Dear Brutus

Leslie Howard was not only an accomplished writer, producer, director and actor on film and in the theater, he appeared on the radio as well.

Here is a show he did for The Fleishmann's Yeast Hour, also known as The Rudy Vallee Show, for the NBC Blue Network, June 27, 1935. The show stars Leslie and his daughter, Leslie Ruth, aged 10. This episode is an encore to a show father and daughter did six weeks earlier which received an unprecedented outpouring of requests for a repeat from fans who missed the original episode and heard about it from their friends. It was the first time in the history of the show that a performance was repeated. The Howards' success led to their being featured on the cover of Radio Guide, February 22, 1936. Leslie had to be convinced to allow his daughter to appear with him on the cover.

[Leslie Howard and his daughter, Leslie Ruth,
appear on the cover of Radio Guide]
Radio Guide, February 22, 1936

Howard was a shy man and although he was happy about the success of the show and the acclaim his daughter received for her performance he often felt exploited by his own fame and he was wary of the sudden attention that was being focused on his daughter.

Leslie and Leslie Ruth are performing a short scene, "The Enchanted Forest," from James M. Barrie's, Dear Brutus. They are performing before a live studio audience. I have added photos taken the day they appeared. I have edited the original program to only the Howards' appearance and to add Leslie Ruth's brief interview which actually appeared at the end of the show. The complete show is available at: Fleishmann's Yeast Hour/Rudy Vallee Full Show, Dear Brutus, June 27, 1935. (Joe Louis appears at the end of the show.) The audio is very good except for a bit of static during the audience applause.

The Rudy Vallee Show, Dear Brutus, June 27, 1935

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