Time:  about 40 minutes

On Friday, April 1, 1955, Sylvester L. "Pat" Weaver -- NBC's president -- went on his radio network's closed-circuit line to announce to affiliates that a radically new program concept would soon debut on NBC Radio. That, of course, was "Monitor" -- and this is rare audio of the announcement about the program that would become network radio's greatest endeavor. (Courtesy of Gene Garnes Sr.)

Time:  about 14 minutes

Time:  about 29 minutes

In the early '60s, Monitor did occasional salutes to big-name stars who were celebrating birthdays.  Here's one of them -- a salute to Jimmy Durante -- from Saturday night, Feb. 9, 1963, hosted by Jim Lowe.  This is the first half-hour of the salute -- just click on the link directly below for the second half-hour

Time:  about 25 minutes

Here's the "rest" of Jim Lowe's Monitor salute to Jimmy Durante.

Time:  about an hour

Here's another Monitor salute -- this one to Groucho Marx -- from Saturday night, Oct. 5, 1963, hosted by Jim Lowe.  Note, at the end, the announcement about the next day's World Series game between the Yankees and the Dodgers.

Time:  about 24 minutes

Here's a birthday salute to Frank Sinatra, hosted by Barry Nelson on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 14, 1963.  Take special note of Barry's introduction to the salute, which aired just days after Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., had been kidnapped, then released about 54 hours later. Nine years after this, Frank Jr. would host Saturday night Monitor for several weeks, while he was performing in New York City. This is the first half-hour of the salute -- just click on the link directly below for the second half-hour.

Time: about 23 minutes

Here's the "rest" of Barry Nelson's Monitor salute to Frank Sinatra.

Time:  about an hour

Here's another birthday salute -- this one to George Burns, hosted by Gene Rayburn on Saturday night, Jan. 18, 1964.   The first part of the audio is dicey, but hang in there -- it will clear up.  (By 1964, Gene had taken over the Saturday night slot from Jim Lowe -- and would keep it until he moved to Saturday morning Monitor in 1966.)

Time:  about 14 minutes

So why have we put up this snippet of Frank Blair hosting Sunday night Monitor on Valentine's Day in 1965?  Well, because we like Frank a lot -- because it's a delightful snippet (that starts in the middle of an interview with Martha Scott) -- and because, at the end, an NBC announcer gives the call letters of one of the network's affiliate stations (as the announcers did, on the half-hour, on Monitor, for years).  And that affiliate is KMJ Radio in Fresno, California -- the station where I listened to Monitor for years, as I was growing up and older -- and the station at which I work, 30-plus years after Monitor ended. 

Time:  16 minutes

I wish we had more than this scoped segment -- but here's Henry -- this time on Nov. 20, 1966 (the Sunday night before Thanksgiving), from 9:35 to 10 p.m. ET -- with some truly moving messages from GI's in Vietnam.  (Courtesy of Louis Castaing)

Time:  a half-hour

Here's Henry Morgan, hosting Sunday afternoon Monitor on Dec. 17, 1967. This is scoped, and the audio quality is dicey -- but we like it because it has Henry, lots of Monitor Christmas jingles and music -- and that immortal line used so often on Monitor at Christmastime -- "Every woman alive wants Chanel No. 5."  Merry Christmas! (Courtesy of W.T. Koltek)

Time:  one hour

Here's Henry, hosting on Sunday afternoon, February 23, 1969, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET, as Monitor keeps us up-to-the-minute on President Nixon's arrival in Brussels, Belgium, for his first overseaas trip.  Features man-on-the-street interviews about the Nixon trip; a Richard Valeriani report about the trip; Ray Scherer reporting on Nixon's arrival in Europe; and Dr. Joyce Brothers. (Courtesy of Ken Smith)

Time: about 80 minutes

This magnificent piece demonstrates why Gene Rayburn was such a great, and beloved, Monitor host -- and why Monitor was, simply, incomparable when it came to "going places and doing things," and covering everything important or interesting in the weekend world.  This aired on Saturday morning, March 25, 1969, from 9 to 10:20 a.m. ET -- the day after Dwight D. Eisenhower, our 34th president, died.  It features a moving tribute by Bob "On the Line" Considine; Peter Hackes, reporting live on Ike's memorial; Kyle Rote, reporting on Ike's athletic achievements; "early" Monitor News on the Hour, followed by a special live report on Ike's memorial; plus a couple of Monitor "tips" and Dr. Joyce Brothers.  Gene segues between all of this beautifully, and his tone and presentation perfectly fit the mood of each of the program's segments. 

Time:  a half-hour

WNBC and WNEW disc jockey Ted Brown succeeded Henry Morgan as Sunday afternoon Monitor host in 1970.  Here he is, on Sunday, Feb. 21, 1971, from 5:30 to 6 p.m. ET, demonstrating his own brand of energy and humor.  Features Gene Shalit with a movie review, Ted hosting sports, and plenty of ad-libs. (Courtesy of  Jim Willard)

Time:  one hour

Bill Mazer was a great sports talk host on WNBC Radio in NYC.  He also occasionally filled in as a Monitor host, as he did here, on Saturday mornng, Sept. 23, 1972 (sitting in for regular host Gene Rayburn).  In this wonderful hour (9-10 a.m. ET), you will hear reports by Ed McMahon, Joe Garagiola, Gene Rayburn and Curt Gowdy.  That's right -- ALL of them, in just one hour!  Plus, great music -- a Monitor tip -- and more!  Yes, even in 1972, 17 years after its premiere, Monitor still sounded like the best program, ever, on network radio.  And it was! (Courtesy of Gene Garnes Jr.)

Time:  about 34 minutes

Here's a segment of Saturday morning Monitor hosted by the great Bill Cullen, on Saturday, July 11, from 11 to about 11:40 a.m. ET. By this time, long-time Saturday morning host Gene Rayburn was busy with his "Match Game" revival on CBS-TV -- so he had to bow out of the Saturday morning slot.  Bill stepped in for a time -- and this snippet showcases his wonderfully breezy style -- he sounds just like the "guy next door," and that's undoubtedly why he was so successful on both radio and TV during his great career.  This piece features Bill at his best, interviewing Sterling Holloway -- and listen to Bill as he jokes that he "limped" into a question with Sterling.  If you know details about Bill's life, you'll understand what he's referring to.

Time:  one hour

Yes, we present another hour hosted by the great Bill Cullen, this time on Saturday morning, Aug. 11, 1973 -- 9 to 10 a.m. ET.  Apart from Bill's casual and wonderful style, you'll enjoy (we promise!) reports by Joe Garagiola, travel expert Fran Koltun, and reports about the overseas movie industry and a unique history author.  Plus, Monitor tips -- and more!  (Courtesy of Gene Garnes Jr.)

Time:  one hour

Legendary Los Angeles disc jockey Robert W. Morgan hosted Saturday night Monitor during the summer and fall of 1973, alternating weeks with Don Imus and Wolfman Jack.  This was NBC Radio's experiment to try to induce some of its stations that were no longer airing Monitor to do so.  In this segment -- Saturday night, Nov. 3, from 8 to 9 p.m. ET, Robert W. has the comedy team of Hudson and Landry as guests.

Features Dave Garroway interviewing Marilyn Monroe on Monitor's first broadcast (Sunday, June 12, 1955), John Chancellor, the sound of snapping turtles,  Bob and Ray, and Joe Garagiola interviewing Bob Hope

Features Marlene Dietrich, "Miss Monitor," Lee Kline interviewing a walnut grower, Selma Diamond, and a feature on "the twist"

Features Sammy Cahn's musical tribute to Monitor, Nichols & May, Frank Blair, Ben Grauer, David Wayne, Al Kelly

Features Helen Hall's roller-coaster ride, James Daly, Joe Garagiola interviewing Bob Hope, "Miss Monitor," Bob & Ray, Jim Lowe

Features Groucho Marx, strange sounds heard on Monitor over the years, Ted Brown, Johnny Andrews, Jimmy Durante, and a Monitor fan interviewed live

Features Roy Silver and a reporter who could not say, "Now back to Monitor at Radio Central,"  Doug Storer's bloopers, Peter Roberts, Jonathan Winters, Art Buchwald, Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara

 

Note: below are the full six hours of NBC Monitor's last Sunday on the air -- January 26, 1975