[1] Her father was a travel agent who taught music at the University of Cincinnati in the evenings; her mother was also a musician.

Grandmother Reeves was a great influence on her granddaughter; she began her household duties early and when they were completed, she went into the neighborhood to do good deeds.

As a young girl during World War I, Lyons was involved in fund-raising activities for the Red Cross and worked with her minister to help entertain patients at local hospitals.

[8] Her radio career began with a one-shot appearance as an accompanist for a singer on WMH in 1925, and a regular post as pianist on WSAI beginning in 1925.

[10] Lyons's first broadcast was accidental; she was pressed into service one morning when the station's only female show host called in sick.

[11][7] The sponsor decided that it preferred the way Lyons handled the program; she was hired to replace the host who was ill.[11] When she began her broadcasting career, Lyons said she believed her audience was intelligent and had more interests than the subjects covered by traditional women's programs, so she focused on topics other than cooking and household hints.

[13][14] Lyons remained at the radio station, where she slept on her desk when she was not on the air with news reports or other emergency information.

[17] The Lyons radio and television programs generated more than a million dollars in ad revenue annually for Crosley.

When she was called to the manager's office and asked to bring the copy of her program script with her, Lyons expected to lose her job.

[5][b] At WLW, she was the host of Consumer's Foundation, a show where participants tested products advertised on radio and reported their experiences with them.

[18][33] The show was a powerful outlet for advertisers; potential sponsors had a one-year waiting period before there were openings for their commercials to be able to be scheduled.

She also did not want to relocate to New York; at the end of the first year, the contract was canceled and the program was no longer seen on national television.

[45][10][28] It was seen on the other stations of the Crosley Broadcasting network in Dayton, Columbus, and Indianapolis and the program was expanded from its original hour to ninety minutes in length.

[49][45][23] During this time, Lyons and the program were profiled in many national magazines such as McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal and Cosmopolitan.

She was invited to be a temporary replacement for The Today Show cast member Helen O'Connell for a week in April 1958.

Both Cincinnati media and viewers remembered the stinging criticism from the Crosby column and were prepared to see any slight, intentional or not, as an insult to Lyons and their area.

The Cincinnati Enquirer printed that Lyons made only two short appearances on one Today broadcast and read a commercial while hidden by foliage on the set on a later show.

During the 1950s, when nightclub venues were numerous throughout the nation, two of the most prominent in the country were the Beverly Hills Supper Club and the Lookout House, in the Northern Kentucky area of Greater Cincinnati.

[55] Virtually every headliner, including Jack E. Leonard, Nelson Eddy, Ted Lewis, Pearl Bailey, Myron Cohen, and many others, appeared on Ruth Lyons's program.

[19] Lyons frequently mentioned her husband and daughter on the show, in a warm, light (often humorous), family context.

[4] After the couple had been married two years, the insurance agency Johnny worked for decided to close its Cincinnati office.

[60][13][g] After the divorce, Lyons gave up hope for another marriage because she despaired of finding "a man who wouldn't hate my success".

[23] Newman later became a professor of English at University of Cincinnati, and maintained an identity separate from the program and his wife's celebrity.

[12] Candace Laird Newman made her first visit to WLW when she was six weeks old; she continued to appear on radio and television periodically while growing up.

[11][63][9][62][i] Lyons took an extended leave from her television program beginning in February 1966 due to her daughter's illness and subsequent death; she did not return to her show until October.

She wanted to raise money for the Christmas fund in her daughter's memory and decided to take things a day at a time.

[69] A public announcement was made on the program the next day with a statement from Lyons to her viewers saying she was no longer able to continue hosting the show.

[22] After a visit to the children's ward of a local hospital, Lyons realized the young patients had nothing to make their stay more pleasant.

She spoke about this on her radio program and began fund raising to provide hospitalized children with toys and some Christmas cheer at the holiday time.

[10][78] David Letterman, who watched The 50/50 Club with his mother while home from school at lunch break, credits Lyons with teaching him everything about live talk television.