Gateway to Hollywood

Cities across the United States were sites for auditions for people who wanted to appear on Gateway to Hollywood. Contestants auditioned in teams of one male and one female, with the ultimate winning team receiving a screen test from RKO Pictures. In addition to the screen test, each member of the winning couple received membership in the Screen Actors Guild and screen names that they would use in their acting careers. Judges were five people from RKO, with criteria for selection being "photographic potential, personality, and dramatic ability." ==Personnel==

Film producer Jesse L. Lasky was the host of Gateway to Hollywood. Wilbur Hatch and Carl Hohengarten provided the music. ==Selected participants==

Winners • Ralph Bowman received a contract with RKO and the screen name John Archer. • Josephine Cottle became actress Gale Storm. She later married her Gateway to Hollywood teammate, Lee Bonnell, who took the screen name Terry Belmont. • Hugh Beaumont • Linda Darnell ==Don Lee Network program==

Beginning in 1936, the Don Lee Network broadcast a program titled Gateway to Hollywood on the West Coast. It used an amateur-hour format but featured "tried and experienced professional entertainers" who hoped the exposure would give them an opportunity to get into film, radio, or other fields of entertainment. Approximately a dozen acts competed on each broadcast; members of the audience selected each winner with votes submitted via telephone and mail. == References ==