Monitoring

Nothing like an obit (see below) to get me reminiscing. I vaguely remember a radio show called Monitor. This was NBC Radio's dying gasp, one last try at a network show that could stave off the ravages of television.

Monitor managed to stave off the ravages for nearly twenty years, from 1956 to 1975. When I occasionally listened to it as a teenager, my reaction was: wow, old-time radio! Elevator music, guys reading scripts, news on the hour, even that weird "Beacon" sound popping up when least expected.

Eventually the show ran out affiliates in major markets and expired. A news/talk radio guy in Fresno, Dennis Hart, has created a quirky, endearing website for Monitor. A little to my surprise, the site turns into something of a hall of fame for classic game show personalities. There are broadcast clips, often running to an hour or more, from such Monitor hosts as Monty Hall, Henry Morgan, Bill Cullen and Gene Rayburn.

When not monitoring, of course, these gentlemen took time for our little genre. There's even a publicity photo of Arlene Francis (often mentioned on this blog lately) with many other people from the show. In an unmistakable sign of times gone by, Arlene is wearing white gloves.