That the best
in entertainment is always on WMAQ is obvious after a glance at a list of stars,
both past and present, who made their radio debuts over Chicago's oldest station---celebrating
its 25th anniversary on April 13.
Wayne King, for instance, made
his first broadcast anywhere over WMAQ on January 28, 1928. Then there is Ed Wynn,
who made his initial broadcast on October 2, 1922; Vincent Lopez, who made his
microphone debut on September 13, 1924 and Phil Baker, who first was heard over
WMAQ on October 17, 1930. Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians made one of their
earliest broadcasts on WMAQ on August 9, 1922, and Don
Ameche was heard in many shows in his early days in radio.
One of WMAQ's biggest achievements was the uncovering of a new act by Marian and
Jim Jordan, now known as Fibber
McGee and Molly, who made their first appearance in the Smackout comedy series
on February 24, 1931.
Finally, WMAQ is proud of the fact that it introduced Charles Correll and Freeman
Gosden to the world for the first time as Amos
'n' Andy on March 19, 1928. Other first timers were Count Llya Tolstoy, son
of the noted author; Cyrens Van Gordon, opera star; Lorado Taft, the sculptor;
Rosa Raisa, the famed soprano; George Arliss, Ben Hecht, Otis
Skinner, Ruth Chatterton and Jane Addams. |
