Billy Browne
An hour long morning show on which listeners
can hear selections from a private collection of British recordings,
win a canary or cuckoo clock and do the breakfast dishes to a lively
jig, helps to start the day at CJOR Radio. The program, designed
to entertain that portion of B.C. listeners who are of British descent,
features Billy Browne, Jr. as is called "Breakfast with Browne."
The feature attractions of ths show are Sunny
Boy and Billy Boy, Billy Browne's singing canaries. They have
their own mike and represent live Canadian talent as they supply their
own musical background to the program. Listeners write in to "The
Breakfast Table" for a membership card which contains a lucky
number. A number is drawn daily and the winner receives his or
her choice of a canary, mantel radio or cuckoo clock. "Breakfast
Table" membership now stands at over 300,000.
Billy's collection of British recordings,
started by his father, who originated the program in 1938, is rated as
one of the finest in North America. During a 5-minute segment of
the program, Billy plays a tune from "Away Back When". This tune
is from his own library of originals and includes a complete collection
of Gene Austin, Bing Crosby, Russ Colombo and others. Many of
these are unobtainable anywhere today. Another 5-minute segment
of the show dedicates the "Thought for the Day." During this
segment listeners are invited to send a good thought to someone
somewhere during the reading of a poem of homely philosophy.
Available to "Breakfast with Browne" fans is a book entitled "Gems from
Billy Browne's Scrapbook" containing poems of homely philosophy.
Time checks and weather
reports are spaced throughout the 60-minute show. The "feature
time check" at 9:00 am when the program's cuckoo clock signals, as
Billy puts it "set your clock now and be on time all day."
"Breakfast with Browne" listeners
enjoy writing to Billy just chatting and requesting tunes and sometimes
favors. A "colorful" favor request was received recently when a
housewife in a remote location far up the coast requested Billy to pick
up a pair of red flannels for her husband.
The show is tidied up each morning
with the washing of the dishes a "Jig Time" to the accompaniment of a
lively jig. The program's emcee, jovial Billy Browne, hobbies
collecting records, fishing, golfing and conducting various public
services. Billy, much sought after to conduct public service
functions, is an excellent fisherman, lousy golfer, capable beauty
contest judge and a hopeful sponsor a soap box derby entry in the
championships.