An interview with Debbie Reynolds from August 20, 1957 as done for Howard Miller and his CBS Radio morning program.
The occasion is Debbie Reynolds promoting, not only her latest film, Tammy And The Bachelor but also her latest single also named Tammy as taken from the film. The single is doing phenomenally well and comes to epitomize Pop Music in the 1950s. The film spawns four sequels and becomes something of a cottage industry for Romantic comedies in the era otherwise dominated by the Doris Day/Rock Hudson genre of RomComs.
Debbie Reynolds is quick to point out that both Movies and Popular Music of the non-Elvis Presley variety are quickly becoming things of the past. Movies probably suffering the worst as a result of Television and the mass exodus of Radio as a daily entertainment medium. Soap Operas and evening Variety shows being some of the first casualties of the media revolution. Low budget films being axed from production schedules and the fate of the Star System was also in jeopardy as it was becoming increasingly impossible to maintain a roster of actors under contract, even if they weren’t working.
Even though Debbie Reynolds’ popularity among teens and young adults wasn’t wavering, Rock n’ Roll was doing a lot to disrupt the careers of many Middle-Of-The-Road artists as radio stations were turning to Top-40 and the appetite for Rock, and Elvis was insatiable. Still, Tammy did a lot of crossover business.
Artists like Eddie Fisher (who was married to Debbie Reynolds at the time) was a household name who still could sell out a club or concert, but even with that there were no certainties. As the concept of “package tours” such as those put together by Alan Freed which featured anywhere from 10-15 singers and groups, selling out a theatre within minutes and guaranteeing a run of anywhere from a Week to two weeks, it became a matter of dollars and cents and Rock n’ Roll was good for business. However, Television became the place where Variety could reign supreme and that became the place Eddie Fisher, Perry Como, Dinah Shore and many others found a home. On Television one slot and one song could be seen by millions in one night. Made perfect sense.
Although that was the proverbial Elephant in the room at the time, the focus of Debby Reynolds on The Howard Miller program was pushing a hit single; one which rode to the top of the Billboard charts and stayed there for many weeks.
The 50s were anything but dull.
Here is The Howard Miller Program as it was heard over the CBS Radio Network on August 20, 1957.
