Show I 1 RADIO GARDENER 4 don mcneill 0 of the break fast club program fans the prayer and impromptu assignments sign ments tor for D day will go down in radio as a classic of the year when the program was started 12 years ago no visitors were allowed this rule was first broken in 1937 in response to a letter from a hopelessly tubercular marine who wrote that seeing a performance of the club was chief among the things he wanted to do before his final hour in 1938 the doors were thrown open to all comers since then half a million people have seen the program and watched the gang go 90 through their paces the program has attracted national attention in its effective war work they are given credit tor for hav ing started the waste paper salvage drive in the united states they focused national attention on the crucial manpower shortage li iii war industries dustrich dus tries and early in the war received the governments thanks for this work at one bond auction me nelu neill sold worth of war bonds at the swank winnetka district for this he received a treasury citation mc don icem la Is an honor ary sergeant major at fort sheridan and a reserve recruiting official in the marines he was recently awarded the degree of doctor of frustration by the boswell institute his greatest honor however he says Is the thousands of letters received from his fans the host of the breakfast club was born in galena ill december 23 1907 that should make him 38 years old but he insists that he be is only 28 several years later the me mc nelu Neill family moved to sheboygan wise disc where don attended high school there is no record of any previous schooling ile he gained tame fame in high school by winning a fly swatting contest in 1925 he found his way io milwaukee and enrolled in the college of journalism at marquette university where he edited the student newspaper and tooted a snazzy saxophone i his personal representative jimmy ben nett says that the success of both ventures can be determined by the f tact a ct that he is no longer employed as a tooter of saxophones or a newspaper editor in 1928 he secured a job on a milwaukee radio station announcing programs directing programs riding gain in the control room rounding up guest speakers editing the stations publicity releases and an the telephone he was paid 10 a week which was later increased to 15 a week when he recently signed 4 a now new five y year ear contract with the blue network it was at a figure above what he was getting at milwaukee after receiving his jhb degree he de camped to louisville where he fie became one of the two professors a comedy team over in 1833 1033 he went to chicago took over the riot fiot too well known pepper pot program and developer the present breakfast club ever since pearl harbor the breakfast t jub dub calendar has been crowded with extra curricular currl cular activities the entire cast has appeared before hospitals and camps they have appeared at the great lakes training station on several occasions when D day broke don mcneill was on the way to the studio ile he cleared the way tor for the omission of comme commercials had patriotic music played and offered up a prayer the order was to stand by tor for newsy news flashes cashes and the prayer which was written 15 minutes before air time |