Between 5:00 and 8:00 PM radio transitioned from the 15-minute shows of daytime to the bigger budget, half-hour shows of prime time. News broadcasts also were major parts of the lineup.
Among the more interesting options:
5:00 PM
The Philadelphia Orchestra on WABC-- Eugene Ormandy conducted the acclaimed ensemble in "Symphony No. 5" by Sibelius, "Ballet Music, Perfect Fool" by Holst and "Russian Easter Overture" by Rimsky-Korsakoff.
Phone Again Finnegan on WEAF-- Stuart Erwin, who had a movie career and later appeared on early television, played a befuddled manager of the Welcome Arms Apartment Hotel. The show had a strong supporting cast and its premise allowed the introduction of guest actors. The website Digital Deli, one of many devoted to old-time radio, offers an excellent summary of the show and the cast, network, time slot and sponsor changes that led to the series to lasting only one season. It had premiered on March 30.
Classical Music on WJZ-- Violinist Josef Stopak led the symphony orchestra.
5:45 PM
Tin Pan Alley of the Air on WEAF. The show featured the songs of a different composer each week. Duke Ellington was the guest this week,
6:15 PM
American Portraits on WABC-- The series dramatized the lives of famous American historical figures. On April 20, the subject was James J. Hill, the 19th- century railroad tycoon known in his lifetime as the Empire Builder. House Jameson starred. The series premiered in 1938.
Variety Preview on WEAF -- The husband and wife team of Jinx Falkenburg and Tex McCrary were the hosts. Their guests that evening were Mayor O'Dwyer and Baseball Commissioner Albert N. Chandler. The couple were soon to join the ranks of daytime breakfast hosts as "Tex and Jinx."
6:30 PM
Museum of Natural History on WNYC
The Earl Wilsons on WLIB-- Earl Wilson was the show biz columnist of the Post, which owned the station at this time.
6:45 PM
Religion in the News on WEAF.--Dr. Walter Van Kirk.
Stan Lomax on WOR--Sports talk/
Labor-USA on WJZ-- A drama series produced alternately by the AFL and the CIO. This is further evidence of the strength of the union movement in the early postwar period.
The World Today on WABC--Current affairs
7:00 PM
Our Foreign Policy and the Atom on WEAF--Atomic energy and the bomb was a hot topic in 1946. One one side were those who wished all future research be directed toward peaceful use. On the left were those who felt that all research needed to be shared with the Soviet Union in the interest of world peace. On the right, there were those who felt that this advantage should be leveraged to achieve US hegemony in the postwar world. The panel on this night included Herbert S. Marks, a special assistant to the Under Secretary of State, who previously had served with the TVA and Bonneville Power Administration; Senator Brien McMahon (D-CT), who played a big role in the founding of the Atomic Energy Commission; and nuclear physicist Edward Uhler Condon, who had briefly served on the Manhattan Project. Condon was an excellent example of the height of idiocy that the Far Right reached in the postwar period. His loyalty came under attack by the shameless Richard Nixon among others. Wikipedia notes Condon's account of his hearing before a loyalty review board where an inquisitor pointed out reports that he had been cited as being in the "forefront of a revolutionary movement in physics called quantum mechanics." However, the most radical activity that HUAC was able to substantiate was his high school paper route when he had distributed a Socialist newspaper. Truman stood firmly behind him and accused HUAC of creating a totalitarian atmosphere that was the most un-American activity facing the country.
Academy Award Theatre on WABC--Yet another anthology series featuring Hollywood stars. The gimmick here was that the production or its cast had some tie to the Academy Awards. The show debuted on March 30 with Bette Davis, Anne Revere and Fay Bainter in a 30-minute version of "Jezebel." On April 20, the show presented an adaptation of "The Great McGinty," with Brian Donlevy and Akim Tamiroff. The series proved expensive to produce and may have been one-too-many Hollywood anthologies. At the end of the year, sponsor Squibb pulled the plug.
7:30 PM
Al Sack Orchestra on WABC --Tony Martin was the band's vocalist at the time. The evening's guest was Lena Horne. It sounds like a classy event.
The Green Hornet on WJZ -- He was a newspaper publisher by day and a masked avenger by night who drove a tricked up car accompanied by his masked manservant, Cato, who changed ethnicity shortly before the war from Japanese to Filipino. His father was the nephew of the Lone Ranger so mask wearing and crime avenging ran in the family. It debuted in 1936.
7:35 PM
Confidentially Yours on WNEW -- The show specialized in revealing inside information. It created great consternation during the war when it reported that the US was working on the atomic bomb. Rather than respond directly and draw further attention to the leak, the government had all transcriptions of the show destroyed.