The Collier Hour
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The Collier Hour, broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from 1927 to 1932, was radio's first major dramatic anthology, adapting stories and serials from Collier's in a calculated move to increase subscriptions and compete with The Saturday Evening Post. Airing on the Wednesday prior to each week's distribution of the magazine, the program soon moved to Sundays in order to avoid spoilers with dramatizations of stories simultaneously appearing in the magazine.
Directed by Colonel Davis, the series was created and produced by Malcolm LaPrade with music under the supervision of his brother, Ernest LaPrade. Story segments during the hour-long program were introduced by a host known as the Editor (played by John B. Kennedy, Jack Arthur, Phil Barrison and Arthur Hughes).
In 1929, the format was altered and The Collier Hour became a variety show, offering music, news, sports and comedy in addition to the dramatizations. Helen Hayes appeared on the show October 5, 1930. Guests on the series included George M. Cohan (in his radio debut), John D. Rockefeller and Helen Keller.
