I Have a Lady in the Balcony: Memoirs of a Broadcaster in Radio and Television

On Friday, May 18, 1934, radio columns in the New York press announced that Bert Parks of CBS would be "relinquishing his status as N.Y.'s youngest Network Staff Announcer to the newly appointed George Ansbro on the NBC Announcing Staff." From his role as an NBC page in 1931 to his career as a network announcer, Ansbro recalls an era that includes a who's who of early radio and Hollywood stars, and a transition from what was known as the Blue Network and its beginnings at Rockefeller Center to the massive radio and television organization now known as ABC.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Foreword by Leonard Maltin    nbsp; Preface      1. THE TWENTIES      2. MAYOR JIMMY WALKER      3. MY FIRST RADIO APPEARANCE      4. GOVERNOR AL SMITH      5. "HELLOOOOO KATHLYN, HELLOOOOO JIM"      6. DREAMING AND WONDERING      7. MUCH SOUL SEARCHING      8. A ROTTEN SUMMER      9. 711 FIFTH      10. ON THE CHEAP TO ALBANY      11. TALES OF 711      12. CALL FOR PHILIP MAWRREESS      13. SO LONG 711, HELLO RADIO CITY      14. MAY 19, 1934      15. THE RED AND THE BLUE      16. ON MY OWN      17. BIG BAND REMOTES      18. MORE BAND REMOTES      19. INTERESTING REHEARSALS      20. FIRE THE ANNOUNCER      21. AFRA BEGINS      22. HORSING AROUND WITH HOOVER      23. CALLING ALL MEN TO BARNEY'S      24. WINCHELL      25. WANNA BUY A NETWORK?      26. MAYOR FIORELLO LA GUARDIA      27. NAKEDSVILLE ON LEXINGTON AVENUE      28. THY NETWORK IS BLUE      29. WEDDING BELLS      30. WORKING WITH ELEANOR AND ANNA ROOSEVELT      31. AMERICA'S BOYFRIEND AND AMERICA'S SWEETHEART      32. UKULELE IKE THROWS A PARTY      33. A MAIDEN TRIP ON A MAIDEN VOYAGE      34. MANHATTAN MAHARAJAH      35. THE STORK CLUB      36. UNWELCOME TENTH ANNIVERSARY GIFT      37. SUING THE LANDLORD      38. SO LONG RADIO CITY, HELLO WEST 66TH      39. HOWARD COSELL, A RELATIONSHIP BEGINS      40. UNLOADING A SUPERVISOR      41. "MONEYBAGS ANSBRO"      42. "AW, WHAT THE HELL, GEORGIE"      43. LATE LUNCH AT TOOTS SHOR'S      44. "GEORGIE, I'M GLAD YOU CAME"      45. THE CURSE OF ALCOHOLISM      46. TWENTY-FOUR YEARS WITH THE FBI      47. RETIREMENT      Epilogue      Index     

About the Author :
George Ansbro was an announcer for the NBC and ABC networks for six decades. He worked in both the live radio era of big bands and soap operas and the television era, retiring from ABC in 1990. He lives in Spring Lake, New Jersey.

Review :
“a record of six decades as an announcer with NBC and ABC”—Classic Images; “filled with anecdotes and inside stories of literally hundreds of other radio personalities...gives insight into some of the operations of the broadcast industry and has a number of interesting photos”—North American Radio Archives; “should delight any nostalgia fan.... Musicologists will be especially fascinated by his big band remote broadcast history. It is a lot of fun especially for the radio buff! Highly recommended”—The Illustrated Press.