Monitor
Beacon (in Real Audio format)
Time: 31 seconds; Size:
132 kb
The "Beacon"
was Monitor's audio symbol for the program's entire 20-year run. It
was used to cue stations to join the network or cut away for local
commercials.
Monitor
Beacon (in MP3 format)
Time: 50 seconds; Size:
196 kb
Here's the Beacon
in MP3 format (courtesy of Steve Rood, formerly of KNBR in San
Francisco)
Monitor
Themes
Time: 6 minutes, 50
seconds; Size: 840 kb
Over the years, Monitor
had many musical themes. Here's a healthy sample,
guaranteed to bring back great memories of our great times on the
"Monitor Beacon."
Pat
Weaver on Monitor
Time: 1 minute, 2 seconds;
Size: 132 kb
On Monitor's last Sunday,
program creator Sylvester L. "Pat" Weaver Jr. told
host John Bartholomew Tucker how he coined the term
"kaleidoscopic phantasmagoria" to describe Monitor.
Garroway
and Marilyn
Time: 42 seconds; Size:
88 kb
One of Monitor communicator
Dave Garroway's most famous interviews was one of
his first -- this one with actress Marilyn Monroe
in Radio Central.
McGee
and MLK
Time: 1 minute, 30 seconds;
Size: 188 kb
Monitor host Frank
McGee's most famous interview was this one -- with civil
rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
Miss
Monitor
Time: 1 minute; Size:
240 kb
Who WAS that lady who did
the sexy weather forecasts on Monitor? Her name was Tedi Thurman.
Here she recreates one of her forecasts, with Monitor host Big
Wilson. To see what she looked like, check out the "Miss
Monitor" page.
Bob
and Ray
Time: 1 minute, 4 seconds;
Size: 260 kb
For years, comedians Bob
Elliott and Ray Goulding stayed in Radio
Central virtually every weekend, ready to ad-lib comedy routines if
a Monitor remote failed or time needed to be filled. Here's their
take-off on Miss Monitor.
Hugh
Downs on Bob and Ray
Time: 1 minute, 31 seconds;
Size: 186 kb
Hugh Downs
was one of Monitor's earliest communicators. Listen as he reminisces
about working with Bob and Ray.
Nichols
and May on Monitor
Time: 2 minutes, 56
seconds; Size: 364 kb
For several memorable years
in the early '60s, the great comedy team of Mike Nichols
and Elaine May kept Monitor listeners in stitches
with outrageous and innovative comedy skits. Here's one of them, from
a September '64 Monitor segment hosted by Barry Nelson
(thanks to Louis Castaing).
Ernie
Kovacs
Time: 1 minute, 13 seconds;
Size: 152 kb
Comedian Ernie Kovacs
entertained Monitor listeners with creative monologues like this one
for years.
Garroway
Loses Lights
Time: 1 minute, 1 second;
Size: 128 kb
What happens to a bigtime
network radio program when the lights go out in the studio?
Henry
Morgan hosts Christmastime Monitor
Time: 4 minutes; Size:
492 kb
Henry Morgan appeared
as a commentator on Monitor's first broadcast in 1955, then appeared
frequently over the years. He was the Sunday afternoon Monitor host
from the mid-'60s to the early '70s. Here is a montage of Henry hosting
Christmastime Monitor in 1969. (Thanks to Ken Smith.)
Ed
McMahon hosts Monitor
Time: 2 minutes, 45 seconds;
Size: 352 kb
Ed McMahon,
who was Johnny Carson's "2nd banana" on TV's "Tonight
Show," hosted Saturday afternoon Monitor from the mid to late
'60s. This is a montage from Monitor '67. (Our thanks to Jack
Burns for this.)
Joe
Garagiola hosts Monitor
Time: 3 minutes, 2 seconds;
Size:376 kb
NBC-TV sportscaster and
game-show host Joe Garagiola succeeded Ed
McMahon as Saturday afternoon Monitor host in 1969.
During the years Joe hosted Monitor, he continued producing sports
features for other Monitor segments. Here is a sample of Joe hosting
a February 1969 Saturday afternoon Monitor segment. You can hear one
of his Monitor sports segments elsewhere on this page. (Our thanks
to Ken Smith for this.)
Bill
Cullen hosts Monitor
Time: 3 minutes, 23 seconds;
Size: 424 kb
Bill Cullen succeeded
Joe Garagiola as Saturday afternoon Monitor host
in the early '70s. The clip below is from a Sunday afternoon segment
in May '71, when he sat in for regular host Ted Brown.
Bill also was a longtime special-features contributor to Monitor.
(Thanks to Jim Willard.)
For more information
about Bill, check out The
Bill Cullen Homepage
Ted
Brown hosts Monitor
Time: 5 minutes, 17
seconds; Size: 652 kb
WNBC and WNEW disc jockey
Ted Brown succeeded Henry Morgan as
Sunday afternoon Monitor host in 1970. Listen as he ad-libs his way
through this memorable Sunday segment from April 30, 1972. (Our
thanks to W.T. Koltek for this.)
Ted
Brown "strips" on Monitor
Time: 2 minutes. 34
seconds; Size: 320 kb
Legendary NYC radio personality
Ted Brown hosted Sunday afternoon Monitor for several
years in the early '70s. Here is one of the "stripper" routines
he often performed on Monitor -- routines that all Monitor fans of
that time will remember.
Jim
Lowe hosts Monitor
Time: 3 minutes, 11
seconds; Size:392 kb
Jim Lowe
hosted Monitor on and off for more than seven years during the '60s
and '70s, longer than anyone else except Gene Rayburn.
Here's an excerpt from his Sunday night Monitor program of January
30, 1972. (Thanks to Don Spuhler.)
Mel
Allen hosts Monitor
Time: 5 minutes, 34
seconds; Size:688 kb
Yes, it's true -- the great
"Voice of the Yankees" also spent many
years on Monitor, doing sports reports for much of that time, but
also hosting Saturday morning Monitor from 1961 to 1963. (His successors:
David Wayne and, later, Gene Rayburn).
Here's Mel during his 9:30 to 10 a.m. ET Saturday morning segment
on March 3, 1962. (Thanks to Gene Garnes Sr.)
Bert
Parks hosts Monitor
Time: 2 minutes, 26
seconds; Size: 300 kb
Longtime "Miss America"
TV host Bert Parks hosted Monitor off and on for
years. Here's a montage from one of his Saturday afternoon stints
in the Summer of '67. (Our thanks to W.T. Koltek for this.)
Barry
Nelson hosts Monitor
Time: 6 minutes, 5 seconds;
Size: 752 kb
Actor Barry Nelson
-- a star on TV and the Broadway stage for decades starting in the
1940s -- hosted Monitor for several years in the 1960s, first the
Saturday afternoon segment and later on Sunday afternoons. While he
was on Monitor, Barry also starred on Broadway with Lauren Bacall
in "Cactus Flower." Here is an excerpt from a Saturday afternoon
Monitor segment that Barry hosted on September 26, 1964, from 3 to
4 p.m. ET (courtesy of Louis Castaing).
Brad
Crandall hosts Monitor's Birthday 1968
Time: 6 minutes, 5 seconds;
Size: 748 kb
WNBC Radio talk show host
Brad Crandall also hosted Sunday night Monitor in
the late '60s. This is an excerpt of his 7:30-8:30 p.m. ET Monitor
hour on June 16, 1968 -- Monitor's 13th-birthday weekend (courtesy
of Joe Pugliesi).
Frank
Sinatra Jr. hosts Monitor
Time:4 minutes, 15 seconds;
Size: 536 kb
That's right -- Frank
Jr. sat in as guest host of Monitor on several Saturday nights
in December 1972. His identity was kept secret until the very moment
he was introduced on the air on his first Saturday night -- the sound
cut we have here.
And during the 9:30-10 p.m.
half hour on each of Frank's appearances, he went "upstairs"
to the top of the RCA Building's Rainbow Grill to perform for the
crowd there and to a national audience on Monitor. It was fun to listen
to! (Thanks to Ken Smith.)
Al
Capp on Monitor
Time: 2 minutes, 44
seconds; Size: 340 kb
Al Capp,
the brilliant newspaper cartoonist (Li'l Abner), had a second career
in the mid-'60s -- he was Monitor's "expert on nothing with opinions
on everything." He did weekly commentaries on a variety of topics.
Here's one of them, from a September '64 Monitor segment hosted by
Barry Nelson (courtesy of Louis Castaing).
Monitor
Announcements
Time: 55 seconds; Size:
117 kb
What kinds of announcements?
Oh, you'll remember, once you start listening.
Monitor
Station ID's
Time: 1 minute, 1 second;
Size: 131 kb
Remember how Monitor's hosts
used to identify NBC affiliates just before those affiliates got their
cutaway cues for local commercials? Well, listen here for another
trip down Monitor's Memory Lane. (In order, you'll hear hosts Jim
Lowe, Frank McGee, Barry Nelson and Gene Rayburn.)
John
Chancellor on Monitor's Impact
Time: 46 seconds; Size:
96 kb
NBC newsman John
Chancellor spent years reporting for Monitor. Here, he talks
about the impact the program had on American listeners.
Joe
Garagiola's Last Report
Time: 1 minute, 59 seconds;
Size: 248 kb
The date: Sunday, Jan. 26,
1975. The time: 3:48 p.m. EST. The event: Joe Garagiola's
last Monitor sports segment, introduced by John Bartholomew
Tucker. Over a dozen years, Joe had more than 2,500 sports
reports on Monitor. In addition, Joe hosted Saturday afternoon Monitor
in 1969 and 1970.
Big's
Last Opens
Time: 45 seconds; Size:
184 kb
The date: Sunday, Jan. 26,
1975. The times: 12:07:10 p.m. and 1:07:10 p.m. EST. The event: The
opening few seconds of two of Big Wilson's last three
live hours on Monitor. (Sorry, I don't have Big's 2:07:10 p.m. opening.)
John's
Last Opens
Time: 1 minute, 18 seconds;
Size: 316 kb
The date: Sunday, Jan. 26,
1975. The times: 3:07:10 p.m., 4:07:10 p.m. and 5:07:10 p.m. EST.
The event: The opening few seconds of each of John Bartholomew
Tucker's last three live hours on Monitor.
Big's
Last Seconds
Time: 23 seconds; Size:
320 kb
The date: Sunday, Jan. 26,
1975. The time: 2:58:27 to 2:58:50 p.m. EST. The event: Big
Wilson's last live few seconds on his last Monitor program.
Monitor's
Last Seconds
Time: 33 seconds; Size:
136 kb
The date: Sunday, Jan. 26,
1975. The time: 5:58:17 to 5:58:50 p.m. EST. The event: Monitor's
last few live seconds on the air, hosted by John Bartholomew
Tucker.
The
Last Live Monitor "Update"
Time:1 minute, 30 seconds;
Size: 188 kb
For a time near the end
of Monitor's run, live news "Updates" were aired in the
body of the program -- first at :15 and :45 after the hour, then at
:30 after. This is the very last live news Update (airing at 5:30
p.m. ET) on Monitor's final Sunday, January 26, 1975, anchored by
Bob Gibson, who is still anchoring radio news in
NYC to this day.
Monitor's
Last Promos
Time: 3 minutes, 55 seconds;
Size: 484 kb
NBC Radio always fed Monitor
promos a few days before the upcoming weekend's programs. This was
the last promo feed -- three promos introduced by Don Pardo
and voiced by Big Wilson and John
Bartholomew Tucker.
Oops!
Ted Brown
Time: 52 seconds; Size:
112 kb
What happens when Monitor
News on the Hour ends and host Ted Brown isn't
ready to read his closing billboard? Just listen.
Oops!
Gene Rayburn #1
Time: 18 seconds; Size:
44 kb
The scene: Radio Central's
studio 5B, where Monitor host Gene Rayburn has to
read the closing billboard for News on the Hour just after a staffer
(who shall remain nameless) utters a word that really shouldn't go
out on the air.
Oops!
Gene Rayburn #2
Time:1 minute, 2 seconds;
Size: 132 kb
Here's Monitor host Gene
Rayburn, ad-libbing during a commercial for a comb. What's
so funny about that? Listen.
Oops!
It's Radio WHAT?
Time: 1 minute, 46 seconds;
Size: 224 kb
How hard is it to say, "Now
back to Monitor in Radio Central," when you're finishing a phone
report? Very, if you don't have a clue.
