1941

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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