Raymond Arthur Bloch (August 3, 1902 – March 29, 1982)
Career
During the 1920s, he performed with small groups on piano and also conducted ballroom bands.
[ Later in the decade he began appearing as a pianist on radio stations.][ He began working as an arranger and composer for the ]Four Eton Boys The Eton Boys, or The Four Eton Boys, were an American all-male musical quartet from the St. Louis, Missouri area, whose members were Earl Smith, tenor; Art Gentry, 2nd tenor; Charles Day, baritone; and Jack Day, bass. In the 1930s they headlined B ...
in the early 1930s, and followed that as a conductor for choral groups.[ In 1939 he joined the CBS radio variety show ''Johnny Presents'' as choral director and was promoted to orchestra conductor. This was the beginning of a long and successful career in "conducting, coaching, orchestrating, and choral directing"][ on radio, television, and albums.
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Radio
Bloch and his orchestra were featured on numerous radio variety shows of the late-1930s and 1940s. These included: ''Johnny Presents'' (1939-1946), '' The Gay Nineties Revue'' (CBS, 1939–1944), ''Let Yourself Go'' (CBS, 1944–1945), ''The Continental Celebrity Club'' (1945-1946), ''The Milton Berle Show
''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave M ...
'' (NBC, 1948–1949), and '' The Mary Small Revue'' (1945). From 1943 to 1956 Bloch and his orchestra also performed on ''Here's to Romance'', a weekly musical variety show broadcast by the American Forces Network
The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...
. In 1951 Bloch hosted his own show, ''The Bloch Party'', a 60-minute variety show on CBS Radio featuring Judy Lynn
Judy Lynn Kelly (born Judy Lynn Voiten; April 16, 1936 – May 26, 2010), better known by her stage name Judy Lynn, was an American country music singer and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Idaho in 1955.
Life and career
Lynn was born in Boise, ...
, the Russ Emery Chorus, and the Ray Bloch Orchestra.
The orchestra was a fixture on several game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
s, including '' Take It or Leave It'' (CBS, 1940–1947). ''Quick as a Flash'' (1944–1949) �