Command Performance

Command Performance was produced by the War Department (now the "Department of Defense") for the members of the United States Armed forces from 1942 till 1949. The shows varied in length and in format. Some were music shows, with a DJ spinning records; some were skits; some were variety shows.

Especially during the World War II years, they featured appearances by major Hollywood stars, such as Nelson Eddy, Ginger Rogers, and Harpo Marx (since Harpo did not speak, Gary Cooper served as his translator); the Hollywood stars appeared at no charge in support of the armed forces.

The success of the show led to the creation of the AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service). which produced a number of other shows for military personnel. The earliest shows were broadcast by shortwave radio, but, as many military personnel did not have access to shortwave radio, the AFRS received permission to distribute the shows on records, called "transcription disks."

According to the Wikipedia article about Command Performance, evidence indicates that only one of these shows was broadcast to the general public.

Series description provided by Frank Bell.