Radio Live! Television Live!

Book excerpt: During the "golden age" of live radio and television, writers, performers, and producers created their programs in an environment far different from the studios of today. With live programming, anything could happen, and often did. Robert L. Mott, a veteran writer and Emmy-nominated sound effects creator of the live era, recreates the days when television and radio programs were performed live. He includes personal reminiscences as well as a forthright look behind the microphones: horses' hooves were played by coconuts, African-American women were played by white males, and television actors might ad lib an entire program that didn't go as planned. Celebrities like Red Skelton and Jackie Gleason, as well as the unsung heroes in the sound booth and backstage, step up to the mike here. Behind-the-scenes photographs are also included in this account of the exciting--but not always glamorous--world that was "live on the air."