Radio: Kate the Great

The undisputed first lady of radio as of 1939 is 235-lb., 29-year-old Contralto Kate Smith. For eight successful radio years Kate Smith has used her booming, unschooled voice, plus occasional bursts of hearty Americanism to sell millions of dollars worth of cigars, automobiles, coffee and, since 1937, General Foods cake flour, baking powder and salt. From her paychecks she has tucked away $1,000,000, mostly in Government bonds, but she is still unmarried, lives alone. She has won 15,000,000 weekly listeners, but she can count scarcely a dozen intimate friends.

Last week this publicly...

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