Building A Yolande Langworthy Research Collection

Yolande Langworthy (center), director of Columbia Broadcasting System's children's programs c. 1928 - 1930.  She is picured with Artells Dickson captain of the "Ship of Dreams" on "Land O' Make Believe", and Patricia "Pat" Ryan possibly the first child star on CBS. 
From "What's On The Air, August 1930, from Media History Digital Library

Yolande Langworthy was the earliest known director of children's programs for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). She held this role from 1928 until 1930 as creator.  , writer and producer of three children's series: "The Adventures of Helen and Mary" (1929-1934) "Littmann's Mountainville True Life Sketches" (1929-1930), and "Land O'Make Believe" (1929 - 1932). "Helen and Mary", a fantasy series with two little girls as the protagonist, was the foundational series for "Let's Pretend" (1929- 1954) the Peabody award winning program that dramatized fairy tales under the direction of Nila Mack.

Langworthy was the nom de plume of Frances Lawson Reade (1882 - 1976) a Canadian singer and writer. As far as is known none of her original scripts for children have survived. Therefore it is hard to judge or research her work as the first children's programming director.

(above) A slowly growing Yolande Langworthy Collection, with original signed book, articles and photos. 

However, it is possible to trace and explore Yolande Langworthy's career from newspapers, auctions of rare items, and radio magazines. From these sources I built a "Yolande Langworthy" collection.

To date I have a signed copy of “Poems from Arabesque”, a collection of writings from her acclaimed primetime CBS radio drama. Also in this collection is an original photo of actor Artells Dickson who was the Captain of the Ship O’ Dreams in “Land O’ Make Believe”. Original images from her career at CBS are rare, but online auctions are have made some of them accessible.

Summary of an episode of "Land O' Make Believe" for Sunday, December 01, 1929. 
From Chattanooga Times, Dec. 01, 1929. Newspapers.com

Online newspapers are full of listings for Langworthy’s programs. There are brief snippets of episode plots for her series. Since radio broadcasts could be interrupted or changed at the last minute, the snippet may not 100% reflect what audience heard, but could give a summary of what was planned for the broadcast. 

With a carefully curated collection of information about Langworthy, I hope to learn more about her career in children's radio and renew appreciation for her impact as the first children's program director for CBS. 

Finding Dorothy Gregory’s First Star Portrait

In the May-June 2023 edition of the Old Radio Times, I shared the story of how a thrift store purchase of old photos led to the story of a forgotten teen radio star.

Dorothy Gregory (1923 -1942) was a promising actress of Chicago radio who co-starred in three soap operas and a community affairs series for teens during the last 2 two years of her life. She succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 18. 

Rare white dress photo of Dorothy Gregory, found in a thrift store lot. Compare to the newspaper clipping above for image quality. From the blogger's collection

The photo of Dorothy that led to this research was used to promote her in one of her first soap opera roles, as the new “Jill Jones” in the detective daytime drama "Kitty Keene, Inc". In the months that I did research on Gregory, I found multiple images of her, but not a copy of this photo. Not until I had access to more newspapers did I finally find it. I was also hoping that there may be more than one photo of her in the white dress, similar to a fashion shoot she did for her role on the "Scattergood Baines" radio program. 

Even more elusive than images of Dorothy Gregory is her voice. To date I have not found any surviving recordings from her time on "Kitty Keene", "Scattergood Baines", or WGN's "Citizens of Tomorrow" a public affairs program for teenagers. However, if an episode of 'Og, Son of Fire' can turn up, than anything is possible. 

Further Reading:

Stewart Jr., James R. "A Promosing Citizen of Tommorrow: The Story of Actress Dorothy Gregory". Old Radio Times. May-June 2023. https://otrr.org/FILES/Times_Archive_pdf/2023_03%20May-June.pdf