Guest Star

The Guest Star series of radio shows were produced by the Treasury Department to promote the purchase of U.S. Savings Bonds, and were pretty similar to the Command Performance series, starring all the popular movie and radio stars of the time.

Name any old-time star and you’ll likely find that he or she had at least one performance on this popular syndicated series. 

Broadcast between 1943 and 1962, major singing sensations of the time, such as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, crooned their tunes on the series and movie stars such as Vic Damone, and Ozzie and Harriet were interviewed and shared tidbits from their lives in skits. 

Jokes from comedians such as Red Skelton and Fibber McGee and Molly had their home audiences rolling on the floor and there were musical numbers from the big bands. All went to help promote saving bond sales by the United States Treasury during the 1940s. 

The war effort (World War II) was in full swing and there were many radio programs at the time that addressed selling bonds and how to be patriotic, win the war and bring our soldiers home - and as the show was considered a variety type, stars flocked to the format to help show their patriotic leanings. 

Each episode was approximately fifteen minutes, and the series had a great following of fans. The sound quality of the shows really is excellent, and with over 100 episodes to add to RUSC, you'll be able to play them back-to-back whilst dancing around the living room. 

Joy and I do hope that you'll enjoy them as much as we have - we've been doing a little waltzing around too! 

Happy listening my friends,