 Geraldo.
Geraldo, despite his name and the fact that his orchestra were famous for the rumba, and
other South American rhythms, was born in London. At sixteen he gave up office work for music. He studied hard
for three or four years and then went to sea as a pianist. He visited Spain and North and South America. While
in Argentina he studied the tango. His Gaucho Tango Orchestra first broadcast in 1930. |
 Carroll Gibbons.
Carroll was born in Massachusetts and studied harmony and piano technique at the New England
Conservatory of Music in Boston. When he came to England he quickly became solo pianist of the original Savoy
Hotel Orpheans, and by 1931 was the leader of the band. Soon afterwards, the band began to be billed as Carroll
Gibbons and the Savoy Hotel Orpheans, and he also had a recording contract for his smaller band, Carroll Gibbons
and his Boyfriends. Carroll usually booked one of the vocalists of the day, but occasionally, Carroll's
distinctive Massachusetts drawl can be heard doing his own vocal chorus.
Carroll did not run away to America during the second world war, as he so easily could have done, but stayed in
London, entertaining the blitzed.
Hear Carroll Gibbons:
These Foolish Things (1930s)
I'm Gonna Get Lit Up (1940s with Carroll's Vocal)
|
 Hermione Gingold.
Hermione Gingold was a talented actress with a magnificent soprano voice, and a comic of
genius. Apart from that, she was pretty good looking! As a child of ten she went on the stage in "Pinkie and the
Fairies". She went on to establish a reputation as a dramatic artiste and burlesque comedienne. Then she first
broadcast in 1927 in the revue "Hello New York". She was married to Eric Mascwitz. As a hobby, she was an expert
on Staffordshire china. |
 Cora Goffin.
Cora Goffin had an interesting niche in show-business, being one of the most popular
pantomime principal boys in the country during the 1930s. It was because her voice came over so well when Mother
Goose was broadcast from the Theatre Royal, Birmingham, in 1931, that she was invited to contribute to BBC
programmes. Miss Goffin was well known for her musical comedy successes and was able to boast more fan mail than
any other female stage star. |
 Ronald Gourley.
Ronald Gourley was a pianist, entertainer, and whistler. He was blind, but didn't let it hold
him back. His mother first taught him to play the piano, then he studied at a Dominican Convent at Stoke on Trent.
His first broadcast was from the Witton Experimantal Station in 1922, and after that he went on to broadcast from
every studio of the BBC in the United Kingdom. His great radio successes were singing and improvising humorous
interludes at the piano. |
 Freddie Grisewood.
Freddie Grisewood had a long and distinguished career as a BBC announcer, being for a long
time the Assistant Chief Announcer, while Stuart Hibberd held the top job. Freddie was much more involved with
Children's Hour than Stuart Hibberd was, and Freddie was "Uncle Freddie" in Children's Hour.
Freddie, like most of the announcers, was a university man, educated at Oxford. He did many things before
becoming an announcer. Before the first world war, he was a professional singer, and seems to have travelled
Europe quite widely. He also played cricket for Worcestershire, and hockey for Oxford. After the first world war,
he did some acting, and then joined the BBC. |
 Olive Groves.
Olive Groves came to the microphone through a coincidence. Her father was in the Army of
Occupation in Germany just after the first world war, and Miss Groves went over to Cologne to entertain the
troops. Years later in the Strand, someone stopped her, asking if she was the young girl who sang at Cologne.
The man was a BBC official, and as a result, Miss Groves was booked as a singer. That was in 1926, and she sang
almost every week from then on. She was very popular. |
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