1933-xx-xx The Mirth Parade 01 Asthma

We don't feature many undated syndications on Radio Journeys, but this one has some significance for broadcast history and fans of Jack Benny. "The Mirth Parade" was one of the first national radio gigs for announcer Don Wilson, who became most famous as Jack Benny's sideman and emcee through the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Also an athlete and occasional supporting actor on Broadway, Wilson began his radio career near the dawn of the era, starting as a singer at a station in his native Denver before joining KFI in 1929 (the accompanying image shows him at that time), a stint that would eventually lead to sports announcing on NBC, including the 1932 Olympics. Wilson began working with Jack Benny in 1934, with KFI remaining the flagship station for that program. The Mirth Parade was a syndicated feature of Bruce Eells Productions, broadcast in summer and autumn 1933, mostly on independent stations across the country in the evenings, such as WTAM at 7:45 p.m. and KHJ at 9:00 p.m., with newspapers using "Zipp's Mirth Parade" for that broadcast. We also find a "Mirth Parade" listed as a morning program (7:00 a.m.) in 1934 on WLW Cincinatti, but this may not be related to Wilson's show. Content advisory: There is some racism and blackface performance in some of the portrayals on this episode.