The Hummerts were not only a considerable power in entertainment broadcasting during the Golden Age of Radio, they were among the medium most reclusive and strange couples; a reputation for strangeness they not only enjoyed, but seemed to encourage.
An Advertising and Journalistic Background
Edward Frank Hummert Jr. was born in St Louis, MO, on June 2, 1884, to a French mother and English Mercantilist father. Frank Sr.'s business concerns took the family all around the US and Europe before finally settling permanently in St Louis. Frank Jr. was primed to follow in his father's footsteps with an international education, usually in high-caliber Jesuit institutions. However the excitement of the fourth estate seemed more exciting, and at the age of 20 he landed a job with the St Louis Post-Dispatch. Later he would have reporting positions with New World, the news journal of the Archdiocese of Chicago, and the International News Syndicate of The New York Times. However work in the newspapers failed to hold his interest. He would make and lose a fortune in real estate and at one point went to work with his father in the import/export field. During the Great War he was called upon to generate slogans for the War Bond effort, "which helped win the war far more than any bullets he might have fired." His slogan "Bonds or Bondage" appeared throughout the US and Great Britain. Before settling fully in the advertising world, he held a job rewriting theatrical scripts for $125 each. This would give him great experience in scenario plotting and dialogue development when his professional pursuits reached their apex.
| This compilation contains the many productions in existence created by the Hummerts including rare episodes of American Melody Hour, Barry Cameron, Evelyn Winters, John's Other Wife, Judy and Jane and Pretty Kitty Kelly. |
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| Volume 2 |
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| Volume 3 |
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| Volume 4 |
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| Volume 5 |
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| Volume 6 |
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| Volume 7 |
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| Volume 8 |
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His full time launch into advertising would be somewhat accidental. He came to the aid of a friend whose enterprise was failing, and managed to turn the downslide around through the sheer force of promotional ingenuity. Thinking he could do this for others, he began accepting copywriting assignments at night. By 1920 he would be hired by the prestigious New York firm of Lord & Thomas. Through the cash-flushed times prior to the Great Depression he proved again and again his ability to come up with just the right phrase or slogan that would get the public buying. For Proctor and Gamble's Camay Soap he coined the slogan "For Skin You Love to Touch." This contact with the soap makers would prove prophetic for Frank Hummert. In 1927 he was offered a vice presidency of the Chicago firm that would become Blackett-Sample-Hummert, Inc. Although not a full partner, adding his name to the firm helped to built the image of the firm, where Hummert's main role was that of Idea Man. Hummert would lead the firm into broadcasting, but he didn't do it alone. It was around this time that a bright young woman, nearly twenty years his junior, was brought to his attention as a potential assistant.
Anne Schumacher Ashenhurst was the daughter of a Baltimore policeman who believed that it would be a waste of money to educate a girl. Therefore Anne financed her own college tuition as a College Correspondent for The Baltimore Sun. After graduation she moved to Paris for a job with The International Herald Tribune. In Paris she married reporter John Ashenhurst. The couple settled in Chicago, home of the Ashenhurst's, and were divorced in 1928. A son, John, was born in 1927. Anne was unable to find journalistic work, so was attracted to the assistantship of Frank Hummert. She became extremely valuable to the firm, and soon was promoted to a vice presidency with compensation equal to Hummert's. The couple "resisted" each other's charms for seven years before they were married in 1935.
Early Radio Serial Work
Frank began to follow a serial published in a local newspaper, and hit upon the idea of bringing the concept to radio for his clients. He hired the writer of the newspaper serial to develop The Stolen Husband for local Chicago broadcast. The program was notable in that all of the parts were played by a single actor, changing his voice and moving to different positions around the microphone to portray the different characters.
The Hummert's first major radio success is acknowledged to be Bill the Barber, later retitled Just Plain Bill. The show is also credited as the Hummert's first successful Soap Opera, even though it started in an evening time slot. Bill Davidson had a barbershop in the town of Hartville, where he lived with his daughter. When he wasn't cutting hair, Bill would help solve his neighbor's problems. Eventually he would woo and marry a woman well above his own station. Interclass marriage would become a favored theme of the Hummerts.
The Hummert Radio Factory Perfected
The process of developing and continuing a radio drama was relatively simple, once it was put into place. The "Radio Factory" was often compared to Henry Ford's assembly line, not only for its output, but also the impersonal way it often operated. The couple would outline the plot of a show, developing the characters and the plot twists in an outline form. The concepts would then be turned over to another writer, a "Dialoguer", to be finished as a completed script. With most of the "creative work" already done for the stories, the Hummerts (working through their own company, Air Features, Inc.) were able to pay their writers below the market scale, many of them took on their Hummert projects as a sideline while involved in other projects, adding "caviar money" to their "meat and potatoes work." Penny pinching was seen throughout Air Features. The couple had very little to do with their actors and actresses. Often they would be auditioned by Anne, but the actual hiring would be done by lawyers or agents of Air Features. A contract would be placed on the table in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion, leaving little room for negotiation, and often at cut rates in comparison to other programs. However, working for Air Features, while at lower pay scales, was considered steady and stable work.
Long Term Commercial Success In Spite of Critical Distain
The Hummerts were often attacked for their programs, which were ridiculed as sensationalist and low class, given their plot lines often depending on devices such as amnesia, deceit and jealousy, unfaithful spouses, unsavory business practices, and murder. Anne defended her shows, saying they upheld moral values, upheld family life, spotlighted successful stories of people from unsuccessful backgrounds, and that the bad behavior was never rewarded in the end. The loyal following and long life of their most successful programs, Ma Perkins (1935-55), The Romance of Helen Trent (1933-60), Mary Noble, Backstage Wife (1935-59), Lorenzo Jones (1937-55), Our Gal Sunday (1937-59), Stella Dallas(1937-55) and Young Widder Brown (1938-56) suggest that their formulas worked, and that audience loyalty was a greater force than critical distain.
Although they are best remembered for their great number of Soap Opera successes, the couple also applied their formula to a number of Mystery/Crime dramas, including Stevens and Son of Scotland Yard (1932), Detective Reeder (1939), Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons (1943-55), Mystery Theatre (1948-51), Mr. Chameleon (1950-53), Inspector Thorne (1951), and Hearthstone of the Death Squad (1951-52). Juvenile Adventure Serials, airing in the late afternoon just before the dinner hour, were also successful under the Hummert formula. See Little Orphan Annie (1931-42), Penrod and Sam (1931-36), and Chandu the Magician (1935-36). Musicals were a very big part of the Hummert line up: Hollywood Nights (1931-32), Manhattan Merry Go Round (1932-49), Melodiana (1933-36), Waltz Time (1933 - 1955) Album of Familiar Canadian Music (1933-35), and many others.
Hummert Factory Quick Reference Radiography
| Date |
Radio Show Title |
Genre |
Notes |
Sponsor / Network |
| 31 |
Beatrice Mabie |
Advice |
Beauty secrets and tips |
NBC Blue |
| 31-32 |
Waves of Melody |
Musical |
Tenor Tom Brown and Vic Arden's Orchestra |
NBC Blue |
| 31-32 |
Hollywood Nights |
|
Frank Luther, singer |
NBC Blue |
| 31-32, 33,36 |
Penrod and Sam |
Juvenile
Adventure |
based on Novel |
|
| 31-33, 36 |
Paris Night Life |
Musical |
Hummert show with French theme |
NBC Blue |
| 31-35 |
Little Orphan Annie |
Juvenile
Adventure
Serial |
Annie and Daddy Warbucks take on Nazi subs and other dangers |
Ovaltine |
| 31-51 |
American Album of Familiar Music |
Musical |
"A program of supremely lovely songs and melodies that capture all hearts." |
31-50 NBC,
50-51ABC |
| 32 |
Stevens and Son of Scotland Yard |
Mystery |
|
|
| 32-33 |
The Girl Who Lives Next Door |
Soap Opera |
|
NBC |
| 32-35 |
Bill the Barber / Just Plain Bill |
Soap Opera |
Simple barber solves local and international problems |
Anacin |
| 32-35 |
Judy and Jane |
Soap Opera |
Friends seek to right wrongs and fight criminals in the small town of Honeycrest |
Folger's Coffee |
| 32-49 |
Manhattan Merry Go Round |
Musical |
Popular Music |
|
| 33 |
Jack Dempsey's Gymnasium |
Drama |
Based on the fighter, 3 nites a week |
CBS |
| 33-35 |
Marie the Little French Princess |
Soap Opera |
|
CBS |
| 33-35 |
Album of Familiar Canadian Music |
Musical |
Music associated with our Northern Neighbor |
|
| 33-36 |
Melodiana |
Musical |
|
Phillips |
| 33-37 |
Broadway Varieties / originally Broadway Melodies |
Musical |
Jerry Freeman's Orchestra backs vocalists |
CBS |
| 33-60 |
Ma Perkins |
Soap Opera |
Show centered around Ma and her 3 adult children & her smalltown business |
Sta-Puff Laundry Rinse, Kellogg's All Bran |
| 33-60 |
Romance of Helen Trent, The |
Soap Opera |
"Can a woman over 35 find romance?" |
Various |
| 34-35 |
Hammerstein Music Hall |
Musical |
Ted Hammerstein half hour musical variety |
34-35 CBS,
35 NBC |
| 34-36 |
Lazy Dan, the Minstrel Man |
Musical |
Comic tenor Irving Kaufman takes all the roles |
|
| 34-36 |
Lavender and Old Lace |
Musical |
"Songs of Other Days" |
|
| 34-38 |
Life of Mary Sothern, The |
Soap Opera |
Mary works to keep her family and husband grounded |
|
| 34-44 |
Easy Aces |
Soap Opera |
Written by Goodman Ace for the Hummerts |
|
| 35 |
Blanche Sweet |
Advice |
Silent and talkie star interviews, comments, and offers beauty tips |
CBS |
| 35-36 |
Don Donnie's Orchestra |
Musical |
Lesser known band of the era |
CBS |
| 35-37 |
Five Star Jones |
Soap Opera |
Star reporter for the Register has trouble at home |
CBS then NBC Blue |
| 35-37 |
Rich Man's Darling |
Soap Opera |
"There's no such thing as a practice run for a marriage" |
|
| 35-39 |
Mrs Wiggs of Cabbage Patch |
Soap Opera |
Based on novel that was based on real slum in Louisville KY |
CBS for American Home Products |
| 35-59 |
Mary Noble Backstage Wife |
Soap Opera |
"Mary Noble, a little Iowa Girl who married one of America's most handsome actors…" |
35-36 MBS
36-38 NBC Blue
38-55 NBC,
55-59CBS |
| 36 |
Old Doctor Jim |
Soap Opera |
|
|
| 36-37 |
Sweetest Love Songs Ever Sung |
Musical |
Frank Munn stars along with Met Opera star Natalie Bodanya |
NBC Blue |
| 36-37 |
Broadway Merry-Go-Round |
Musical |
Spin off of Manhattan Merry Go Round |
NBC Blue |
| 36-42 |
John's Other Wife |
Soap Opera |
Playwright falls in love with the beautiful daughter of his Army Colonel after the war. |
|
| 36-45 |
Second Husband |
Soap Opera |
|
|
| 36-50 |
David Harum |
Soap Opera |
Harum solved mysteries, unraveled personal problems, uncovered nefarious scams and rescued damsels in distress. |
|
| 37-40 |
Pretty Kitty Kelly |
Soap Opera |
Kitty Kelly arrives in America suffering from amnesia and is implicated in several murders… |
|
| 37-55 |
Stella Dallas |
Soap Opera |
Considered the mother of all SoapOperas, Stella is falsely accused of stealing a mummy |
Sterling Drug |
| 37-55 |
Lorenzo Jones |
Soap Opera |
Dreamer/Inventor and his long suffering/loyal Wife |
|
| 38 |
Way Down East |
Soap Opera |
Based on Lottie Blair Parker's Play and 1935 movie |
|
| 38-39 |
Alias Jimmy Valentine |
Soap Opera |
Reformed safe-cracker goes straight and aids the forces of Law and Order |
NBC Blue |
| 38-56 |
Young Widder Brown |
Soap Opera |
Small town full of lies and deceit has all of the ingredients of a Hummert Soap |
Sterling Drugs, Gillette |
| 39 |
Evening Melodies |
Musical |
|
|
| 39 |
California Theater of the Air |
Musical |
|
|
| 39-40 |
Doc Barkley's Daughters |
Soap Opera |
Widowed druggist clashes with hi trio of daughters |
|
| 39-42 |
Orphans of Divorce |
Soap Opera |
Began with evening slot but transferred to daytime |
NBC Blue |
| 40 |
Along the Boulevard |
Musical |
|
|
| 40-46 |
Amanda of Honeymoon Hill |
Soap Opera |
Amanda Dyke marries into wealthy southern family |
40-42 NBC Blue
42-46 CBS |
| 41 |
Russ Lamb |
Sports |
Sports Caster Comments |
|
| 41-42 |
For America We Sing |
Musical |
Produced for Defense Bond Drive by Treasury Dept |
NBC |
| 41-42 |
America the Free |
Musical |
|
|
| 41-48 |
American Melody Hour |
Musical |
"The songs of the day so you can know them all, sing them all yourself." |
41-42 NBC Blue
42-48 CBS |
| 41-54 |
Front Page Farrell |
Soap Opera |
Newspaperman husband and loving wife, wartime themes |
American Home Products |
| 42-46 |
Chaplain Jim, USA |
Soap Opera |
Tales of enlisted clergyman in WWII, sponsored by War Dept. |
42-45 NBC Blue, ABC, 45-46 MBS |
| 43 |
Aunt Jemima |
Musical |
variety show featuring Aunt Jemima pancakes, played originally by white actresses in "Blackface" |
CBS 31-33 |
| 43-50 |
Lora Lawton |
Soap Opera |
Maid becomes millionaire's wife |
|
| 43-55 |
Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons |
Detective |
Long running detective show featuring elderly sleuth and his bumbling assistant |
|
| 44-45 |
Valiant Lady |
Soap Opera |
Broadway Starlet gives up fame to take care of stricken father. One of the few Hummert programs to make the transition to TV. |
|
| 44-47 |
Scramby Amby |
Game Show |
Very popular based on anagrams… Sweetheart Soap |
44-45 NBC Blue,
46-47 MBS |
| 45-46 |
Barry Cameron |
Soap Opera |
Originally titled "The Soldier Who Came Home." Focused on the difficulties of return veteran and his young bride. |
NBC |
| 45-52 |
The Strange Romance of Evelyn Winters |
Soap Opera |
Broadway Playwright finds himself the guardian and eventually sweetheart of his former colonel's daughter. |
|
| 45-52 |
Real Stories From Real Life |
Soap Opera |
Told using flashback techniques |
|
| 47 |
Betty and Bob |
Soap Opera |
Secretary falls in love with boss |
General Mills, Syndicated |
| 47-48 |
Rose of My Dreams |
Soap Opera |
Sibling rivalry between Sweet Sister Rose and Deceitful Sister Sarah. |
|
| 47-55 |
Katie's Daughter |
Soap Opera |
Struggling Actress seeking success and love… Sweetheart Soap |
NBC |
| 48-51 |
Mystery Theatre |
Mystery |
Mystery, Long a staple of Mystery buffs, the Hummert's took over production in 1948, and injected much more melodrama into the stories. |
CBS |
| 50 |
Nona From Nowhere |
Soap Opera |
Nona Dutell, adopted as a child, seeks her natural parents while pursuing a career as a Hollywood Actress. |
BAB-O Cleanser |
| 50-53 |
Mr. Chameleon |
Detective |
Master of Disguises tracks down murderers |
|
| 51 |
Inspector Thorne |
Detective |
Inspector Thorne of the New York Homicide Squad is a bumbling, error-prone, and inattentive detective, many reviewers find him a preview of Peter Falk's "Columbo". |
|
| 51-52 |
Hearthstone of the Death Squad |
Detective |
"The implacable man hunter of the Metropolitan Police" was always sure to send the bad guy to the chair. |
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See also: Houseboat Hanna.
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