The Collier Hour
Encyclopedia
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
in a calculated move to increase subscriptions and compete with The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
. Airing on the Wednesday prior to each week's distribution of the magazine, the program soon moved to 8:15pm on Sundays in order to avoid spoilers with dramatizations of stories simultaneously appearing in the magazine.
Story segments during the hour-long program were introduced by a host known as the Editor (portrayed by John B. Kennedy
John B. Kennedy
John Bright Kennedy was an American radio correspondent, journalist, and film narrator.He was born in Quebec, of a French-Canadian mother and an Irish engineer father. His work included a commentator on the program The Magic Key which ran from 1934 to 1939...
, Jack Arthur, Phil Barrison and Arthur Hughes). Directed by Colonel Thomas Davis, the series was created and produced by Malcolm LaPrade (1892 -1974) with music under the supervision of his brother, Ernest LaPrade (1889-1969), who also conducted for the Orchestra of the Nation series.
Three Sax Rohmer
Sax Rohmer
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
serials from the magazine were broadcast, each in 12 weekly parts: The Day the World Ended aired on Wednesdays from May 1, 1929 to July 17, 1929. Daughter of Fu Manchu was heard on Sundays from March 9, 1930 to May 25. 1930 with Arthur Hughes as Dr. Fu Manchu. Sax Rohmer introduced Yu'an Hee See Laughs, serialized on Sundays from March 1, 1931 to May 17, 1931.
In 1929, the format was altered and The Collier Hour became a variety show, offering music, news, sports and comedy in addition to the dramatizations. Helen Hayes appeared on the show October 5, 1930. Guests on the series included George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
(in his radio debut), John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
and Helen Keller
Helen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
.
When Robert Ripley
Robert Ripley
Robert LeRoy Ripley was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur and amateur anthropologist, who created the world famous Ripley's Believe It or Not! newspaper panel series, radio show, and television show which feature odd 'facts' from around the world.Subjects covered in Ripley's cartoons and text...
's 1930 debut on The Collier Hour brought a strong listener reaction, he was given a Monday night NBC series beginning April 14, 1930, followed by a 1931–32 series airing twice a week.