MEN’S CLUB UPDATE
The Golden Age of Radio and Television
Bergen and Charley McCarthy, The
Lone Ranger and Duffy’s Tavern
Suspense. The one that brought
back the most memories to me,
however, was The Shadow. I recall
my parents taking me to the WOR
studio in Manhattan one Sunday
afternoon to see the show being
taped. I don’t remember exactly
why, but I think they took me to
prove that The Shadow did not
exist. Their efforts, however, failed.
The next Sunday afternoon I was
glued to the TV, remaining loyal to
The Shadow.
Another radio show that I was a
big fan of was Captain Midnight.
I remember sending away for a
decoder ring and then foolishly
giving it to a classmate, Ronald
Contino, who let me replace him
as the eraser monitor in exchange.
In case you don’t remember, it was
the eraser monitor’s job to clap
the erasers together which thereby
would keep the blackboard clean.
We hope to
resume all of our
Men’s Club activities
as soon as possible.
Recently, Jerry
Siegel has given us
two presentations
on Channel 995,
“The Bronx USA”
and “Abbott and
Costello,” and there
are more in the
works..
Gary Darche's
Men’s Club “Open
Mike” on Zoom
every Thursday
morning continues to attract more viewers each
week and we’re sure it won't be long before the
club’s monthly dinners can be resumed.
The Men’s
Club Newsletter,
a Toby Horowitz
production, can
be a great means
of communication
among our
m e m b e r s h i p .
Your thoughts
and views are
welcome. Email
Toby Horowitz
at: tmhmgt@
yahoo.com
Don’t miss
out! For more
information on
the Men’s Club, contact:
Jerry Siegel Jerrysiegel18s@gmail.com
Jack Sevita jspop34@aol.com
BY HOWARD ARKIN
The North Shore Towers
Men’s Club, in order to keep
our members engaged while
we are under the influence of the
COVID virus, is holding meetings,
discussion groups, and guest speakers
on Zoom. Some upcoming topics
include The Untold Stories of the
Boxers, The Golden Age of Baseball,
The Magic Show and Exercises to Do
from Home.
Recently, on Thursday,
November 19, the North Shore
Towers Men’s Club presented to
the 37 participants who were viewing
on Zoom its first double header.
Gary Darche’s popular “open
mike” session was followed later
that day by a Toby Horowitz/Jerry
Siegel presentation, The Golden
Age of Radio and Television,
hosted by noted lecturer Richard
Knox. After a short delay due to a
computer glitch which Toby and
Richard quickly resolved, we were
on our way.
The first familiar thing that
appeared on our screens was
something called a test pattern. This
was commonplace in the early days
of TV. The network’s logo would
appear on your television screen and
remain constant from about 12:00
a.m. to 6:00 a.m. when the stations
were off the air. Some of the radio
shows that Mr. Knox discussed
were the Jack Benny Show, Edgar
Note to Members
For those of you who have not joined into
the Men’s Club open mike Zoom discussion
group, you are missing an opportunity
to partake in conversations on different
topics each week.
Every Thursday there is a Zoom open
mike session at 10:30 am for one hour. Gary
Darche is the host and I send out an invite
to all Men’s Club Members to join in. Please
make an effort to join us.
The Men’s Club Board and members
are working for you while we are under
the influence of the COVID virus and
locked down.
For information about the North
Shore Towers Men’s Club, contact me at
(tmhmgt@yahoo.com). ~ Toby Horowitz,
President, NST Men’s Club
I’m not sure I got the better end of
the bargain. Mr. Knox also showed
us some memorable 1950s television
commercials. Dinah Shore singing
“See the USA in your Chevrolet”
had me back behind the wheel of
my 1958 Impala.
Many of the TV shows from
the 50s would not be candidates
for an Emmy Award today, but
Playhouse 90, a television anthology
drama series from that time
might be the exception. Playhouse
90 showcased some very talented
writers such as Paddy Chayefsky
and William Faulkner as well as
Rod Serling, the iconic creator of
the Twilight Zone series. The first
“King of TV Comedy” was Milton
Berle, the star of The Texaco Star
Theater, a show which kept most
of America home on Tuesday
evening. If you had a TV set in
the late 1940s or 1950s, you might
have had a few guests in your living
room that night, some invited
and some uninvited. Other great
comedy shows were to follow,
such as I Love Lucy, the Jackie
Gleason Show and Your Show of
Shows, to name just a few of the
most popular ones.
Two very popular genres of TV
shows during the 1950’s were
cowboy/western and detective/
crime. A few of the classic TV
westerns Mr. Knox touched upon
were Gunsmoke, The Rifleman,
Bonanza and The Lone Ranger.
Among the crime shows discussed
were Dragnet, 77 Sunset Strip and
The Untouchables. When was the
last time you heard Jack Webb’s
immortal words “Just the facts
ma’am, just the facts.”
Television has come a long way
from that 12-inch Admiral I remember
as a boy to the 80-inch Samsung
I have now. As great as the golden
age of radio and TV was, I’ll certainly
take today’s TV, even if it’s
no longer free.
THE MEN’S CLUB WANTS YOU TOO!
24 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ January 2021
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