''Boomer Jones'' was a 1950 radio show produced by the

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing over 600,000 workers as of 2024 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada. Orig ...

(IAM) which first aired coast to coast on the

Mutual Network The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

on September 3, 1950, the day before

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

. The show lasted approximately 30 minutes and was followed by a speech from Al Hayes, who was, at the time, the International President of the IAM. ''Boomer Jones'' was written by Morton Wishengrad and directed by

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón FerrerAncestry Library Edition (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer, active in film, theatre, and television. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ...

. Major roles were played by three of the top Hollywood stars of the time:

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

Marie McDonald Marie McDonald (born Cora Marie Frye, July 6, 1923 – October 21, 1965) was an American singer. She started her career at a young age, participating in beauty pageants and gaining attention as "The Queen of Coney Island" and "Miss New York Stat ...

, and

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, who was noted for playing dangerous and tough characters. Usually appearing in supporting roles, among his best-known films are '' Beau Geste'' (1939), '' The Great ...

who all donated their time and talent. The radio program was the first of its kind ever attempted by a trade union and told the story of the old-time "boomers" (union organizers) who helped build one of the largest industrial trade unions in American history. Production of ''Boomer Jones'' required eight months of research into the early years of the IAM to make the final production as accurate as possible.

References

{{Reflist 1950s American radio programs American radio dramas