Melody And Madness

Show Information based on John Dunning's book "On The Air"

Musical variety (1938-1939).

Melody and Madness, though intended as a vehicle for Robert Benchley, became a classic stand for Artie Shaw. Benchley, nationally known as a cerebral comic, was much ballyhooed in this, his first radio series. He had been a columnist for the New Yorker for a decade and had made 40-odd short films, and his membership in the fabled Algonquin Round Table seemed to certify his wit. But somehow he didn't quite make it on the air. He did three monologues, and Shaw played three melodies: that was the weekly format of Melody and Madness.

But the show caught the Shaw band on the upswing, perhaps two pieces short of greatness. When Shaw hired Georgie Auld on reeds and Buddy Rich on drums in December 1938, the orchestra bloomed into a swing giant. The band burst into 1939 with a free and happy sound: highlighted by the trumpet of Bernie Privin, the trombone of George Arus, Shaw's clarinet, and the vocals of Helen Forrest, it captured its moment as vividly as a photograph.

CAST:

Robert Benchley, resident wit, with various New York personnel.

Warren Hull, host, as of mid-1939.

ANNOUNCERS: John Fleming, Del Sharbutt.

VOCALISTS: Dick Todd, Helen Forrest, and the Four Clubmen, directed by Lyn Murray.

ORCHESTRA: Artie Shaw (Lud Gluskin on at least three shows, in Shaw's absence).

DIRECTOR: Martin Gosch.

BROADCAST HISTORY:

Nov. 20, 1938-Nov. 14,1939, CBS. 30m, Sundays at 10 through May 14. 1939;

Blue Network, beginning May 23, Tuesdays at 9. Old Gold Cigarettes.