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As everyone has probably figured out by now, I love visiting the past through the beautiful design of gadgets or brochures created during the 1930s through the 1960s. I specially love pamphlets inked to mid-century living or broadcasting.

So, when I saw this wonderful book connected to the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) for sale on eBay I had to get it, even if I didn’t really know what it was all about.

I had heard of the tale of the Seventh Son of the Seventh Son of course. How this individual is granted special powers, based on the order of his birth, perhaps even to see into the future. Obviously the esteemed elder on the cover, holding a jester in one hand is the Seventh Son, but what power could he invoke “On Monday nights at Nine?”

There was only one way to find out. Win the auction, which I did.

When the publication came in the mail, I got my first surprise. Most of the pamphlets that I buy are soft cover brochures. This was a hard cover, more like a book. CBS had spent a lot of money to have it made, and when I opened it up I found out why.

CBS was trying to attract sponsors to a unique program that lay at the foundation of radio and television broadcasting as we know it. Let me explain.

Typically TV networks follow a yearly pattern. In September they launch a schedule for the year, which is a mix of new and returning series. These shows continue to air throughout the next nine or ten months, until May. Then most shows either disappear or episodes would rerun during the summer.

But behind the scenes, planning for the next season begins in late winter or early spring. During Pilot Season, networks consider pitches from hundreds of hopeful producers. Then they select a few of the most promising contenders and pay to have one episode, a pilot episode, filmed. Only the best of the best will be placed on the network schedule, which was typically announced in May. The show would be shot and edited over the summer, then be ready to air in September when the whole cycle begins again.

So, what does this have to do with my, future seeing, Seventh Son?

Well, the quest for new programs did not start with television. Radio began the hunt long before many of us were born. What do I mean?

Let’s take a look at the first page of the book.

“It takes courage to be a prophet,” the first sentence read. “But from Nostradamus— who had all the answers to all the questions written in his little book-to the stock market seers of later days, that hasn’t stopped people from trying.”

“Nor has it stopped us.” (By us they mean CBS.) “Of course, our ambitions are more limited. We know that everyone likes to be entertained. We want to learn is— what do people enjoy?

“Since the days of traveling minstrels that quest has been going on-with some success and many failures”

Oh, now I understand the theme of the graphics that go with this book. Minstrels, entertainers of years past. That is what CBS is going for here. They’re trying to find the equivalent of an entertaining minstrel in 1941. Will they be successful? Let’s continue.

“Because nobody knows what everybody will think is a good entertainment.”

The grammar of the above sentence isn’t exactly correct, but it speaks the truth! What is good entertainment? How to find a show everyone will enjoy? That is the focus of this book. It turns out that in 1941 CBS followed a pattern that broadcast networks would use for decades to come. This is their version of a Pilot Season, abet with one big change. Instead of limiting participation in the search for a new program to show producers and network executives, CBS invited everyone to join in. The book goes on to explain.

“Like the weather, people have long talked about it but seldom done anything about it. Unlike the weather, something can be done about it. Something is being done. 

“It starts July 14^th at nine in the evening over the nationwide Columbia network. It’s Forecast for 1941. For the second successive year CBS cast itself in the role of the seventh son of a seventh son-prophesying radio hits to come!

Next CBS provides a brief history of Elizabethan theater, saying it was a combination of music, comedy and drama, like a vaudeville show. The network believes people in the twentieth century enjoy similar entertainment. Only through the medium of radio, millions are reached at the same time.

“Seven of the ten most popular radio programs today are variety programs-vaudeville by radio— the Elizabethan theater brought up to date.”

“That’s because people don’t change much. Today, as a hundred years ago, they like to laugh. They enjoy being entertained. And radio has entertained them well. But knowing that has not made the task easier. Because dynamic, fast-paced, restless Radio is an impatient medium. It demands new techniques, new talent, new approaches that might improve on the established formula… names and new ideas and new directions that might create utterly new formulas. Radio demands progress. So, the quest started.”

In the next page, CBS promises to travel East, West, North, South to search for a combination of great talent and a great story.

“We approached composers and arrangers; writers and producers and directors; singers and instrumentalists—proved technicians in the art of Radio— to gather and fuse the mighty talents we had assembled.

“Together they have produced twelve new ideas in radio entertainment— twelve programs that they believe and we believe will set new directions and new pieces for radio entertainment.”

Now we have come to the heart of the matter. CBS wanted to introduce new radio pilots during the summer of 1941. Shows that had an opportunity to become regular series in the fall.

“Twelve ideas in twelve capsules,” the headline read. “These brilliant new innovations— the CBS Forecast Series for 1941– are not simply isolated programs that “might develop.” “Each is a complete idea in capsule form.”

“As you listen, over the weeks, you gradually absorb the atmosphere until eventually you become as much a part of the picture as every actor in the scene.”

“For example, the first program in the Forecast series— to be broadcast on July 14^th— will be Arabian nights, with Marlene Dietrich starring in the role of Scheherazade.”

Many of the Forecast shows still exist and are available for purchase online. I bought the Arabian Nights episode and it is fantastic. I was expecting a shoestring production. This was not the case. In addition to being a showcase for a star like Marlene Dietrich, there was a full orchestra, elaborate musical numbers, and a gripping tale that kept you engaged from beginning to end. Apparently the Seventh Son was unable to predict that future in this case. The Arabian Nights pilot did not sell, but as long as readers kept turning the page there was still hope.

Let’s continue.

“In almost exact contrast, a Forecast program later in the series was devoted to dramatization of the most popular of all “Westerns,” Hopalong Cassidy! These thrilling adventure stories require no extra background. Hopalong Cassidy will be presented for thirty minutes— precisely as it will be broadcast when sponsored.”

I read a fantastic article about the Forecast series called “Is there a sponsor in the house?” It was written by Martin Grams, Jr. It is full of wonderful details about the origins of Forecast, and the success or failures of the various programs that got a tryout.

It had a long paragraph about the Hopalong Cassidy episode. In this version, actor William Boyd did not play the title character. Boyd would become linked to Hopalong later. The Forecast airing however, was the first time the character was heard over the radio airwaves.

I also listened to the Hopalong Cassidy broadcast. It was standard western fare, but the pitch at the end made this episode stand out. They asked the listener directly for help.

“Like all other programs which Forecast presents, this was a sample broadcast intended to suggest the possibility of a series based on an idea. If you enjoyed Hopalong Cassidy and would like to hear his adventures on the air regularly, as a weekly half-hour of entertainment, we should appreciate hearing from you by card or letter to your CBS station.”

Focusing on the search for potential sponsors, the latter part of the publication was dedicated to the final spiel.

“Thus, in addition to hearing a typical program, as you (the sponsor) will hear it when it goes on a regular schedule, you will, for some programs, find additional background included. But, in every instance, the feeling of year-round continuity will be present; the sense of “what’s it all about” will be felt.”

“So complete will be each of the programs presented in the 1941 Forecast series that the nation-wide Columbia audience as well as you, a potential sponsor, will have full opportunity to weigh this program on its merits— all of its merits; the audience to determine if they want to hear it regularly; you to determine if you should sponsor it regularly.”

The next two pages sum up their pitch nicely. The title says that “America is the try-out town.”

The drawing is of a typical family, father, mother and child sitting on their couch listening to their giant sized radio. They don’t realize that a court jester is hiding behind the set. Why? I don’t really know. At least he’s cute.

The text continues: “What the Broadway producer does on a small scale— trying out his new shows before limited audiences “on the road,” CBS does on a vast scale— trying out the Forecast shows on America’s radio audience— on over twenty-nine million American families from coast to coast.”

“You will sit in your own home, with perhaps your own family and your own friends. You will set your dial for your own local CBS station. And in just the same surroundings— under just the same natural, normal circumstances as you enjoy your current favorite radio programs— will come these new radio programs— the CBS Forecast series of 1941.”

“Listen, as all America will listen. Judge the programs, as all America will judge them. America will be evaluating this Forecast series from the view of whether, as listeners, they will want these programs continued. So will you, but you will enjoy a unique dual role— that of potential potential listener and that of potential sponsor.”

 “Each week, before the programs go on the air, we will notify you about them. After you hear each of these Forecast presentations over your own CBS station, we will send you— on request— a complete analysis of the program you have heard— of its background, it’s future and its cost.”

The book ends with one famous line: “This is— the Columbia Broadcasting System.”        

According to Martin Grams, Forecast discovered one bonafide radio hit. Duffy’s Tavern was one of the offerings during the first year of the series. It was so popular, CBS brought it to the network full-time, where it settled into a long, successful run.

When I bought this beautifully illustrated publication on eBay, I had no idea it would open up to me the history of broadcasting in such an innovative and unique way. That’s why I love exploring the past through Glorious Vintage Stuff!