Radio broadcasting was the cheapest form of entertainment, and it provided the public with far better entertainment than most people were accustomed to. As a result, its popularity grew rapidly in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and by 1934, 60 percent of the nation's households had radios.

Command Performance

Broadcast History: 1 March 1942 to 20 December 1949 and 7 October 1945 to 21 April 1946

A surprising fact about this series is that all talent was donated, in other words no one received payment – not even the stars. This was even more remarkable when you see the list of stars who contributed to the entertainment. Stars of the silver screen like Charles Laughton, Red Skelton, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, to name but a few. Anybody who was anybody got in on this act and those guys serving away from home were glad of it.

When the war ended it was decided that it would still be necessary to carry on producing the show and it continued to be broadcast to the serving men and women of the United States Armed Forces right up to the end of 1949.

CMP420301 - Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, Joe Lewis Fight [442]
 6.92 MB

CMP420308 - Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore [262]
 6.92 MB

CMP420309 - Fred Waring, Joe E Lewis, Talullah [262]
 6.9 MB

CMP420313 - Kate Smith, Henny Youngman, Archie [262]
 6.96 MB

CMP420318 - Fred Allen, Kenny Baker, Gladys Swathout [262]
 6.96 MB

CMP420329 - GJessel, CBoswell, OLevant [269]
 7.08 MB

CMP420401 - KKyser, BWain, ELogan, ECantor [276]
 7.08 MB

CMP420407 - Betty Grable, Harry James, Jack Benny [442]
 6 MB

CMP420412 - Gene Tierney, Edgar Bergen, Betty Hutton
 6.8 MB

CMP420416 - Clifton Fadiman, Dinah Shore, Phil Baker
 6.85 MB

CMP420419 - STemple, MTilton, BSnooks, DLamour Abbott and Cos
 6.34 MB

CMP420423 - PO'Brien, FMorgan, FLangford, Burns and Allen [26
 7.19 MB

CMP420428 - Adolphe Menjou, Fibber McGee and Molly, Red Skelton
 6.85 MB

CMP420507 - Betty Grable, Jack Benny, Mary Martin [262]
 6.01 MB

CMP420514 - Edward G Robinson, Ginny Simms [262]
 6.42 MB

CMP420518 - GRaft, DDurbin, DShore, RVallee [269]
 6.71 MB

CMP420602 - Mickey Rooney, Amos 'n Andy, Harry James
 6.82 MB

CMP420611 - Don Ameche, Bing Crosby, Carole Landis
 6.83 MB

CMP420618 - William Powell, GAutry, JGarland, MTilton [269]
 5.51 MB

CMP420623 - Loretta Young, Ella Fitzgerald, Phil Silvers
 6.84 MB

CMP420630 - (Fragment) Groucho, Victor Borge [262]
 1.67 MB

CMP420630 - Spencer Tracy, GMarx, BStanwyck, VBorge [269]
 6.47 MB

CMP420707 - Bob Hope, Lena Horne, Rosalind Russell
 6.9 MB

CMP420714 - Edward Arnold, EWaters, JHeifitz, JBenny [269]
 6.68 MB

CMP420721 - Pat O'Brien, Harold Peary, Dick Powell
 6.86 MB

CMP420728 - Cary Grant, Judy Garland, Woody Herman
 6.87 MB

CMP420804 - Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Count Basie
 6.86 MB

CMP420811 - Walter Pidgeon, Mary Martin, Marlene Dietrich
 6.7 MB

CMP420818 - Cary Grant, Virginia O'Brien, Freddie Slack
 6.6 MB

CMP420825 - Red Skelton, Betty Hutton, Benny Goodman
 6.82 MB

MUSEUM HOURS

  • CLOSED
  • CLOSED
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  • CLOSED
  • 11:00AM - 4:00PM
  • 11:00AM - 4:00PM
  • CLOSED

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