Sidney Slon (May 27, 1910 in Chicago â€" January 21, 1995) was an
American radio and television writer and actor. In his lifetime, Slon
had contributed to radio and television greatly, being the head writer
of the famous radio show, The Shadow, as well as the radio show, Dick
Tracy. He acted in the radio show, "The Goldberg's", and played the
doctor. He also produced many television series that became great hits
in the 1950s and 60s.Sidney's father, originally Samuel Slonimsky, had
emigrated to the United States from Russia around 1885 and worked
handing glasses of water to theatre going patrons for tips. He was
eight years old and this is how he learned English. Several years
later, he worked in a large furniture store in Chicago as a salesman.
The store had just installed a speaker and microphone, which to summon
salesmen up to the desk. The manager asked Samuel Slonimsky if he
could change his last name because, he said, it sounded too ethnic
over the loud-speaker. Samuel complied and shortened it to Slon.
Around five years later, Sidney was born. Sidney Slon won an award at
the age of twelve for designing and flying a model airplane in a
citywide civic auditorium in 1922. The prize was a ride in a by-plane
to Ohio. This event was sponsored by a local Chicago newspaper, and a
reporter was seated in the plane as well. The plane crashed after
taking off, unable to gain altitude with the extra weight. No one died
in the crash, however the pilot was knocked unconscious. Sidney was
unharmed, though shaken up. This became front page news for the local
paper. The following week, the paper asked whether Sidney would be
willing to try again; his mother, Mabel Finklestein, said no. Sidney
attended North Western University as a pre-med student around 1929, he
dropped out after two years to join the Goodman Theater. After
completing the program he and another actor, Barry Kelley who starred
later the movie, "Asphalt Jungle", moved to New York together, hoping
to land parts on Broadway. Unfortunately, the Great Depression was in
full swing, and life in the theater business was impossible. The two
men made their way back home to Chicago despondent.A relatively new
station had started up based in Cincinnati, Ohio, because of the
strategic geographic location to hit East, South, and Mid-Western
states. The powerful 500,000-watt station, WLW, was hiring actors for
the emerging market of radio dramas being performed live. Slon was
instantly hired because of his Goodman Theater training, he could play
multiple characters with multiple accents, and was a good sight
reader. Several months into his employment at WLW, a new show was
introduced, The Shadow. The producer asked Slon what he thought of the
new show, a popular radio show for which Slon was the head writer. He
replied, the idea was okay for radio, but he didn't like the script he
had seen. The producer challenged Slon to create a better script, and
so he did. The producer loved it, and Slon became the sole writer of
this new show, which became the most popular national radio show. Slon
continued to act on the radio, announce shows, and write. His salary
in the mid-1930s was $400 a week, enough to buy a brand new Chevrolet
with.Slon played Mr. Trent in the Valiant Lady soap opera on radio. He
also had roles in Valiant Lady and Bright Horizon.
American radio and television writer and actor. In his lifetime, Slon
had contributed to radio and television greatly, being the head writer
of the famous radio show, The Shadow, as well as the radio show, Dick
Tracy. He acted in the radio show, "The Goldberg's", and played the
doctor. He also produced many television series that became great hits
in the 1950s and 60s.Sidney's father, originally Samuel Slonimsky, had
emigrated to the United States from Russia around 1885 and worked
handing glasses of water to theatre going patrons for tips. He was
eight years old and this is how he learned English. Several years
later, he worked in a large furniture store in Chicago as a salesman.
The store had just installed a speaker and microphone, which to summon
salesmen up to the desk. The manager asked Samuel Slonimsky if he
could change his last name because, he said, it sounded too ethnic
over the loud-speaker. Samuel complied and shortened it to Slon.
Around five years later, Sidney was born. Sidney Slon won an award at
the age of twelve for designing and flying a model airplane in a
citywide civic auditorium in 1922. The prize was a ride in a by-plane
to Ohio. This event was sponsored by a local Chicago newspaper, and a
reporter was seated in the plane as well. The plane crashed after
taking off, unable to gain altitude with the extra weight. No one died
in the crash, however the pilot was knocked unconscious. Sidney was
unharmed, though shaken up. This became front page news for the local
paper. The following week, the paper asked whether Sidney would be
willing to try again; his mother, Mabel Finklestein, said no. Sidney
attended North Western University as a pre-med student around 1929, he
dropped out after two years to join the Goodman Theater. After
completing the program he and another actor, Barry Kelley who starred
later the movie, "Asphalt Jungle", moved to New York together, hoping
to land parts on Broadway. Unfortunately, the Great Depression was in
full swing, and life in the theater business was impossible. The two
men made their way back home to Chicago despondent.A relatively new
station had started up based in Cincinnati, Ohio, because of the
strategic geographic location to hit East, South, and Mid-Western
states. The powerful 500,000-watt station, WLW, was hiring actors for
the emerging market of radio dramas being performed live. Slon was
instantly hired because of his Goodman Theater training, he could play
multiple characters with multiple accents, and was a good sight
reader. Several months into his employment at WLW, a new show was
introduced, The Shadow. The producer asked Slon what he thought of the
new show, a popular radio show for which Slon was the head writer. He
replied, the idea was okay for radio, but he didn't like the script he
had seen. The producer challenged Slon to create a better script, and
so he did. The producer loved it, and Slon became the sole writer of
this new show, which became the most popular national radio show. Slon
continued to act on the radio, announce shows, and write. His salary
in the mid-1930s was $400 a week, enough to buy a brand new Chevrolet
with.Slon played Mr. Trent in the Valiant Lady soap opera on radio. He
also had roles in Valiant Lady and Bright Horizon.
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