Putting You in Your Rightful Place

The Hertz Corporation is the world's largest car rental company, handling more than 30 million rentals worldwide with approximately 6,500 locations in more than 140 countries and a fleet of 550,000 vehicles, including 300,000 vehicles in the United States alone. 

In 1918, Walter Jacobs, the twenty-two-year-old pioneer of auto renting, began his Ford rental business with only twelve Model-Ts in Chicago. He sold the company to John D. Hertz in 1923 but remained a prominent figure in the company until his retirement more than fifty years later. In 1925, Hertz pioneered a coast-to-coast car rental network. Together, Jacobs and Hertz swiftly turned the small company into a well-known brand, Hertz Car Rental. By 1932, Chicago's Midway Hertz became the first car rental company to open an airport rental service at Chicago Midway Airport. Hertz was generating annual revenues of about $1 million. General Motors would later buy out Hertz's Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company, renaming the car rental portion of the business the Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System.

Hertz's iconic advertising slogan through the Sixties was developed by the Norman, Craig & Kummel agency in 1959. The television ads were famous for their gravity-defying visuals of a driver being placed magically in the driver's seat (always a convertible) from mid-air. The added jingle, "Let Hertz put you in the driver’s seat," was sung by the expansive vocal range of the a cappella quartet, The Hi-Lo's. It ranks among the "Top 100 Advertising Campaigns of the Century" by Advertising Age magazine. It would appear, however, that Avis Rent-a-Car beat Hertz to the concept by about a year, judging by this just-released 1958 Ford pictured at left. Avis was the first to establish an airport-centric idea for vehicle rentals.

Note: Through its subsidiary Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation, the company also rents construction and industrial equipment to contractors and industrial and government markets. Hertz's Claim Management Corporation subsidiary is a leading third-party administrator, while Hertz Technologies, Inc., provides telecommunications services to corporations. Hertz Local Edition specializes in providing vehicles to the insurance community and auto dealers.

Lunar Bosh

American Bosch ARMA Corporation (AMBAC) was located in Garden City, NY. At the start of 1960, it employed approximately 6,000 employees. AMBAC was founded in Brooklyn NY in 1918. It began by manufacturing high-intensity searchlights for military use but soon expanded into the design and manufacture of analog electro-mechanical gunfire control systems for use on US naval vessels.  

During WWII, almost all of the US military's gunfire control systems were manufactured on Long Island, New York. The ARMA Division of AMBAC, Ford Instrument Company, and Sperry Gyroscope Company represented the state of the art in such systems and proved their capability to meet the government's needs. After the war's end, ARMA was awarded a contract by the US Air Force to design and manufacture the tail gun turret gunfire control system for the Boeing B-52.

There was constant discord within the ARMA Division between management and the unionized technical staff. Several long strikes occurred in 1951, 1953, and 1955 that left a level of bitterness among the employees. The 1960-1965 Atlas Missile Guidance System was the last large contract awarded to the ARMA Division. By 1973, American Bosch ARMA Corporation, including its ARMA Division, was sold to the United Technologies Corporation and was relocated to UTC's Pratt and Whitney facility in Stratford, Connecticut.

The 1958 illustration is by Frank Tinsley (1899-1965).

A Natural Talent

Frank Overton (1918-1967) was an American actor of stage, film and television. He had the ability to project an air of authority into his diverse roles with a countenance and pointed vocal delivery. He is well known for the roles as Sheriff Heck Tate in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and General Bogan in Fail Safe (1964).

But Overton is best known for his many television roles from the early 1950s through the 1960s, from Westerns to contemporary dramas. In a standout episode, he appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone with Gig Young, called "Walking Distance" in 1959 (pictured above with Gig Young). His sensitive and compassionate portrayal anchored his character in reality. Other work included The Fugitive, 1963, and two guest appearances on the drama series Perry Mason playing a priest and a deputy. Overton appeared six times on The United States Steel Hour and in four episodes of Route 66. In ideal casting, he played Major Harvey Stovall in the series Twelve O'Clock High. One of his last television roles was on a Star Trek episode in 1967. The entertainment world lost a great talent much too soon.

Broadcast Pioneers

Paul Harvey (1918-2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. His shorter morning news and comment was a preview of his fifteen-minute noon broadcast. Harvey's Saturday broadcasts were commentary only, capitalizing on a particular subject or society in general. For a time, a selection from the Saturday commentaries was also used on certain local television networks, often as a closing before the station's sign-off of the day. The five-minute televised segments had Harvey standing or seated in front of a studio set suggesting a den. By the mid-seventies, his famous, The Rest of the Story was launched as a separate program. Created and written by his son, Paul Harvey, Jr., it was the backstories of famous people but was written to keep one guessing until the segment's reveal at the end. "Now you know...the rest...of the story." 

Harvey was known for other catchphrases used during his programs. When breaking for a commercial, for instance, he would announce, "Page Two" and later "Page Three." The sponsor's products were seamlessly endorsed by Harvey, eventually irritating some critics and suggesting he was a carnival huckster. His news opening phrase was infinitely famous, "Hello Americans, this is Paul Harvey. Stand by for NEWS!" His closing was no less famous, "Paul Harvey (wait for it) good day." A regular catchphrase was "This day's news of most lasting significance may be this..." In a report about someone who had done something ridiculous or offensive, Harvey would say, "He would want us to mention his name," followed by silence, and then start the next item. The last item of a broadcast, often a funny story, would usually be preceded by "And now from the 'For-what-it's-worth' department...." Another phrase made famously was, "Self-government won't work without self-discipline." He also is credited with popularizing the terms Reaganomics and guesstimate.

Harvey was the last of the old-school radio broadcasters. He served an optimistic post-WW2 era and his "Walter Winchell" style was getting dated by the dawn of the twenty-first century. His "stand by for news!" was often late to the party thanks to the Internet. Having one person dominate a news program for fifteen minutes straight is a thing of the past, as well. Harvey's conservative comments about the ills of society, much of it still relevant today, would be hated by the trolls of social media. I suspect ABC News execs were somewhat relieved his contract was void upon the death of the old codger.

For nearly 60 years, Paul Harvey News and Comment is considered the most-listened-to radio broadcast. Coupled with Harvey's distinctive delivery, a daily mix of news, commentary, and human interest stories informed and entertained a worldwide radio audience. From 1951 to 2008, his programs reached as many as 24 million people per week. Paul Harvey's news was carried on 1,200 radio stations, 400 American Forces Network stations, and in 300 newspapers. 

Television Talkers

Don Pardo (Dominick George Pardo, 1918-2014) is noted for not only his distinct vocal tone and delivery but his seventy-year career with NBC, most famously as the voice of Saturday Night Live for thirty-eight of those years. A few scripts had him participate, occasionally on camera. Prior, he was the announcer for early versions of such notable shows as Jackpot, Jeopardy!, Winning Streak and NBC Nightly News.

The Massachusetts native got his start in radio in 1938 with an NBC affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island. Pardo joined NBC full-time as an in-house announcer in 1944 and worked as a war reporter for NBC Radio. He made his mark on game shows for NBC television in 1952 as the voice of the original The Price Is Right from 1956 until its move to ABC in 1963. His many assignments included announcing for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the NBC Nightly News, and he participated in the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "I Lost on Jeopardy," a parody of "Our Love's in Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band. Pardo was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2010.

Reel Character Series

 

Evelyn Ankers (1918-1985) was a British-American actress who made over fifty films between 1936 and 1950. She often played a cultured young lady in the early American horror films, in particular, The Wolf Man (1941), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), and The Mad Ghoul (1943). She soon became the "Queen of The Scream." Her B-movie credits continued with forgettable films such as Jungle Woman (1944), the lead role in a murder mystery, The Fatal Witness (1945), a passenger in the crime drama, Flight to Nowhere (1946), and opposite Gerald Mohr in, The Lone Wolf in London (1947). She appeared in the [unintentionally amusing] crime noir, Parole, Inc. in 1948.

Another notable bit of trivia is that Ankers married the respectable B-movie actor, Richard Denning, in 1942. The couple starred together in Black Beauty (1946). Her transition to television in the 1950s offered her a variety of roles, most notably as a guest star on Denning's show, Mr. & Mrs. North (1952), as the feisty Constance Noble. The couple again starred together in the film short, No Greater Love (1960) and it would become her last role. They remained devoted to each other until her death. 

Actor for The Masses

 

Dennis Patrick (1918-2002) was an American character actor in television with more than 1,800 guest and recurring roles. It would have been difficult to not spot him in the sixties and seventies. But his name remained "uncredited" to most viewers. During his forty-five-year career, he was cast in recurring roles on several series, among the more notable were sixty-five appearances on Dark Shadows: The Vampire Curse (1967-70), Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1977), and Dallas (1979-84). With leading man looks, his versatility was unmatched, though he had frequent turns as an unscrupulous businessman. Patrick appeared in a handful of films, his last being The Air Up There as Father O'Hara (1994).

A comprehensive list of his acting credits can be found HERE 

One of The Three Kings

I can readily think of only three classic Hollywood notables using the first name of King: director King Vidor, B-movie and television actor, King Caulder, and the subject of this overview, King Donovan. After a long string of uncredited film roles, typically as a reporter, a buddy, salesman, clerk, or manager, Francis King Donovan (1918-1987) was primarily seen on television screens across America in a variety of occupational roles or as a neighbor. Even blindfolded, he was instantly recognizable by his distinctive, upper-register voice that seemed fitting for an animated character or perhaps better described by a somewhat raspy tone as if he needed to clear his throat for a more clear projection. Whether drama or comedy he each role with self-confidence. With a few years of television roles already in the can midst of the budding new medium, he had a leading role in the sleeper hit film, The Invasion of The Body Snatchers, 1956 (above). Always a slot for him in any film, he continued working on the occasional film throughout his career, usually uncredited, for such 1963 classics as The Thrill of It All, as a television executive, and for the blockbuster, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, as an airport official.

Notable recurring television roles include the deadbeat relative, Jake Clampett, on two episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies, as Roger Baker for eight episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, and as Harvey Helm in a seventeen-episode run on The Bob Cummings Show. He then played the inquisitive neighbor on Please Don't Eat the Daisies. His singular roles are too numerous to mention but Donovan was visible on several notable series like Richard Diamond, Private Detective, as Joe Baker on the western Cheyenne, a petty thief on Shotgun Slade, a western detective series with an unusual jazz score theme. He played Mark Dawson on Maverick and as a gun dealer, Sheridan Appleby, on Wanted: Dead or Alive, and Rod Serling's, Night Gallery.

Note: Donovan married comedienne Imogene Coca in 1960 and they remained together until his death.

Transition to Television

There were solid performances by numerous B-movie actors but they never became major film stars. The new medium of television offered a career shift and kept them busy. Some became a household face if not a name.

Stacy (Stanley) Harris (1918-1973) 

Harris was a Canadian-born actor with hundreds of television appearances. Prior to his acting career, he was a newspaper reporter, boxer, sailor, and a staff cartoonist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Before television, Harris was best known for his role as an FBI agent on ABC Radio's This is Your FBI. His reserved vocal interpretation gave the special agent a calm authority. The radio series Dragnet also benefited from his vocal work. It is speculated that he met Jack Webb during those radio days. The two would become close personal friends.

He hit the ground running in his first film, Appointment with Danger (1950) with fellow co-stars, Harry Morgan, Paul Stewart, and Jack Webb. Alan Ladd headlined the film. In between numerous television appearances, he starred in The Mountain (1956) with Spencer Tracy. However hard he tried, his acting ability could not save the sleazy, low-budget New Orleans After Dark (1958). 

Television kept him busy with roles from westerns to crime dramas with appearances on Have Gun - Will Travel, Zane Grey Theatre, and a mayor on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp for twenty-three episodes. Away from the Old West were The Untouchables, 77 Sunset Strip with multiple roles on Dragnet 1967 to name a few. His life was cut short by an apparent heart attack at age 54.

Note: My TV TRANSITION series moved to this blog, now on Thursdays. Check out this first set of Monday posts below from my other site:

Harry Townes    Rudolpho Acosta    Harry Lauter     

Patricia Blair   Myron Healey    Richard Denning   

A Noted Television Composer

 

A graduate of Juilliard School of Music, Herschel Burke Gilbert (1918-2003) was an orchestrator, musical supervisor, and composer of film and television scores and themes. It is estimated his compositions had been used in at least three thousand individual episodes of various television series. Many of these were produced by Four Star Television when Gilbert was the Music Director. Besides Burker's Law, the most notable is, The Rifleman, the first television series to have original music themes composed specifically for certain characters, moods, or scenes. Prior, the scores were chosen from CBS's music library. Gilbert wrote music cues for countless series as well, Gunsmoke, The Adventures of Superman, and Leave It to Beaver come to mind. His film work was just as diverse, the most popular being the classic, It's a Wonderful Life.

Defining A Type-A Personality

 

On this date in 1918, Lieutenant Edward "Eddie" Vernon Rickenbacker, 94th Aero Squadron, Air Service, American Expeditionary Force, while flying a Nieuport 28 C.1, with the famous "Hat in the Ring" squadron, scored his first aerial victory. shooting down a Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte Pfalz D.III fighter near Saint-Baussant, France. He was awarded the first of eight Distinguished Service Crosses. By the end of World War I, he had destroyed twenty-six enemy aircraft making him the United States' most successful fighter ace in the war.

The Columbus, Ohio native's passions spanned many levels. He was a race car driver with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, an automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters, and a pioneer in air transportation, specifically as the long-time head of Eastern Air Lines. Rickenbacher died at the age of 82 in 1973.