The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1931-01-24
ANDY HIMSELF SITS
ATTYPEWR|TERA AND
COPIES LINES DOWN
Amos Walks About Room Dc
tating, but Pair Shares
Production Work
MADE DEBUT JAN. IL, 1925
Amos in Real Life Is Freeman
Cosden, While Andy Is
Charles J. Correll
MADE DEBUT JAM. II, 1925

Chicago, Jan 24.-tNEA)-1n a tall
skyscraper office in this city, Free
man F. GoSden and Charles j.. Cor
rell. creators Of Amos m Andy, meet
daily to prepare and rehearse a Is
minute act in the drama that has
brought smiles and tears to the larg-
est continued audience that ever lis
tened to any one pair OF performers.
Unlike many other radio features,
the two characters in this popular
series. heard three times each night
over a network of stations associated
with the National Broadcasting com-
pany, write every line they speak
themselves.
This Is usually done two or three
days before the program goes on the
air. Correll and Gosden, who live in
the same Chicago apartment build
ing, arrive at their office together
between II and noon every weekday
morning. During the next three or
four hours the work OF writing the
script to be broadcast two or three
days later is accomplished.
These meetings have been going on
continuously for exactly six years.
After ties are loosened, coats and
vests removed, cigars lighted, the
meeting begins.
But 1t is not poor, overworked
Amos who sits down at the typewriter
to transcribe the dictated script, 1t
is lordly, o%verbearing Andy! And as
Amos, in the person of Freeman Cos
den, PAGES back and forth through
the room, trying lines. debating,
Charles j. Correll, Andy himself, sits
at the typewriter and writes the lines
down as they are spoken.
Share Work Equally
This does not mean that Amos
writes the entire script. In fact the
work is evenly divided between the
two, and both Amos n Andy are
largely responsible for the lines they
speak On the air.
A few minutes conversation, a little
gossip, a few minutes of oral outlin-
ing of the situation and the plot, and
the work begins.
Sometimes it takes only a half hour
to complete the four single-spaced
typewriter pages necessary for their
10 or IL minutes on the air.
Sometimes, when a IN especially i'm
portant episode is to be written, it
takes them until almost time to so
on the air. And sometimes several
hours of thought and discussion pre-
cede the writing Of a single line.
Both Amos N Andy. however, are
confident they can write their cpl
sodes much more rapidly than when
they first began their radio work as
Sam n Henry" with station WGN.
Chicago.
How Idea Began
1T all started" Correll recalls,
when ome one on the WGN staff
asked US to organize a cast of actors
for the presentation each night OF a
comic strip of the air. The original
idea was to have four OF five actors.
But Cos and I talked it over and
decided such a cast would be un-
wieldy for a nightly feature. There
would be too little time for rehear-
sal, and we did not think things
would move smoothly enough. So
we suggested a two-character cast,
capable of doubling and presented
the original Sam n Henry idea
which later became Amos n Andy
when we left WGN."
Yes, and do you remember how
they received our first SUGGESTION"
Gosden interposed. Correll chuckled.
Il guess our outline didn't sound
50 good" he continued. THE man.
agement OF the station said 1t wouldn't
do, so we almost forgot about it.
About two months later We were hur-
riedly sent for and told that the
series would go on the air the next
night"
Gosden took up the story.
boy, what a night that was! 1t
was Jan. II, 1925. 1t was an all night
session. Then. on the night of Jan.
II, we broadcast Sam n Henry for
the first time"
Feared Act Would Flop
boy. were we scared! For four
months only a very few people knew
that Correll and Gosden were the
creators of Sam N Henry We
were afraid it would flop and We
didn't want our names associated
with anything that wasn't a success.
because we had already built UP some
reputation as a harmony duo.
And our first bit of mail didn't
reassure us any,"
1T came after we had been on the
air three nights" Correll chuckled,
'and it was written On a postcard In
pencil. It al something like this:
I've been listening to you three
nights and I don't like YOU"
It's all changed. however, for Of the