Barbara Jean Wong 100th Birthday Part I: OTR Child Star of the Month - March 2024

Barbara Jean Wong around age 9, from Radio Mirror July 1936. From Media History Digital Library

It was hard to decide on the Old Time Radio (OTR) Child Star of the Month, until I realized a very special star was born 100 years ago this month. 

Born 100 years ago today was Barbara Jean Wong (March 3, 1924- November 13, 1999) talented dancer, actress, singer drum majorette, acrobat, and later a public school teacher. She was known as "The Chinese Shirley Temple" and radio's "Chinese Wonder" as a child. Her specialty was as a voice chameleon who portrayed children of all races on the radio well into her adulthood.

Of all her roles from the Golden Age of Radio the most enduring today was the voice of Judy, one of the Barton Twins, on The Cinnamon Bear (1937), a captivating Christmas serial that is still broadcast on many stations today, and on The Amos 'n' Andy Show as Amos’ daughter Arbadella. She memorably played Arbadella Jones on the Annual Christmas annually from 1940 to 1960. 

Barbara Jean Wong was born in Los Angeles on March 3, 1924, to parents Thomas and Maye Wong. In the early 1930s for station KFAC she was a cast member of the “Whoa Bill” Club and acted in the radio skit “Billy and Betty” with actor Dorian Thompson. From these early broadcasts Wong is believed to have been the first Asian American to act in an American radio comedy or drama. 

She was cast was Asian, White, and Black children, girls and boys on many programs for the next 2 decades On Strange as it Seems, a radio program based on John Hix' comic strip which was similar to Ripley's Believe It of Not, she portrayed Alice (of Wonderland), even once portrayed George Washington as a boy which made national headlines

Radio was the theater of the imagination, and for Barbara Jean Wong there was no color or race, nor age. In the new medium of television, a 30-year-old Wong once commented that she found herself typecast as Asian women. She had appeared in several movies in the 1930s and 1940s always as Asian girls or women. One of her last film roles was in The Man From Button Willow (1965), an animated tale in which she played a little Asian girl, and a possible first introduction to Wong for those unfamiliar with radio's golden age,

Barbara Jean Wong Lee passed away November 13, 1999 at the age of 75. Today via radio and film collections on the internet her talented voice performances can easily be rediscovered. 

To Be Continued........For the month of March, I want to follow up this post with highlight for her childhood performances, and her performances as children. 

Patricia Ryan - Part II

Ad for Pat Ryan promoting her work on "Let's Pretend" and the "March of Games" series from the Buffalo Courier Express August 2, 1938

To recap, Patricia "Pat" Ryan (February 21, 1921 - February 15, 1949 was a versatile child, teen and young adult actress from Radio's Golden Age. She began with children's series like "Let's Pretend" but began to have more roles in primetime programs with age. 

Some confusion in researching Patricia Ryan in press articles 

In reviewing radio listings and contemporary events from 1937-1940, there were a number of women named "Patricia Ryan" who were grabbing headlines. Here is some helpful information to help other researchers avoid some of these hassles. 

In 1937 while CBS aired “Let’s Pretend” on Saturday mornings, the NBC-Blue network had an adult singer 30 minutes later named Patricia Ryan. 

Actress Betty Winkler as another "Patricia Ryan" in Girl Alone on NBC Radio.
From Radio Guide October 1, 1938

The radio drama “Girl Alone” starred Betty Winkler as a character named “Patricia Ryan”. In some sources her character was "Patricia Rogers"

There was some alarm when another New York woman named Patricia Ryan was accused of murdering her husband in 1938. There are claims that the NBC switchboard was lit up with calls concerned that the adult singer was the same person. Patricia Ryan is even said to be the name used by Pat Nixon when attending college. “Pat Ryan” was also the name of a character in comic strip “Terry and the Pirates”. 

And now back to our Patricia "Pat" Ryan.

A press photo of Nila Mack (left), Estelle Levy [Gwen Davies] and Pat Ryan, for the 10th anniversay of "Let's Pretend", or more accurately 10 years as Mack as Director. The inner photo shows how Levy and Ryan looked c. 1930. The blogger would like to know if this that image of Levy and Ryan exists in higher quality.

In 1941, she co-starred with Richard Kollmar in the summer series “Claudia and David” based on the popular stories by about a young newlywed maturing into life. A highly coveted part, Ryan won the part over hundreds of actresses. Unfortunately none of the broadcasts with her in the role are available today, but an episode of "Treasury Star Parade" with Ryan and Kollman in their roles has survived.

Praised for her beauty even as a child, Ryan was featured in numerous articles, fashion photoshoots, and advertisements for cosmetics, fashion, and beauty tips. Even in 1941 just as CBS was re-entering television, Ryan was considered ideal and photogenic for the new medium. Metro Goldwyn Meyer screen tested her as reported in a 1942 edition of Variety. 

Patricia Ryan in her nursing aid uniform on the cover of "Radio Mirror" August 1943. 

Along with radio acting Patricia also trained and served as a nurse’s aide for 2 years during World War II. If a 1943 account in Radio Mirror is accurate, her peers at the Misericordia Hospital in Manhattan unaware that she was a radio star until some commotion started during the diploma ceremony. In a strange foreshadowing, this article also gives an account by Pat stating that nothing really exciting happened to her radio except for a incident when a microphone struck her in the head knocking her unconscious when she was 12. After she was revived, she continue to perform, "Although" she said" I had a slight headache". 

.................To Be Continued With Part III

Additional Writings by Patricia Ryan:

"We'll Never Give Enough". Radio Romances formerly Radio Mirror, April 1945. https://archive.org/details/radiomirro00mac/page/n377/mode/1up?view=theater