[3] Born Alma Irene Hopkins in Superior, Wisconsin,[1] Kitchell planned on a career as a pianist, but instructors at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music persuaded her to pursue singing instead.

[3] An item in the March 1930 issue of Radio Revue said, "This charming NBC contralto delights those who tune in on the Sunday Symphonette with her rich renditions of only the best music.

"[7] Kitchell joined the staff of WJZ in New York City as a singer and over time became the hostess of programs aimed at women, a transition made possible by "her curiosity, warm enthusiasm for new things, and friendly personality".

[3] Kitchell left radio to become hostess of In the Kelvinator Kitchen, an NBC program that was described as "typical of a 'homemaker' genre on TV in which a housekeeping skill was demonstrated, often using the sponsor's products.

"[16] Mary Ellen Snodgrass, in her book, Encyclopedia of Kitchen History, cited the program as "the first commercial network series and first televised cooking show on the air.

[18] In 1948, Kitchell told an interviewer from Radio and Television Mirror magazine that she valued "The highly personalized relationship between the performer and the viewer," adding, "You are not just heard in people's homes — you are there.