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March 27, 1942 - Image 23

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish Chronicle and the Legal Chronicle, 1942-03-27

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America Awish periodical Cotter

CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, 01110

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March 27, 1942

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DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and the Legal Chronicle

RADIO'S ECCENTRIC GENIUS

his technique, Arch asserts: "If
I could and wanted to write
these plays in blank verse, it
Arch Oboler, Fighting Dramatist
SINCERE PASSOVER GREETINGS
would be another story such as:
'Democracy stands upon a wind-
By PAUL B. GREENE
Editor's Note—Radio's role in the winning of the war against the swept hill, and all the vultures
totalitarian powers is a commanding one. Radio is doing its of the night dive toward her
share of the work. Men like Arch Oboler, Norman Corwin and out of leaden skies.' That sort
Irving Reiss are lending their imaginative pens to the task of thing is easy, but try to ex-
ahead. In this sketch of Arch Oboler, the author tells of the plain what democracy is in sum-
ple everyday terms; try to put
man, his work and his ideas and ideals.
the story of liberty in the mouth_
Proprietor of the
Arch Oboler is a radio genius. old shirts in his magnificent Ra- of the worker, or soldier or
Arch Oboler is "full of sound dio City office. Ile names his businessman. That's far from
WAYNE CONGRESS GARAGE
and fury, signifying nothing". characters after his friends and simple."
These widely differing opinions enemies.
And so Oboler has turned out
about radio's 32-year-old wizard,
Ile has plenty of ideas about such plays as "Johnny Quinn,
who has turned out more than -.rifting radio dramas. Here's one U. S. N.," which is about an
CLifford 2813
244 W. Congress St.
400 radio plays, many of which of his "laws". "The very first American lad who died at Pearl
are unforgettable, are typical. premise for writing good radio Harbor. "Paul Reverski" is the
Oboler can't be taken calmly. stories should be actually having story of a lad whose patriotism
Either you love him or you hate something to say that hasn't forced changes in his elders.
him. No in-betweens, no evasions. been said before quite in the "Memo to Berchtesgaden," the
The life story of Arch Oboler manner in which you say it." tale of a German agent who is
is a grand mixture of comedy, Another one of hi s statements: beaten at every turn by a clever
SINCERE GOOD WISHES
s tirring melodrama and keen "I have a larger audience than Yankee mind, is still another one
of his many efforts to lick Ger-
business brains. Arch started out Shakespeare ever had."
for a
on the highway of life with one
Since 1938 he has been writ- many on the propaganda side of
all-embracing idea: he wanted ing, producing a weekly half- the war.
JOYOUS PASSOVER
to be a naturalist. For years he hour series of dramas for NBC.
Arch Oboler got into trouble
collected so many insects, ani- Like Norman Corwin, CBS's a few months ago when he an-
mals, etc., that he found a zoo "genius," Oboler made his mark nounced that Greta Garbo would
on his hands within a short because he brought freshness to appear on his program. With his
time. But that didn't faze him. his work. He is the first radio characteristic manner Oboler
He looked around and saw a writer to use the "stream-of- had forgotten to ask Garbo to
great story in his zoo. So, at consciousness" method on the appear. When the great lady
—1N THE—
the age of 10 he wrote—and ether. James Joyce did it in Eng• heard about it she asked: "And
sold—a tale about his collection lish literature and won immor- who is Arch Oboler?"
FISHER BLDG.
of living worms, insects, ani- tality.
The answer is known to mil-
mals, etc.
As of this moment Arch Obo- lions of radio listeners in Amer-
Today Arch is not a natural- ler is the topic of discussion in ica. Arch Oboler is a genius and
ist. His University of Chicago radio circles. His "Plays for a fighting writer who directs and
training — he studied electrical Americans," which are now be- produces radio dramas which
engineering—also dropped by the ing presented over the Red Net- cry out to America that the
wayside. Today Arch is a radio work, cry out in anger. So does United States must win this war
PASSOVER GREETINGS TO ALL
writer. And what people think his latest book, called "This and that radio will help win it.
of him is a shock and a shame. Freedom." "These 'Plays for
W A SHIN G TON. (JPS)—
Arch Oboler is the son of Leo Americans,' " Arch says, "are
and Clara Oboler. He grew up filling my days so completely Stranded American citizens in
CENTRAL SERVICE COMPANY
in Chicago and attended the Uni- that my life has become a rou- Palestine, other Middle Eastern
vemity there. James T. Farrell, tine of work interspersed with lands and the Far East will be
Meyer Levin, Vincent Sheean, very small periods for sleeping evacuated from these danger
John Gunther and a flock of and eating." He is serious as he areas by the United States, the
MADISON 4465
other writers came out of this speaks. "It is amazing how diffi- State Department declared here.
8335 ST. AUBIN AVE.
influential college. But Oboler, cult it is to decide upon the Plans have been made to sup-
no doubt, is the most fascinating things that must be said with ply financial assistance to other
of them all. As a student he simplicity, with honest emotion." American citizens trapped in en-
submitted a fantasy called "Fu- In explaining his problems and emy lands.
turistic" to the National Broad-
casting Company. It was accept-
ed and was used as part of
the ceremony at the opening of
Radio City Music Hall in New
York. That was in 1934. Since
that happy day Arch has written
more than 400 radio dramas, in-
cluding comedies, realistic plays,
fantasies, satires and tragedies.
He is an original writer. His
"The Ugliest Man in 'the World"
is talked about wherever radio is
discussed as contributing to adult
entertainment.
In 1935 Arch took over the
program called "Grand Hotel".
Playing for him were such stars
as Don Ameche, Walter Huston,
Henry Fonda and Joan Craw-
ford. A year later he made a
sudden switch. The glamor of
these names seems to have been
too much for him. He began to
turn out horror stories. He be-
came adept at which Time calls
the "shriek-and-shudder" school
of writing. Even Arch couldn't
take all that gory horror. So he
looked around and, behold, Rudy
Vallee came into sight. Vallee
MAY THE FESTIVAL OF PASSOVER, THE ANNIVERSARY
took one of his plays, called
"The Rich Kid". Freddie Bar-
tholomew played the title role.
OF THE FIRST POPULAR DEMONSTRATION FOR
It was sensational. A rich boy
talks to a couple of tough young-
LIBERTY IN THE WORLD, FIND ALL OF US
sters. The dialogue is tense and
ironic. The punch line comes
READY TO DEFEND AND CHERISH
when it is discovered that the
rich lad is blind. The other fel-
lows didn't know about the af-
THE PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE AND
fliction. The listener immediately
plays around with • the previous
INDEPENDENCE WITH WHICH
dialogue and realizes that he was
tleverly fooled into believing
that the rich boy was a snob.
WE ARE BLESSED IN
The climax is terrific. So is
Oboler.
THIS GREAT LAND
Here's why. He managed to
get the great Alla Nazimova to
emote before the mike. She
played in the story Arch had
written about the romance of
Peter Tschaikowsky and his pa-
tron Nodejda von Meck. Arch
called it "The Lonely Heart".
Nazimova was later repaid by
the Jewish genius. He was named
to write the screen script for
"Escape," that movie thriller in
which Norma Shearer and Rob-
ert Taylor proved to Americans
that Hitlerism isn't worth a lead
nickel. Arch got an important
role for Nazimova in that pic-
ture. Another item which ex-
hibits Arch's versatility. He's the
1 author of "Fourteen Radio
Plays" and "Ivory Tower,"
which includes three dramas. He
RANDOLPH
has ghost-written a biography of
the late Tex Rickard. He listens
to classical music when he writes.
It gives him "inspiration". He
wears horn-rimmed glasses. He
is short, dark-haired, energetic,
and wears baggy clothes and

R. C. CARMONA

MILGRIM
Incorporated

"LET
FREEDOM
RING"

• •



4

Sam's Cut Rate,

Incorporated

at MONROE

CAMPUS MARTIUS at WOODWARD

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