Uncle Don
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Uncle Don is a children's radio program that aired on WOR radio from 1928 to 1948. The host was Uncle Don Carney, a former vaudeville performer (real name Howard Rice, 1897–1954). The half-hour program was broadcast daily, five or six days a week.[1][2]
Debuting September 1928, it was the most popular children's show of that era due to the powerful 50,000-watt power of WOR. Carney sang, played the piano, told stories and introduced a variety of features: the "Earnest Savers Club" which encouraged setting up accounts at the Greenwich Savings Bank; a "Healthy Child Contest"; a "Talent Quest" that provided screen tests for winners. Each program began with Uncle Don arriving in the imaginary autogyro he called his "puddle-jumper." His opening song was widely known:
"Hello, nephews, nieces mine,
I'm glad to see you look so fine.
How's Mama and how's Papa, but first
just tell me how you are.
I've many things to tell you on your radio.
This is Uncle Don, your Uncle Don.
Hello, little friends, hello."[3]
In 1938–1939, the program was carried on the Mutual Broadcasting System.[4]
Personnel
Over the program's long run, announcers included Jack Barry, Joe Bolton, Norman Brokenshire, Barry Gray, Arthur Hale, Frank Knight, Henry Morgan, and Floyd Neal.[4]
Books
Uncle Don's Strange Adventures, a 1936 Big Little Book, retells Carney's story about a mystery cruiser.[3]