The quiz show You Bet Your Life made the transition from radio, where
it began October 1947, to NBC television on Thursday October 5, 1950
and ran till September 21, 1961. The show’s original host was comedian
Groucho Marx (of the Marx Brothers), with his announcer and assistant
George Fenneman.
Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc
(October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984)
Ray Kroc was a fast food industry businessman who took over the small-
scale McDonald’s Corporation franchise in 1954 and built it into the most
successful fast food business in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100:
The Most Important People of the Century. He owned the San Diego Padres
baseball team from 1974.
The Railroad Hour was a radio series in which Hollywood musical dramas and comedies ,well-known operettas, and Broadway shows were featured. It was
broadcast on ABC from Monday October 4, 1948 as a 45-minute program and
was reduced to 30 minutes in 1949 till September 26, 1949. It then moved to
NBC for a run from October 3, 1949, until June 21, 1954. Singer-actor Gordon
MacRae starred along with guest co-stars like Doris Day and Jane Powell.The
announcer for the series was Marvin Miller (below).
Gordon MacRae and guest star Dinah Shore
Marvin Miller
1914 ad
William Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861–January 26, 1932)
Wrigley was a salesman and industrialist. Because his father was a soap
manufacturer, Wrigley started his own business in 1891, Wm. Wrigley Jr.
Company in Chicago selling Wrigley’s Scouring Soap. In 1892 Wrigley
got the idea of offering two packages of chewing gum with each can of
baking powder. The idea was such a huge success that and since the
chewing gum industry was relatively undeveloped, he began marketing
chewing gum under his own name. His first two brands were called Lotta
and Vassar. Juicy Fruit and Wrigley’s Spearmint gum were introduced
next in 1893. Wrigley was also owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball
team. The Cub’s ballpark (Wrigley Field) was named after the former
owner.
