Wendy Warren and the News

Wendy Warren and the News was a radio soap opera in the United States. It was broadcast on CBS[1] weekday afternoons, June 23, 1947 - November 12, 1958.[2] The program was notable for the title character's reporting actual "women's news" in addition to appearing in a more traditional soap opera role.[3]

Wendy Warren and the News
Les Tremayne (as Gil Kendal) and Florence Freeman (as Wendy Warren) are shown in a scene from Wendy Warren and the News.
GenreSoap opera
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
SyndicatesCBS
StarringFlorence Freeman
Written byJohn Picard
Frank Provo
Directed byHoyt Allen
Allan Fristoe
Tom McDermott
Don Wallace
Paul Roberts
Original releaseJune 23, 1947 – November 12, 1958
Sponsored byGeneral Foods
Procter & Gamble
Armour and Company

Format

One old-time radio reference book called Wendy Warren and the News a "show within a show."[1] Another said the program was "a unique insertion in the schedule and there was nothing like it elsewhere."[4] A contemporary magazine's review called the show's structure "A cunning trap ... set by CBS for opposed-to-soap-opera dialers."[5]

Each episode began with real-life news presented by CBS newsman Douglas Edwards, followed by "a few items of particular interest to women" presented by Florence Freeman in the role of the title character, Wendy Warren.[1] Then the actual soap opera began, relating the "trials and tribulations" of Warren's daily life.[6]

The plot featured Warren as a two-media journalist, reporting for a fictional newspaper (the Manhattan Gazette) as well as on radio.[4] As was typical of radio soap operas, the heroine's personal life was a primary focus, such as in one episode when "Wendy walked out of the studio at the conclusion of their broadcast into the arms of a forgotten fiance, a U.S. flyer that she thought had been killed five years before in China. At the time when he returned, Wendy was engaged to her publisher boss."[1]

Personnel

The program's characters and cast are shown in the table below.

CharacterActor/Actress
Wendy WarrenFlorence Freeman
Douglas Edwardshimself
Mark DouglasLamont Johnson
Gil KendalLes Tremayne
Nora MarshAnne Burr
Adele LangJane Lauren
Charles LangHorace Brahan
JeanMeg Wyllie
Don SmithJohn Raby
Bill FloodHugh James
Sam WarrenRod Hendrickson
Aunt DorricTess Shehan[7]

Source: Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows,[6] except as indicated.

Directors were Paul Roberts,[8] Hoyt Allen, Allan Fristoe, Tom McDermott, and Don Wallace; the music director was Clarke Morgan. Writers were John Picard and Frank Provo.[6]

Sponsors

Wendy Warren and the News' initial sponsorship by General Foods resulted from a problem that arose with the company's sponsorship of another program, that of Kate Smith. The January 31, 1949, issue of Sponsor magazine reported the background as follows:

After nearly 15 years of sponsoring Kate Smith, her daytime rating in 1946 was high on the list for her type of show. Everything was going fine for General Foods until Kate began to plug for a higher talent fee. While General Foods executives were carefully figuring the proposed increases against her proven sales results, Kate, feeling secure in her position after 15 years, began to make cracks on the air about independent grocers, and how much better (and safer) it was to buy at chain stores. It drew fire immediately from independent grocers, particularly from the Michigan Retail Grocers Association, who let General Foods know in no uncertain terms what they thought of Kate Smith. That did it. Miss Smith was dropped, and Wendy Warren went into the time period on CBS.[9]

Other sponsors included Armour and Company and [10] Procter & Gamble.[11]

Legacy

"The Wendy Warren Award" was a joint project of the program and Today's Woman magazine. It was presented monthly, with each recipient being a woman "who has added stature to a woman's place in the world, through marked success in business, industry, science or the arts, or through her activities and accomplishments on behalf of community welfare."[12] Judges were Edwards and Freeman from the program and Julian Bach, the magazine's editor. Initial recipients on September 1, 1953, were Mrs. John Eisenhower and Dr. Estelle Popham of Hunter College.[12]

References
  1. Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. P. 746.
  2. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 714-715. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  3. "Wendy Warren". Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. Harrisburg Telegraph. July 5, 1947. p. 19. Retrieved April 25, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Cox, Jim (2007). Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s--A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6086-1. P. 105.
  5. "Playbacks: "Wendy Warren And the News"" (PDF). Radio Life. July 13, 1947. p. 12. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  6. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 350.
  7. "(photo caption)" (PDF). Radio Album. Summer 1948. p. 71. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  8. "Personal Notes" (PDF). Television Digest. February 18, 1956. p. 6. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  9. "Why Sponsors Change Programs" (PDF). Sponsor. 3 (5): 19–21. January 31, 1949. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  10. "New Sales of Daytime Radio Inked by CBS" (PDF). Billboard. September 18, 1954. p. 7. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  11. "Wendy Warren And The News". Iowa, Mason City. The Mason City Globe-Gazette. February 26, 1957. p. 2. Retrieved April 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Dr. Estelle Popham, Mrs. John Eisenhower First Winners of "Wendy Warren Award"". Oklahoma, Stilwell. Stilwell Democrat-Journal. October 22, 1953. p. 8.
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