‘Breakfast in Hollywood’ from 1946: Movie Stars on the Radio

Carmen Miranda and Tom Breneman in the "Breakfast in Hollywood" radio program, circa 1945. (Public Domain)

Commentary

Have you ever heard of Tom Breneman? Although he isn’t a big name anymore, this radio personality was the host of a 1940s radio show which attracted ten million listeners daily, “Breakfast in Hollywood.” The show became so successful that, in 1946, it inspired a movie of the same name, which was produced by Golden Pictures and distributed by United Artists. You wouldn’t think that a half-hour daily radio program would be the premise of a good movie, but “Breakfast in Hollywood” proves doubters wrong!

This movie is a very entertaining hour and a half. It stars Tom Breneman as himself, but he’s surrounded by some of Hollywood’s finest character actors. Bonita Granville, Beulah Bondi, Billie Burke, Raymond Walburn, and Zasu Pitts all play important characters. Celebrity gossip columnist Hedda Hopper appears as herself, and the real-life mothers of Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, and Tom Breneman make cameo appearances, as well. There also are specialty numbers by popular musicians of the day, including the Nat King Cole Trio, Spike Jones and His City Slickers, and singer Andy Russell.

Carmen Miranda and Tom Breneman in the "Breakfast in Hollywood" radio program, circa 1945. (Public Domain)

Seeing the title, premise, and list of celebrities playing themselves, you might guess that this is one of those variety show musicals with little story but a constant succession of numbers from countless movie stars. This isn’t one of those films. It is a surprisingly moving story with many subplots, all set against the backdrop of this fascinating radio program.

One Show, Many Stories

This movie starts with a series of seemingly unrelated vignettes focusing on different characters in Hollywood. They aren’t show business folks; they’re just average people who live in Los Angeles. There is Dorothy Larson (Granville), a young woman from Minneapolis who is looking for her sailor fiancé. The next bus back home isn’t until 5 p.m., so a friendly social worker gives the misplaced girl a ticket to attend the live show of the “Breakfast in Hollywood” radio program. Elvira Spriggens (Pitts) heads for the live show, too, as she often does, wearing the craziest hat she could find to attract Mr. Breneman’s attention. A sweet old lady, Annie Reed (Bondi), tenderly says goodbye to her dog for a few hours as she plans to walk into town for her long-awaited visit to the radio program. Frances Cartwright (Burke) gets ready early in the morning to go to this same program, thinking her husband, Richard (Walburn), is going on a business trip later that day. Little does she know that he’s planning on taking two glamorous young women to the races at Del Mar. A young sailor, Ken Smith (Edward Ryan), who has just gotten out of the navy gets a ride into Hollywood with a friendly gentleman. The kind stranger agrees to help him get into “Breakfast in Hollywood,” but Ken doesn’t realize that his driver is Mr. Breneman himself.

Promotional photograph of actor Bonita Granville in the 1940s. (Public Domain)

The restaurant from which “Breakfast in Hollywood” is broadcast live is filled with a huge crowd of women every morning. Some of our principal characters meet and interact there. Most notably, Tom invites Dorothy and Ken to sit together and get to know one another after he learns that they are both from Minneapolis. The host also gets to know Mrs. Reed and takes a personal interest in her wellbeing. After the show is over, Dorothy and Ken spend some time together, since the young lady is eager to hear about her fiancé after learning he was Ken’s shipmate. Dorothy doesn’t realize that Ken has some information about him that he doesn’t want to tell her. It may be up to Tom Breneman to get the two lovebirds together.

The Radio Program

The idea for “Breakfast in Hollywood” came to radio host Tom Breneman in 1940 while he was having lunch with some friends at Sardi’s on Hollywood Boulevard. Noticing the unique layout of the restaurant, he realized it would be an ideal location for a radio broadcast, focusing on the interesting people who came into the restaurant. On January 13, 1941, the first show aired on KFWB, Los Angles, as “Breakfast on the Boulevard.” From August 3, 1942, until February 26 of the following year, it was broadcast on the Blue Network on weekday mornings at 11 AM as “Breakfast at Sardi’s.” When the program started being broadcast nationwide instead of just on the West Coast, it was necessary to change the name to avoid confusion with Sardi’s in New York. In 1943, the name was changed to “Breakfast in Hollywood.”

In 1945, Breneman bought his own restaurant, Tom Breneman’s Hollywood, at 1525 N. Vine Street. It included a restaurant, a soda fountain, and a coffee shop. From then on, the restaurant was the location of the broadcast. Every morning, two shows were broadcast, one at 8 a.m. for the East Coast and one at 9:30 a.m. for the West Coast. Although he used the same crowd, these two shows were very different because none of the questions, banter, or guests were ever rehearsed. It was all spontaneous, which was the magic of the program. The inclusion of Spike Jones and Andy Russell on the program was just for the movie, since the show didn’t feature any music. The other activities shown were common practice, however. These features include asking women from the audience random questions, giving away a make-up kit, Breneman’s trying on the silliest hat in the audience, drawing the winner for a wishing ring, and giving the oldest woman in the audience an orchid.

In the show’s early days, Breneman had to send taxis for audience members. However, the show’s popularity quickly increased so much that there was a waitlist of 100,000 women who wanted to be in the audience. As referenced in the film, women would get up at the crack of dawn to start lining up outside the restaurant for admittance at 7:30 a.m. Sadly, on April 28, 1948, Tom Breneman collapsed at his home shortly before showtime and died of a heart attack at age 46. His tragically early death left not only a widow and two children but a devastated radio audience. Although two other hosts tried to replace him on “Breakfast in Hollywood,” no one could fill Breneman’s shoes. The ratings quickly dropped, and the show was cancelled within two years. As this movie vividly illustrates, Tom Breneman was “Breakfast in Hollywood.” You can read more about the radio show in John Dunning’s “On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio.”

Beulah Bondi in the 1956 film "Back from Eternity." (Public Domain)

Breakfast and a Movie

“Breakfast in Hollywood” was at its peak when this film was made. This movie offers a rare opportunity to see what was then a very popular show as its participants saw it, since it was driven by Tom Breneman’s interactions with the audience. The premise of a movie about fictional characters whose paths cross as they all attend “Breakfast in Hollywood” is so clever! Just like Breneman’s show, it seems a bit oddball and unlikely to work, but the results prove otherwise.

As a native Californian, I found it fascinating to hear guests of the show talking about obscure Southern California cities where they live. In most old movies, the only California cities which are usually mentioned are Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and perhaps Palm Springs. It’s a rare opportunity to hear people talking about Cherry Valley, Banning, and Pomona, which are cities I’ve visited or passed on the freeway my whole life!

I would have guessed at first that the ladies who are guests on the show are real people, not actors, but I know that’s not true because I recognize them all from other movies! They’re just excellent performers, who knew how to be natural. That’s the brilliant thing about this whole movie. It’s so real. Tom Breneman is such a genuine, down-to-earth man, and the way he talks with these women is so real and human, completely unlike the contrived entertainment and “reality” programs of today. This movie is funny in a very simple, clean way, but it’s also extremely heartwarming, especially the scenes with Beulah Bondi. I highly recommend this as wonderful entertainment.