America Awish periodical Cotter CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, 01110 27, 19 4 March 27, 1942 To Au, 1 WN CO. Week money in is ideal. season ry AVE, g N! :y 1LVD. pecialty 34 All er N :ouzens Ill! it Supplier VE. Store ;05 3 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