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Dear Dennis and Monitor fans everywhere,
It was 69 years ago June 12, 1955 that “network radio’s greatest program” would hit the air and lead to a run that would continue for 20 years and would keep the NBC radio network from going out of business for a long time.
I’m sure that when Pat Weaver created the concept he probably couldn’t imagine that Monitor would last as long as it did although the ultimate objective was to keep it going for as long as possible and make money for the radio network.
I think if Monitor was proposed today it either wouldn’t get on the air or if it did it would not run for 40 hours and most of it would be voice tracked.
I also believe that a lot of it would be hosted by a morning team that like most shows would have too many voices and the bits would run too long and the end result wouldn’t be funny.
Of course During its existence Monitor had hours of humor especially when what was supposed to go on the air didn’t work and Bob and Ray had to come into Radio Central and fill time which they always did. Many of there bits were brilliant.
If I was in charge, I would insist that anyone who were there to be funny would have five minutes to accomplish that goal.
I think overall the original idea and concept would be done in a very cheap way.
The idea of doing live remote pickups would disappear.
In other words if one of the big mega media groups decided to put it on the air or a smaller company decided to try the concept, the idea would be to do whatever they could to save money.
I’m not against saving money but Monitor deserves to be treated and programmed in a better way than what I’m afraid would happen if it returned to regular over the air radio.
Lawrence Stoler
Dennis,
I want to express my appreciation and gratitude for another fine tranche of Monitor recordings this month. The first of the month is like a little Christmas for we of the Beacon set, and I look forward to each new batch of recordings.
My thanks to you and your digitization partners for keeping up this important and enjoyable work. Monitor is my drive-time companion, and I’m grateful for it.
Yours,
Brandon
As I type this, I’m reading and enjoying the Monitor Memories section of your tribute site.
The things that Andy Fisher, Don Kennedy and others have written about Monitor and their time at NBC are very interesting.
While I did work in radio (never at NBC and long after Monitor left the air,) what the people have written gives all of us an idea of what it was like to work there and be a part of what truly was “Network Radio’s Greatest Program.”
Thanks for posting their contributions and everything else you do to keep this great site going.
Sincerely,
Larry Stoler
I’m the curator of Central Illinois’ On-Line Broadcast Museum, at dougquick.com. I’m featuring a segment from Monitor that features Ernie Kovacs during the week of November 5-11, 2023. I’m in the midst of recognizing the 70th Anniversary of Television in Central Illinois with weekly salutes to Broadcast Pioneers, and also during the week I will feature many videos from Ernie Kovacs. That’s when I stumbled on the “Monitor” appearance of Ernie.
I want to relate a personal note, as I remember hearing “Monitor” on WMAY 970AM from Springfield, Illinois when I was a kid in the 1960s. I specifically remember Gene Rayburn being on the air. It was a perfect example of the announcers talking “with” the audience, not “at” them. I studied all aspects of broadcasting during my life and made it my career.
Thanks for maintaining this site. I’ll post a link to it from my site as well!
Doug Quick
I first heard monitor in 1956 and I considered myself so smart for listening to it.
As the years passed i would tune in to NBC stations and listen to Monitor as I traveled across the country.
It was radio’s finest hours. It probably had something to do with me going into radio whichI did in 1960.
After graduate school (Journalism at the U of Missouri) I worked for WHO in Des Moines.
I interviewed a precious little blind girl. age 9.
She was so exhuberant about life and the piece was so listenable the people at the station said I ought to send it to Minotor.
I did and got a letter from Gordon Fraser telling me the piece would be aired at a certain time on a Saturday afternoon.
I bought a new stereo system and put it in the living room and got to hear it. What a thrill. For the next 6 or 7 years I sent reports to Monitor. I have a tape of my Monitor interview with Stan Kenton. On the program I was introduced nay Ed McMahon.
It definitely was the greatest network program in the world. I am glad that I had a part in it.
Just finished the second book on Monotor by Dennis Hart. So thorough. What an enjoyabbole dissertation. It’s an important part of broadcasting history and should be required reading for anyone in radio.
Bob Lewis Big Spring, Texas
Dear Dennis and Monitor Fans Everywhere,
I just finished listening to Monitor : 20 great years. The one hour montage put together by Dennis Hart and his son.
I am in my early 70’s. I started listening to radio when I was six.
For a long time I checked out what was available up and down the dial throughout the country on AM and FM.
On many weekends, I listened to Monitor on what was then WNBC 660 AM in New York.
Towards the end of its 20 year run, the program moved to 97.1 the FM half of WNBC.
This retrospective is excellent. It really displays what Monitor was about and why it was unique, stood out and was a huge success.
It also chronicles much of our history through audio.
Thank you to Dennis and your son for putting this together and ultimately making it available on the website for all of us to enjoy.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Stoler
Dear Dennis and all Monitor Fans,
Much has been said over the years about what made Monitor unique and why it succeeded.
I would like to add one more thing.
Over the time it existed, the communicators did not talk down to or insult the audience or say stupid things which others resorted to doing long after the program went off the air.
When you listened to Monitor if you didn’t like what you heard, you could come back a few minutes later and hear something that would interest you.
The concept of a program you could tune in and out of at any time during the weekend was ahead of its time.
In my opinion, Pat Weaver and Jim Fleming don’t get the credit they deserve for creating the concept and in the end what they put on NBC Radio worked.
Monitor was fantastic but like many of the programs we heard in those days was a one time only thing.
Fortunately thanks to you Dennis and everyone else we can enjoy the show any time we choose to.
Thank you for everything you do to keep a tribute site going for a show that deserves it. Monitor.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Stoler
Monday, June 12 is the 68th anniversary of Monitor.
I want to be one of the first to honor this special significant occasion.
I’m sure when Pat Weaver launched the program on June 12, 1955 he couldn’t imagine that 68 years later we’d be paying tribute to Monitor which in addition to being a success saved the NBC Radio Network from going out of business or being sold years before that happened.
Many things have been said about Monitor and its impact on the industry over the years thanks to this great tribute site.
I would add the word “class” to what Monitor gave us especially during its first few years.
One of the reasons I do what I can to keep the internet as is or “net neutrality” is so what people like you have given us can be preserved and we can peruse the site or contribute our thoughts and memories to the guestbook any time we want to.
Thank you for everything you do so we’ll never forget Monitor and in the end those who never heard it will be able to find out what the program was about.
Sincerely,
Larry Stoler
Just finished your excellent book on NBC Monitor. Obviously for you it was a labor of love.
I spent a number of years as the PD of WINR-AM in Binghamton, NY once the home of John Bartholomew Tucker. BTW..there is no “p” in the spelling of Binghamton.
When Monitor began WINR was owned by the Binghamton Press and was the sister station to WINR-TV also an NBC affiliate.
WINR aired Monitor up until the Press sold its broadcasting interests to separate owners in approximately 1970. Following the sale, WINR-AM moved to a Top-40 format and while keeping their NBC affiliation the Monitor Beacon was turned off as station programming moved to local remotes and high school sports.
Monitor was a great vehicle for the 35+ audience. Unfortunately…as you know..more and more stations were turning to the 12-34 demo making the information/interview programming of Monitor incompatible with what Monitor had to offer.
In its original form, Monitor was a thing of beauty and like so many other things the more it was “tweaked” the so-called improvements were anything but. In the end Monitor was “improved” right out of existance!
In the 70s & 80s some important legacy stations such as WCCO, WGN & WJR put together some excellent weekend programs. While they were very good they could never equal the beauty that was NBC Monitor.
I have really enjoyed your book and your excellent website!
Best regards,
Rocky Brown
I sent an email to you once before, but I’m following up with another, just to let you know that I listen to the Monitor recordings on a regular basis, often when working in my garage. I very much enjoy listening to the old broadcasts, as they take me back to memories of a pleasant time in my life.
I spent most of my life working in the broadcasting industry, including my first “real” job at an NBC radio network affiliate in Scranton, PA. I remember switching over to the network feed of Monitor once my regular on-air shift was finished.
We’ll likely never hear anything like Monitor again. I salute and thank you for your efforts in making these old recordings available. You should be assured that your endeavors are acknowledged and appreciated!
Bobb Rayner
I remember my first radio I received as a 12 year old in 1968. The first station I came across on it was WEST FM 96.1 in Easton PA. An NBC affiliate that carried Monitor on the weekends. The format really interested me as it featured a little bit of everything. As I listen back to some of the hours it is fantastic to know there is a place where you can listen to interviews with stars of the past. As an avid baseball fan I particularly enjoyed an interview with Sandy Koufax as he was about to begin his job on the Game Of The Week on NBC TV. Enjoyed Monitor until WEST AM and FM switched affiliation to CBS around 1973.
Hello Dennis and fellow Monitor Fans,
While watching the January 6th committee’s public hearings, I wondered how the matter would have been covered if Monitor was still here and the excellent reporters and correspondents who worked for the NBC Radio Network would have handled it.
This is not to say anything against the people who are in the news business today but NBC Radio News did so much to enhance the quality of what was heard during the over 20 years that Monitor existed.
I can’t believe that 48 years ago this month Network’s best program which prevented NBC from going out of business years before it happened left the air.
I am in my early 70’s.
I became interested in radio when I was six.
I worked in it (mostly off the air) for several years beginning in 1988.
As I got older, I realized that what all of us took for granted including Monitor were one time only things and if they were given a chance today, they wouldn’t be done right and the big mega-media groups wouldn’t allow enough time for shows like Monitor to get enough people to listen and enough affiliates to carry the program.
As always Dennis, thank you for the time and excellent work you continue to put on the tribute site.
Let’s hope this year goes well for all of us and the world in general.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Stoler
Hi. I just felt like I needed to say thank you for this site, and for all of the clips of Monitor. I’m 54, so just a little too young to remember ever hearing Monitor. Somehow, in a search for mid-century radio programs, I found you. I think I got through the pandemic and its aftermath by listening to Monitor clips around the house and on my walks. I can be in 1967 for a few hours listening to Arlene Francis talk about decoupage, and that’s exactly where I’ve needed to be. It takes me back to a time when the worst thing we had to worry about was Nixon! I look forward to the first of every month so I can get my new Monitor clips, and this month I thought I needed to say “thank you.” Have a great holiday!
Jeffrey
We grew up with Monitor as kids in eastern Washington state. My dad was in the radio broadcasting and advertising/PR business. He was a real pro and always believed in delivering big market creativity and quality even though we lived in a small market town.
my dad became aware of the NBC radio experiment—the Monitor service—through his connection to the business and the whole family became big fans. It was truly innovative and we were completely fascinated with the programming. We listened in our home and in the car as we traveled to our favorite weekend destinations. It was a truly magical experience.
Thanks so much for this compendium. Obviously the days of marketable terrestrial radio are gone but we could sure use an updated version of Monitor today.
Regards,
RWright
I am currently listening to The Amazing Dunniger on 05/38/67 broadcast. I just recently saw the remake of Nightmare Alley with Bradley Cooper (original starred Tyrone Power). Not sure if you saw either, but Dunniger reminds me of the mind reading character in that film, except he figures everything out with an assistant. Dunniger does it all on his own! Anyhow, bravo on more fun listening!
Dave
Andrew Saucci wonders about a woman hosting Monitor, and he imagines Arlene Francis in the role.
While it’s not precisely Monitor, you can get a good idea of what that might have sounded like on Part Four of “NBC Radio’s First Fabulous Fifty” which is hosted by Arlene Francis and spends considerable time discussing Monitor.
The program is on the “More from NBC Radio” page.
Hi, Dennis–
The last two comments are rather interesting, so I’ll add my two cents. The music was always a problem, but let’s draw a distinction first. Most of the “elevator music” or what I prefer to call “instrumental pop,” played during the cutaways. Stations that covered the cutaways with local content or commercials actually cleared very little instrumental pop, especially after 1964 or so. You actually hear a little outside the cutaways in Barry Nelson’s September 1964 entry, but by 1967, the non-cutaway music was mostly big-name vocals mixed with a good helping of novelty songs that have rarely been played anywhere else since. In the 1970’s, they seemed to have shifted noticeably towards country/western music, probably on account of the loss of most of the big-market stations. By then, most of the remaining stations were rural stations that were happy to save on talent and just flip on the network switch, and country would be more likely to appeal to them. Ironically, on the final weekend in 1975, the hosts talked about “music you might have heard on Monitor,” in some year or another, but the selections were more likely representative of what they had been playing at the end of 1974.
The biggest problem with the music was its proportion. The sort of content that would have reflected Pat Weaver’s vision for Monitor– explained in a fascinating way in the 1955 closed-circuit recording– was expensive and involved to produce. While Weaver was around, it mostly worked. They coasted for a while after Weaver left. While the advertiser dollars were coming in, the “kaleidoscopic phantasmagoria” could be sustained. After that, the process of “erosion” (a term I’ve lifted from David Gerrold’s classic book The World of Star Trek) began. They started looking to cut costs and drifted further and further from what Weaver had imagined. At first, it wasn’t too bad as the stringers were replaced by NBC staffers, but at least it was compelling content. We can see things still working fairly well in 1964 and even to some extent as late as 1969. But by then the affiliates started dropping off the network and things were already in a death spiral.
By 1972, we still see lots of the “packages” on Saturday morning Monitor, but those packages could hardly be said to be consistent with what Weaver had planned in 1955. Whereas in 1964, we might have heard “Ring Around the World” or an election report from the campaign front, 1972 offered “Celebrity Homes” and “World of Music.” The program may have been interesting, but it was hardly compelling. It wasn’t something that a station would feel bad about not clearing, and a listener would not feel as though he missed something important. In fact, if we imagine Monitor on Internet today, the 1970’s version might not have been worth going to the web site to stream it live or even to download as a podcast. It may have been “okay,” but it wasn’t the “must hear” service that Weaver introduced. Even NBC didn’t seem to go too far out of its way to find talent; the hosts were quite likely to be WNBC disk jockeys on what would have been their day off. That sort of indicates how the network felt about the program; it was simply something to be “covered” more than its crown jewel.
In the 1970’s, even the less-compelling packages started becoming fewer and fewer, especially Saturday night and Sundays, and this is where the music comes in again. As the content thinned, and the ad time went unsold, both were replaced in large part by Monitor’s weakest aspect– the music. This, I believe, helped accelerate Monitor’s demise. With fewer sponsors to pay for the production of compelling content, the music just grew and grew. By 1972, NBC even increased the length of the cutaways– which meant more music if the affiliates didn’t cover them one way or another. Or in some cases, it was easier to drop a long-form interview into the program, as we saw in Jim Lowe’s 1972 entry featuring an interview with Gay Talese or Gene Rayburn’s interview with Jean Shepherd, which I love– but which probably rankled affiliates that generally looked for shorter, faster pieces.
I actually think that NIS was a reasonable response to this, even though lots of Monitor fans see NIS as a dirty three-letter word. NIS was basically original Monitor without the music. It was a good attempt to create a compelling service again– something closer to Pat Weaver’s original vision. Unfortunately, NIS was somewhat ahead of its time, and like original Monitor, it took millions of dollars to produce, and the advertisers and affiliates didn’t materialize in time. Instead of music, much of NIS’s cutaways consisted of public service announcements not covered even by NBC’s FM O&O in New York, and those eventually became even more tedious than instrumental pop that may not be to someone’s taste.
The other issue with Monitor is that as a “variety” program (that V in the program logs) it was a great compromise for a family when they were stuck together in the car. By the early 1970’s, the variety genre was in its death throes as audiences started to segment. Ed Sullivan went off the air in 1972, for example. Today, in a car, everyone probably listens to his own music with headphones. Even Weaver saw this coming with TV when he predicted that families would have multiple television sets in a home.
I liked Mr. Castaing’s observation that Weaver ultimately didn’t get control of the programming from sponsors. They may not have owned the service, or even half an hour of it, but they did clearly control the content if they had their name on a package. Perhaps they didn’t micromanage it, but they certainly would decide whether a package dealt with auto racing or football. And of course, if there are no sponsors, there is no programming without another revenue stream. I wonder how many people would be willing to pay full price for a commercial-free program like the one Pat Weaver imagined. I know I would, but I have come to despise commercials. Most people accept them as a fact of life, which is sad.
In any case, it is great that we now have hundreds of hours of Monitor on your web site to get greater context on the evolution of the program. I am still hoping that attics being cleaned out will yield more from the earlier years. And– one thing is still missing. I don’t think we have even half an hour of Monitor hosted by a woman. I imagine that at some point, a lady must have filled in. For example, Arlene Francis guest-hosted The Price Is Right on TV in 1964, so to imagine her having filled in on Monitor at some point is not far-fetched. The closest thing we have is Cindy Adams turning the tables on Frank Sinatra Jr. in 1972. Check those attics!
— Andrew
In response to Bob Birnbaum’s post of October 28, there are a few things to remember. First of all, in the 50’s, the radio business was in upheaval because of the advent of television. Network radio audiences were disappearing. Affiliates had decreasing reasons to be a part of networks. The big-time entertainers had fled to television. The only thing that radio networks had to offer stations and listeners were short summaries of news that would later be seen and heard on the networks’ evening television newscasts — which were then only 15 minutes long themselves.
Affiliates in large markets could afford to hire personalities who might bring in audiences even on weekends. Smaller-market stations could not sell time as easily. Often all they could afford were eager young neophytes to keep the transmitters warm on Saturdays and Sundays. So such stations didn’t mind giving away all that inventory (eventually, 16 hours) every weekend to a network. Larger stations didn’t want to give anything away when they could sell up to 18 minutes of commercials every hour that they programmed themselves. With Monitor that inventory shrunk to about six minutes/hour for every hour given over to NBC. Additionally, NBC wanted prime early morning real estate on Saturday. The easiest time period to sell because it had the biggest listenership and was, therefore, the most lucrative.
But the power balance between networks and affiliates had shifted in the 50’s. So had listenership patterns. In previous decades, stations yielded much more than 16 hours/week to networks. Now they were complaining or even refusing to give up that much time.
Many stations didn’t want to give that time up. For example, WSB in Atlanta delayed Saturday morning Monitor by over 12 hours to near midnight. That territorial fervor made it a tough sell for the network when some of its biggest stations weren’t clearing Monitor in pattern and in drivetime. For instance, Campbell Soup wanted to reach homemakers on Saturday morning before they went shopping, not at midnight when grocery stores probably weren’t open. Besides, who’s going to get up and leave the house just to buy soup in the dead of night?
Another conflict arose between the network and it affiliates. In larger markets, NBC was usually competing with its affiliates for national spot business. Sponsors on the network were usually the same ones who’d buy national spot campaigns in major markets (Kodak, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Fab, automobile companies, etc.). Such campaigns were generally in support of their TV buys. So NBC had to dig up sponsors which didn’t necessarily buy national spot or a lot of national spot (Pennsylvania Grade Crude Oil Association, Wynn Oil, Dupont Dacron, O’Brien Paint, Wurlitzer Organs) and which were looking for editorial content to enhance their reputation (Sport of Speed, Musical Star Time: a Visit with Skitch).
This is really ironic because Weaver’s alleged contribution to radio was selling scattered spots rather than letting advertisers create and control content. Even stranger because Weaver started in radio producing shows for the advertising agency Young & Rubicam, Fred Allen’s Town Hall Tonight, for example.
Pat Weaver and Monitor executive producer Jim Fleming wanted Monitor to act as the audience’s ombudsman. To Weaver, Monitor was to be a kaleidoscopic phantasmagoria, going places and doing things. But, to the affiliates, not so much. Within a year or two, the affiliates were calling Monitor “too east of the Hudson.” Too highbrow for their listeners.
Affiliates complained about esoteric or depressing interviews on Monitor, for example, with Nathan Marsh Pusey, president of Harvard. Sometime interviews about world peace and nuclear annihilation would go on for a half-hour or longer. Go back to the 50’s and see the difference with the 60s and, especially, the 70’s. Pat Weaver wanted an ombudsman; but few of the affiliates seemed to share his enthusiasm.
(Henry Morgan alludes to the Pusey interview when he does his critique of Monitor’s first broadcast. An excerpt of that interview is one of the highlights for June 12, 1955, 11-11:30 PM, on the Sounds of Monitor pages of Dennis’ website. You also get a good idea of Monitor as Weaver and Fleming envisioned it by listening to varied Dave Garroway’s June 26, 1955, clips on the same page. Contrast that to the diluted Monitor of the 70’s.)
But Weaver was not all serious content. In fact, he asked Fred Allen to be one of the communicators, as he called them. You might call them hosts. But the idea of a communicator was much more in line with what Weaver wanted Monitor to be. A lot of Weaver’s concepts got watered down after he was pushed out in August 1956.
Jack Paar, who hosted Weaver’s Tonight Show on television, said of Weaver: “He didn’t invent programs, but wrote great memos.” And it is true that a lot of the programming innovations of Monitor came from others like Fleming, but Weaver was willing to push the ideas through to the network. Monitor was the great amalgamation of radio formats; and Weaver was the great amalgamator. After all, Monitor was on Weaver’s NBC, not CBS or ABC.
Weaver wasn’t all high-brow. He loved comedy, especially satire. The early days of Monitor featured Bob & Ray and later Nichols and May and Jonathan Winters. But, truth be told, some of the very things that Weaver and Fleming wanted Monitor to be were deemed too esoteric. One unfortunate thing that happened to Monitor was that, after about six or seven years, it abandoned original comedy. It still had some comedy but only through Monitor On Stage which was playing comedy records. Of course, just as with music, any station could play comedy records. Yet another area where Monitor lost its uniqueness.
As early as the late 50’s, at the request of stations, Monitor began presenting more recorded music. And this probably sealed Monitor’s fate because, throughout the week, affiliates had formats that included the type of music they wanted to be associated with. But all of a sudden, on the weekends, a station that programmed top-40 music during the week was playing elevator music via Monitor. Although I think your characterization of Monitor music in the 60’s as elevator music was a little unfair. Maybe in the 50’s that was true, but Bennett and Lee and Sinatra (and even Petula Clark and Harpers Bizarre) shouldn’t be classed that way. I’ll admit it wasn’t hardcore rock. It was MOR for the most part. But certainly not Muzak.
So, Monitor was fighting a war with itself. Finding music that appealed both to stodgy, old-line network affiliates and ones that programmed rock ’n roll. Eventually, Monitor did start playing more contemporary music, even brought in Wolfman Jack, Don Imus, and Robert W. Morgan on Saturday nights. But, the very young audience for top-40 really didn’t want to hear regular Monitor fare like interviews with people they never heard of or Ring Around the World or Arlene Francis’ home decorating interviews. Suddenly, those three hours on Saturday night were Monitor in name only.
Talk was anathema in 1970’s radio, and what was Monitor but talk.
In the 50’s, Monitor’s maxim was that if you weren’t interested in a particular feature, you could wait a few minutes and something you might be interested in would come on. Top-40 listeners couldn’t wait. They were conditioned to punch a button and find music elsewhere.
All in all, Weaver’s idea of Monitor would probably been better suited to NPR (with a few laughs thrown in). What happened is that NBC decided to go with the flow in radio and the flow was away from networks.
NBC kept chipping away at Monitor, trimming away four more hours (to 12 hours/weekend) in the 70s and developing “Custom Monitor” that was essentially Monitor without Monitor, namely the host and the music. Stations got the spots and the interviews and features pre-fed earlier in the week. And all they really had to do was run the spots. The feature and the other talky stuff was expendable. Many large market stations only took the spots because they had to. The NBC O&Os (owned and operated stations) abandoned Monitor almost immediately. NBC still produced the complete 12-hour hosted Monitor for the really small markets for another couple of years as Monitor thrashed around in its death throes.
But there’s the problem. The affiliates. As long as the network had to appease the affiliates; it couldn’t sell in competition against them. It had to develop vehicles that local stations did not want to or could not afford to produce themselves. Auto racing features, for example. And sponsored features, because of the 90 seconds of commercial time, had to be around five minutes long, regardless of content. So programming them was never as flexible as Pat Weaver would like to think they were.
Eventually, networks came back into fashion for small market stations that couldn’t afford big-name personalities. And later large-market stations, interested in enhancing the bottom-line, started picking up talk personalities like Howard Stern or Limbaugh or Ryan Seacrest or Casey Kasem. And cutting local staff accordingly.
There are other business models in radio today. Maybe you could have a subscription service like SiriusXM and not need advertisers. Or perhaps a hybrid model with subscriptions and advertisers. If you think that wouldn’t work, consider the fact that it already does with cable TV. Who would have believed 40 years ago that anyone would pay to watch local commercial broadcast TV?
The real problem is that network radio isn’t very lucrative and it would take someone dedicated to keeping the the medium alive — like Pat Weaver was — to put in the work that would be needed to bring it back.
But, in my opinion, you couldn’t take an already existing network of affiliates (the NBC Radio Network of the 40s and 50s) and try to force them to clear it. It would actually have to be the programming service that NBC claimed Monitor was. A service for stations that wanted a Monitor-type program would elect to take. A little imagination and a couple of great memos wouldn’t hurt.
Louis Castaing
I love this website! I’ve been slowly working my way through all the recorded broadcasts on the site; I just came to the end of 1968 (I was a senior in high school that year). I was alive for the whole time Monitor was on the air. I was just a small child when it began, but I remember my Dad listening to it every weekend. It would be on the radio in the car, in his workshop, wherever.
What follows is strictly my opinion. Listening to these shows again, I remembered a lot about what transpired during those days; I even learned things I never knew. The news segments and interviews are absolutely fascinating. Unfortunately, I think what doomed Monitor was the music. You would never know from listening to the 1967 or 1968 broadcasts that a musical revolution was taking place in the world. Every now and then you get a nice piece by Wes Montgomery or another jazz artist, but mostly it sounds to me like elevator music (remember that?). I realize that the show was aimed at my parents’ generation, but gradually the radio-listening audience became younger. The demographic changed, and Monitor didn’t change with it.
One other thing: I don’t think NBC fully understood how rapidly the popularity of sports like pro football was increasing in the 1960s. While there are certainly a few interviews with football figures, there was no feature segment dedicated to football, as far as I can tell. And yet there were not one, but TWO feature segments dealing with auto racing. Was auto racing really that popular in the 1960s? If so, it escaped my notice.
The preceding is a criticism (from the comfort of 20-20 hindsight) of Monitor itself, not your website. Thank you so much for the many hours of enjoyment you’ve given me.
Bob Birnbaum
Seattle, Washington
I thoroughly enjoy the Sounds of Monitor on your outstanding Monitor Beacon website.
I grew up in Garden City, Kansas, where my father, Bob Wells, was manager and part owner of KIUL, a 1000-watt AM radio station, the local NBC Radio affiliate. The station was on in our house all day and night, 7 days a week. So I heard Monitor and all the NBC News and entertainment programming daily from the early to late 1960s.
Even before I was old enough to drive, I worked the 1:00pm to midnight shift Saturdays and Sundays at the station. And, unless preempted by broadcasts of Kansas City Chiefs football or Athletics baseball, local high school or junior college football and basketball, or Kansas college sports, KIUL carried every minute of Monitor.
So when I listen to Monitor segments from the 60s on your website, I know that I first heard them in the KIUL control room as they were broadcast.
Because KIUL was the dominant station in the Southwest Kansas market, NBC News journalists and hosts were well known to our listening audience. My father arranged for many NBC News personnel, including Edwin Newman, John Chancellor, Herbert Kaplow, Sander Vanocour, Russ Ward, Peter Hackes, Welles Hangen and others, to speak at annual Chamber of Commerce dinners. You can imagine how cool it was to meet these big time journalists in my own home!
Because KIUL was a small market station, the station actually paid the AT&T line charges to access NBC Radio (about $600 per month). Unfortunately, the station couldn’t afford a Class A balanced line so the quality of the NBC broadcasts, particularly the music on Monitor, was marginal. Still the best radio program ever!
[My Dad was no ordinary small town broadcaster. When I was away in college and law school, he was appointed to the FCC by President Nixon, and later served on the Board of Directors of the Associated Press and Chairman of the Board of Broadcast Music Incorporated.]
Thanks again for the great website!
Kim B. Wells
As I type this, it’s June 12th and as you know it was 66 years ago today that Monitor began its 20 year run on the NBC Radio Network.
Listening to Monitor and other programs got me interested in radio.
Monitor was so unique and ahead o its time the way it did everything.
Needless to say, Pat Weaver knew what he was doing when he created the concept.
it saved the network and in the end NBC radio survived longer than many thought would be the case.
Thank you Dennis for keeping this tribute site going and reminding us how great Monitor was.
Larry Stoler
Stamford, CT.
Hello Dennis,
All of the recent additions of audio to your Monitor page sound great! I am so glad you have been posting these, and greatly appreciate the website and archive you have created.
The internet has created an infrastructure of sharing archives, especially audio and video, and made it accessible to anyone. I like to call it ‘retromedia.’ In my car, I listen to airchecks of radio stations, and line them up with today’s date and a different year.
There are now so many recordings of classic Top-40 radio stations online like KHJ, WLS, WABC, CKLW, etc. It is difficult to think of them as “gone.”
Thanks to your page, the same holds true for “Monitor.”
I worked in radio, and believe airchecks are as important as photographs. They mark time and provide a context that a photo cannot do.
Best Wishes,
Paul Harner
What does “scoped’ mean on the Sounds of Monitor pages?
Thanks again for this wonderful site. Great memories listening to Monitor growing up in upstate New York.
Sincerely,
Frank Stoy
Columbus, Ohio
Editor’s note: “Scoped” means that whoever recorded the hour or half-hour of Monitor turned off the tape machine at some point — so that features — or music — that originally aired on the program are not included in the recording we have.
It’s been twenty years since you launched the “Monitor” Tribute Website.
And over 400,000 people have visited it.
Some who have done so were big fans of “Monitor” while growing up.
Some have only heard about it and have visited to learn about a weekend radio service that went off the air before they were even born.
And a few even had the pleasure of working for “Monitor”!
This year, you’ve added lots of hours of vintage “Monitor” programs, allowing those who were around to rekindle memories and those not yet born to enjoy the show while both groups of people keep asking themselves “Why is no radio network doing anything like ‘Monitor’ in 2020?”.
Sadly, your tribute site has now been around longer than “Monitor” itself was on the air.
Hopefully, your website will convince someone, somewhere, to bring an updated “Monitor”-type show back to national radio. I feel such a show can be very successful.
-Joseph Gallant, Norwood, Massachusetts
Hi Dennis,
I’m sorry to report we lost another great broadcaster who was a part of Monitor. Hugh Downs.
He died on Wednesday July 1. He was 99 years old.
Most of my memories of Hugh Downs have more to do with when he hosted game shows on NBC TV and was on the Today show.
If I remember right, he also was a regular on 2020 on ABC but that was years after Monitor left the air.
It’s sad to see another great communicator leave us but he will always be respected and what he brought to Monitor will be remembered fondly by all of us.
This Friday (June 12th) marks 65 years since the premiere of “Monitor”.
Sixty-five years!
It was a little more than six months before I was born, but I recall.occasionally hearing it as a youngster.
If “Monitor” had survived into my adulthood, I would have probably have listened to it more as a grownup.
There is a need for a “Monitor” -type show today. With so many talk radio stations filling up weekends with “best-ofs” their weekday shows, there is a need for something fresh that will draw listeners on the weekend instead of using repeats of weekday programming just to fill time.
Besides, a “Monitor” -type show would draw listeners on the weekends and these stations might be able to start making real money on weekends with the revenue they get from local commercial breaks.
Hopefully, NBC and Westwood One (the latter syndicates the sound portion of”Meet The Press” to radio stations around the country) will announce over the coming months that they will revive “Monitor” starting on the show’s 66th anniversary, June 12, 2021.
Hi, Dennis–
The find of Warren Gerbe’s stash of Monitor tapes is literally a Monitor fan’s dream come true. It reveals lots about the program in the late ’60s particularly inasmuch as it gives context for some of the things for which we lacked context. It’s also interesting to hear how WNBC actually covered the one-minute music fills instead of just allowing the music to play (most of what we had seems to have been recorded either directly off the network feed or from stations that didn’t cover the music fill). Finally, I just realized that in the February 22, 1969 11 AM Gene Rayburn segment, Joe Garagiola made a reference to a golf drive that was “just a silly millimeter longer.” The rediscovered recordings from 1968 actually show that Joe was thinking of the Chesterfield 101 cigarette ad campaign, which aired on Monitor– that line turns out to be even wittier than it seemed to a relatively young man who is not old enough to remember that cigarette or its ads. I just wish I could go back to 1955 with an MP3 recorder and a 2 TB hard drive!
–Andrew Saucci, Jr.
Hi Dennis:
Thanks so much for all that you and everybody do to bring us these great memories of NBC Monitor. It was such a great unique program. Gene Rayburn remains my favorite communicator as I just like his breezy style. I enjoy the music and have heard some “new” oldies that I quite like. 1968 was a great year for music and one of my favorites.
It’s also nice to hear the legendary voice of NBC” Don Pardo on some commercials and promos for NBC radio and television in New York City. I’ve often wondered why they never tapped him to be a communicator on Monitor but perhaps he was just too busy as he did a lot of announcing on many NBC programs.
Regards,
Chad from Indiana
I finally not only solved the mystery of the “Happy Birthday ” song aired on Monitor in late 1968, I actually obtained a copy of it! The title is “Happy Birthday To Me” by a then featured artist on Monitor’s playlist, Dana Valery. And it’s a great song. Unfortunately, it didn’t chart. Those are the breaks.
Now, I need help with another song…it’s the very last song on Monitor ’67 Brad Crandall Feb. 1967, Part 1…it wasn’t identified. It’s an awesome instrumental. Sounds like Ferrante and Teicher. Does anyone know the title? Thanks in advance.
Hugh Christopher Henry
New York City
Hi Dennis and Monitor Fans Everywhere,
Today is the 19th of January.
On Jan. 26th, it will be 45 years since Monitor left the air.
I was a little over 3 years old when the program began so obviously I didn’t hear it in 1955 but thanks to your website, I and many others get to enjoy and appreciate what Monitor was about and how unique it was.
I and many other people were influenced to go into radio by listening to Monitor and other shows and formats and while they were done very well, turned out to be one time only concepts that won’t be heard again.
I grew up listening to radio all over the country especially at night.
Monitor was heard on WNBC. It didn’t take long before I knew that something about the program was different than what was heard elsewhere on the dial.
Pat Weaver knew what he wanted, knew how to achieve his goal and he did.
I never thought the day would come when I would ignore regular over the air radio but for the most part, I do because of how boring it is today.
The hosts and contributors were allowed to do more in a few minutes than most morning teams do in four hours around the country.
They stood out which is something radio has chosen to forget how to do.
I’m not saying radio should go back to the way it sounded in 1955 when Monitor hit the air but some of the so called experts should listen to the airchecks you present and take a few seconds to understand why so many of us who contribute to the guestbook and enjoy this site appreciate what made Monitor stand out and ultimately made NBC Radio work and be able to continue for more years than would have been the case if Pat Weaver didn’t create Monitor.
Thank you for keeping this time in radio alive.
Monitor truly was network radio’s greatest program.
Larry Stoler
Stamford, CT.
On a 1968-1969 era Monitor Playlist was a delightful number entitled “Happy Birthday.” Exhausted research on my part (and I mean exhausted) finds the song was from a hit 1968 Broadway musical, “Zorba,” however the recording played on Monitor was by a young female vocalist who gave it a really bright and happy feel. Would anyone here happen to recall that song and the then young lady who recorded it?
Thanks in advance.
Hugh
I was delighted to see this web site. I worked on Monitor from about 1956 to 1964 as a production assistant. Programming music was my main job but I also worked with Bob & Ray and Nichols and May. In fact I ran into Mike Nichols at the White House where my late husband, Jim Hall, was performing. We reminisced about how he and Elaine would come into the studio and ad lib 3 minute spots that would air on the show. It was hilarious. Bob & Ray were amazing – and once I was asked to leave the control room because my laugh filtered through. Loved those guys.
Monitor was a truly wonderful show – great people worked there. I worked with Ben Grauer and Frank Gallup, Gene Rayburn, Jim Lowe, Al Collins, Leon Pearson and others. We broadcasted from studio 5C with its large window open to tourists. I’ll never forget dancing on Sunday mornings with Ben Grauer.
Monitor was a terrific show and those who worked on it were very creative and fun people. Writers like Charlie Garment, Catherine Faulconer, Bill O’Connell and Producers like Bill Malcolm and Bud Drake stand out in my mind. Announcers Jerry Damon, Bill Hanrahan, Freddy Collins were great people.
Thanks for having this blog and writing the book!!
I hadn’t checked the Monitor website in a while, so I was floored to find the huge supply of new audio material from 1967 that you have posted. This is incredible stuff. I’m glad it’s preserved, and I’m happy it’s been made available through your website.
I’ve loaded these wonderful little time capsules into iTunes and when I’m on a long drive, as I was earlier today, nothing makes the miles happier than having Gene Rayburn or Ed McMahon or Henry Morgan keep me company for a couple hours and take me back to 1967, as it happened.
Thank you again for doing this – and thanks as well to those who made it possible for this stuff to live on.
On a side note, you’ll be very happy to know the Dave Garroway book I am working on is presently at about 52,000 out of a minimum 85,000 words. (And I haven’t even gotten to his participation in Monitor just yet – but you can bet I will!)
Thanks again for everything! Hope all is well.
Jodie Peeler
Dennis, you have not disappointed. These new hours are just great!
Keep them coming!
Hugh
Dennis, the new recordings are just wonderful…particularly from WNBC’s last year as an all-talk station. One year later they would return to music during the daytime and weekends with perhaps the most contemporary MOR playlist on New York radio at the time.
Looking forward to hearing the 1968 and 1969 files down the line. Great memories.
Hope you’re well.
Hugh
Dennis:
Thanks so much for all of the new files uploaded in June and July. Gene Rayburn has always been my favorite Monitor communicator so it’s great to have many more hours of him. I also enjoyed hearing about the impending hurricane in September 1967.
Chad from New Albany, Indiana
I remember hearing bits and pieces of Monitor on WJR in Detroit during my childhood. This site is like a trip back in time to the days when full-service AM radio was king. Monitor’s variety format provided a little something for everyone, and managed to make it all flow together in a complete package. It was entertaining, informative with hosts who could connect with the radio audience. Sadly this style of radio has long-since disappeared from the landscape.
Thanks to all of your hard work in putting this site together, folks who remember Monitor in its entirety can relive the experience. Those of us who remember bits and pieces can catch up on what we missed. Those who have no memory of this groundbreaking program can experience the full-service variety format for the first time. Monitor was a class act and a true radio milestone!
Hi Dennis,
It’s June 12th and I can’t ignore the significance of this day.
Every year since I discovered your site, I acknowledge the fact that on this day, Monitor hit the air.
I’m in my 60’s. I got interested in radio in the late 50’s. Eventually I worked in it beginning in the 80’s although I wouldn’t do it today.
Pat Weaver knew what he was doing and the results of what he created in 1955 saved NBC Radio.
It took me a long time to accept the fact that everything we listened to including Monitor were one time only things and if tried today wouldn’t work and wouldn’t be given enough time to gain a sizable audience and make money.
The ironic part is the technology exists where something similar to Monitor could be put on the air today but if that happened, it probably would be voice tracked and the overall product would be done in a cheap way which would diminish the overall quality.
In those days, people like Mr. Weaver were willing to give a concept like Monitor a chance and the company he worked for trusted his judgement.
The airchecks from 1967 are great. I continue to enjoy them as well as everything else on the site.
Again happy anniversary to Monitor and thank you for honoring a time in radio we’ll never experience again.
Sincerely,
Larry Stoler
Stamford, CT.
I grew up listening to Monitor on weekends, while helping my dad with whatever project he was working on at the time. That’s because the only radio station he listened to was KFAB – Omaha, and unless there was a Nebraska football game on, it was NBC Monitor. I didn’t appreciate it at the time because I wanted to hear rock and roll, which had to wait until the sun went down and KOMA and WLS would come skipping in. But I listened!
I remember all those famous voices, some of which I knew from TV, and the constant variety, from Joe Garigola talking sports to Dr. Joyce Brothers and Nichols and May doing comedy bits. All the great communicators – Gene Rayburn, Henry Morgan, Hugh Downs, and the wonderful Frank McGee. When I hear the airchecks online, I also hear Walt Kavanaugh’s familiar voice: “You’re on the Monitor Beacon on KFAB in Omaha, good neighbor to the midwest. KFAB time is….”
Being fascinated by radio (I got my ham license at age 14 and a job at the local radio station a few years later), I especially loved the Monitor Beacon, which sounded exotic and techical and which was exactly right for the space age time of the 60s. I also was fascinated by the jingles and love hearing them in full quality now.
Thanks so much for taking the time to preserve the memories of the greatest network radio program of all time!
Regards,
Bob Nickels
Freeport IL
I have to say that my favorite communicator of all that I’ve heard on Monitor is Gene Rayburn. He just seemed to breeze along and his shows always flowed well.
The biggest shock to me was Don Imus. In my view he just didn’t fit Monitor. Listening to him and Bill Cullen both from the summer of 1973 is like night and day not only in presentation but music selection as well. I wasn’t born until 1972 so I missed Monitor when it was on but thanks to your wonderful website I can enjoy it and mom can remember it. I assume the NBC station in Louisville was WAVE AM 970 as WAVE TV Channel 3 was and still is our NBC affiliate and I can remember when WAVE AM 970 played music. They had a good sound.
I’m guessing NBC was maybe trying to “modernize” Monitor with the addition of Don Imus as that seemed to be the future of radio. I just have to think that most of Monitor’s audience was quite surprised with his delivery though as I assume Monitor was aimed at adults 35 and over for the most part.
I hope someone someday finds some airchecks with Garry Moore hoating and more of Durward Kirby. Thanks again for all you’ve done with the website.
Hello Dennis!
I hope all is going well for you. It has been a long time since I emailed, but Louis Castaing just alerted me to the new audio material on your website.
All I can say is that I am amazed and thrilled. For any more of the 12th anniversary weekend to appear would be incredible enough, but the entire Sunday? Wow! The final hour, with Steve Lawrence singing Cahn and Van Heusen’s song, was the first of the new hours I listened to. I was in front of my radio for most of that weekend, so it was a real thrill, and I look forward to listening to the rest.
So far, that and an hour of Ed McMahon are all I have accessed, but I expect to do a fair amount of what they now would call binge listening in the next few days. As I told Louis, given the horrors of our present situation, hiding out in 1967 for a while might be considered downright therapeutic! Who would have thought so back then?
Thank you so much — and my thanks to Mr. Miller as well — for making these available! I look forward eagerly to hearing the rest and any more from Mr. Gerbe’s collection.
Best regards,
WTK
Hi, Dennis–
This is a major find (the Ed McMahon Monitor ‘ 67 audio). It was one of the significant gaps in the thorough audio history of Monitor found on your web site; one can hardly tell the story of Monitor without including at least a full hour of Ed McMahon. Now I have something interesting to put on a CD and take on my next long car trip. I can hardly wait to listen to that and the other recent finds. Let’s keep going through those attics, everyone!
— Andrew
Thank you for maintaining this website, and for the book Monitor (Take 2), both of which I have encountered only recently and have been digesting with avidity.
I agree: Monitor was, and I think still is, the gold standard of commercial radio in America. I remember encountering the distinctive sound of the Monitor Beacon on my first transistor radio at about age 6 (in 1963). The program (er, “service” – apologies to Pat Weaver!) was in its prime (with Rayburn, Gargiola, H. Morgan, et al) in 1969 when I began hanging around WDSU-AM, New Orleans on weekends. While Monitor was on, WDSU’s Bob Middleton (“Bo Mid”) showed a 12-year old the ropes of radio. But on the weekends when I was not at the station visiting Bob, I was at home glued to Monitor. Together, Monitor and Middleton gave me a solid course in the basics of broadcasting.
In fact Monitor spoiled me for listening to most of radio ever since. (J.P. McCarthy at WJR, Detroit came quite close to Monitor’s high bar, though!) Right now I know nothing quite like Monitor anywhere on the air.
Monitor definitely left its mark on me, not only as a radio listener but also as a sometime radio performer. For 15 years (1979-1994) I worked off and on for WOWO, Ft. Wayne both in news and as an air personality, beginning when I was in seminary and continuing for several years thereafter. I have to think that anything I have done well in radio is, humanly speaking, attributable in large part to those early impressions of superior radio (Monitor) and the fine folks like Bo Mid at WDSU. (The mistakes and miscues are all mine!) After that, WOWO was my “finishing school.” When I occasionally work on the Issues, etc. podcast these days, Monitor remains very much with me.
I have concluded that a really fine local station acts as if it is a network. That was WDSU, and that was WOWO when I worked there. Well, there is no finer model for how a commercial network can do radio than Monitor. It’s still the gold standard. I remain thankful for it, and I am delighted to revisit it via your website.
Gratefully,
Ken Schurb
Hi Dennis,
I hope the beginning of the year is going well for you and your family.
I just read that John Bohannon has passed away. He was 81.
I understand he had been in poor health and was getting around with a wheel chair for a while.
I remember hearing John Bohannon on NBC Radio. I think in addition to being on Monitor, he was doing news for Imus when he first came to New York in 1971.
I think he was also part of the News and Information Service (NIS_ which as you know began five months after Monitor left the air and lasted a little over a year and a half.
We’ve lost so many great broadcasters and as is the case with John Bohannon, they aren’t being replaced.
Take care.
Larry Stoler
Although I’m too young to have been present at the Lighthouse Jazz Club in Hermosa Beach, CA for the first broadcast (I was only 6), many years later, in the early 80s, I lived a block away from there for a couple of years. It began as a Jazz Club, but it’s survived all those year, and I recall going to a couple of rock shows there…small ones with local bands, but hosted by a well-known DJ. And Monitor was on our car radio when our family took trips on the weekends when we were out of town. Great memories, and congratulations for making such a comprehensive site for this landmark program!
My Dad, Raphael (Ray) Weiss did some of the engineering work on various segments of Monitor. I remember him working on them on Saturdays when, sometimes, he would take me in with him and I’ld watch him at work with the producer. Sometimes he would set me up with a Reel to Reel and WABC (which played the “hits”) and I would stop and start the tape to capture the songs I wanted. At the end of his shift, we would transfer what I had recorded to a disc using a scully to, literally, cut the grooves into the lacquer disc. Great memories of growing up in 30 Rock.
My Dad then went on to Manager, Technical Ops for WNBC-Am, then AM and FM, retiring around 1990 as Manager, Technical Operations for the NBC Radio Networks. He came out of retirement to work with NBC at the Barcelona Olympics (1992) for which he garnered and Emmy Award.
Mike Weiss
I’m writing to you on June 12th the anniversary of the birth of Monitor network radio’s greatest program.
This is a significant day. It was the beginning of 20 years of outstanding radio every weekend.
I used to listen to Monitor on WNBC. Over the years, I grew to appreciate and realize how unique it was.
Listening to the Sounds of Monitor on your website makes me enjoy what so many of us took for granted on weekends even more.
Thank you for keeping the memory of Monitor alive.
Sincerely,
Larry Stoler
Stamford, CT.
I just found your Monitor tribute site, fittingly, Saturday morning around 8:00 AM. Man…I haven’t heard those tones for well over 45 years….and loved all the jingles. Talk about a time warp. Wow! I’ve played all 37 minutes of those, 4 times through already. HA
It makes me very happy and a little sad as well. I mean, it’s like Monitor is the baseball league that found out somebody was tearing down the field to build apartments and decided to have an all-star game…with all the very best players….one last time before it was gone. They were having so much fun that the game lasted all night and then all week , then all month, and well into the fall….because they knew when they walked off the field, they would be leaving all the bats, balls, and gloves too…….and I was lucky enough to see part of the game…..and I haven’t thought about it for a gazillion years.
Since this past weekend, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Saturday mornings in my Dad’s workshop in our garage in Winston-Salem, N.C. from about 1963 to 1966. He was a hard man…all the time….except for when he was building something. There was an old plastic green plug in radio on the workbench with sawdust caked on it. I don’t even think it had a dial on it……but it didn’t matter because the station was never changed…..it was always on Monitor Radio!
He’d always be missing something, so we’d get in our 56 Chevy wagon and head to the hardware store…..where my Dad was like a kid in a candy store….and coming and going we’d have the radio playing …..on Monitor NBC!. Dad would even whistle sometimes……good times…..
I can’t remember it exactly, but the jingle I remember best is not on that 37 minute program. I might have some of the words wrong but it was something like, ‘You’re on the Monitor beacon (boom) Tooooo Yooouu’ It might not have been a held out ‘You too’ ….perhaps other words, but that’s how I remember it. If you find it….again it would have been sometime between 63 and 66…..please let me know! It was played almost every station break.
Thanks again and I look forward to listening to some more of the radio programs….laying down with the lights off! 😀
Cheers!
Chuck Pattillo
Atlanta, GA
As I type this, I’m listening to Barry Nelson hosting Monitor in Nov. 1966. He was great and I really grew to appreciate him as a result of hearing what he did on Monitor.
Monitor did a lot for people who were serving overseas and couldn’t be home for the holidays. That was important and I’m sure made a lot of people feel that someone cared about them and they got the opportunity to send a message to the people they wouldn’t be seeing for a while.
I’m sorry the segment is short but when you run a tribute site years after the program has disappeared from regular over the air radio, you take what you can get.
The same is true with sites that feature shows from the golden age of radio.
The other day, a friend mentioned that it was the anniversary of the beginning of the National Broadcasting Company in 1926.
When you look back, you realize what an incredible network NBC Radio was.
I remember when GE sold the radio division in 1988. That was a very sad day.
Take care and enjoy Thanksgiving.
Larry Stoler
Greetings Mr. Hart!
I can’t recall how it was that I discovered your website, but it’s been one of the most delightful discoveries I’ve made on the internet in recent memory. I want to thank you for your efforts on behalf of broadcast radio fans.
I was fascinated by all things electrical and electronic at a very early age, so much so that I spent most of my adult working life in commercial broadcasting and related endeavors. I recall listening to Monitor in my younger years, and ironically, my first job in radio was at an NBC radio affiliate in my hometown of Scranton, PA. By the time I actually started to listen to the program, it had already gone to the “weekends only” schedules. Ironically, I remember well when I ended my own on-air stint and switched over to the network feed of Monitor on Saturdays and Sundays, still responsible for operating the station and inserting local content and station identifications when required. I suppose one could say that, in terms of listening to Monitor, I was certainly a “captive audience!” Thankfully, it was a pleasure to listen to the last vestige of “radio greats” on the last vestige of network radio programming.
I have yet to peruse all of your website, but I have every intention of listening to every minute of vintage audio you have available. Thanks for your wonderful efforts in not only paying tribute to Monitor, but more importantly, for sharing the content with present and future generations.
Best wishes! I look forward to updates and additions to your website whenever they may occur. Rest assured that there are people out there you appreciate your endeavor!
Another Monitor communicator has died: Monty Hall. He was born on August 25, 1921. While not many people will associate him with Monitor, he was a communicator from 1956 into 1960. We even have an hour of his hosting on the website from June 6, 1959 when he co-hosted with Bob Wilson.
Monty, who was born Monte Halparin, was a broadcast jack of all trades. Of course, for most people Hall was the host of Let’s Make A Deal; but he had a long and varied career in broadcasting. According to The Hollywood Reporter:
A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Hall served as a radio color man for New York Rangers’ NHL games and hosted other game shows like the scandal-plagued Twenty One, Video Village and revivals of Beat the Clock and Split Second.
However, it was Let’s Make a Deal, which he created with Stefan Hatos, that made him a television legend.
. . .
. . .Hall was president of the student body at the University of Manitoba and distinguished himself by performing in school musicals and plays. Simultaneously, he served as emcee of Canadian Army shows during World War II.
Following graduation, Hall gathered all his belongings in one small suitcase and headed for Toronto, where he broke into show business as an actor, singer, emcee and sportscaster..
And, while working on the weekends on Monitor, “Hall did some sportscasting and served as a Rangers color man on WINS radio in 1958-59 and 1959-60, making $50 a game.” In broadcasting, you pick up change where you can.
Unfortunately, the Hollywood Reporter article didn’t mention his four years as a Monitor communicator. But never fear, the paper of record, The New York Times, remembered: “In 1955 he moved again, this time to New York, where he became a regular on ‘Monitor,’ a mix of comedy, music, sports and news on NBC Radio.”
Thank goodness for the Times and its research staff. Maybe some of them remember hearing Monty back in 1956 (or maybe 1955). That’s only fair, because I figure Pat Weaver read the Times every day.
Louis
I remember hearing Monitor weather for the first time back in 1955, I was 12 and I recall begin struck at Miss Monitor’s delivery. This is a great find for me. I manage a community radio station in Asheville, NC, and I’m truly inspired to study your site and emulate some of the vignetter programing. We were heading that way already, and this give me the awareness that it will work. We don’t survive on commercial income, so it will be interesting to see how the community reacts, and if they’ll throw some $$$ support our way.
Great job,
Regards,
Davyne Dial
I just found out that Tony Taylor passed away on June 18th. He was 80. He died due to leukemia which according to his wife began last August.
Tony was a host on Monitor in 1974 although by then, the program was a far cry from what it sounded like during its first few years.
Tony was a great disc jockey. I remember listening to him in the late 60’s on WOR-FM New York a station that no longer exists.
He also worked at WQXI Atlanta as Tony “The Tiger” Taylor.
Another host has left us. Very sad.
I can’t believe that Monitor began 62 years ago.
I was looking for a way to acknowledge this important day and I came across the montage you put together on The Sounds of Monitor page of your website. It was great.
It’s amazing what we got to hear on the radio and took for granted when we were growing up.
Monitor truly was “network radio’s greatest program.”
The sad thing is due to a lot of different factors, Monitor was a one time only thing.
If it wasn’t for your tribute site, the airchecks and stories associated with the 20 year run of Monitor would have disappeared a long time ago.
Thank you for keeping the site going and reminding all of us about the many enjoyable weekends we had listening to NBC Monitor.
Larry
I don’t know whether George Skinner is the fifth Monitor host Louis Castaing
is looking for or not, but Skinner was one of the NBC executives who filled
in during the 1967 AFTRA strike.
Skinner was the general manager of WNBC AM & FM in those days. One of his
assignments was to substitute for Frank Blair as the newscaster on the Today
show.
The other day, at the bottom of an overstuffed file drawer, I found a 1967
letter from George Skinner. It was In response to fan mail forwarded to him
from the local NBC station where I worked in the mid-sixties.
Skinner wrote, “One of the most sincere rewards for being selected to fill
in during the AFTRA strike is to get letters such as [these].”
As I say, I don’t know if this is the name Louis was seeking, but it’s a
tangible reminder that those NBC executives appear to have enjoyed their
brief time on the air.
It was just over 50 years ago, March 29, 1967, that AFTRA called a strike against the networks. Everyone remembers that, on TV, Walter Cronkite and David Brinkley both walked out in sympathy with the strike (Chet stayed on the air, however); but the strike affected the radio networks as well. And for two weeks, MONITOR had five temporary hosts from the ranks of management. We’ve discussed this before; and we can only come up with four: NBC Radio president Steve Labunski who did Saturday morning; MONITOR executive producer Bob Maurer who did Saturday afternoon; NBC Radio vice-president of programs Bob Wogan who did Saturday night; and manager of NBC Radio special features Steve White who did Sunday afternoon.
(I can remember hearing Bob Wogan plaintively urging Henry Morgan on the air to “please come back.”)
But, unfortunately, neither of us have been able to come up with the name of the Sunday night substitute. So, I think this may be an auspicious time to commemorate the golden anniversary of the 1967 AFTRA strike by opening up this discussion to the distinguished group of MONITOR groupies who regularly visit these pages to see if they can come up with that fifth name. You might think that’s an impossible feat considering I have trouble remembering what I’m looking for in the refrigerator. But MONITOR sticks in the memory. Maybe you could even offer an autographed copy of MONITOR (Take 2) to the Amazing Reverse Kreskin who can predict the past. It’s worth a try.
I just learned that Jim Lowe passed away on Monday.
You’re right about Jim. He was truly one of Monitor’s best hosts.
In addition to Monitor, he was heard for years on WNEW New York. The station that wrote the book on how to present standards or what has come to be known as the Great American Songbook.
He also worked at WNBC.
Jim did everything on the air in a classy way.
Years after WNEW was purchased by Michael Bloomberg and the format was changed to financial news, Jim hosted a weekly radio show from a club in New York City.
He would interview performers and they would sing or play live on the air. It was great.
We’ve lost many wonderful people we got to listen to on the radio and unfortunately they won’t be replaced.
Fortunately as another contributor to the Guestbook pointed out, we can remember this time through your site and in our own way pay tribute to Jim Lowe and others who made Monitor the 20 year success it was.
Larry Stoler
I was an avid listener to Monitor and WNBC AM for many years. A few years ago I met The late Charlie Brown who was giving tastings from his winery at a local Supermarket in Northern San Diego County. I was wearing an NBC Logo T-Shirt and he said, ” I used to work for NBC” I asked what he did and he told me he had a drive time music program and occasionally hosted Monitor.
We discussed Big Wilson, Long John Nebel, Brad Crandall and others. We visited at wine tastings several times until his passing. We became friends and he is definitely missed!
Hello I am new to this guestbook. But i am one of many monitor Fans I was born in 1967 and i was fortunate to be raised in an area with a Full NBC affiliate which was AM 1270 KTFI in Twin Falls Idaho ( My family lived about 30 miles west of Twin falls out in the country) as a youngster whenever Monitor Was playing on the Radio any given weekend in the house or if i was riding in a Car with my Dear Mother I was concentrated on Monitor and its various Hosts. I loved everything about it. And i love listening to the various audio on this site it makes me feel younger. I was very sorry to see monitor Leave The Air. But i
have Wonderful fond Memories. And thanks to this site I can enjoy the classic moments again and even listen to the ones that came before my time. It truly was a ” One of a Kind program” and im happy to say that Monitor was one of the radio programs that inspired me and made me want to Get into radio and at age 17 i began my pursuit and after 12 years of making fake shows and similar stuff on tape i finally landed my first DJ gig on May 22 1996 and I am still on the air today 20 years later and Going strong. And i just want to thank you for making this site availiable. And to Thank those who were responsible in every aspect of Monitor ( That includes Everybody.) For the wonderful programming. May God Bless each and Everyone of you. Again Thank You all So Very much for all You have done.
Dennis,
I was saddened to learn of the death of former Monitor host Joe Garagiola at age 90. Joe was an unlikely Monitor host in that he was not a typical polished broadcaster with a mellifluous voice. You could tell he was boyhood friends with Yogi Berra in St. Louis. On the other hand, he was himself on the air. His trademark self-effacing humor was always welcome on a Saturday afternoon. I think Pat Weaver, who wanted recognizable personalities like Fred Allen as hosts, would have approved.
Of course, he wasn’t a great baseball player. He once said: “Each year I don’t play, I get better. The first year on the banquet trail, I was a former ballplayer, the second year I was great, the third year one of baseball’s stars, and just last year I was introduced as one of baseball’s immortals. The older I get, the more I realize that the worst break I had was playing.”
But he was always a lovely person who was able to project that warmth over the Monitor beacon.
Louis
Hi Dennis and Fellow Monitor Fans,
I just heard that Joe Garagiola passed away this morning. He was 90 and had been ill for a while.
In addition to working on the Today Show and doing baseball play-by-play, he was a host on Monitor for a number of years.
We’re losing the best people in broadcasting and entertainment in general and they’re not being replaced. This is sad.
RIP Joe Garagiola. We’ll remember you especially from your time as a Monitor host.
As someone noted earlier, I, too, am a Monitor baby, born in 1955.
The program was an unusual oasis of stability for me as I grew up during the 60s-70s. I loved Cleveland AM radio in my childhood…the standards my friends and I shared such as WIXY1260 (“Super Radio”), WHK (“Color Channel 14”) and NBC’s KYW/WKYC/WWWE (variously marketed as “Radio 11” and “3WE”).
My parents’ divorce had moved me to New England when I desperately wanted to be in Cleveland more than, as the song says, “six weeks every summer, Christmas every other year.” For a lonely, scientifically-curious boy it was natural I’d eventually discover “atmospheric skip” on AM and the ability to listen to the Cleveland NBC Radio affiliate. I also discovered Monitor. It was great for a kid’s imagination that I could listen to Monitor wherever I was. I could at least fantasize I was back in Cleveland with my dad.
So much the better later when I discovered the voice of another Cleveland native, Big Wilson, was a Monitor host.
Monitor, in fact, was one of those factors which eventually led to my studies – learning about the limitations of those Ma Bell 5KHz lines, studio/audio engineering – and early career in broadcast TV and production. As a side note, one of my early bosses was named Pat Weaver (no relation) and, at least in our studio, held in the same regard.
Just a quick note about the latest Sounds of Monitor. I really enjoyed the Benny and Allen segment. It made me realize that Benny and Allen were funnier on radio than on TV. A lot is said about radio being the theater of the mind; but I think radio is the theater of the ear. When I was listening to Monitor and hearing the hosts talking to me, I didn’t have to see them. If I had, I don’t think it would have been quite as personal.
Sometimes, I think production interferes with human contact. Bob and Ray knew it.
Louis
Dennis,
I’m getting older by the minute. Another Monitor host dies. There are very few of them left. Frank Sinatra, Jr. was 72. I’m 70. That means when he was hosting Monitor he was 29 or thereabouts. It’s strange that we have Frank, Jr. hosting and a segment hosted by Barry Nelson for Frank’s birthday that mentions the famous Frank, Jr. kidnapping.
Of course, he never really emerged from is father’s shadow. Perhaps, if he hadn’t gone by the name Frank. Jr.
Louis
Speaking of who’s left, the only names I can come up with are Jim Lowe, Joe G., Monty Hall, Hugh Downs, Bill Hayes, Cindy Adams, Don Imus, Tony Taylor (?), Dan Daniel. Anybody else?
I also noticed that Jim Simpson died recently on January 13 of this year.
Hi Dennis:
Sorry to read of Frank Sinatra, Jr. ‘s death—another Monitor host is gone.
Is Monty Hall the last remaining Monitor host still alive?
Dear Dennis,
I don’t know whether you have heard this sad news, but I want to forward to you an obit of Beryl Pfizer, beloved former writer at Monitor. I worked with her for years at Monitor and then kept in touch with her ever since. This obit was forwarded to me by Joel Spector, also a former Monitor worker. She will be missed.
Angela Ladas Vierville
Former Monitor Production Assistant
Beryl Ann Pfizer, writer, producer, and director, died of natural causes in her beloved mid town Manhattan brownstone. She was 87, born March, 28, 1928, in Morristown NJ. She is preceded in death by her father, William R. Pfizer, who was Vice President of The Panama Line, and her mother, Isabel Morin Pfizer. She grew up in Mt. Lakes, NJ, graduating from Mt. Lakes High School in 1945 and from Hood College in 1949, with a BA in music. Ever since she was young, she wanted to live in the city and she moved to Manhattan after college to begin a long and varied career in the radio and television industries. She worked with Dave Garroway on both The Home Show and The Today Show, where she was a Today Girl (1960-61). She wrote for Monitor Radio and The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. She received three Emmy Award nominations and won an Emmy in 1980, for producing “Ask NBC News, with John Chancellor”. She also produced medical and health stories for the NBC local television affiliate in Manhattan.
She was the author of “Poor Woman’s Almanac”, a compendium of humorous and pithy quotes published by Ladies Home Journal. Beryl was an avid athlete, and enjoyed playing tennis and running. She was proud to have completed a NYC marathon, and used to love the Midnight Run on New Year’s Eve in Central Park. She is survived by her sister, Joan Pfizer Sussmann, and by her four nieces and nephews, and five grand nieces and grand nephews. The family will hold a private memorial. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity.
Dennis,
I was sorry to hear that Bob Elliott of Bob and Ray died. It would be hard to imagine early Monitor without Bob and Ray. Somehow their comedy was a perfect fit for the program that was going places and doing things. Most of it ad-libbed. They blended in well with the other low-key personalities like Dave Garroway, David Brinkley, John Chancellor, and Walter Kieran. Comedy and social satire was such an important part of the early days of Monitor with Art Buchwald, Ernie Kovacs, Jonathan Winters, Nichols and May. Bob and Ray were the self-proclaimed puncturers of pomposity, perhaps a counter-balance to the sophisticated grandiosity of Pat Weaver’s Monitor concept. Weaver was in on the joke, however.
And so we’re Bob and Ray. As Bob once said: “By the time we discovered we were introverts, it was too late to do anything about it.” Or was that Ray?
Hi, Dennis: It’s been a while since we last touched base. Hope you’re enjoying retirement as much as I am. Sad to note this week the passing of Bob Elliott. Bob and Ray were before my time listening to Monitor, but I did later learn to follow their legendary radio career. They were essential to shaping monitor’s flavor and character in its early days. Another Great One gone.
Also, here’s a link to Russell Wells’ “Birmingham Rewound” site where he lists a Saturday Birmingham radio log from 1966 which, of course, features the Monitor schedule (and plugs your website!). Scroll down, about halfway on the page for the log. Note, even then, Monitor was getting interrupted for local programming, sports, and the legendary Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, sponsored back then, and for so many years, by Texaco.
The link:
http://www.birminghamrewound.com/features/1966-02.htm
Hi Dennis,
I just finished listening to the podcast where you were interviewed about Monitor. It was fantastic.
Radio continues to change. This is especially true in the case of the AM band where many stations have been sold, become filled with brokered programs or will go dark in the future.
While major market stations will survive such as WCBS-AM and 1010 WINS the two all news stations in New York, it will be interesting to see what the state of the band will be in ten years.
It’s too bad someone with the wisdom of Pat Weaver isn’t with us today and if he was, would he be given the opportunity and time to create Monitor and make it viable?
Thank you for a website that gets better all the time.
Larry Stoler
Stamford, CT.
Listening to Monitor in 1961, I seem to remember two songs played frequently , “Moon River” and “Tonight, Tonight, I’ll See My Love Tonight.” I remember them being sung by vocal groups, perhaps the Ray Charles Singers. Is my memory serving me correctly? Were the Ray Charles Singers recordings often played on the Monitor radio show?
Happy New Year !! (a couple of hours early)
I was almost four years old when when Monitor first began broadcasting, but it is one of my earliest memories. Every weekend, especially in the late 1950s thru the late 1960s, Monitor would be on in our house. Mom always had it on and it won any ratings contest in our home, even against Saturday morning cartoons on TV.
I remember hearing news reports form a NBC Radio reporter from Saigon in the late 1960s. His name is Stan Majors. Many years later, our paths crossed and we became very good friends. Stan passed away in later part of this past September in Tamarac, FL. Stan had celebrated his 80th birthday just a couple of weeks earlier. Was th\inking of my friend today, searched the Internet and found this website. a belated thanks to Monitor for great memories and a great website.
This continues to be great Dennis…I, too, miss being on the Monitor Beacon.
On a 1968-69 era Monitor playlist was a delightful number entitled “Happy Birthday.” Exhausted research on my part (and I mean “exhausted”) finds the song was from a 1968 Broadway musical, “Zorba.”
However, the recording played on Monitor was by a young female vocalist who gave it a really bright and happy feel. Would anyone here happen to recall that song and the then-young lady who recorded it?
Thanks.
Hugh Christopher Henry
December 2, 2015