Alma Kitchell

Alma Kitchell (June 29, 1893 - November 13, 1996) was an American concert singer who became a pioneer performer in both radio and television.

Early years Born Alma Irene Hopkins in Superior, Wisconsin,

Concerts Kitchell debuted at New York City's Town Hall in 1924, singing a mixture of classical airs and folk songs.

An article about her in the June 1948 issue of Radio and Television Mirror reported that Kitchell "became a leading concert singer, and appeared as a soloist with important orchestras and choral organizations from coast to coast. She gave recitals at both Carnegie And Town Halls and was highly praised by the New York Critics." She began performing regularly as a singer on radio in 1927, starting a span of two decades that brought her the appellation "Golden Voice of Radio".

Kitchell joined the staff of WJZ in New York City as a singer and over time became the hostess of programs aimed at women, a transition made possible by "her curiosity, warm enthusiasm for new things, and friendly personality". In 1938, she interviewed prominent women on Let's Talk It Over, "one of the original radio talkshows".

Kitchell began Pin Money Party on NBC-Red on September 30, 1940. The program advised women about "how to earn money on talents developed in the home".

On June 21, 1943, WJZ launched Woman's Exchange, "a clearing house for the interchange of ideas among the housewives of the vast WJZ coverage area ... to help them in their wartime food and household problems." Kitchell was the hostess.

Beginning in 1944, Kitchell had a syndicated program, Come and Get It, which was described as the "first recorded audience participation show". Seventy-eight 15-minute episodes were distributed by NBC Radio-Recording Division.

Television On June 20, 1939, Kitchell performed in the role of Ruth in an NBC production of The Pirates of Penzance, the first operetta presented on television. Mary Ellen Snodgrass, in her book, Encyclopedia of Kitchen History, cited the program as "the first commercial network series and first televised cooking show on the air." Another cooking program, however, I Love to Eat, was actually the first of its kind, having debuted on NBC on August 30, 1946.

In 1948, Kitchell told an interviewer from Radio and Television Mirror magazine that she valued "The highly personalized relationship between the performer and the viewer," adding, "You are not just heard in people's homes — you are there."

Personal life In 1915, Alma married her voice teacher, tenor Charles Wallace Kitchell, with whom she had two sons.

Death On November 13, 1996, Kitchell died at her home in Sarasota, Florida. She was survived by two sons, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.