I Have a Lady in the Balcony

On Friday, May 18, 1934, radio columns in the New York press announced that Bert Parks of CBS would be “relinquishing his status as N.Y.’s youngest Network Staff Announcer to the newly appointed George Ansbro on the NBC Announcing Staff.” From his role as an NBC page in 1931 to his career as a network announcer, Ansbro recalls an era that includes a who’s who of early radio and Hollywood stars, and a transition from what was known as the Blue Network and its beginnings at Rockefeller Center to the massive radio and television organization now known as ABC.

George Ansbro was an announcer for the NBC and ABC networks for six decades. He worked in both the live radio era of big bands and soap operas and the television era, retiring from ABC in 1990. He lives in Spring Lake, New Jersey.

George Ansbro

Foreword by Leonard Maltin
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 245
Bibliographic Info: 43 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2009 [2000]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4318-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1225-6
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword by Leonard Maltin     1
Preface      3

1. THE TWENTIES      5
2. MAYOR JIMMY WALKER      12
3. MY FIRST RADIO APPEARANCE      17
4. GOVERNOR AL SMITH      19
5. “HELLOOOOO KATHLYN, HELLOOOOO JIM”      22
6. DREAMING AND WONDERING      24
7. MUCH SOUL SEARCHING      27
8. A ROTTEN SUMMER      31
9. 711 FIFTH      33
10. ON THE CHEAP TO ALBANY      38
11. TALES OF 711      43
12. CALL FOR PHILIP MAWRREESS      49
13. SO LONG 711, HELLO RADIO CITY      54
14. MAY 19, 1934      57
15. THE RED AND THE BLUE      66
16. ON MY OWN      71
17. BIG BAND REMOTES      77
18. MORE BAND REMOTES      82
19. INTERESTING REHEARSALS      87
20. FIRE THE ANNOUNCER      91
21. AFRA BEGINS      98
22. HORSING AROUND WITH HOOVER      106
23. CALLING ALL MEN TO BARNEY’S      111
24. WINCHELL      117
25. WANNA BUY A NETWORK?      121
26. MAYOR FIORELLO LA GUARDIA      126
27. NAKEDSVILLE ON LEXINGTON AVENUE      132
28. THY NETWORK IS BLUE      138
29. WEDDING BELLS      145
30. WORKING WITH ELEANOR AND ANNA ROOSEVELT      154
31. AMERICA’S BOYFRIEND AND AMERICA’S SWEETHEART      161
32. UKULELE IKE THROWS A PARTY      173
33. A MAIDEN TRIP ON A MAIDEN VOYAGE      175
34. MANHATTAN MAHARAJAH      181
35. THE STORK CLUB      183
36. UNWELCOME TENTH ANNIVERSARY GIFT      191
37. SUING THE LANDLORD      192
38. SO LONG RADIO CITY, HELLO WEST 66TH      195
39. HOWARD COSELL, A RELATIONSHIP BEGINS      198
40. UNLOADING A SUPERVISOR      202
41. “MONEYBAGS ANSBRO”      207
42. “AW, WHAT THE HELL, GEORGIE”      210
43. LATE LUNCH AT TOOTS SHOR’S      214
44. “GEORGIE, I’M GLAD YOU CAME”      217
45. THE CURSE OF ALCOHOLISM      219
46. TWENTY-FOUR YEARS WITH THE FBI      221
47. RETIREMENT      228

Epilogue      229
Index      230

“a record of six decades as an announcer with NBC and ABC”—Classic Images; “filled with anecdotes and inside stories of literally hundreds of other radio personalities…gives insight into some of the operations of the broadcast industry and has a number of interesting photos”—North American Radio Archives

“should delight any nostalgia fan…. Musicologists will be especially fascinated by his big band remote broadcast history. It is a lot of fun especially for the radio buff! Highly recommended”—The Illustrated Press.