Armed Forces відкриті
[search 0]
більше
Download the App!
show episodes
 
Welcome to VARIETY x AFRS, a collection of classic variety programs; many that aired on the Armed Forces Radio Service (a.k.a. the Armed Forces Radio Network). Programs include comedians, sketch comedy, music (singers & live bands), and ventriloquism. AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Services) also known as AFN (American Forces Network) were variety programs that only broadcast to overseas military on their own government radio broadcast service. These services are actually still in production today ...
  continue reading
 
Loading …
show series
 
Ken Benbow Served in the 7th Escort Group in the Atlantic convoys. With no torpedoes, just guns and depth charges to protect Allied merchant ships from U-Boats, they sailed back and forth through ‘No Man’s Land’, 1,500 miles of ocean with no air cover, being “attacked every hour by the Germans”. Age 17, Ken went from working on a farm to Serving in…
  continue reading
 
Catapult-Armed Merchant “CAM” ship pilots flew highly secretive one-way missions. David Wright was one of only a handful and their stories are little known. Using rockets and catapults mounted on merchant ships, Hurricane fighter planes were launched to shoot down German planes. With no flight deck to land on, pilots had to bail out seconds before …
  continue reading
 
Atlantic and Arctic Convoy Veteran, Ron Syson, gives us a gritty account of life as a Merchant Seaman. Very early on, he sailed to Iceland, Greenland and New York, and was alongside when the Normandy caught fire and capsized. He was only 15. As well as transporting vital supplies across the Atlantic to Britain, Ron braved the Arctic seas in what Ch…
  continue reading
 
Winston Churchill once wrote, “... the only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-Boat peril”. If The Allies had lost, Britain would have been starved into surrender. 99-year-old John Roberts gives us a fantastic insight into The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest running campaign of WWII. John left the Royal Navy as a Rear…
  continue reading
 
Paula’s story is about the loss of her husband, Paul Harding, who Served in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Green Jackets. He joined-up at 18 and was killed in action aged 47, in Basra 2007. We hear about being under attack, fatality and bereavement. If you feel that you might be sensitive to this, you may prefer not to listen. This emotional, diffi…
  continue reading
 
Tip Cullen, former Royal Marines Commando tells us about losing 8 of his friends in the very first operation of Op Telic 1. He’s telling this story “...to keep their memory alive” and “...for the families that had to deal with the consequences…” also for “...people to empathise with their sacrifice, or their will to protect what we call freedom…Tho…
  continue reading
 
Kirk Bowett Served in The Cheshire Regiment and his deployment to the Middle East began during Op Telic 4, 2004. We hear about his personal experiences of the realities of war, which includes details of injury and loss of limb. If you feel that you might find this challenging, you may prefer not to listen. “I was part of the recce element…in Basra …
  continue reading
 
Piers Stacey, aged 17, joined The Corps, “…six days after the Twin Towers were hit…” Joining 42 Commando late 2002, “...we all went into pre-deployment training for the build-up..it was pretty intense, pretty rapid for a fresh faced 18 year old…” In Kuwait, “...we landed in the desert…nothing there…over time, defences went up, sandbag walls…” and a…
  continue reading
 
Neville Johnson left South Africa and joined the British Army in 2003. After basic training, he joined the 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on a cease-fire tour in Belfast, “Those first couple of weeks were a big eye opener for me, definitely paved the way for future operations…” Neville deployed to Basra in 2005 and 2006, duties includin…
  continue reading
 
We meet Sarah Davis, Army Air Corps Ground Crew, one of the pioneering women deployed to the frontline during Op Telic 1. Having joined-up in 1999, a time when the Armed Forces was going through changes - evolving in terms of equality and a time that would mark the start of several years of military campaigns. We hear about getting ready to go, “I …
  continue reading
 
This is Pat Patterson’s story. A Royal Marine Aircrewman with 845 Naval Air Squadron flying Sea King helicopters aka ‘Junglies’, and his wife also served during the war. Having looked back through his helicopter logbook, he shares with us his experiences of Op Telic 1, as well as his subsequent tours. We hear about the scale of the operation as wel…
  continue reading
 
We hear from Andy Merry, 40 Commando, who Served during Op Telic and whose mum marched in the anti-war protests. Andy was first in to the Al-Faw Peninsula with the US Navy SEALs to capture strategic targets. This is his personal account of his experiences and he talks about the realities of war, which includes details of injury and death. If you fe…
  continue reading
 
Sealtest Variety Theater (Dorothy Lamour) with Slight of Hand. This eighth episode aired, November 4, 1948. Starring: Jimmy Durante, Edward G Robinson, Milton Geiger, Carlton KaDell, Dorothy Lamour, Henry Russell and His Orchestra My other podcast channels include: MYSTERY x SUSPENSE -- DRAMA X THEATER -- SCI FI x HORROR -- COMEDY x FUNNY HA HA -- …
  continue reading
 
AFRS presents Lionel Barrymore host a Thanksgiving Special. This episode aired November 23, 1944. Act I: The first 4 minutes or so are instrumental. Then Dinah Shore sings, also features Wally Brown (comedian/actor), Harry von Zell (radio announcer / actor). Act II: Features John Charles Thomas (opera singer), Fanny Brice/Baby Snooks (comedian), an…
  continue reading
 
The Big Show with hostess, Tallulah Bankhead, this episode stars: Eddie Cantor and Mindy Carson. This episode aired, November 19, 1950. The Big Show was an NBC variety program that ran from November 5, 1950, to April 20, 1952. It consisted of 57 episodes, spread across two seasons. At 90 minutes per episode, it aired on Sunday night from 6:00 to 7:…
  continue reading
 
Chase and Sanborn Hour, starring Mae West. This episode aired December 12, 1937. Starring: Mae West, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Don Ameche, and Dorothy Lamour. My other podcast channels include: MYSTERY x SUSPENSE -- DRAMA X THEATER -- SCI FI x HORROR -- COMEDY x FUNNY HA HA -- THE COMPLETE ORSON WELLES. You can subscribe to my channels to …
  continue reading
 
Mail Call with episode 19 featuring Groucho Marx, Betty Grable, Jose Iturbi, and Judy Garland. This episode aired January 9, 1943. Groucho Marx insists Bill Goodwin announce him, and isn't satisfied with it. Judy Garland sings, "I Never Knew." Jose Iturbi performs a classical number, but Judy wants him to 'make with the jive,' and teaches him to sw…
  continue reading
 
Sealtest Variety Theater with their Halloween episode starring Boris Karloff and Jack Carson, and as always starred the beautiful and talented, Dorothy Lamour. This episode aired October 28, 1948. The first tune is "I'll Never Smile Again." Guest Boris Karloff arrives during a storm, while there's an escaped murderer on the loose! My other podcast …
  continue reading
 
Command Performance with their third episode starring: Kate Smith and comedian Henny Youngman. This episode aired March 13, 1942. Command Performance aired from 1942 to 1949, on the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFRS) and transmitted by shortwave to the troops overseas — with few exceptions, it was not broadcast over domestic U.S. radio stations. My …
  continue reading
 
The Big Show, hosted by, Tallulah Bankhead with guest stars -- Groucho Marx and Fanny Brice. This episode aired November 12, 1950. The Big Show was an NBC variety program that ran from November 5, 1950, to April 20, 1952. It consisted of 57 episodes, spread across two seasons. At 90 minutes per episode, it aired on Sunday night from 6:00 to 7:30 p.…
  continue reading
 
The Chase And Sanborn Hour starts off October and guest stars, Bette Davis. This episode aired, September 12, 1937. Starring: Bette Davis, Don Ameche, Edgar Bergen, Nelson Eddy, W C. Fields, Carlton KaDell, Dorothy Lamour, Robert Armbruster and His Orchestra Episode notes: Edgar Bergen misses his cue at the very beginning of the show. Nelson Eddy s…
  continue reading
 
Guest Star with Phil Baker (April 10, 1947); and Helen Traubel, Lauritz Melchior (April 17, 1947). Episode #3 - Phil Baker: The first tune is, "Rosalie." Phil Baker does a spoof on quiz shows. Starring: Phil Baker, Kenny Delmar Episode #4: Stars U.S. opera and concert singer, Helen Traubel, and Lauritz Melchior also an opera singer born in Denmark.…
  continue reading
 
Hit Parade (a.k.a. Your Hit Parade), with their episode, I Dream Of You. This episode aired January, 20, 1945. Features composer and bandleader: Fred Rich (Frederic Efrem Rich - January 1898 – September 1956). My other podcast channels include: MYSTERY x SUSPENSE -- DRAMA X THEATER -- SCI FI x HORROR -- COMEDY x FUNNY HA HA -- THE COMPLETE ORSON WE…
  continue reading
 
Sealtest Variety Theater (The Dorothy Lamour Show) with their sixth episode, Happy Ending. This episode aired, October 21, 1948. Guests Abbott and Costello are running a gas station. The first tune is "It's A Most Unusual Day." Guest Dick Powell and Dorothy appear in "Happy Ending," by Milton Geiger. Episode Features: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, The …
  continue reading
 
Jubilee -- this first episode stars: Duke Ellington and Ethel Waters. Jubilee was hosted by Ernie Whitman. This episode aired, October 9, 1942. Jubilee was directed at African-American troops, but the content was high quality jazz that would have been enjoyed by servicemen of any race. The program stated that it was for the Fighting Men of the Unit…
  continue reading
 
Guest Star with two episodes starring: Henry Morgan (aired, March 3, 1947) and Gladys Swartout (aired, April 4, 1947). Henry Morgan (b. March 31, 1915 – d. May 19, 1994) was an American humorist. Gladys Swartout (b. December 25, 1900 – d. July 7, 1969) was an American mezzo-soprano opera singer and actress. Guest Star was produced by the U.S. Treas…
  continue reading
 
Featuring guest star, Bette Davis, on the Chase and Sanborn Hour. CSH was a variety program with songs and comedy. This episode aired September 12, 1937. Hosted by Don Ameche and also featuring Dorothy Lamour, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and Nelson Eddy. My other podcast channels include: MYSTERY x SUSPENSE -- DRAMA X THEATER -- SCI FI x HOR…
  continue reading
 
This week we feature, Command Performance and their second episode starring Fred Waring and Joe Louis This episode aired March 9, 1942. Fred Waring (b. June 9, 1900 - d. July 29, 1984) was a popular musician, bandleader and radio-television personality. Joe Louis (b. May 13, 1914 - d. April 12, 1981) was a very famous professional African-American …
  continue reading
 
Let's welcome a new series to the podcast, The Big Show. This is their first episode with Fred Allen & Jimmy Durante. This episode aired November 05, 1950. Starring: Tallulah Bankhead (mistress of ceremonies), Fred Allen, Mindy Carson, Jimmy Durante, Jose Ferrer, Portland Hoffa, Russell Knight, Frankie Laine, Ethel Merman, Danny Thomas, Meredith Wi…
  continue reading
 
Sealtest Variety Hour (aka The Dorothy Lamour Hour) with this episode titled Waiting Room. This episode aired September 9, 1948. Sponsored by: Sealtest. The premiere episode, Waiting Room. Gregory Peck and Dorothy appear in "Waiting Room" by Louis Vittes: Two people are in the waiting room of a heavenly railroad station. Featuring: Dorothy Lamour, …
  continue reading
 
Cats and Jammers sponsored by Longines Watch. C&J was broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Company. This episode aired (or was recorded) May 11, 1941. Starring: Lena Horne (b. June 30, 1917; d. May 9, 2010), Erskine Butterfield (February 9, 1913 – July 11, 1961) Can't confirm, but I believe this program was one-and-done, as I could not find any o…
  continue reading
 
Harlem Hospitality, hosted by William Bryant, a popular Jazz bandleader, vocalist, and disc jockey. This series aired on the American Armed Forces Radio Network. This episode aired in 1947 (month and day unknown). The program was recorded from the legendary and at the time - extremely popular, Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York City, with a combina…
  continue reading
 
Featuring guest star, Ida Lupino, on the Chase and Sanborn Hour. CSH was a variety program with songs and comedy. This episode aired September 5, 1937. Hosted by Don Ameche and also featuring Dorothy Lamour, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and Nelson Eddy. My other podcast channels include: MYSTERY x SUSPENSE -- DRAMA X THEATER -- SCI FI x HORRO…
  continue reading
 
This weeks program is GI Journal starring Bing Crosby, Lena Horne, violinist comedian Henny Youngman, and Mel Blanc. GI Journal was "run by G.I.s for G.I.s." This episode aired June 16, 1944. The Armed Forces Radio Network (Armed Forces Radio Service) was founded, May 26, 1942. During WWII the first transmission to U.S. troops began July 4, 1943, t…
  continue reading
 
GI Jive was a 15-minute radio program broadcast to and by the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) for military entertainment during World War II. Its initial frequency of five days per week later increased to six days per week. The disc jockey played popular songs of the day, often by request from the soldiers. These episodes are hosted by Martha Wil…
  continue reading
 
Sealtest Variety Theater (aka The Dorothy Lamour Show) aired from 1946 to 1949 on Thursday evenings. This episode features her longtime friend Bob Hope, with whom she starred in a string of popular movies (along with Bing Crosby) known as, "The Road to..." movies because they the titled always started with 'The Road to' (ex. The Road to Bali). Robe…
  continue reading
 
Re-brodcast on the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS), this is Comedy Caravan with Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore, with guest Marion Hutton. This episode aired Friday, April 6, 1945. Sponsored by Rexall Drug Products (originally a U.S. pharmacy/drug store). Cast: Howard Petrie (announcer); Jimmy Durante, singer Georgia Gibbs, Garry Moore, and with mu…
  continue reading
 
“They…took my husband through our house at gunpoint searching for 'the enemy', as they called them.” Falkland Islander, Carol Phillips, had 3 small children in 1982, “My first thought was…'Are they going to…machine gun us all down?’” The task force had 8,000 miles to sail, “Perhaps we would all be dead by the time they got here?…My Dad…kept saying,…
  continue reading
 
“'I'm not going to lose my life…here'…I could just see a picture of my wife and my two boys in my mind thinking, 'No, I'm gonna get out.' That was my motivation.” Chris Howe was deep down inside HMS Coventry, D118, “…a dull thud…followed by extreme heat…a flash and a fireball whipping around the Operations Room…we'd been hit…next thing I knew…I'm c…
  continue reading
 
“I would happily go to sea with them all over again, cracking bunch of guys, led by a cracking man.” We hear from Mick Dilucia, of HMS Coventry Flight, Coventry’s helicopter team. “The mood was fairly relaxed heading south… none of us believed it was ever going to happen…then Sandy Woodward briefed us… 'Look around amongst us because we might not a…
  continue reading
 
Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) re-broadcast of Bob Hope. The program originates from the Quonset Point Air National Base in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The cast sings, "The Life of Jerry Colonna." The AFRS music fill is a band remote from 'The Ice Terrace Room' in New Jersey by Louis Prima and His Orchestra with vocals by Lily Ann Carol. The …
  continue reading
 
What was a submarine doing in a war to retake The Falkland Islands? “...the ability to land and recover Special Forces…SAS and SBS, was key.” We hear the fascinating and poignant story of HMS Onyx, the only diesel-electric boat that Served during the war. Submariner, Steve Hussey, was there and shares his unique insight, from beneath the waves, “No…
  continue reading
 
“I was in a pub in Aldershot…a couple of the guys came in with the paper…and the general feeling was that we needed to get over there…and start kicking some arse.” This is the story of 2 Para, told through the eyes of Gary Steele, who Served in the battalion during The Falklands War. “We needed to do something, and Goose Green was the something tha…
  continue reading
 
“You’ve got the battles, then you’ve got the humanitarian side…It’s a strange thing is war…” This is the astonishing story of how a North Sea passenger ferry and her civilian crew, became a troop carrier, rescue ship and prisoner of war ship; in the thick of the firing, bombs and air attacks of The Falklands War. The entire operation would have bee…
  continue reading
 
“The First Sea Lord… decreed that HMS Hermes was under just 72 hours’ notice to sail…” It’s the day after the Argentinians invaded The Falklands and Margaret Thatcher announces that Britain would send a task force. Just a few days later, the task force was ready for war. This is the story of the dockyard workers who rose to that challenge, many of …
  continue reading
 
“For the last 40 years, (we’ve been) trying to get the truth told about what happened on the day that it all kicked off, 2nd April 1982.” This is that true story. “…We didn’t just surrender as the popular story goes.” Ray Bloye was part of Naval Party 8901, the small detachment of Royal Marines on the Falklands at the time of the invasion. The port…
  continue reading
 
The Chase & Sanborn Hour, sponsored by Chase and Sanborn Coffee. This program aired on NBC Radio, mostly Sundays from 1929 to 1948. This episode is features W.C. Fields' last appearance as a regular cast member, it aired August 29, 1937. The first tune is, "Feeling Like A Million." Charlie and "Gazola" have opened a lemonade stand. The cast does, "…
  continue reading
 
Welcome to this second podcast post, featuring Command Performance and their first episode starring and hosted by Eddie Cantor. This episode aired March 8, 1942. Command Performance aired from 1942 to 1949, on the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFRS) and transmitted by shortwave to the troops overseas — with few exceptions, it was not broadcast over d…
  continue reading
 
Welcome to the first post of my new channel. We start with episode 8 (in the podcast I mistakingly said it was ep #1), Chico Marx Orchestra, from Bandwagon. Originally aired on the NBC Blue network and rebroadcast on AFRS. A very young Mel Torme at 17 years old is featured and introduced as, "Mel Tornay." This episode aired December 20, 1942. AFRS …
  continue reading
 
“…what has become my specialism, I think is… gritty, granular detail of the reality of war set in the broader context of important national events…” Having joined the Royal Navy in 1985, Toby managed to pack-in trips round the West Indies, Australia, Hong Kong and Europe during his 10 years of Service. His thirst for adventure remaining unquenched,…
  continue reading
 
Loading …

Короткий довідник