Judy Holliday performed on many radio programs throughout her career. She was an instant hit with listeners, both as part of The Revuers and later as a solo act. You can find details on these appearances in the Chronology section of this site.
Following closely on the success of Born Yesterday, on both the stage and screen, Judy made seven guest appearances on the NBC radio program The Big Show. It was a 90 minute variety program hosted by the husky-voiced, Southern diva Tallulah Bankhead and featured several major guest stars each week. A star-studded combination of music, comedy and theatre, it was radio's last big effort to lure audiences away from the burgeoning medium of television. Each Sunday night, the program would begin with that week's guest stars announcing their own names in alphabetical order. Curiously, this was usually the only part of the program where Judy would use her real voice. For the rest of the show, she used the "Billie Dawn" voice that the public knew and loved.
Below I have spotlighted six of these seven shows. Click on the show title to see that show's format, including cast lists, credits and segment by segment breakdowns of who performed what. I have also transcribed the verbal exchanges between Judy and Tallulah. In each show there would be a five minute scripted conversation between the two women that the audience absolutely loved. Usually, this conversation centered around Judy trying to find a husband for Tallulah. Ironically, when Judy arrived at the studio for her first appearance on the show, she was accompanied by her husband, David Oppenheim. The bi-sexual Bankhead reportedly looked both of them up and down before saying, "I don't know which one of you to attack!"
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