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This story was published in Radio Recall, the journal of the Metropolitan Washington Old-Time Radio Club, published six times per year.
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HEY BOYS & GIRLS:
UNCLE RUSS WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU
(From Radio Recall, June 2007)
If you were a military dependent in the late 40s and early 50s and your family was stationed overseas, chances are that one of your favorite kid weekly programs on AFRS was “Let’s Pretend With Uncle Russ.”
Charles R. Thompson, first in the AFRS studios of Hollywood and later Tokyo, was tasked with filling in the blank spots (from deleted commercials, etc.) on the “Let’s Pretend” disks that AFRS played on Saturday mornings. Calling himself “Uncle Russ,” he recapped the plot lines, read letters from the kids, organized a world wide safety club and a pen-pal club, and even did some character voices i.e. Percy the Penguin and Ricky Robot.
AFRS aired the show from 1948 to 1952. Less than a half dozen audio copies have survived. But Thompson, now retired in California, would love to hear from his former fans, who are probably in their 50s and 60s now.
He’s had a web site built: www.letspretendwithuncleruss.com which has all the background on this show, including many fan letters from kids, written 50 years ago.
You can make a nice gentleman very happy by going to his web site and sending him an email at the address listed. Or, if you prefer snail mail, he’s at 1819 “I” Street, Eureka, CA 95501.
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