Summary: Amateur Of The Month (Aired January 1, 1941) Allen began radio’s longest-running “feud” in 1937, when he made a series of jokes about fellow comedian Jack Benny. Allen's best-remembered feature was “Allen's Alley,” a weekly segment in which he would discuss issues of the day with eccentric creations like the blustery Senator Claghorn, Brooklyn housewife Pansy Nussbaum and stoic New Englander Titus Moody. Allen was known to read up to nine newspapers a day and often spent 12 to 14 hours a day writing and re-writing his scripts. Poor health forced Allen off the air in 1944, but he returned in the fall of 1945 with The Fred Allen Show, which lasted until June 26, 1949. Fred Allen died on March 17, 1956. Fred Allen was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988. THIS EPISODE: January 1, 1941. "Amateur Of The Month" - CBS network, WABC, New York aircheck. Sponsored by: Texaco. The program begins with "Keep An Eye On Your Heart." News Of The Week: "Fog Cripples Air Travel In New York." The program's guest is Patrick Brennan, a smokestack watcher. The Texaco Round Table question of the week is discussed by three members of the audience: "Do you think a husband should read the newspaper at the breakfast table?" The Texaco Workshop Players present "All Is Not Gold That Glitters," a satire on radio giveaways and quiz shows. Fred Allen, Jimmy Wallington (announcer), Portland Hoffa, Kenny Baker, The Martins, Minerva Pious, Larry Elliott (commercial spokesman), Al Goodman and His Orchestra, Patrick Brennan. 1:02:03. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.
