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(More customer reviews)Dennis Hart has done a great public service with his history of "the last great radio show".
That show was Monitor on NBC radio, a program that not only ran every weekend for nearly twenty years, but in doing so, saved the NBC radio network from early extinction at a time when television was robbing network radio of its audience.
So what was Monitor? The brainchild of the late, great Pat Weaver, Monitor was a true magazine of the air--an intelligent, lively, exciting mixture of news, comedy, music, sports, interviews, and live remotes from around the world, all packaged into an ever changing format hosted by radio greats like Gene Rayburn, Dave Garroway, Henry Morgan, Bill Cullen, and many others. There was simply nothing else like it when it began in 1955. And really nothing else like it when it fell victim to the changing times and was finally cancelled in January 1975.
Hart deftly chronicles Monitor's creation, and breathes life into the story of its long run--longer than any other radio program. From the famous hosts, to the intense work it took for the show's producers and writers to actually create on a weekly basis, hours of live programming at a time when broadcasting technology was primitive by today's standards, to the Monitor Beacon itself, Hart reminds Monitor's fans why they spent so many of their weekend hours listening to the program.
I was a fan for years in the '60s and early '70s, but you don't have to remember the show to appreciate this affectionate history. And given the state of commercial radio today, you may come away wondering why Monitor is still not running every weekend "going places and doing things" and once again delighting millions of listeners.
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This is the inside story of network radio's greatest program -- Monitor. Born in 1955 out of inspiration and desperation, "Monitor" became a smash hit with audiences and advertisers. The NBC weekend extravaganza -- which started as a 40-hour long program -- featured big-name hosts such as Dave Garroway, Hugh Downs, Frank Blair, Frank McGee, Gene Rayburn, David Wayne, Ed McMahon, Henry Morgan, Mel Allen, Monty Hall, David Brinkley, Hal March, Barry Nelson, Jim Lowe, Joe Garagiola, Murray the K, Bill Cullen and many others. Broadcasting from mammoth NBC studios called "Radio Central," Monitor featured a continuous flow of news, sports, comedy, variety and live remotes from around the country and around the world. It also featured "Miss Monitor," who gave weather forecasts in a way no one had ever heard before. Monitor was the first network radio show designed for a mobile audience -- listeners could tune in wherever they were, at any time during the weekend, and hear something "new and different" every few minutes. For nearly 20 years, Monitor kept listeners in instantaneous touch with anything of interest or importance happening in the world. This is the fascinating Monitor story -- from its creation by legendary NBC programmer Sylvester L. "Pat" Weaver Jr., to never-before told anecdotes about Monitor's hosts and featured players. New interviews with Monitor hosts and staff members provide an engrossing and entertaining look at The Last Great Radio Show.
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