Weekday afternoon radio shows of note included:
12:00 noon
Glamour Manor on WJZ -- Sit com about the misadventures of a hotel staff. The show included musical numbers and on Wed and Fridays interviews with the studio audience. Cliff Arquette was among the stars but he left in June for nighttime radio
Kate Smith Speaks on WABC. See Ratings Leaders.
12:15 PM
Hymns You Love on WOR
Maggi McNellis on WEAF--McNellis, a socialite and former cabaret singer, had been host of this gossipy show since 1943.
Big Sister on WABC. See Ratings Leaders.
12:30 PM
News/Answer Man on WOR-- The daytime version of the show which also had a prime slot. It debuted in 1936. Albert Carlyle Mitchell answered questions from listeners with the help of a large staff and the New York Public Library, across the street from the program's offices. A spin-off quiz book, Here's the Answer was published in 1946.
The Romance of Helen Trent on WABC. See Ratings Leaders.
12:45 PM
Music of Manhattan on WEAF
Our Gal Sunday on WABC. See Ratings Leaders.
1:00 PM
Mary Margaret McBride on WEAF-- The "First Lady of Radio" began portraying "Martha Deane" on WOR on 1934 before broadcasting under her own persona in 1937. She combined interviews with a wide range of guests and recipes in her Midwestern accent. She was among the first to include African Americans among her guests in the postwar years. In 1948, she attempted unsuccessfully to transfer her radio popularity to TV.
H.R. Baukhage on WJZ-- ABC Washington correspondent
Life Can Be Beautiful on WABC. See Ratings Leaders.
1:15 PM
Woman's Exchange on WJZ
Ma Perkins on WABC. See Rating Leaders.
1:30 PM
The Lopez Orchestra on WOR-- Vincent Lopez was a popular Brooklyn-born bandleader and pianist of Portuguese descent who began broadcasting in 1921. "Nola" was his theme song. He began his broadcasts with "Lopez speaking!" A lot of top musicians and singers played in his band at one time. The Taft Hotel was his home base.
Galen Drake on WJZ
Young Dr. Malone on WABC. See Ratings Leaders.
1:45 PM
John J. Anthony on WOR--Former New York City cab driver Lester Kroll, a high school dropout, dispensed advice to callers. as John J. Anthony. Newsweek columnist Jack Kroll was his son. Carter's Little Liver Pills sponsored. One of the first talk shows, fating back to 1930.
Road of Life on WABC. Irna Phillips soap about a small town doctor. It premiered in 1937 and aired on two networks for part of its radio life.
2:00 PM
The Guiding Light on WEAF--This long-running soap opera debuted in 1937 but actually went off the air later in 1946 because of a dispute between Irna Phillips, the show's creator, and the network and sponsors. This was the second time it had been canceled. It came back in 1947 on the CBS network and later moved to TV where it had a 57 year run until 2009. On its earlier incarnation it was broadcast from Chicago and focused on the Reverend Doctor John Ruthledge and the Holden family living in a suburb of Chicago.
Daily Dilemmas on WOR--Audience participation show
John B. Kennedy on WJZ- News commentary
Second Mrs. Burton on WABC-- Conflict between a woman and her pverbearing mother-on-law. The original premise was that the two Mrs. Burton's were the current and the former Mrs. Burton, who disappeared from the storyline.
2:15 PM
Today's Children on WEAF-- Another Irna Phillips soap. The original version which ran in the Thirties was about an Irish-American family in a working class neighborhood of Chicago. The later version, which premiered in 1943,had the same setting but now the was about the Schultz family.
Pat Barnes on WJZ -- Talk show
Perry Mason on WABC-- The series based on the Erle Stanley Garner-created detective began airing in 1943. When Gardner refused to go along with the transfer of the soap to TV, the series "Edge of Night" was created using much of the creative team of the "Perry Mason" radio series. The radio version was more action than courtroom oriented.
2:30 PM
Woman in White on WEAF-- Another Irna Phillips creation, this one about nurse Eileen Holmes and surgeon Paul Burton. The original version was broadcast from 1938 to 1942. This revised version returned in 1944 with the same setting and premise but different main characters.
Queen For a Day in WOR-- Women tell their hard luck stories and the audience determined who will be crowned Queen For a Day and showered with prizes. It premiered in 1945.
Bride and Groom on WJZ-- A couple is married on air every day and showered with gifts. Later moved to TV
Rosemary on WABC-- A soap from Elaine Carrington about a woman married to a traumatized veteran who has suffered amnesia. Debuted in 1944.
2:45 PM
Masquerade on WEAF. Irna Phillips soap about a smalltown newspaper editor and his wife. Debuted in January and was off the air in 1947. It was a revival of a short-lived soap of the mid-30s.
Tena and Tim on WABC-- Short-lived comic soap about a Swedish maid and her boyfriend. It ran 1944-46.
3:00 PM
A Woman of America on WEAF-- Anne Seymour starred as a pioneer woman in this soap, which premiered in 1943. It was canceled in 1946.
Martha Deane on WOR-- A talk show hosted by a fictional grandmother, originally portrayed by Mary Margaret McBride. One of the first of the genre that had become very popular in the mid-forties.
Al Pearce on WJZ. Pearce was a comedian, singer and banjoist who had been on the radio since 1928. In 1946 he was on the tail end of his radio career.
You're In the Act on WABC--Veteran Broadway impresario Nils Thor Granlund spotlighted new acts on this show which premiered in March. The show was later sued since many of the acts were not paid the union minimum.
3:15 PM
Ma Perkins on WEAF. See Ratings Leaders.
3:30 PM
Pepper Young's Family on WEAF. See Ratings Leaders.
News/John Gambling on WOR-- John B. Gambling was the original host of "Rambling With Gambling," a show subsequently taken over by his son and then grandson. He started his show in 1925. He also had an early morning broadcast.
Ladies, Be Seated on WJZ-- Johnny and Penny Olsen have members of the studio audience perform stunts for prizes. [My mother was a contestant on the TV version in the 1950s. She was given the answer to the question she was asked. My brother and I were chosen as the Kings of the Day, seated on a throne and interviewed. Penny Olsen sang "Bushel and a Peck" to us. We got a Viewmaster projector and slide sets and a Joe Palooka punching blowup doll. My mother won a bathroom scale. Other audience members were insensed that one family got multiple prizes. But we were all real cute.]
Cinderella, Inc. -- Housewives are treated to a day of glamor in Manhattan.
3:45 PM
Right to Happiness on WEAF. See Ratings Leaders.
4:00 PM
Backstage Wife on WEAF. A soap from the Hummerts about a woman from a small town in Iowa who comed to New York and marries a matinee idol. It began airing in 1935.
Better Half on WOR--Spouses compete against each other in this quiz show. The loser has to sit in the "second grader" section of the audience,
Jack Berch Show on WJZ-- Variety show.
House Party on WABC-- Art Linkletter hosted this mix of variety, audience participation and talk. It had premiered in 1945 and would later become a long-running program on television.
4:15 PM
Stella Dallas on WEAF. See Ratings Leaders.
4:30 PM
Lorenzo Jones on WEAF. See Ratings Leaders.
Ask Dr. Eddy on WOR
Shelly Mydans on WJZ. Mydans was a journalist for Life magazine and novelist who had spent 21 months as a prisoner in a Japanese POW camp. Her 1945 novel Open City was based on the experience.
Landt Trio on WABC. A sing-along music program. Bill Cullen was the announcer.
4:45 PM
Young Widder Brown on WEAF--See Ratings Leaders.
Hop Harrigan on WJZ -- Popular adventure serial about a pilot. It was based on a comic book and aimed at boys.