The Oak Park Arms Retirement Community presents, “Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear,” performing two 1947 Jack Benny radio shows at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park. The public is warmly welcome.
Every other month “Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear” presents a show from the Golden Age of Radio to residents, families and friends of the Oak Park Arms. On the bill for Feb. 21 is “To Have and Have Not,” which originally aired Jan. 5, 1947, on the Jack Benny radio show, and “Guests George Burns and Gracie Allen,” was heard the next week.
Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear is composed of Chicagoland actors who share a common interest - to perform old time radio programs for the community. Each donates talent and time for free. The group’s founders Ben Dooley and Pam Turlow, husband and wife, established a connection with The Oak Park Arms in September of 2002, when Turlow’s father became a resident. They’ve been performing at the Arms ever since.
Dooley and Turlow’s group performs only once every two months due to the considerable challenges involved in creating a show. They browse through thousands of old time radio episodes, select a favorite, listen and type out the script. Many shows are not available in print and have to be painstakingly transcribed. Then they gather sound effects, rehearse and mount the show.
Sound effects were an important part of live radio shows, and the group performs them live. They have a real door for slamming, buzzers, a sound board and shoes for footsteps, and doorbells.
The shows are very popular with residents and people from the community. Some bring their children to show them what “pre-TV” entertainment was like.
“Since the entire cast donates its time and energy, we can only do shows six times a year,” Dooley said, “but we strive to make sure that it's well worth the wait.”
The radio show is free and open to the public. For more information, call Jill Wagner at 708-386-4040.