THE BIG LITTLE BOOK CLUB
					GOLDSMITH PUBLISHING COMPANY
					RADIO STAR SERIES®
					1934-1935
	The Goldsmith Publishing Company of Chicago, Illinois published four BLB-type books—three in 1934 and one in 1935. The publisher's goal was "to publish good books for red blooded boys and girls, without any thing in the stories or illustrations which may cause fright, suggest fear, or glorify mischief."
	The books were known as the Radio Star Series®. Storylines were built upon imaginary escapades of four of the most popular radio personalities between 1932 and 1934—Eddie Cantor, Jack Pearl, Joe Penner, and Ed Wynn.
	The Eddie Cantor Show was the biggest blockbuster on early radio. Cantor had played vaudeville and Broadway stage, becoming one of the great stars of the 1930's before Chase and Sandborn placed him on Sunday night radio in September 1931. Cantor was the first to have a live, laughing studio audience. It made the program livelier than other programs.
	Before radio, Jack Pearl had worked his way up through revues, vaudeville, and burlesque. On September 8, 1932, The Jack Pearl Show began as a 60-minute, Thursday night program. It was a comedy-variety show sponsored by Lucky Strike, and it built around a dialect centered in Pearl's characterization of Baron Munchausen. His catch phrase, "Vas you dere, Sharlie?" became a nationally known phrase. In 1933 it was the top rated radio show, but it faded rapidly in 1934.
	Joe Penner, who constantly smoked a cigar and appeared in a floppy hat, had climbed the vaudeville-burlesque ladder where he developed, as part of his act, the continual interruption of people with zany phrases such as "Wanna buy a duck?" After playing a popular bit on the Rudy Vallee Show, Penner starred on Fleischman's The Baker's Broadcast which began on CBS on October 8, 1933. He filled the airwaves with one-liner comedy, but because he was not given enough freedom to innovate, he quit in 1935.
	Ed Wynn was a stage headliner who played more than a dozen Broadway shows, including two Ziegfeld Follies, before entering radio. Sponsored by Texaco, The Fire Chief radio program premiered on April 26, 1932. It remained among the top five shows for three years. Because of his stage background, Wynn was the only performer to appear in full costume and makeup for a radio broadcast.
	The Goldsmith books were almost square, 4" x 5 1/8" x 1/2". Their 64 pages were soft covered with an identical four-color photograph on the front and back covers. Black and white illustrations, drawn by Whitman's Henry Vallely, appeared opposite each page of text. Each book sold for 15¢.
	BOOK NO.				TITLE		GOOD	VG	FINE
	Lowery	Goldsmith
	GG1	----		EDDIE CANTOR IN LAUGHLAND			15	30	60
					Radio Star Series®; 1934. Soft cover, glued binding. Size: 5" x 5 1/8" x 1/2"; 64 pages. Author: Harold Sherman. Artist: Henry Vallely. COLLECTOR'S NOTES: Storyline is adapted from radio scripts. The Eddie Cantor Show, which began in September 1931, was the biggest blockbuster on early radio.
	GG2	----		FIRE CHIEF ED WYNN AND HIS OLD FIRE HORSE			15	30	60
					Radio Star Series®; 1934. Soft cover, glued binding. Size: 5" x 5 1/8" x 1/2"; 64 pages. Author: Harold Sherman. Artist: Henry Vallely. COLLECTOR'S NOTES: Storyline is adapted from radio scripts. The Ed Wynn Fire Chief radio program premiered on April 26, 1932.
	GG3	----		JACK PEARL AS DETECTIVE BARON MUNCHAUSEN			15	30	60
					Radio Star Series®; 1934. Soft cover, glued binding. Size: 5" x 5 1/8" x 1/2"; 64 pages. Author: Harold Sherman. Artist: Ferd Himme. COLLECTOR'S NOTES: Storyline is adapted from radio scripts. The Jack Pearl Show premiered on September 8, 1932.
	GG4	----		JOE PENNER'S DUCK FARM			15	30	60
					Radio Star Series®; 1935. Soft cover, glued binding. Size: 5" x 5 1/8" x 1/2"; 64 pages. Author: Harold Sherman. Artist: Henry Vallely. COLLECTOR'S NOTES: Storyline is adapted from radio scripts. The Baker's Broadcast, starring Joe Penner, began on CBS on October 8, 1933.