What happens
Fred Allen hosts a comedy variety broadcast in which he presents a parade of mock awards for amateur poets, including Wilbur Gekko, Narcissus Bill and Edna Titlebaum. Harry and Portland Hoffa assist him through the program. Later the show turns to the New York World's Fair, where Fred interviews Elmer, the fair's average American, and gives Elmer a list of statistics. Guests and debates on resort fashions follow. The broadcast is part of the Fred Allen series, which aired in 1940 on CBS and NBC.
A New York radio studio during a 1940 broadcast, with segments about poetry awards, the New York World's Fair and a debate on summer resort attire.
Characters: Fred Allen, Harry, Portland Hoffa, Wilbur Gekko, Narcissus Bill, Edna Titlebaum, Elmer, Mr. William Parsley
Listen for: The mock poetry awards and Fred's interview with Elmer, the average American from the World's Fair.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.