"Dear Mr. Godfrey"

[K0OD]

Old timers only:

Ruth Wallis was a singer of "Party Songs" long ago. Her "body of work" was "banned in Boston" and from virtually every radio station. She wasn't allowed to bring her records with her into Australia on a tour. Songs she wrote and sang included "Stay out of my Pantry" and "The Dingy Song."

But after K4LIB fired the popular Julius LaRosa on-air in 1953 ("for lack of humility"), this now-rare Wallis record briefly made the pop charts.

Imagine the steam coming out of the egotistical Godfrey's ears (and headphones) when he first heard this.

Light up a Chesterfield. Pour some Lipton tea and enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVgtOHxufts


  

[K8AXW]

I used to be a great fan of Godfrey until he fired LaRosa on the air.  Never had any use for the pompous ass after that.

His popularity started to slide after that so my opinion wasn't the only one.

[K1OC]

A little before my time, but I do remember listening to Julius LaRosa when he was a DJ on WNEW 1130 AM in New York.

73 de Tony

[K8AXW]

Julius had a great voice and a great future ahead of him.  After the Godfrey firing, his career tanked.  Godfrey had a great deal of pull back then and saw to it that LaRosa couldn't sell apples on a street corner.

[K0OD]

Recording of the actual on-air firing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s75wpdiri8

In 1957, 30 year-old Andy Griffith [yes, later Sheriff Andy Taylor} starred in A Face in the Crowd, an acclaimed film that was probably based on Godfrey's rise and fall as media tyrant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Face_in_the_Crowd_%28film%29

[K8AXW]

OD:  Thank you for the Youtube post of 1953.  It brought back many memories.  At that time Arthur Godfrey was a household name and people tuned into his radio show with the same regularity as the modern soaps.

When he pulled that firing stunt, it was like someone throwing a big rock up against a chicken house at 3:00AM!  Godfrey got his just dues!!