Around Your Radio Dial
By Dick Diespecker
[Vancouver Province, Saturday, April 24, 1954]
Jack Cullen returns to the CBC with a special show on Monday. The night-time DJ who runs “Owl Prowl” on CKNW will be taking his second run at a scripted CBC show. Title is “The Jack Cullen Show,” and Mr. Cullen will be assisted by actors Doug Hoskins and Stan Jones, and songstress Thora Anders. Music is supplied by [two unreadable words] under the direction of Ernie Blunt, while Pat Trudell and his vocal group “The Dreamers” will be featured on each show. Script is by Warren Barker and production by Bill Inglis. You can catch the show at 9:30 over CBU … While I have every respect for Mr. Cullen’s talents and am happy that the CBC is unbending as much as they do these days putting on lighter programs of this sort—the Barney Potts Show is another excellent example—I might as well take this opportunity to drop a hint into the shell-like ear of CBC Program Director Doug Nixon; that since bass baritone Don Gerrard has just won still another Canadian singing award, “Nos Future Etoiles,” which makes it a clean sweep for him, some consideration might be made to building a program with a full orchestra around him this summer when he is in Vancouver to sing the leading role in the TUTS production of “Oklahoma!” Last year after he had won “Singing Stars of Tomorrow” I had to practically batter down the doors of two private stations, CKWX and CJOR, to get Mr. Gerrard on the air here. The CBC gave him the back of its hand, except for one or two guest shows. Since the CBC is out national radio network I think it is surely their duty to present to the people of the west our foremost singing star in an appropriate setting when they have the opportunity to do so from his home town. How about it, Doug?
cArtie note: memo to T.D .. since it isn't Pride Weekend in Oliver this weekend (then again, is it ever?), you should have oodles of spare time to find out from Mr. Barker exactly what this show was about.
Apparently, Dear Dick hadn't clued in to the fact yet that his favorite kind of 1940s programming was dead and guys like Red Robinson would change local radio drastically within a few years.