30 minute quiz/trivia show
Wake Up America and Stump the Experts!
Information Please was a quiz show, but with a clever twist. A normal game show would take members of the audience, put them on stage, ask them questions, and reward those who did well. But, Information Please, instead would have a panel of experts, and audience members would ask them questions. If the experts failed, then the questioner got a rewarded.
The show was created by Dan Golenpaul in 1938. Golenpaul’s first task was to assemble a panel of experts. He got Franklin Pierce Adams, who sounds like he should have been President, but was instead a writer and columnist for the New York Post, Herald Tribune and other newspapers. Then Clifton Fadiman joined the program as the host. Fadiman was the book editor for the New Yorker, plus he had done book reviews on radio previously. Each week Information Please would get 5 guest expert panelists. (Just in case you were wondering, the media landscape has changed dramatically over the years. All eight members of the team: Golenpaul, Adams, Fadiman, and the five guest panelists would split $400 each week for their efforts.) People could mail in questions. The questioner got $2.00 if their question was asked and $5.00 if it stumped the panel. (This money also came out of the $400.00)
The show became a hit almost immediately. Within 6 months John Kieran, a sports writer, was added as a regular panelist, and he became known as Mr. Know it All. Kieran had the widest range of knowledge from Shakespeare to sports. Then a third regular panelist was added, Oscar Levant.
Only about a dozen questions were asked in each episode, this left plenty of time for the panelists to banter and ad lib back and forth, which was a major appeal of the show. The panel correctly answered about three quarters of the questions, which gave enough hope to those submitting questions that they would receive a larger prize for stumping the experts. And much like in modern day Celebrity Jeopardy panel members would flub questions about their own field, or even their own work. Eliot Roosevelt, (son of FDR) missed questions about Eleanor Roosevelt’s newspaper column, and Mr. Know it All, actually missed what date his wife’s birthday was. In addition to experts the show regularly got celebrities to appear on their panel. Gracie Allen, it was revealed only played a ditzy blond, in reality she was quite intelligent, Fred Allen, Boris Karloff, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, and many other prominent figures appeared throughout the show until it ended in 1947. The premise of Comedy Central’s "Win Ben Stein’s Money" is very similar, and the atmosphere of the show is similar to NPR’s "Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me."
So Wake Up America and Stump the Experts!
Text from Wikipedia
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All of our Old Time Radio Programs are in MP3 format. You can play them on your computer, you can transfer them to MP3 players (like the IPod), but, by and large, you cannot play them on stereos, walkmen, or car radios.
The sound quality of Old Time Radio Programs can vary greatly. Some episodes are excellent, others you have to turn up the volume a little and ignore the static. All of the episodes can be listened to and enjoyed. You can listen to our free samples to get a feel for how the programs sound.
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Episode List
information-please_380607 JOHN KIERAN.mp3
information-please_380614 MARC CONNOLLY.mp3
information-please_380621 HOWARD DIETZ.mp3
information-please_380628 CARLA SNOW.mp3
information-please_380705 OSCAR LEVANT.mp3
information-please_380712 QUINCY HOWE GEORGE S.mp3
information-please_380719 THOMAS CRAVEN BEN HE.mp3
information-please_380726 JOHN GUNTHER.mp3
information-please_380802 MOSS HART.mp3
information-please_380809 ALDEN COOK ALICE DUE.mp3
information-please_380823 PERCY WAXMAN.mp3
information-please_380830 BEN HECHT.mp3
information-please_380906 BEN BERNIE.mp3
information-please_380913 PERCY WAXMAN.mp3
information-please_381004 DOROTHY THOMPSON.mp3
information-please_381011 LILLIAN GISH.mp3
information-please_381018 GENE TUNNEY.mp3
information-please_381101 OSWALD JACOBY.mp3
information-please_381115 JOHN GUNTHER.mp3
information-please_381129 KATHLEEN NORRIS.mp3
information-please_381227 WILLIAM LYON PHELPS.mp3
information-please_390103 EDWIN EDGAR.mp3
information-please_390110 ALEXANDER WOOLCOTT.mp3
information-please_390124 GENERAL HUGH JOHNSON.mp3
information-please_390131 GILBERT SELDES ELIZA.mp3
information-please_390207 MYRON WALLACE.mp3
information-please_390214 RUSSELL CROUSE FRANK.mp3
information-please_390221 MOE BERG.mp3
information-please_390321 JOHN GUNTHER.mp3
information-please_390328 REX STOUT MOSS HART.mp3
information-please_390411 DEEMS TAYLOR MARCUS .mp3
information-please_390418 H. V. KALTENBORN.mp3
information-please_390425 ALICE ROOSEVELT LONG.mp3
information-please_390516 JOHN P MARQUAND.mp3
information-please_390523 CLARENCE BUDINGTON K.mp3
information-please_390530 STANLEY WALKER.mp3
information-please_390613 HELEN WILLS MOODY.mp3
information-please_390620 GRACIE ALLEN JOHN GU.mp3
information-please_390627 WILBUR CROSS.mp3
information-please_390704 LILIAN GISH.mp3
information-please_390711 ELLIOTT ROOSEVELT.mp3
information-please_390718 KELLAND WILLIAM BEE.mp3
information-please_390725 MAURY MAVERICK.mp3
information-please_390801 RUSSELL CROUSE JAMES.mp3
information-please_390822 H. NAPIER MOORE.mp3
information-please_390829 REX STOUT WILFRID FU.mp3
information-please_390905 RAYMOND GRAM SWING.mp3
information-please_390912 ALICE MARBLE.mp3
information-please_390919 P. HAL SIMMS.mp3
information-please_390926 REX STOUT CARL VAN D.mp3
information-please_391003 C. MILDRED THOMPSEN.mp3
information-please_391010 CHRISTOPHER MORLEY J.mp3
information-please_391024 MOE BERG - SOUND SO-.mp3
information-please_391031 CARL SANDBURG.mp3
information-please_391107 CHRISTOPHER MORLEY M.mp3
information-please_391114 JAMES FARLEY.mp3
information-please_391121 J. P. MACAVOY MOE B.mp3
information-please_391205 DEEMS TAYLOR HENRY .mp3
information-please_391212 WALTER B. PITKIN .mp3
information-please_391219 CHRISTOPHER MORLEY .mp3
information-please_391226 SIR CEDRIC HARDWICKE.mp3
information-please_400102 GLORIA STUART CARL V.mp3
information-please_400827 JAMES ROOSEVELT CHR.mp3
information-please_400828 WALTER WANGER.mp3
information-please_400903 HENRY BEETLE HUFF.mp3
information-please_400910 JOHN GUNTHER JAN STR.mp3
information-please_400917 OTTO TOLISCHUS - RHY.mp3
information-please_400924 ALVA JOHNSTON MARC C.mp3
information-please_401001 CLAIRE BOOTH LUCE.mp3
information-please_401008 JAN STRUTHER LOUIS B.mp3
information-please_401015 LOUIS HACKER.mp3
information-please_401022 HERBERT BAYARD SWOPE.mp3
information-please_401027 WALTER D EDMONDS.mp3
information-please_401029 JOHN MASON BROWN.mp3
information-please_401105 CHRISTOPHER MORLEY.mp3
information-please_401115 FRED ALLEN.mp3
information-please_401122 LOUIS E LAWES.mp3
information-please_401129 LEON HENDERSON.mp3
information-please_401206 JAN STRUTHER ELMER R.mp3
information-please_401213 ERNEST HOOTEN.mp3
information-please_401220 HERBERT MARSHALL LO.mp3
information-please_410103 DEEMS TAYLOR VINCENT.mp3
information-please_410110 KENNETH SIMPSON JAME.mp3
information-please_410117 OWEN DAVIS.mp3
information-please_410124 BORIS KARLOFF LOUIS .mp3
information-please_410207 JAN STRUTHER SIR WIL.mp3
information-please_410214 DEEMS TAYLOR HENRY N.mp3
information-please_410221 JOE DAVIDSON.mp3
information-please_410228 JOHN OHARA.mp3
information-please_410307 CHRISTOPHER MORLEY E.mp3
information-please_410314 CLARENCE WICKERT.mp3
information-please_410321 ROLAND YOUNG.mp3
information-please_410328 ELSA LANCHESTER.mp3
information-please_410404 JOHN GUNTHER LYMAN B.mp3
information-please_410411 PHIL MERRIVALE.mp3
information-please_410418 REX STOUT HENRY CURR.mp3
information-please_410425 PAUL LUKAS.mp3
information-please_410502 DEEMS TAYLOR DONALD .mp3
information-please_410509 GENE TUNNEY.mp3
information-please_410516 FRANK SULLIVAN DICK .mp3
information-please_410523 DEEMS TAYLOR.mp3
information-please_410530 JAN STRUTHER CORNELI.mp3
information-please_410606 SALLY BENSON.mp3
information-please_410613 BILL TILDEN.mp3
information-please_410620 JAMES WALLACE ALFRED.mp3
information-please_410627 ALFRED HITCHCOCK.mp3
information-please_410704 JOHN GUNTHER WALTER .mp3
information-please_410711 MARY BOLAND.mp3
information-please_410801 LYMAN BRYSEN HENRY N.mp3
information-please_410808 LARRY MCPHAIL.mp3
information-please_410815 DEEMS TAYLOR RUSSELL.mp3
information-please_410905 DEEMS TAYLOR.mp3
information-please_410912 LEWIS BROMFIELD MARG.mp3
information-please_410919 STEPHEN VINCENT BENE.mp3
information-please_410926 JAN STRUTHER THOMAS .mp3
information-please_411003 LEFTY GOMEZ DEEMS TA.mp3
information-please_411017 FRED ALLEN.mp3
information-please_411021 C.S. FORESTER.mp3
information-please_411031 GROUCHO MARX.mp3
information-please_411107 DOUGLAS MILLER.mp3
information-please_411121 CORNELIA OTIS SKINNE.mp3
information-please_411128 DREW PEARSON ROBERT .mp3
information-please_411205 DEEMS TAYLOR EDNA FE.mp3
information-please_411212 GEORGE N. SCHUSTER.mp3
information-please_411219 JOSEPH DAVIES JAN ST.mp3
information-please_411226 JOHN GUNTHER.mp3
