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53-401: The show was originally co-hosted by Bonnie Lou and Marian Spelman, who was later replaced by Colleen Sharp. The house band, originally called The Bel-Aires, was led by pianist Bruce Brownfield. Dixon originally hosted a show on rival station WCPO-TV with Dottie Mack and Wanda Lewis called Paul Dixon's Song Shop . The show consisted of Dixon, Mack, and Lewis pantomiming to popular songs of

106-557: A 2008 CD, Greatest Country Hits of 1953 . Bonnie Lou's "Tennessee Wig Walk"' recording was featured in the 2010 film The Infidel . On March 8, 2015, The Pantagraph newspaper of Bloomington, Illinois published an extended feature about Bonnie Lou's career, and a companion article about the longevity of her fan club. Bonnie Lou died in her sleep on the morning of December 8, 2015 at Hillebrand Nursing And Rehabilitation Center in Cincinnati , Ohio, aged 91. She had dementia and

159-555: A WLW live music radio show transmitted nationwide by the Mutual Broadcasting System . When Dixon's show ended not long after his death in 1974, Bonnie Lou semi-retired from show business to Monfort Heights , Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, with her second husband, Milton J. Okum (b. 1926), a furniture store owner and magician. They wed in Las Vegas , Nevada on January 2, 1966. Capitalizing on her public appeal,

212-562: A compilation of 32 of her King and Fraternity recordings, was released by the Great Voices of the Century label. Another compilation of 38 songs, Bonnie Lou: Rock-A-Billy Essentials , was released as a digital album in 2013 by Rockabilly Records. Most of her recordings, then, are available as commercial digital downloads or through popular streaming services. Some of her individual songs are included on multi-artist compilations, including

265-721: A duet with Rusty York called "La Dee Dah". They soon recorded a Teen Pop song together called "I Let the School Bell Ding-a-Ling". When her contract with King expired, Bonnie Lou could have signed with a major label, but declined since it would have required her moving to New York. "I was supposed to sign with RCA Victor, but instead I went with Fraternity Records just because it was local. I should have had more sense. I've always wanted to stay in Cincinnati, though, because of my family and profession." She released several different singles for Fraternity, but none

318-511: A fateful move, hired on at WLWT . While Dixon was at WCPO, Al Lewis (rapidly gaining fame in his own right as Uncle Al ) was in charge of set design and artwork on Dixon's show. After Dixon moved to WLWT, The Paul Dixon Show and The Uncle Al Show would run against each other on weekday mornings. By 1955, Dixon started working at WLWT to host a daytime show originally geared to housewives, but that ultimately appealed to people from all walks of life. Over time, Dixon himself would refer to

371-418: A garter on the woman's leg, or attaching a "knee tickler" to the hem of her skirt. Some of his other trademarks included, but were not limited to: Despite the fact that Dixon performed basically the same routine every day, viewers would continually watch his show, many of them admitting, often with varying degrees of embarrassment, that they were "hooked" on "Paul Baby." Guest appearances by celebrities were

424-438: A guest appearance singing a humorous version of A Bird in a Gilded Cage . Some people actually stayed home from work and school to watch the "Chicken Wedding" live. It went on to become the highest-rated episode in the show's history, and to this day WLWT receives more requests and questions about this particular episode than any other broadcasts in the station's more than 70 years of history. As recently as 2023, WLWT aired

477-508: A kitchen closet, and demanded to know where her husband was, saying they wanted him to open the bank safe for them. She told them the safe was on a timer and couldn't be opened at night. They absconded leaving Bonnie Lou unharmed. In 1952 the Ewins family returned to Cincinnati and Bonnie Lou resumed work on Midwestern Hayride . On January 24, 1964, her husband died in a car accident in Cincinnati. Bonnie Lou continued radio performances until

530-770: A new century and renewed interest in early country and rockabilly music came an upsurge of interest in Bonnie Lou's recordings. In 2000, the CD Bonnie Lou - Doin' the Tennessee Walk: The Best of the King Years was released by British Westside Records , featuring all of her King hits. It is rated 4.5 (of 5) stars by AllMusic which calls it "an excellent anthology of an artist whose genre-straddling recordings will appeal to '50s country, rock, and pop music lovers". In 2009, Friction Heat (1953–58) ,

583-455: A rarity at best. Among those who did make appearances were comedian Imogene Coca , actor David McCallum , Senator Robert F. Kennedy , and even Bob Hope , who was a close friend of Dixon and who wrote the foreword for Dixon's first book Paul Baby . Besides in-studio commercials, a musical number from the house band, a song each from Colleen and Bonnie, and occasionally a song from Dixon himself, who swore he couldn't sing to save his own life,

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636-545: A replay of the episode during the early hours of Christmas morning. Beginning in 1966 on a request from then-Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes , The Paul Dixon Show (and other regional shows on the Crosley/Avco network) began making annual visits to the Ohio State Fair , broadcasting their shows live on location. The following year, attendance at the state fair increased by an estimated 1.2 million. The live shows at

689-512: A salesman he met on a train who "proceeded to rave about a young teenage country and western singer named Sally Carson who in his opinion was the best in the business..." McCluskey had the girl send a transcription of her singing to WLW. Impressed, he then requested a recording of her singing and yodeling "Train Whistle Blues." He hired her, however because KMBC owned the rights to "Sally Carson" had to change her name. She said "My real name

742-540: A style later called rockabilly . In 1954, she recorded the song "Two-Step Side-Step", written by Murry Wilson , father of the Beach Boys Brian , Dennis , and Carl Wilson . In 1955, she released her first rock and roll record called "Daddy-O". The song rose to 14 on the Billboard chart and turned Bonnie Lou into a rock and roll star overnight. It wasn't until 1958 though that Bonnie Lou had another hit,

795-694: A tenant farmer. Kath grew up listening to Patsy Montana and her band "The Prairie Ramblers", and was greatly inspired by her. She learned how to yodel from her maternal grandmother Mary, who had emigrated from Switzerland . She started violin lessons when she was five, and her father bought her a "two dollar-and-a half pawnshop guitar " when she was 11. In 1941, aged 16, she was singing and performing on WJBC (AM) in Bloomington , Illinois. At 17, after she graduated from high school, she sent an audition record to KMBC in Kansas City , Missouri, and

848-501: A weekly show on WLW-T called "Bob Braun's Bandstand". Similar to Dick Clark's American Bandstand when it began, i.e., a local show that showcased local teens dancing to the top 40 hits of the day and sometimes having guest singers or groups that were passing through Cincinnati. Locals from the tri-state area wrote in to the host station to secure tickets. This coincided with the time he was appearing on Ruth Lyons' 50-50 Club weekdays noon to 1:30.personal experience of watching and appearing on

901-492: Is Mary Jo". He said "Not Country enough" and redubbed her as Bonnie Lou. She was promptly featured on Boone County Jamboree , which became Midwestern Hayride Country & Western Radio Program broadcasts and live tours. Her contract with KMBC was voided because she was a minor when she signed it. Once known as Mary Jo, the Yodeling Sweetheart, Bonnie Lou now earned the devotion of listeners which would last

954-399: Is also one of the first artists to gain crossover success from country music to rock and roll. She was the "top name" on the first country music program regularly broadcast on a national TV network. Bonnie Lou was one of the first female co-hosts of a successful syndicated television talk show, and a regular musical performer on popular shows in the 1960s and 1970s. She "was a prime mover in

1007-494: Is linked to a particular date prior to 1982. Evidently, in 1969, Braun did a prime-time special on which Nick Clooney and his young son George were guests. George talked on-camera about his recent tonsillectomy , and that broadcast was preserved. In the mid-1970s he briefly hosted a local game show called On The Money . Braun recorded his album "Women of My Dreams" in 1982 on the ANRO label. It featured original tunes written by

1060-522: The British music charts in 1953. According to The Daily Telegraph , the song's "catchy rhythm and pause before the final two notes caught [football] fans' imagination, and within a few weeks it reverberated with new sets of lyrics – some of them repeatable – round every ground in the country." At the time of her death, the paper reported, the song was still "one of the most often heard of the 8,307 football anthems listed on one specialist website." With

1113-523: The Midwest. Eventually, more television stations joined the line-up. Braun's show featured a live band, singers, and special guests including Bob Hope (a frequent guest), Lucille Ball , Johnny Carson , Paul Lynde , Red Skelton , Phyllis Diller , Dick Clark and NFL -star Jim Brown . Politicians including Gerald Ford , Ronald Reagan , Jimmy Carter , George H. W. Bush , John Glenn , and Ted Kennedy were also guests. Bob Braun began his career at

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1166-579: The Okums appeared together in TV commercials for the store. For a couple of years in the mid-1980s, she hosted a weekend country music show on WPFB in Middletown , Ohio. A 2013 look back at the station's history deemed Bonnie Lou "[p]erhaps the most beloved DJ that blessed the [station's] airwaves..." Due to her many years on radio and TV and performing in public, she was a household name in Cincinnati and across

1219-646: The age of thirteen with WSAI Radio, hosting a Saturday morning Knothole Baseball sports show. He joined WCPO-TV in 1949. In 1957, after winning the $ 1,000 top prize on television's Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts talent show, Braun was immediately hired by WLWT and WLW-AM . After cutting a handful of unsuccessful pop vocal recordings for labels such as Fraternity and Torch, Braun signed to Decca Records and charted his only Top 40 hit, "Till Death Do Us Part", in 1962. Braun later recorded for United Artists , but most of his subsequent recording efforts were released on small independent or vanity labels . He also hosted

1272-421: The antics generated. Dixon was happily married with two children. David Letterman credits Paul Dixon for inspiring his choice of career as a talk-show host. Letterman frequently viewed the show as a youngster on Crosley/Avco Indianapolis station WLWI , where he later began his professional broadcasting career in the 1970s. At one point a fan had sent Dixon a rubber chicken as a souvenir. He began calling

1325-500: The chicken Pauline, using it/her as a prop when he did commercials for the Cincinnati-based Kroger grocery chain, saying "Kroger has a special on chicken", and then invariably tossing it/her over his shoulder. Another fan sent him an additional rubber chicken which Dixon took to calling Harry, who became a "companion" for Pauline. Over time people began to ask if Dixon was going to marry the feathered couple. Dixon

1378-469: The country among viewers of the programs on which she was a regular performer. In her 80s, she still performed in public occasionally. For decades Bonnie Lou was an indefatigable entertainer. Until her retirement she performed not just on radio and television, but at taverns, county fairs, conventions, trade shows, and countless other venues. Her accessibility, vivacity, and talent made her a headline favorite wherever she appeared. Even at 17, when her career

1431-539: The day, and also featured in-studio commercials. Fresh from a career in radio news, Dixon quickly endeared himself to countless viewers for years to come. Song Shop was picked up for a season by ABC in 1951 and by the DuMont Television Network in 1954. For the DuMont show he moved to New York City, but as DuMont began to collapse in 1955, a homesick Dixon returned to Cincinnati a year later and, in

1484-517: The end of the 1940s. Some of her radio performances were cut to acetate and released to the public, but she didn't gain prominence as a recording artist until the 1950s. In 1953, Bonnie Lou signed with her first record company, King Records in Cincinnati , Ohio. Early in her recording career, she performed country music songs. She soon had top-10 country hits with " Tennessee Wig Walk " and "Seven Lonely Days", each of which sold about 750,000 copies. Bonnie Lou started recording rock and roll in

1537-499: The fair continued well into the 1970s. By the end of the 1960s, nearly 600,000 people had been a part of Dixon's studio audience, (by comparison, this figure is roughly twice the 2019 population of Cincinnati proper), and Dixon had given away in excess of 3,000 Osherwicz Kosher Salamis. At the show's peak, there was a two-year waiting list for tickets. Most of the commercials on Dixon's show were performed live by Dixon himself, but also frequently by one of his co-hosts. Dixon shunned

1590-456: The famous George David Weiss and also Roger Bowling who wrote Coward of the County for Kenny Rogers and was arranged by Angelo DiPippo with liner notes written by Bob's good friend Dick Clark . Bob Braun was one of Cincinnati's biggest TV stars until 1984, when he moved to California for ten years to do commercials, talk shows and small movie roles. During that time, he was most often seen as

1643-648: The first days of rockabilly ," and is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame . Born in Towanda, Illinois , Kath's parents were Arthur and Eva Kath. "I was named after my grandmother Mary, and my grandfather Joe; and my mother added the -an onto the end of it. In spite of the spelling the family pronounced it as Jo Ann," Bonnie Lou noted in a 2007 interview. When the family home in Towanda burned down, they moved to Carlock , Illinois, where her father became

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1696-399: The morning host alongside his nephew, "Bucks" Braun (himself a successful radio personality in nearby Dayton, Ohio ) and newsman Don Herman. In June 1997, Mayor Roxanne Qualls and the entire City Council honored him with "Bob Braun Day in Cincinnati". Braun retired on November 24, 1999, after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease . His show business career had spanned a half century. He

1749-428: The program, in a self-deprecating fashion, as "this dumb show". Every morning the show would start with Paul using a pair of binoculars (one of what would become many of Dixon’s trademarks) to examine what came to be called “ Kneesville ”, which consisted of women sitting in the front row, all wearing either short skirts or “ hot pants ”. He would then award who he believed had the best-looking knees by either putting

1802-640: The record or myself." Some of her records were also released by labels in Germany and the Netherlands . Reflecting on her recording career in the 1980s, she concluded that "the sound on my records was too mixed, part country, part R&B. It got the artists and the public confused, I believe. You to do one thing or the other. People won't accept it unless you focus. You can't have a mixed bag." As television eclipsed radio in popularity, Bonnie Lou's engaging personality and beauty allowed her to easily adapt to

1855-721: The rest of her career. She performed regularly with the sister duo she had listened to as a child, the Girls of the Golden West , one of whom was McCluskey's wife. During her years with WLW, Bonnie Lou often performed at country music hub Nashville , Tennessee on weekends, including several times at the Grand Ole Opry . On August 26, 1945, she married Glenn Ewins. She returned to Illinois with Ewins in 1947 and had her only child, Constance, September of that year. In 1950, two masked men entered her home at one a.m., shoved her into

1908-425: The same president, Ruth Tatman. March 23, 2015, Bonnie Lou's home town, Towanda , Illinois, honored her with a joint resolution. The resolution invites "our local community and beyond to reflect on the talent and remarkable achievements of the hometown girl who grew up to be a star." In 1971, BBC disk jockey Jimmy Savile played for his listeners Bonnie Lou's "Tennessee Wig Walk", which had reached number 4 on

1961-572: The show The local Cincinnati television show titled The 50-50 Club had occupied the time slot that Braun eventually filled. The 50-50 Club hostess, Ruth Lyons , retired in 1967 due to declining health. Braun had appeared regularly on The 50-50 Club show since 1957, and frequently had been a fill-in host. On his own show, Braun heavily promoted and supported Lyons' charity, "The Ruth Lyons Christmas Fund", each Christmas season. (The charity, now known as "The Ruth Lyons Children's Fund", remains in operation to this day.) Some years after Braun took over

2014-538: The show as "Queenie" ) appeared on the program until it ceased production in 1972. She appeared regularly on the Ruth Lyons (broadcaster) 50-50 Club , an innovative live weekday talk and entertainment show that had 7 million viewers at its peak, though it was only aired regionally. In 1958, she and other WLWT luminaries recorded a Christmas album for Ruth Lyons's new record label that sold about 250,000 copies. As busy as her TV schedule was, she hosted Six Star Ranch ,

2067-421: The show primarily consisted of Paul talking with members of his audience, or reading letters from his viewers, both of which often resulted in hilarious situations: While Dixon's antics by today's standards might be construed as chauvinistic or even over-the-top sexist, there was an unspoken understanding between Dixon and his audience, both in-studio and at home, that he was only seeking the laughs and cheers that

2120-440: The show, the title was changed from The 50-50 Club to The Bob Braun Show . (An ad in a 1969 issue of TV Guide identifies it as Bob Braun's 50-50 Club .) Toward the end of its run in the 1980s, it was renamed Braun and Company . Regular cast members on The Bob Braun Show included Rob Reider, Mary Ellen Tanner, Nancy James, baritone Mark Preston (member of The Lettermen ), and announcer/weatherman Bill Myers. Beginning with

2173-635: The spokesperson for Craftmatic adjustable beds and announcer for controversial no-money-down real estate promoter Tony Hoffman, who later produced and marketed a recorded interview with O. J. Simpson . Braun also had a part in the Bruce Willis movie Die Hard 2 . In 1993, he was inducted into the Cincinnati Radio Hall of Fame. In March 1994, Braun left Hollywood and returned to WSAI Radio (by then featuring an adult standards musical format) as one of "The Sunrise Boys", working as

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2226-503: The spotlight and the crowds went ‘Ahhhh!'." A couple of minutes later she brought down the house! That's the history in brief of Sally Carson's first appearance as a regular songstress last Saturday on KMBC's Brush Creek Follies. You can close your eyes...and even her voice bubbles over with wim, wigor, and witality. Open up though, and the secret is no longer a secret — just look at them golden tresses!" In 1945, Bill McCluskey, executive at WLW in Cincinnati, first learned of Bonnie Lou from

2279-404: The telecast on the daytime schedule of Friday, June 7, 1968, an entertainment critic for a Columbus, Ohio newspaper, Ron Pataky, visited Cincinnati every Friday to discuss on Braun's television show which movies were playing in cinemas that weekend. Pataky continued making his Friday appearances until 1973. The longtime director of The 50-50 Club , Bob Braun's 50-50 Club and The Bob Braun Show

2332-440: The use of scripts when doing commercials, much to the perpetual delight of his audience. In the tradition of Ruth Lyons , any product plugged by Dixon would quickly fly off of local merchants' shelves. Bonnie Lou Mary Joan Okum ( née Kath ; October 27, 1924 – December 8, 2015), known by her performing name Bonnie Lou , was an American musical pioneer, recognized as one of the first female rock and roll singers. She

2385-473: The visual medium. WLW's TV affiliate, WLWT, featured her prominently in several roles. For two decades she co-hosted and performed on the popular weekday program, the Paul Dixon Show . Their pairing began when Dixon approached her and said, "I'd like to have you with me every day. We fit one another." The show was perfect for a quick-witted, multi-faceted performer like Bonnie Lou, who noted, "The show

2438-588: Was Dick Murgatroyd, who years later became the county-judge executive of Kenton County, Kentucky . The Department of Photographs and Films at the Cincinnati Museum Center has videotapes of The Bob Braun Show and Braun and Company that were preserved starting in 1982. All episodes of Braun's daytime show that were telecast prior to 1982 were lost because of wiping . Some short segments were preserved and can be seen on YouTube, but researchers can not find an entire 90-minute daytime broadcast that

2491-498: Was an American local television and radio personality, best known for a program originating in Cincinnati, Ohio , named The Bob Braun Show . The show, which he hosted from 1967 to 1984, had the highest Arbitron and Nielsen ratings of any live entertainment/information program in the Midwestern United States . Originating at WLWT , the 90-minute live telecasts originally were syndicated to three other cities in

2544-512: Was as successful as her King singles. WLW hampered her career by refusing to allow her time off to tour in support of her early recordings, which had sold well overseas, especially in England where her label was Parlophone , which was also The Beatles ' label during most of the band's existence. "When the record hit the top twenty nationally, I asked the station if I could take some time off to tour. Management said no. That hurt: I couldn't promote

2597-467: Was building momentum, a columnist for the Atchison (KS) Daily Globe wrote of the young performer that "When Sally Carson looks at us with that twinkle in her eyes, we're ready to believe anything." On August 3, 2008, during a celebration of King Records and its musicians, Bonnie Lou was honored by Cincinnati with a key to the city. In 2014 her fan club celebrated 50 years of continued existence with

2650-607: Was in hospice care. Posthumous tributes to Bonnie Lou were featured by media throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. On December 11, 2015, The New York Times published a featured obituary for her in its printed edition. Bonnie Lou is entombed in the Arlington Lakeside Chapel & Mausoleum at Arlington Memorial Gardens, Mount Healthy , Ohio. Bob Braun Robert E. Braun (April 20, 1929 – January 15, 2001)

2703-604: Was initially against the idea, but as more and more people, including WLWT head John Murphy, continued to ask when he would perform the "Chicken Wedding", Dixon finally capitulated, and in so doing made television history. On Tuesday, March 11, 1969, Dixon staged the first-ever wedding for two rubber chickens, complete with all the trimmings. The wedding itself was broadcast live on the show, and featured then-WLWT news anchor Tom Atkins narrating and Bob Braun as Best Man, with co-hosts Bonnie Lou and Sharp as matrons of honor. Marian Spelman, still at WLWT appearing on other shows, made

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2756-466: Was off the top of his head. You had to know how to ad lib." Faithful to her country music roots, she was also the "top name" on WLWT's televised version of Midwestern Hayride , which began as a regional program and was eventually the first country music program regularly broadcast on a national TV network, NBC. Bonnie Lou, dubbed "Queen of the Hayride", (and sometimes affectionately referred to on

2809-618: Was signed to a five-year contract to perform on the Brush Creek Follies barn dance show as "Sally Carson," and with a group called The Rhythm Rangers. The show was broadcast nationwide on the Columbia Broadcasting Service , and has been described as "one of the biggest music programs in the country" at the time. A newspaper columnist described her opening in Kansas City: "She walked out into

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