Elsie Beebie

Elsie Beebie … a long-time radio star, so to speak, even though she never spoke a word, nobody ever played her and the general public never knew who she was. Yet everybody heard of her in a general sort of way. She was the soaper “Life Can Be Beautiful”: L.C.B.B., as she was known verbally in the business.

Shows have their own nicknames, either for brevity’s sake or the usual banter that goes on in radio and television stations. Like the entertainers’ joke, it goes no farther than studio or backstage [and don’t ask what that joke is; I don’t tell it].

Thus, the locally-produced “Call the Doctor” is known in-house among the production crew as “Call the Ding-Dongs.” I happened to mention this to an occasional (perhaps one-time) participant one time, a very serious person with a limited sense of humor and he stomped around in a high dudgeon for several days.

My show, “The Radio Home Visitor,” used to be known as “The Radio Home Duck,” but now it’s just “The Duck,” and our regular staff are known as Ducks. It’s a long story; don’t ask. One of the few which can be told in mixed company with kids.

“The Music of Your Life” easy-listening format has been, from Day One, known by dj’s as “The Music of Your Death,” because there isn’t much life to it. It’s also known in the business as “MOYL,” rhyming with “toil.” No matter how much improved the programming may be, MOYL will always be MOYD.