Treadmill to Oblivion Author:Fred Allen When Fred Allen made his first appearance in 1932, he had a world of theatrical experience behind him. A Boston boy, he had broken in as an amateur as "The World's Worst Juggler," and his dead-pan, dry-voice monologue was what made the act. He had played the vaudeville circuits five-a-day; he had risen to be a star in "The Little Show" and in "T... more »hree's a Crowd." Then in 1932 Fred went on the air with his first radio show, "The Linit Bath Club Review" -- and that is where this book begins. Radio was a new medium in those days. The reigning comedians in funny costumes were playing for the applause of the sudio audiences. But it was Fred Allen's genius to play to the unseen audience, the millions of listeners at home, to put American vaudeville on the air with sound effects, to devise comic situations from day-to-day news, and to become, as he did, one of the most penetrating and satiric artists of our time.« less