Hugh Studebaker

Hugh Studebaker (May 31, 1900 – May 26, 1978) was an American actor, born in Ridgeville, Indiana,[1] who starred in old-time radio programs. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Studebaker.[2]

Hugh Studebaker
Studebaker and Marjorie Hannan during an episode of Bachelor's Children
Born
Hugh Charles Studebaker

(1900-05-31)May 31, 1900
Ridgeville, Indiana. U.S.
DiedMay 26, 1978(1978-05-26) (aged 77)
Encino, California, U.S.
OccupationRadio actor
Years active1927–1978

Early years

As a student, Studebaker was the male lead in the opera "King Hal," produced by his high school in Kansas City, Kansas.[3]

Studebaker served in the United States Navy in World War I.[4] After being discharged "at an early age," he took lessons to learn to sing and play the organ and "worked respectively as a blacksmith, salesman and postal clerk -- and didn't do well at any of them."[1] As a member of a quartet, the Night Hawks, Studebaker sang in night clubs and theaters across the United States.[1]

In his early 20s, Studebaker was a member of The Marion Quartette,[5] which toured "under the auspices of the Redpath-Horner institute,"[6] Redpath-Horner was part of the Chatauqua movement.[7]

Career

Studebaker first performed on radio in 1927 as part of "Georgie and Porgie, the Breakfast Food Boys." Later, a job at KOIL radio in Omaha, Nebraska, provided "a daily fifteen-minute piano and conversational spot."[1] In 1929, he was hired as an organist at KMBC in Kansas City, Missouri, and soon had acting roles in dramas added to his duties. While at KMBC, he was organist for Ted Malone's Between the Bookends program.

By 1933, Studebaker had a program that was carried on CBS. A radio listing in a 1933 issue of a Fresno, California, newspaper lists "4 P.M., Hugh Studebaker's One Man Show, CBS."[8] He moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1934. There he "was a free-lance announcer, a disc jockey and occasionally got assignments in daytime dramas."[1]

His roles on network radio programs included the following:

ProgramCharacter
Bachelor's ChildrenDr. Bob[9]
BeulahHarry Henderson (Beulah's employer)[10]
Captain MidnightIchabod Mudd[11]
Fibber McGee and MollySilly Watson[11]
Guiding LightDr. Matthews[12]
MidstreamCharles Meredith[10]
Right to HappinessFred Minturn[13]
The Road of LifeGrandpa Sutter[14]
The Story of Mary MarlinJonathon[15]
That Brewster BoyJoey Brewster's father[16]
Whispering SmithWhispering Smith[17]

Studebaker also appeared in other programs, including The Romance of Helen Trent,[18] Curtain Time,[19] and Knickerbocker Playhouse,[20] and he played Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.[21]

Studebaker's mannerisms during broadcasts sometimes gave people in the studio an added dimension of entertainment. In 1937, a writer commented about the actor's role in Fibber McGee and Molly:

When tall, thin Studebaker shuffles up to the mike as Silly Watson, Fibber, along with the audience, thinks that's very funny. Laughs as much as anyone else. It's not a prop laugh, either; it comes from deep down inside.[22]

Studebaker was one of the people who founded the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.[23]

Family

Studebaker married Bertina Congdon in 1934. She had been his boss at KMBC.[1] He had two brothers, Joseph W. Studebaker and A.A. Studebaker, and a sister, Mrs. Paul Holbrook.[24]

Death

Following a long illness, Studebaker died May 26, 1978, at Valley Presbyterian Hospital.[23]

References
  1. "View from a Bird Oasis". The Coaticook Observer. September 19, 1947. p. 13. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  2. "Body of K.C.K. Pioneer Who Died in Arkansas Buried Here". The Kansas City Kansan. The Kansas City Kansan. September 25, 1918. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "Opera 'King Hal' to Be Sung Tonight". The Kansas City Globe. The Gazette Globe. April 27, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "'That Brewster Boy' Is Average American". The Lincoln Star. February 6, 1944. p. 28. Retrieved March 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. "Personalities (ad)". Corsicana Daily Sun. Corsicana Daily Sun. May 16, 1923. p. 6. Retrieved March 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. "K. C. Singers on Tour". The Kansas City Kansan. The Kansas City Kansan. October 2, 1921. p. 17. Retrieved March 28, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. Lush, Paige (2013). Music in the Chautauqua Movement: From 1874 to the 1930s. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7864-7315-1. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  8. "(radio listing)". The Fresno Bee. The Fresno Bee The Republican. July 18, 1933. p. 9. Retrieved March 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  9. "Stars in Serial". The Evening News. The Evening News. October 15, 1942. p. 20. Retrieved March 28, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. Terrace, Vincent (1981), Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930–1960. A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-498-02393-1. Pp. 27, 181.
  11. Sterling, Christopher H. (ed.) (2004). Encyclopedia of Radio. Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 1-57958-249-4. Pp. 300, 591.
  12. "Inspiration". The Bakersfield Californian. The Bakersfield Californian. February 23, 1948. p. 10. Retrieved March 28, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  13. Ranson, Jo (September 10, 1941). "Radio Dial Log". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 22. Retrieved March 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  14. Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). The Big Broadcast: 1920–1950. The Viking Press. SBN 670-16240-x. Pp. 200-201.
  15. "Question Box". The Lincoln Star. The Lincoln Star. December 6, 1936. p. 38. Retrieved March 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  16. "President Will Speak On Labor Day Broadcast". The Fresno Bee. The Fresno Bee The Republican. August 31, 1941. p. 10. Retrieved March 28, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  17. "Open Whispering Smith Show on W-G-N Friday". Chicago Tribune. February 23, 1941. p. Part 3-Page 4. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  18. "Hugh Studebaker, Radio Veteran, Once Blacksmith's Helper". Chicago Tribune. October 27, 1935. p. Part 3-Page 6. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  19. "The Short and Long of Radio". The Evening News. The Evening News. September 23, 1938. p. 22. Retrieved March 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  20. "Characters In Previous Play Will Return In KMJ Offering Tonight". The Fresno Bee. The Fresno Bee The Republican. January 25, 1941. p. 5. Retrieved March 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  21. Butterfield, C.E. (December 21, 1944). "Day By Day On the Air". Dixon Evening Telegraph. Dixon Evening Telegraph. p. 3. Retrieved March 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  22. Canfield, Homer (June 4, 1937). "Pay Of Grumling Picture Stars Is Pinched Down To Paltry Thousands". Santa Ana Register. No. June 4, 1937. Santa Ana Register. p. 28. Retrieved March 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  23. "Hugh Studebaker dead at 77". The San Bernardino County Sun. The San Bernardino County Sun. May 30, 1978. p. 2. Retrieved March 28, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  24. "Joseph W. Studebaker". The Kansas City Times. The Kansas City Times. May 4, 1954. p. 12. Retrieved March 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. open access
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