Friday, February 22, 2013

Rube and Hank

This is the headshot from first page of "Rube and Hank, Ghost in the Privy." On the cover a tiny logo at the bottom reads "Allied Printing, Union Label Trade Council, Miami FL. I had to get out a magnifying glass. The radio program "Rube and Hank" was heard over WBIR a Mutual network affiliate in Knoxville, TN. Their voices and those of most of the other characters were handled by Ivo Woodard Dunning.

His company Dunning Radio Productions, published a booklet of stories from the program in 1946. It was printed in Coral gables Florida, not too far from the address of Dunning Radio Productions at 1112 North Miami Ave, Miami, FL. that address is currently vacant, but previously occupied by a restaurant and a caterer. the building was built in 1943 and would have been fairly new when Dunning occupied it. A 1941 issue of the Typographical Journal indicated that Dunning lived in Florida. This may be before or after his program was known to air on WBIR.

The booklet notes that the program was syndicated by transcription, though I can find no other reference to such recording in contemporary catalogs. The characters are probably named for the brothers Rube and Hank Bergman who played on a number of rust-belt hockey teams in the1930s. I have scanned all 50 pages for your arcane interest.


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Posted by Jose Fritz at Friday, February 22, 2013
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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:52 AM

    WBIR Mutual affiliate in Milwaukee, WI???

    I could find no reference to WBIR or Mutual network affiliation in Milwaukee, WI. Early radio in Milwaukee quickly evolved into only three stations: WTMJ (NBC- Red), WISN (CBS), and WEMP (NBC-Blue/later ABC). These three existed prior to WWII. The closest Mutual affiliate that served Milwaukee was WGN Chicago.

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  2. Superatheist66612:12 PM

    Was there really a WBIR, a Mutual affiiliate in Milwaukee? Early readio staitons in Milwaukee quickly evolved into only three stations prior to, and during, WWII: WTMJ (NBC-Red), WISN (CBS), and WEMP (NBC-Blue, later ABC). The nearest Mutual network station that served Milwaukee was WGN Chicago. There were Mutual stations in Wisconsin, but most were low-powered "locals" that did not reach Milwaukee.

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  3. Jose Fritz3:30 PM

    So I went back to my source material on WBIR. here's the line from the 1941 copy of Typographical Journal.

    "The local program "Rube and Hank" heard over WBIR Mutual radio station here, along with many other different and distinct voices in said program is played by none other than I. W. Dunning, late of Florida..."

    I was right on the calls, wrong on the city. I've corrected it to Knoxville.

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