The Aubuchon Way

Jacques Aubuchon (1924-1991) was an American character actor who kept busy from the 1950s through the 1980s. He is primarily known for his roles in a wide variety of television series.

Though Aubuchon spent most of his career on the small screen, he was in a handful of films, including Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953), The Silver Chalice (1954), and Thunder Road (1958) to name three. His roles varied from Westerns to modern-day dramas to comedies. His first television appearance was on the comedy Mr. Peepers (1953). He could play an informant, an outlaw, or a criminal. He somewhat specialized in untrustworthy individuals, even in comedies. His mastery of dialects made him a popular casting choice. Aubuchon perhaps is best known for his seven appearances on the wacky comedy McHale's Navy (1962-64) as the hilarious Chief Urulu.

Above, left is Jacques Aubuchon with actor J.D. Cannon 

Yours Truly, Robert Bainter Bailey

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was one of the longest-running drama series on radio. Running from 1948 to 1962, it is regarded as one of the greatest in radio history. Dick Powell starred in the 1948 audition show but left the role for other projects, including his famous "Richard Diamond" radio series. The series went through several leads, among the more notable were Edmond O'Brien (1950-52) and John Lund (1952-54). Radio regular, Gerald Mohr, had the lead for the 1955 audition show, but Bob Bailey (above) settled into the title role for nearly 500 episodes, and his tenure is considered the best of the series. 

Bob Bailey (1913-1983) was exceptionally good, making Dollar more sensitive and thoughtful in addition to capturing realism with his voice inflections. Imperative without any visuals. He made the character his own and it separated him from the melodramatic radio detective, like the aforementioned Gerald Mohr. Tough and streetwise but not overly cynical, he was a 4-year Marine veteran, a police officer for a decade then changing careers to insurance investigation for the Universal Adjustment Bureau, Hartford, Connecticut. Dollar usually stuck to business, but the occasional romance would arise when getting too emotionally involved in the case. Episodes often included his girlfriend Betty Lewis, played suberbly by the sultry voice of the versatile Virginia Gregg. 

During the Bailey years, the announcer opened each episode with, "The man with the action-packed expense account, America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar." Each episode began with a phone call from an insurance executive asking him to work on an unusual claim. Upon hearing the assignment, Dollar could occasionally get a little irate with his superior. It might require him to journey across the US or sometimes overseas. Each case’s title was referred to as a "matter" as in, "The Forbes Matter." The show featured a stock company of supporting actors, including Harry Bartell, Vic Perrin, Mary Jane Croft, Lawrence Dobkin, Stacy Harris, Parley Baer, Howard McNear, Betty Lou Gerson, Barney Phillips, and others. 

Fishing was Dollar’s first recreational choice. On numerous episodes a client might use fishing as bait, convincing him to take on a job because of the excellent nearby fishing locations. He had a streak of impatience, and would occasionally not fully listen to a witness and rush off on a tangent before realizing his mistake. As the story progressed, Dollar would mention each expense item, and provide the audience with his remarks about the current case when filling out his expense account. There were no incidental expenses too small for Dollar to itemize, such as buying a 10-cent bottle of Aspirin with a sardonic comment, “I needed them." The series title is Dollar's salutation at the end of his written report, closing the case and episode.

Note: In 1960, CBS Radio shut down production on the west coast and moved its radio drama unit to New York. Bob Bailey, unwilling to relocate, gave up the role. The last Johnny Dollar, Mandel Kramer, remains a close second in popularity to Bailey. 

Ohio to Colorado

Beginning in 1926, the US Highway 36 route began expanding into western Ohio from Indianapolis, Indiana. At the same time, the route was expanding westward through Kansas and eventually terminating in Colorado by the late 1930s. Today's eastern terminus was extended in the mid-1970s to Uhrichsville, Ohio with a western terminus at Estes Park, Colorado. After rerouting and adapting to the Interstate highway system over the decades, the approximate distance today is slightly more than 1,400 miles. Underway by at least 1912, the transcontinental Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway laid the groundwork for approximately the middle-third of US 36. The photo above was taken in Urbana, Ohio.

An excellent detailed history at US 36

Broadcast Pioneers

Frank McGee (1921-1974) was an American television journalist, best known for his work with NBC News beginning in the late 1950s. McGee had a great talent for descriptive language, often giving viewers a vivid word picture of the day's events. 

McGee began his broadcast career with Shawnee radio station KGFF, working as an advertising salesman, commercial copywriter, music librarian, disc jockey, and news editor. He joined WKY-TV in Oklahoma City in 1950 and is remembered by a generation of Oklahomans as Mack Rogers, the name he used as the local newsman. McGee moved to Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 to head the WSFA-TV news operations. This led to a post on NBC’s Washington, D.C. news staff in 1957. NBC transferred McGee to New York where he was an anchor on major assignments and such NBC programs as World Wide 60, Today, and the Nightly News show. In 1960, he moderated the second debate between presidential candidates John Kennedy and Richard Nixon in Washington, D.C. 

During the middle to late 1960s, The Frank McGee Report was a well-known program broadcast early Saturday and Sunday evenings. It was set up to be a traditional newscast and it would include topics and McGee's commentary. After Chet Huntley's retirement in 1970 ended the Huntley-Brinkley Report, McGee became one of three anchors on the newly renamed NBC Nightly News, along with John Chancellor and David Brinkley. McGee moved to The Today Show in 1971, replacing Hugh Downs. He attempted to transition Today into a more serious news presentation, not an entertainment show. McGee was once acclaimed for his "exemplary leadership in his profession in dealing candidly and constructively with the cutting edge of change and controversy."

Milk In A Paper Box

A toy factory owner in Toledo, Ohio, John Van Wormer (1856-1942), patented the folded gable-top paper milk carton, referred to as a “paper bottle,” in 1915. His cartons were delivered to dairies in flattened form. The dairy would fold, fill and seal the cartons. Because the cartons could be thrown away instead of reused, Wormer’s product became known as “Pure-Pak.”

Waxed gable-top paperboard carton structures were designed to be erected in wet environments of dairies during the 1920s. Nearly ten years later, Van Wormer created a machine to form, fill, and seal (FFS) the Pure-Pak containers. The American Paper Company later acquired the patent and worked to perfect the machines building the first six between 1929 and 1934. But it took nearly twenty years for the public and businesses to accept the square paper milk bottle. Glass was still the container of choice for milk deliverymen until the 1950s and self-service markets. The gable-top cartons were easy to handle and did not break. During this decade, a Norwegian engineer, Christian August Johansen, acquired the license for Pure-Pak cartons and filling, and the company Elopak (European Licence of Pure-Pak) was born. Over the years, Elopak has updated its carton design including plastic closures on the top to improve usability.

Note: In the US at least, milk today comes in plastic containers, while half-gallons of juice generally use a paper box with a plastic pour spout.

You Be The Judge, Mr. Quinn

Bill Quinn (1912-1994) was an American film and prolific television actor. He appeared in more than 150 roles over seven decades, starting in the 1920s in silent films. He was the father-in-law of comedy legend, Bob Newhart.

The versatile Quinn acquitted himself in every role, whether uncredited or supporting in dramas or comedies. Viewers could often find him in court as a judge, in a police uniform, or in other service-related occupations. It is his television appearances that brought him the most attention. By far it was his thirty-eight appearances as a cast member on The Rifleman as Frank Feeney and eighty-eight appearances on Archie Bunker's Place as a blind patron. Though his single appearances are too numerous to chronicle here, his other multiple guest star roles in a series include, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Perry Mason, Hawaiian Eye, McHale's Navy, Bonanza, Ironside, as the father of Mary Richards for The Mary Tyle Moore sitcom and four various roles on The Rockford Files. True to form, Quinn played Judge Tomlinson on Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, and as Judge Tesman on Arrest and Trial. 

Hand Me That Wrench

For the 1946 Convair XB-36 prototype, the two main landing gear tires were the largest aircraft tires Goodyear ever made, weighing 1,320 pounds each. The tricycle landing gear setup was used for all larger aircraft at the time, but the immense weight of the largest bomber ever built restricted its landing to just three runways nationwide. That changed with the second pre-production bomber, the YB-36, with the invention of a 4-wheel bogey design with smaller tires, distributing the weight evenly, allowing the plane to land on any major runway. With a few exceptions, this became the new standard for all future large aircraft. Constant upgrades throughout its career were made to keep pace with the speed of the era's aeronautical advancements. The most visible change was the adoption of a new, raised canopy for better pilot visibility, first used on the YB-36. 

Note: The B-36 was the United States Air Force's first true intercontinental bomber, entering Air Force inventory in 1948 and remaining active through 1958. The final flight of the bomber was in the Spring of 1959, delivered to the United States Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio for permanent display. Three other B-36s remain in American museums.