Twentieth Century Talkers

 

Hal March (Harold Mendelson 1920-1970) was an American comedian, actor as well as accomplished musician and conductor. March began his career in broadcasting as an announcer in San Francisco. After World War II he teamed with Bob Sweeney for The Bob Sweeney-Hal March Show on CBS Radio until 1948. He also appeared in The Adventures of Sam Spade on CBS from 1946-1949. March co-starred as Harry Morton for sixteen episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show on the NBC and CBS radio networks from the mid-1940s until 1950. When the show switched to television that year, he was replaced mid-season in 1951 by Fred Clark.

March's heyday was the 1950s. His popularity and comedic style cast him in single episodes of many popular shows of the era. The exceptions are four episodes of My Friend Irma and six appearances as himself on The Dennis Day Show. Today, March may be best known for his "guilt by association" with The $64,0000 Question scandal period. Unaware of the producer's and contestant's fraud, his career nevertheless suffered somewhat. In 1961, he played the lead in Neil Simon's first Broadway play Come Blow Your Horn, a hit that ran 677 performances. March finished out his career in 1968, though with fewer television appearances. 

Note: I have found it difficult to uncover much about Hal March's musicianship. In tribute, I have included one of his albums above. 

Television Talkers

Chuck Woolery (1941-) is an American game and talk show host,  musician and actor. Though perhaps best known as the original host of Wheel of Fortune (1975-81) he hosted a number of game shows in his career. Woolery's longest-running stint was his eleven years with Love Connection, beginning in 1983.

The Ashland, Kentucky native served as a wine consultant in Columbus, Ohio, and as a sales representative for the Pillsbury Company in his early twenties. Around this time he was part of The Bordermen folk trio, singing and playing the double bass. He later was part of the duo called The Avant-Garde, garnering a Top 40 hit with "Naturally Stoned" in 1968, adding to a long list of one-hit wonder groups. By the late 1970s, his singing career took him into the country music world for Warner Bros. and Epic Records.

Beginning in 1972, Woolery often played himself during his television acting career. His latest role was in 2009 for the series Drop Dead Diva. He has become a spokesperson for senior interests, as well as promoting investments in the gold standard.

Low Profile. High Output.

George Duning (1908-2000) was an American musician and highly respected film composer, working on over 300 film and television scores. Nominated five times for an Academy Award, Duning never won. Born in Richmond, Indiana, Duning played trumpet and piano for the Kay Kyser band in the 1940s, later arranging most of the music for Kyser's radio program, Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge. His name may not come to mind as readily as a few other film composers, due to his early uncredited stock music supplied for countless low-budget films of the Forties and Fifties. 

Duning signed on with Columbia Pictures in 1946, where he worked almost exclusively through the early Sixties, collaborating often with director Richard Quine and actor, Glenn Ford. His scores for the original 3:10 to Yuma, and Cowboy are two of the best examples of the western genre. His diversity is displayed in such notable films as Picnic, From Here To Eternity, The World of Suzie Wong, The Devil at Four O'Clock, and Bell, Book, and Candle. Though too numerous to mention, other notable films include his first film score for Johnny O'Clock, followed by Lust for Gold, The Mob, The Brothers Rico, That Touch of Mink, and The Man with Bogart's Face. His work for television, notably The Big Valley, is nearly as prolific, spanning the Fifties through the Eighties.