1952–1953 Bowman Gum : Television and Radio Stars of NBC
Television and Radio Stars of the National Broadcasting Company trading cards were released by
Bowman Gum in 1952 and 1953. Both series were originally sold in five-card packs for five cents. The 1953 release included one-card packs for a penny. Every pack
contained a piece of bubble gum.
Both series are copyrighted B.G., H.L. for Bowman Gum and Haelan Laboratories. Each card measures 2.5 x 3.75 inches (6.3 x 9.5 cm), slightly taller than a modern trading card. The 1952 card backs contain horizontally oriented text; the 1953 card text is vertically aligned. The American Card Catalog entries are R701-14 and R701-15. Both card series are included in The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bud Collyer appears on card No. 31 in the 1953 release. From 1948–1953, Collyer made appearances as co-host and emcee on Break The Bank. The quiz show debuted on Mutual in 1945. Bud Collyer first appeared on the ABC radio and televisions broadcasts with Bert Parks on October 22, 1948. The biography information on the card back incorrectly states "since 1945." Break the Bank later aired on the NBC Radio Network and CBS.
Bud Collyer, born Clayton Johnson Heermance, Jr., starred as the first actor to voice Clark Kent and Superman on The Adventures of Superman radio series from 1940–1950. Collyer voiced both characters for the Fleischer and Famous Studios Superman animated shorts released from 1941–1943. Collyer later reprised the roles for the The New Adventures of Superman animated series from 1966–1968.
Bud Collyer previously appeared in different series of TV & Radio Stars cards issued by Exhibit Supply Co. (ESCO) throughout the 1940s.
1952 Checklist (R701-14) | |
1 | Gertude Berg |
2 | Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding |
3 | Joan Davis |
4 | Eddie Cantor |
5 | Judy Canova |
6 | Bob Considine |
7 | Robert Cummings |
8 | Dennis Day |
9 | Jimmy Durante |
10 | Ralph Edwards |
11 | Dave Garroway |
12 | Dolores Gray |
13 | Phil Harris and Alice Faye |
14 | Bob Hope |
15 | George Jessel |
16 | Jim and Marion Jordan |
17 | Pinky Lee |
18 | Paul Winchell |
19 | Groucho Marx |
20 | Joel McCrea |
21 | Randy Merriman |
22 | Bess Myerson |
23 | Jan Murray |
24 | Walter O'Keefe |
25 | Jane Pickens |
26 | Marguerite Piazza |
27 | Martha Raye |
28 | Dinah Shore |
29 | Kate Smith |
30 | Olan Soule and Barbara Luddy |
31 | Bill Stern |
32 | Martha Stewart |
33 | John Cameron Swayze |
34 | Lee Tracy |
35 | Willard Waterman |
36 | Meredith Willson |
1953 Checklist (R701-15) | |
1 | Jack Lescoulie |
2 | Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding |
3 | Florence Freeman |
4 | Ralph Edwards |
5 | Jim Backus |
6 | Olan Soule and Barbara Luddy |
7 | Carl Reiner |
8 | Groucho Marx |
9 | Everett Mitchell |
10 | Dinah Shore |
11 | Billy Williams |
12 | Morgan Beatty |
13 | Hoagy Carmichael |
14 | Russell Arms |
15 | William Bendix |
16 | Audrey Meadows |
17 | Johnny Dugan |
18 | Patricia Wheel |
19 | Tommy Bartlett |
20 | MacDonald Carey |
21 | Harry Babbitt |
22 | Dorothy Warenskjold |
23 | Ann Elstner |
24 | Vivian Smollen |
25 | Stan Kenton |
26 | Les Brown |
27 | George Hicks |
28 | Jeri Lou James |
29 | Kenneth Banghart |
30 | Buzz Podewell |
31 | Bud Collyer |
32 | Jack McCoy |
33 | Sid Caesar |
34 | Anne Whitfield |
35 | Ezio Pinza |
36 | Lucille Norman |
37 | Bambi Linn and Rod Alexander |
38 | Bob Hastings |
39 | Donald Curtis |
40 | Bill Conrad |
41 | Eddie Fisher |
42 | Mark Stevens |
43 | Ned Wever |
44 | Cliff Arquette |
45 | George Fenneman |
46 | Ted Mack |
47 | Carmen Dragon |
48 | Arthur Hughes |
49 | Helen Strohm |
50 | Loretta Young |
51 | Richard Harkness |
52 | Jeffrey Lynn |
53 | Lucille Wall |
54 | J. Fred Muggs |
55 | Betty and Jane Kean |
56 | Susan Levin |
57 | Helen Halpin |
58 | Ronnie Walken |
59 | Robert Harris |
60 | Virginia Dwyer |
61 | Phil Harris |
62 | Estelle Parsons |
63 | Paul Lavalle |
64 | Claudia Morgan |
65 | Patti Page |
66 | The Hamilton Trio |
67 | Jeannine Roose |
68 | Arlene McQuade |
69 | Tony Martin |
70 | Don Herbert |
71 | Arnold Stang |
72 | Kathi Norris |
73 | Sammy Kaye |
74 | Joseph Kearns |
75 | Fred Allen |
76 | Florence Williams |
77 | Bob Hamilton |
78 | Eli Mintz |
79 | Jack Barry |
80 | Claire Niesen |
81 | Walter Tetly |
82 | Rhonda Williams |
83 | Marlin Perkins |
84 | Imogene Coca |
85 | Merrill Mueller |
86 | Sallie Brophy |
87 | Verna Felton |
88 | Harry Holcombe |
89 | Tom Dandrea |
90 | Marvin Miller |
91 | Dennis Day |
92 | Phyllis Hill |
93 | William Waterman |
94 | Wesley Morgan |
95 | Bob Hope |
96 | Dan Gibson |