husband in an exciting "Bold Venture" mystery tonight at 7:30. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, starring in their colorful roles of Shannon and Sailor Duval, use an old post office trick to track down their quarry and find his murderers masquerading under his name while they spend money the lucrative lady mails Murderers aren't so easily handled, though, as our hero and heroine find, for guns shoot fast with a knife hanging around, too. Yagla's Camera and Radio Shops of Janesville and Beloit are sponsors of the show presented every Wednesday at 7:30 p. m.

51-11-07 Janesville Gazette
Bogart-Bacall
There's action aplenty, above and below water, as a friend of Slate Shannon is killed when the two embark on a deep sea diving expedition to a sunken ship in tonight's thrilling drama of "Bold Venture." The story starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, airs at 7:30 p. m. over WCLO AM-FM, presented by Yagla's Camera and Radio Shops of Janesville and Beloit. Gunmen planning to take over the treasure believed to be on the ship force Shannon, portrayed by Bogart, to dive for the treasure. After returning to the surface with only a minor portion of the treasure, Shannon's stalling for time leads to accidental killing of one gunman and a noisy, brawling fist fight decision on the decks of "Bold Venture."

51-11-14 Janesville Gazette
Bold Venture
An abandoned ketch with a table set for dinner and no one aboard sets a desolate mood for a well-planned murder in tonight's "Bold Venture" mystery. The show, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, will be presented at 7:30 over WCLO AM-FM by Yagla's Radio and Camera Shops of Janesville and Beloit. A fouled fuel line prevents Bold Venture's towing in the ketch but registry records indicate there's treachery affot when she is identified as one owned by Captain Carey, a gentleman with an ugly reputation for blowing up ships. How to thwart a wealthy young woman's murder-for-money takes fast thinking and even quicker action for Slate Shannon and Sailor Duval tonight.

51-11-21 Janesville Daily Gazette
Bold Venture
When Humphrey Bogart gets pally with an old girl friend visiting Havana, there's fireworks from Lauren Bacall in a new "Bold Venture" story at 7:30 p.m. tonight presented by Yagla's Camera and Radio shops of Janesville and Beloit. There's motive for murder, too, when friend Jinny's rich husband is found dead and suspicion falls on Bogart in his role as the rough and tough Slate Shannon. Bacall, as Sailor Duval, sulks it out as a sob singer in a small cafe, while Slate slugs his way out of a murder trap.

51-11-28 Janesville Daily Gazette

Shooting Gallery Scene
of "Bold Venture" Finale

A key entrusted to their care springs a lock that reveals stolen property and has bandits on the trail of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in their roles as Slate Shannon and Sailor Duval in tonight's "Bold Venture." The thriller at 7:30 p. m. over WCLO AM-FM is brought to you by Yagla's Radio and Camera Shops of Janesville and Beloit.
When a gunman and his girl cook up a plot to relieve Slate Shannon of the purloined money a jockey has stolen from bookies and cached in a bus terminal locker, the chase is on and real fireworks explode in a shooting gallery.

51-12-12 Janesville Daily Gazette

51-12-26 Janesville Daily Gazette

Card Sharp, Ship's Gambler
Vie on "Bold Venture"

By RALPH SCHROEDER
Cards are on the table, below the table and practically everywhere in a sleight of hand game that proves too much for big-time gamblers in tonight's "Bold Venture" story starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall over WCLO at 7:30 p. m. The drama is presented by Yagla's Radio and Camera Shops of Janesville and Beloit. A card sharp in league with a notorious ship's gambler is not particular whose money he takes by cheating . . . but there's excitement aplenty when the Kid takes Shannon, the hard-hitting Bogart in a friendly game for matchsticks. When the last hand is face up, it takes a smoking gun to clear the air.

"You true hearted women
wherever you be,
Pray take my advice
and be arited by me,
Be true to your sweethearts
and when they come home,
Then you'll live as happy
as Darby and Jone"

The 'widow', Mary Baker
Darby & Joan Lonely Hearts, Inc.
Betty Lou Gerson as Laura
Frank Baker
Nestor Paiva as Inspector La Salle
Jester Hairston as King Moses
Mr. Kreblin
Luis, the shutterbug

51-11-21 Janesville Gazette
Bold Venture
When Humphrey Bogart gets pally with an old girl friend visiting Havana, there's fireworks from Lauren Bacall in a new "Bold Venture" story at 7:30 p. m. tonight presented by Yagla's Camera and Radio Shops of Janesville and Beloit. There's motive for murder, too, when friend Jinny's rich husband is found dead and suspicion falls on Bogart in his role as the rough and tough Slate Shannon. Bacall, as Sailor Duval, sulks it out as a sob singer in a small cafe, while Slate slugs his way out of a murder trap.

51-12-26 Janesville Daily Gazette

Card Sharp, Ship's Gambler
Vie on "Bold Venture"

By RALPH SCHROEDER
Cards are on the table, below the table and practically everywhere in a sleight of hand game that proves too much for big-time gamblers in tonight's "Bold Venture" story starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall over WCLO at 7:30 p. m. The drama is presented by Yagla's Radio and Camera Shops of Janesville and Beloit. A card sharp in league with a notorious ship's gambler is not particular whose money he takes by cheating . . . but there's excitement aplenty when the Kid takes Shannon, the hard-hitting Bogart in a friendly game for matchsticks. When the last hand is face up, it takes a smoking gun to clear the air.

51-12-31 Janesville Daily Gazette
The program department of WCLO brought forth many new shows. New programs included Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall starring in Bold Venture. This program has been heard the last six months of 1951 at 7:30 each Wednesday night Bold Venture begins the new year with its first broadcast, Jan. 2, at a new time, 8:30 p. m. each Wednesday. It is sponsored by Yagla's in Janesville and Beloit.

52-03-26 Janesville Daily Gazette
Murder Is Theme of Bold Venture. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall answer a mother's call for her son about to be executed for murder and the stars of Bold Venture are off on another exciting of adventure...

52-05-07 Janesville Daily Gazette
Death Without Violence Theme of Bold Venture. A girl's mother is murdering her by slow degrees on tonight's Bold Venture

52-05-07 Janesville Daily Gazette
Slate Shannon and Sailor Duval feed a prospector from Sumatra...A woman friend to whom the prospector had written about his gold slays his Giant manservant and threatens Shannon's life to learn the whereabouts of the gold.

52-06-11 Janesville Daily Gazette
"Bold Venture stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall as Slate Shannon and Sailor. They kidnap the little girl to lead them to her fathers payoff money. A girl is stranded in Shannon's Place when her prizefighter father is slain by thugs. She and her piggy bank play an important part."

Bold Venture Biographies

But Bogart, every bit a pragmatist, much like his character Rick in Casablanca (1942), was not a political activist. He remained passionate about his beliefs, taking stands when he felt he must, but he was pragmatic enough to know which battles to pick--and which to abandon--to win his personal wars. In Bogart's own words, he was a "Democrat in politics, Episcopalian by upbringing, dissenter by disposition."

Sardonic almost until the end, one of Humphrey Bogart last quotes was, "I should never have switched from scotch to martinis." Bogart died in 1957.

Once on her own, Betty became a fashion model, appearing on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, one of the most widely read fashion magazines of its day. Director Howard Hawks' wife spotted the Harper's cover and arranged a screen test for her. As a result, at the age of 19 she was offered the part of Marie Browning in To Have and Have Not (1944), opposite Humphrey Bogart--as Lauren Bacall. Thus two Hollywood legends were set in motion--the first of several Bogart/Bacall films and one of Hollywood's most successful, passsionate and captivating romances.

Upon completing Confidential Agent (1945), Lauren received second billing in The Big Sleep (1946) with Bogie. Her role of Vivian Sternwood Rutledge, was her first to show some real chemistry with Bogie, by then her real life husband. Indeed much of The Big Sleep was reshot and recut specifically to make the on-screen chemistry between them even more compelling.

Though averaging only one film a year, each was eagerly awaited by an adoring public. Lauren starred again with Bogie in the thriller, Dark Passage (1947), a film that kept movie patrons on the edge of their seats. She followed that with Bogie, Edward G. Robinson, and Lionel Barrymore in Key Largo (1948).

Having achieved some celebrity of her own by then, she became politically active as well. Indeed in the 1948 Presidential campaign she was an active and enthusiastic supporter of Harry S. Truman. After the success of Key Largo, the Bogarts setted into beginning a family. Lauren Bacall gave birth to their son, Stephen in January 1949. They named their son after Bogie's character in To Have and Have Not. They'd also purchased their beloved 55 foot schooner, Santana from Dick Powell in 1945.

In 1950, Lauren starred in Bright Leaf (1950), a period drama set in 1894. It was her second film without her husband--she co-starrred with Gary Cooper. Lauren then appeared in her first comedy as Schatze Page in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), with Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable. It was a smash hit all across America, for understandable reasons.

The 1950s also marked Bacall's debut in Television, appearing several times in both variety programs and comedies. She'd begun her Radio career some five years earlier with appearances on Lux Radio Theatre, The Lucky Strike Program, and her own adventure program, Bold Venture (1951) with Bogie. Their studio sessions taping Bold Venture were interrupted for six months while she accompanied Bogie to Europe and Africa to film Bogie's Oscar winning performance in The African Queen (1951) with Katherine Hepburn.

Upon their return from Europe, they completed recording Bold Venture, and each resumed their film career. Lauren's film plans were sidelined for much of 1952 with her pregnancy with her daughter Leslie, born in August 1952. Leslie was named after actor Leslie Howard, the man Bogie felt most responsible for his big Film break in The Petrified Forest. 1952 was a very busy year for both the Bogarts. Bogie won an Oscar, the two of them had a new child, they moved into a new mansion, and both were undertaking new film projects. With the proceeds of the profits from The African Queen, the Bogarts bankrolled their own Beat The Devil (1953) an adventure farce that initially bombed at the box office, but in subsequent years became a cult classic.

For the next four years, the Bogarts settled into a far more domestic relationship with their young family. Humphrey Bogart was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1956, shortly after completing his last film, ironically titled The Harder They Fall (1956). Bogart eventually succumbed to the cancer in January of 1957.

Still reeling at being left a 33-yr. old widow with two children, Bacall returned to Film with The Gift of Love (1958), opposite Robert Stack. The production was a predictable disappointment. Bacall moved back to New York City, appearing in several Broadway plays to critical acclaim. She enjoyed acting to live audiences and the adoring audiences reciprocated.

It was almost six years before Lauren Bacall returned to Film again, with Shock Treatment (1964) and Sex and the Single Girl (1964), the latter with Henry Fonda and Tony Curtis. She then starred in Harper (1966) with Paul Newman and Julie Harris. By then alternating her time between Film and the Stage, Lauren co-starrred in Murder on the Orient Express (1974) a star-studded adaptation of the Agatha Christie mystery which brought Ingrid Bergman her third Oscar. Bacall then starred with John Wayne in The Shootist (1976), which was The Duke's last film--he died from cancer in 1979.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Lauren Bacall was appearing regularly on Television as well, mostly in guest-starring roles. She was remarried in 1961, to noted dramatic actor Jason Robards. They were married for eight years before divorcing in 1969. Their son, Sam Robards has become a successful actor in his own right. In 1981 she returned to Film as an actress being stalked by a psychopathic admirer in The Fan (1981). The next seven years saw her performing almost exclusively on Broadway, with the occasional guest appearance on Television.

Bacall again returned to film with Mr. North (1988), Misery (1990), several made for television films, and My Fellow Americans (1996) with Jack Lemmon and James Garner.

A timeless, sultry beauty, Great Britain's Empire magazine voted her one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History in 1995, and one of the Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time in 1997. The American Film Institute ranks her #20 among the top 25 Legendary Actresses in history. And in 1997 she was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in The World.

So it is, that despite her advanced age and periodic health setbacks, Lauren Bacall has remained both politically and socially active. Indeed her appearance in a recent Ad campaign for women's health issues was stunningly effective as a worldly wisened, yet sultry mentor to younger women. A role for which Lauren Bacall, perhaps more than most women of her age, is wonderfully well equipped, even today.

Lauren Bacall remains an icon of her time, as effective as ever in her rare appearances before the public, and as beloved as ever to fans old and new.

Sample this recent interpretation of 'Mary's Boy Child' from R. W. Hampton. You can hear his entire 2005 'Noel' album here.

Jester Hairston continued to work in Television and Film for sixty-six years, compiling over 300 appearances in Television and Film. Hairston also appeared as Wildcat on That's My Mama (1974). Hairston's last co-starring role was in the Television hit, Amen (1986-1991) as Rollie Forbes. Hairston's last Film peformance was in the critically acclaimed Being John Malkovich (1999) the year before Hairston passed away of natural causes at the age of 99.

By the 1960s, already an icon in the world of Choral Music, Jester Hairston was tapped to tour Europe for the State Department in 1961 as a roving Cultural Ambassador. In that capacity, Hairston demonstrated Choral Technique, guest-directed many European choirs and introduced much of Europe to the beautiful Choral Gospel music Hairston had so perfected by then.

A devoted union man for most of his career, he joined the Screen Actor's Guild in 1927 as one of its first black members--and ASCAP in 1956. Active in both, Hairston took leadership roles in both unions to ensure better treatment of both actors and technicians during both their working careers and retirement. Hairston also led the first fully integrated choir in Hollywood. Jester Hairston guest-conducted many famous choirs, including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Indeed, at the age of 80 Jester Hairston led the 25,000 member Russian Choir. Hairston also spent considerable time teaching music in schools and camps and teaching new generations to carry on the traditions of Gospel Choir Music.

Hairston's most popular song compositions include Mary's Boy Child, Poor Man Lazarus, and many Gospel songs including In Dat Great Gittin' Up Mornin', Amen, and Gossip, Gossip.

Though never a man of great physical stature, Jester Hairston remains a giant in the world of Choral Music, an icon for his time, and an example of the benefits of dedication, hard work, discipline, and pure Joy of Life to the millions of lives he continues to touch through his legacy.

(David Rose and His Ochestra)

1940 Meet David Rose
1940 California Melodies
1941 Forecast
1941 Adventures In Melody
1941 Muted Music
1941 Barrel Of Fun
1941 The Chamber Music Society Of Lower Basin Street
1942 Navy Relief Program
1942 Command Performance
1947 The Raleigh Cigarette Program
1948 Operation Nightmare
1948 Guest Star
1948 The Red Skelton Show
1950 The David Rose Show
1955 The Tony Martin Show
1959 Hollywood Salutes the National Guard
Here's To Veterans
Freedom Is Our Business