BROADCASTS.com

In 1923 when Oregon\u2019s KGW Radio launched the world\u2019s first radio variety show, it became almost a nationwide sensation within just a few months. At its peak, it had listeners in all but four U.S. states along with the territories of Alaska and Hawaii, as well as most of Canada and Mexico. All three of the U.S. Presidents who served in office during its run \u2014 Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover \u2014 were at least occasional listeners.\n\nThe show was called The Hoot Owls, and it may actually have been the single most influential radio program of all time. It showed the industry the possibilities of a semi-scripted radio variety show, and it launched the career of Mel Blanc, the voice of most of the Looney Tunes characters. \n\nAnd yet because early radio wasn\u2019t able to be recorded, all we have left of The Hoot Owls today is a handful of scripts and a songbook. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/24-06.kgw-order-of-hoot-owls-on-the-air-649.html)