Monitor (Take 2)

Book excerpt: For two decades starting in 1955, millions of Americans spent their weekends listening to an extraordinary radio program-NBC's Monitor. Running continuously from Saturday morning through Sunday night, Monitor featured big-name hosts like Dave Garroway, Hugh Downs, Gene Rayburn, Ed McMahon, Henry Morgan, Barry Nelson, Joe Garagiola, Bill Cullen, Jim Lowe and Murray the K-all broadcasting from mammoth studios called "Radio Central." Monitor spotlighted a galaxy of feature reporters such as Arlene Francis, Gene Shalit, Bob Considine and Mel Allen. Comedy came from Bob and Ray, Nichols and May and Ernie Kovacs-and "Miss Monitor" gave her unforgettable weather forecasts. This is the vastly expanded, revised edition of Dennis Hart's inside look at Monitor. Included are dozens of new, never-before-told stories about the men and women of Monitor. Readers will discover-or remember-what made Monitor such a "must-listen" experience in the mid-20th century-and learn, for the first time, the real story about the death of America's last great radio show. Monitor (Take 2) is the "last word" about a true broadcasting institution.