Ruth Lyons (broadcaster)

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Ruth Lyons, (born Ruth Reeves Oct 4, 1905, died Nov 7, 1988) was a pioneer radio and television broadcaster in Cincinnati, Ohio. She began her career in 1929 on radio at WKRC, moving to WLW and WSAI in 1942. Her show, the 50/50 Club, was aired nationwide by NBC for 11 months in 1951; it was also the first show broadcast in color in Cincinnati, in 1957.

It is said Ruth Lyons -- quite by accident -- more or less invented the daytime TV talk show. But her story long preceded television.

Ruth Lyons spent nearly 50 years on Cincinnati TV and radio. She was a natural entertainer with a gift for knowing what the common man and woman wanted. She became an astute businesswoman, who understood the power of radio and TV. Much like Arthur Godfrey and others of the era, Ruth built an empire no one could touch, despite criticism. Considering her ratings and the love of viewers and listeners, no one dared. Broadcast managers with new ideas came and went. Many were baffled by her success. Later, they would realize that it was simply the essence of broadcasting: one-on-one communication at its best and involving a particular midwestern audience.

[edit] Early Career

Lyons' career began at WKRC in 1929; she worked as a pianist and organist for local radio shows. She was accomplished on both instruments from an early age and, in later life, lamented that so many children weren't given the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. She also wrote many songs that were published, including some Christmas songs.

After high school, the young Ruth Reeves enrolled at the University of Cincinnati, but she withdrew after her freshman year due to lack of money. In 1932, she married childhood neighbor Johnny Lyons. After they divorced in 1939, she kept his surname, a standard practice for divorced women at the time. The couple allegedly split after his job transferred him to Cleveland and she refused to go with him. In 1942, Ruth Lyons married Herman Newman, a professor of English at the University of Cincinnati.

Ruth's first try at on-air speaking happened by accident. The regular host of a women's show on WKRC called in sick at the last minute. Lyons, who was the only woman at the station besides the switchboard operator, was pressed into service on short notice. She needed only a couple of minutes to become familiar behind the microphone, and she ended up taking over as host.

But Lyons became larger than life when she and other staffers broadcast non-stop during the Great Flood of 1937, the worst single disaster in Ohio Valley history. Lyons stayed at WKRC for five straight days and nights, calming listeners and asking for donations for the victims. One farmer drove nearly 50 miles with a jar of coins totaling $48.00 (a large sum in 1937). He reportedly told Lyons that he had been saving it for something else but felt the need to donate the money and deliver it personally. Ruth said that this showed the big-heartedness of Ohio Valley residents, but listeners said that their generosity flowed because they considered Ruth Lyons a real friend and friends helped friends in need.

Ruth Lyons continued to star on many high-profile local radio shows before she was courted by Crosley Broadcasting, owners of crosstown giant WLW. In 1942, WLW offered Lyons a staff job at ten dollars per week more than WKRC was paying her. When she went to WKRC owner Hubbard "Hub" Taft (Taft Broadcasting) and asked him to match WLW's offer, he refused. She left.

Taft later said that the ten-dollar raise had cost him -- and his company -- many millions of dollars in advertising.

Ruth starred on many more local radio shows on WLW and sister station WSAI before the idea emerged for a new show that would revolutionize daytime television.

The 50/50 Club started on WLW Radio as "The 50 Club." Fifty women were invited to a daily, one-hour lunch at the Gibson Hotel in downtown Cincinnati, which was broadcast live. Eventually, the show became "The 50/50 Club" when it was expanded to 100 people and expanded to television. It was simulcast on TV and went to 90 minutes. The waiting list for tickets eventually grew to seven years. Tickets to the show were willed to survivors.

On radio, "The 50 Club" rapidly became the top-rated show in Cincinnati, Dayton, Indianapolis and Columbus. It was aired in all the Midwest markets where Crosley (and later Avco, which bought the Crosley properties) owned stations. When it expanded to TV, those same markets aired it. It became so dominant in the midday ratings it would carry its affiliate's ratings "spike" through to the evening newscasts.

Ruth Lyons was a natural talent; a natural entertainer with a gift for knowing what the common man and woman wanted to hear on the radio and watch on TV. The combination became a magnet for advertisers, who paid top rates for even a 5 second mention at the end of the show.

Advertisers did not get equal time on the 50/50 club, though they paid equally. Ruth decided when the spots would run, what they would say and how they would sound. More than one show featured 80 minutes of Ruth and ten minutes of commercials at the end. But advertisers didn't care. If Ruth Lyons, who did mostly "live" and ad-libbed commercials, said something good about your product, it flew off store shelves. If she didn't, it died quickly.

Such was the case of Royal Gelatin. Royal was a popular flavored gelatin at the time and a fairly big advertiser. Royal came out with Watermelon-flavored gelatin. On-air, Ruth reportedly said she tasted it and she didn't think it tasted like watermelon at all. It was pulled from store shelves within hours and never mentioned again.

On the other hand, Ruth could talk about the perfume she was wearing that day--and by that evening it would be sold out in virtually every department store. Or, she could talk about a restaurant she and Herman dined at. Lines would form around the block after that day's show. Her power as a personality and communicator was nothing short of astonishing.

When the 50/50 Club was picked up by NBC for 11 months in 1951, Ruth was forced to endure structured advertising, network time cues and, for the first time, someone telling HER how to do her show. Alas, the NBC idea died and the 50/50 Club returned to being a local powerhouse...done Ruth Lyons' way.

Stars of the day knew her draw and queued up to be on the 50/50 Club. Many, despite their stardom, would do it for free and get there on their dime. Ruth probably had everyone who was anyone on that show. Bob Hope, Arthur Godfrey and countless others never took a dime for their appearances. They were happy for the huge exposure. Pianist Peter Nero made many appearances, later claiming she helped make him a star. He remembers well the power of Ruth Lyons, who would do a short two-way with Nero, then tell listeners and viewers to go buy his new LP at Shillito's (a big Cincinnati department store of the day). The records would be gone within hours.

But Ruth may be best remembered for her on-air relationship in the 50s with singer Arthur Lee Simpkins, who was black. Lyons was very much against racism and had no qualms about saying so on-air. She promoted Simpkins' music when no other white show host would. It made Simpkins a star and he never forgot that, appearing several times on the 50/50 Club and never taking a dime. Lyons raised a big stir when she danced with Simpkins on at least one show. But Ruth didn't care. She thought others should think as she did--not the other way around. It was one of the reasons artists, regardless of race, would line up to be on the 50/50 Club at their own expense.

Ruth was called "Mother" because of the way she mothered her cast and crew, and henpecked her husband on-air when he would phone in to correct her grammar. But the nickname of "Mother" may have been most appropriate as she was the ancestor of the modern TV talk-show host, including David Letterman and Phil Donahue, both of whom appeared on her show frequently. Letterman appeared on the 50/50 Club when Lyons' sidekick, Bob Braun, hosted the show in the 70s (see more on Braun below).

In an audio biography of Ruth Lyons, called "Let Me Entertain You--A Ruth Lyons Memoir CD;" Letterman tells how his mother, who never turned on a TV or radio otherwise, was transfixed to both when the 50/50 Club was on. "A sign of the Apocalypse," Letterman said.

Ruth Lyons and Herman Newman had no children of their own. Instead, after a reported early-on stillbirth, they adopted an infant girl, naming her Candace Laird Newmaan. Candy Newman would become an integral part of the 50/50 Club, especially on TV. She would, literally, grow up on the show. In January, 1965, only in her early 20s, Candy developed breast cancer and had surgery. Candy Newman died on Father's Day, 1966. Her last wish was to travel, so, her parents took her to California, then, to Europe. Candy died in the ship's infirmary while they were on a cruise.

Five decades of performing eventually took their toll on Ruth Lyons. Not long before Candy contracted breast cancer, Ruth suffered a series of small strokes which took her off the air for some time. Her sidekicks, Bob Braun and Nick Clooney, filled in for her. Braun would eventually become the show's host.

Those close to "Miss Lyons" (and it was always "Miss Lyons" to staffers) say Candy's death took the life out of her as well. Ruth made a try at returning to the show--and did, sporadically-- but the medication she was taking for her strokes left her with slurred speech and a fragile memory. Eventually her doctors refused to care for her if she continued to work. Ruth Lyons retired from broadcasting in 1967, a retirement all who were close to her knew was coming, but nevertheless hurt just the same. Ruth, unable to leave home, dictated her resignation letter to her personal assistant, Mickey Fisher, who was on the phone at WLW. The next morning WLW/WLWT General Manager Walter Bartlett went on the 50/50 Club to tell everyone Ruth was retiring. Not a dry eye in the studio. Not a dry eye in TV Land, either.

It was the end of an era.

Bob Braun continued the 50/50 Club for nearly eighteen more years. Nick Clooney, father of actor George Clooney and brother of singer Rosemary Clooney, would be a dominant news anchor on Cincinnati TV. Ruth lived alone in seclusion for 21 more years after her "retirement," dying on November 7, 1988.

A late-1939 visit to Cincinnati's Children's Hospital left Lyons depressed over the thought of children spending Christmas in the hospital without decorations or gifts. She begged listeners to send in "nickels and dimes" to help buy toys for the children. Listeners responded, and the original $1002.00 raised (huge money back then) bought a gift for every child in the hospital that year. From this modest beginning, the Ruth Lyons Christmas Fund has provided Cincinnati-area hospitalized children with toys, Christmas decorations and even needed hospital equipment. Since its beginning, the fund has raised tens of millions of dollars.

To say Ruth Lyons "invented" the daytime talk show format is an understatement. What Ruth really did was reinvent television. While other TV talk hosts have followed in Ruth Lyons' footsteps, she was the first. There was no "formula" to her success. She didn't know what she was doing would become a template. Simply, she did the right things at the right time. Her power in Midwest TV and radio markets was astounding. She could make or break products with one sentence. The waiting list for advertisers was measured in years. She ran the show and she knew it. And people loved it. And, they loved her. Few personalities in any medium have ever been shown so much affection.

In the end, her career made Ruth Lyons a very wealthy woman. But her personal tragedies, especially her medical issues and her daughter dying so young...made the money and fame irrelevant.

Years after Ruth Lyons' death, not many outside Cincinnati know about her. But her impact on radio, TV and how daytime shows are done will, most likely, last many more generations.