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Welcome to Retroville! It’s 1941!
IN THE NEWS:
- Germany attacks the Balkans and Russia
- Japanese fleet attacks Pearl Harbor
- U.S. declares war on Japan
- Great Britain declares war on Japan
- The Manhattan Project (atomic bomb research) begins
- Roosevelt enunciates the Four Freedoms
- Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act
- Roosevelt promises aid to Russia
- Orson Welle’s Citizen Kane premieres
ON THE RADIO:
- Front Page Farrell
- Abbott and Costello
- Author’s Playhouse
- Bob Hope Show
- Casey, Crime Photographer
- Cavalcade of America
- CBS Radio Mystery Theater
- Challenge of the Yukon
- Chick Carter, Boy Detective
- Death Valley Days
- Dr Christian
- Duffy’s Tavern
- Ellery Queen
ON TELEVISION:
- Variety shows
- The first commercials aired in the fall on all networks
- CBS televised news of the attack on Pearl Harbor
FADS & FASHION:
- Zoot suits
- Jitterbug
- Big band music
WHAT THINGS COST:
- Car: $925
- Gasoline: 19 cents per gallon
- House: $6,900
- Bread: 8 cents per loaf
- Milk: 34 cents per gallon
- Postage Stamp: 3 cents
- Average Annual Salary: $2,050
- Minimum Wage: 30 cents per hour
ACADEMY AWARD – BEST PICTURE:
- How Green Was My Valley – a dramatic film by John Ford starring Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O’Hara
TONY AWARD – BEST MUSICAL:
- The Tony Awards begin in 1947 (look ahead to 1949 to see the first winner)
PULITZER PRIZES:
- There Shall Be No Night by Robert E. Sherwood (drama)
- The Atlantic Migration by Marcus Lee Hansen (history)
- Jonathan Edward by Ola Elizabeth Winslow (biography)
- Sunderland Capture by Leonard Bacon (poetry)
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE:
- none awarded
TOP SONGS:
- Stardust by Artie Shaw
- String of Pearls by Glenn Miller
- You Made Me Love You by Harry James
- God Bless the Child by Billie Holliday
