FLASHBACK: The Hummert Radio Soap Opera Mill 1939

Radio: Hummerts' Mill

TIME
January 23, 1939

One of the oddest outfits in the very odd business of radio is Blackett-Sample-Hummert Inc. Not only is the company the No. 1 buyer of radio time, it is the No. 1 producer of radio material—and, incidentally, a big source of professional exasperation.

Figures available last week showed that in 1938 B-S-H had placed orders for $9,000,000 worth of air time. This was about one-eighth of all money paid for radio network time and over $3,700,000 more than B-S-H's nearest competitor spent. The commission on this sale was about $1,350,000 for B-S-H.

50 Greatest Soap Actors: #40 Macdonald Carey

NAME: Macdonald Carey
RANK: 40
SOAP ROLES: Tom Horton, DAYS OF OUR LIVES (1965-1994); WOMAN IN WHITE (1937), Dick Grosvenor, STELLA DALLAS; Jonathan Hillery, JUST PLAIN BILL; JOHN'S OTHER WIFE (1937); Hickory, YOUNG HICKORY (1937), THE STORY OF ELLEN RANDOLPH

AWARDS:
Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
1990 Soap Opera Digest Award Editor's Choice
1985 Soap Opera Digest Award win for Outstanding Actor in a Mature Role in a Daytime Serial
1984 Soap Opera Digest Award win for Outstanding Actor in a Mature Role in a Daytime Serial
1979 Soapy Award win for Favorite Actor in a Mature Role
1978 Soapy Award win for Favorite Actor in a Mature Role
1976 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
1975 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
1974 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
1973 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement by Individuals in Daytime Drama
1968 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Daytime Programming - Individuals

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Damon L. Jacobs:  He played the quintessential grandfather, healer, voice of reason, calm in the storm.  No matter what happened to the residents of Salem, or in the days of my own lives, Macdonald Carey's presence emanated a grounding presence that let us all know that everything would be okay in time.  My mother watched DAYS while pregnant with me, and to this day there are few sounds that soothe me as effectively as Carey's voice reciting, "Like sands through the hourglass..." It is the mark of a profoundly dignified soul, and glacially talented actor, that his spirit remains alive, vital in Salem, and heard five times a week. Daytime would not have been the same without him, and neither would I.