March 17, 1941: Turn back the Hollywood clock about two years to the time when an ex-vaudevillian was struggling for radio recognition. After two or three broadcasts he found himself on the proverbial horns of a dilemma; he couldn't do his best work without an audience, and none of the fans who streamed in and out of the station was intrigued enough to attend his show.

Then came a great idea! Our hero bribed the studio page boys to rope off the corridor so that fans leaving the very popular program immediately preceding his own were automatically diverted into the studio from which he broadcast. One there, they usually remained.

The schemer's name? Read on…