Nicholas Brothers on Ben Bernie Radio show (cancelled) Nicholas Brothers performer Radio 1938-01-19 Nicholas Brothers scheduled for the Ben Bernie radio show. "With a few days between and their first coast-to-coast radio commercial, the first for the race this year, the sensational Nicholas Brothers, who during the last year rose to new heights in the theatrical world, are priming themselves for their biggest chance of 1938...[Harold recovering from a tonsil operation]. The program, under the sponsorship of the United States Tire Co., will be given its first airing next Wednesday evening, January 12, over station WABC, New York City. The Nicholas Brothers have signed for a four weeks' appearance with an option of four more. Pittsburgh Courier January 20, 1938 announces that the NB appearance on the Ben Bernie show canceled when "a Southern member of the sponsoring firm made it known that their part on the half hour was to be strictly Southern. As such they would have to discard their northern ways and divert to the dialect of the South. Unable to meet these demands, they were taken from the program" then due to legal negotiations, the brothers were rescheduled for January 19, and from that time on featured on the half-hour program for the remainder of their contract, which will have two weeks to go. Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Sampson, Henry T.: Swingin' On the Etherwaves: A Chronological History of African Americans in Radio and Television Broadcasting, 1925-1955. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press (2005). Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html Nicholas Brothers (biography) loc.music.tdabio.144 tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.1393