Vox Pop (radio)
Encyclopedia
Vox Pop was a popular radio program of interviews, quizzes and human interest features, sometimes titled Sidewalk Interviews (1936) and Voice of the People. It was heard from the early 1930s to the late 1940s.
The program was launched in 1932 on KTRH in Houston when advertising salesmen Parks Johnson and Jerry Belcher went into the street with portable microphones to talk to people about the 1932 presidential race between Herbert Hoover
and FDR.
They continued after the election, and as they developed the premise into a series, it expanded on the Southwest Broadcasting System. Three years later, Johnson and Belcher moved the show to New York and were heard on the Blue Network
in 1935 as a summer replacement for Joe Penner
. On October 13, 1935, they became part of the regular NBC
schedule with Belcher replaced by Wally Butterworth
in 1936.
They remained on NBC until 1939 when they jumped to CBS. Butterworth was replaced by Neil O'Malley in 1942, and O'Malley was later replaced by Warren Hull
.
The series came to an end on ABC in 1947-48.
The program was launched in 1932 on KTRH in Houston when advertising salesmen Parks Johnson and Jerry Belcher went into the street with portable microphones to talk to people about the 1932 presidential race between Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
and FDR.
They continued after the election, and as they developed the premise into a series, it expanded on the Southwest Broadcasting System. Three years later, Johnson and Belcher moved the show to New York and were heard on the Blue Network
Blue Network
The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of an American radio production and distribution service from 1927 to 1945...
in 1935 as a summer replacement for Joe Penner
Joe Penner
Joe Penner was an American 1930s-era vaudeville, radio and film comedian. He was an ethnic Hungarian born as József Pintér in Nagybecskerek, Austria-Hungary...
. On October 13, 1935, they became part of the regular NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
schedule with Belcher replaced by Wally Butterworth
Wally Butterworth
Hebert Wallace “Wally” Butterworth was an American radio announcer and host of variety and quiz shows.Born in Philadelphia, Butterworth aspired to be a singer from an early age...
in 1936.
They remained on NBC until 1939 when they jumped to CBS. Butterworth was replaced by Neil O'Malley in 1942, and O'Malley was later replaced by Warren Hull
Warren Hull
John Warren Hull was an actor and TV personality, active from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was one of the most popular serial actors in the action-adventure field....
.
The series came to an end on ABC in 1947-48.
Merchandising
In the 1938 Milton Bradley game, Vox Pop, players pulled chips from a bag to answer questions on a host's card. The game box cover displayed a yellow lightning bolt on a blue field. The box cover of a later edition (titled The New Vox Pop on the question cards) showed Johnson and Butterworth set against a New York skyline.Sources
- Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
- Hoerschelmann, Olaf. Rules of the Game, Suny Press, 2006.