Classic Radio Theater: Recent Episodes
Gulfstream Studios
RETURN WITH US NOW TO THOSE THRILLING DAYS OF YESTERYEAR! Listen to the greatest radio broadcasts of the 1930s, 40s and 50s absolutely free! Each week, The Bradford Exchange presents the Classic Radio Theater, hosted by nostalgia radio expert Carl Amari. Each and every week, we’ll bring you three hours of theater-of-the-mind radio entertainment, including The Jack Benny Program, Suspense, Gunsmoke, Dragnet, The Abbott & Costello Show, Sherlock Holmes and many more!
Enjoy two comedy episodes of My Favorite HusbandA) 11/6/48 Liz and Katie Switch Identities w/ Lucille BallB) 4/1/49 April Fool’s Day w/ Lucille BallMy Favorite Husband began on CBS Radio July 23, 1948, starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denning as Liz and George Cugat. Midway into the first season, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Liz and George Cooper. The cheerful couple lived at 321 Bundy Drive in the fictitious city of Sheridan Falls and were billed as "two people who live together and like it." George was a banker and Liz was his happily married housewife. Sponsored by Jell-O, the series transitioned to television in 1953 starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson while Lucille Ball (and husband Desi Arnaz) starred in the mega-TV hit I Love Lucy.
Enjoy two western episodes of Have Gun, Will TravelA) 7/5/59 Comanche w/ John DehnerB) 7/12/59 Young Man w/ John DehnerHave Gun, Will Travel followed the adventures of Paladin, a soldier of fortune-turned-hired gunfighter, played by John Dehner. Paladin preferred to settle problems without violence, yet, when forced to fight, excelled. He lived at the swanky Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, where he dressed in formal wear, ate gourmet food, attended the opera and enjoyed the company of beautiful women. When working as a gun-for-hire, he dressed in all black, used calling cards and wore a holster, decorated by a characteristic chess knight emblem. The knight symbol was in reference to his name and his occupation as a champion-for-hire. One of radio’s best-loved westerns, Have Gun, Will Travel lasted on radio until 1960 and was televised from 1957 through 1963.
Enjoy two horror episodes of Inner Sanctum MysteryA) 10/2/45 Shadow of Death w/ Richard WidmarkB) 1/31/49 The Devil’s Fortune w/ Karl SwensonTaking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mystery debuted over NBC’s Blue Network in January 1941. Inner Sanctum Mystery featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned and the famous “creaking door” slowly began to open. Every week, Inner Sanctum Mystery told stories of ghosts, murderers and lunatics. Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains. What made Inner Sanctum Mystery unique among radio horror shows was its host, a slightly sinister sounding fellow originally known as “Raymond.” The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from the Crypt-Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson was the show’s host until 1945; Paul McGrath took over as host until the show left the air in 1952. Producer Himan Brown would utilize the creaking door again in the 1970s, when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
Enjoy two high-adventure episodes of Escape A) 8/18/47 The Fourth Man w/ Paul Frees B) 2/1/47 The Vanishing Lady w/ Joan Banks Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high-adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 until September 25, 1954. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with this introduction, as intoned by Paul Frees and/or William Conrad: Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape! Following the opening theme, a second announcer (usually Roy Rowan) would add: Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure! Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits. Actors on the series included: Eleanor Audley, Parley Baer, Harry Bartell, William Conrad, Ted deCorsia, John Dehner, Sam Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Lou Merrill, Howard McNear, Jeanette Nolan, Alan Reed, Bill Johnstone, Marvin Miller, Frank Lovejoy, Berry Kroeger, Vic Perrin, Elliott Lewis, Jack Webb, Peggy Webber and Will Wright. Music was supplied by Del Castillo, organist Ivan Ditmars, Cy Feuer, Wilbur Hatch and Leith Stevens. The announcers were Paul Frees and Roy Rowan.
Enjoy two sci-fi adventures of X Minus OneA) 5/1/56 Sea Legs w/ William RedfieldB) 8/1/57 End as a World w/ Peter FernandezX Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio series broadcast from April 24, 1955 until January 9, 1958 over NBC. Initially a revival of NBC's Dimension X (1950-51), X Minus One is widely considered among the finest science fiction dramas ever produced for radio. The first 15 episodes were new versions of Dimension X episodes, but the remainder were adaptations by NBC staff writers, including Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, of newly published science fiction stories by leading writers in the field. New York’s finest radio actors are heard in the supporting casts, including Bob Hastings, Jan Miner, Luis Van Rooten, Teri Kean and Les Damon.
Enjoy two comedy episodes of Our Miss BrooksA) 10/30/49 Halloween Pary w/ Eve ArdenB) 3/25/51 Buying a Parcel of Land w/ Eve ArdenOur Miss Brooks was a situation comedy show heard on radio and seen on television and films. It starred Hollywood film and New York stage veteran Eve Arden, who had specialized in playing the wisecracking friend to the heroine. She often did it better than anyone else, receiving an Oscar nomination for 1945’s “Mildred Pierce.” Arden’s skill with the wicked one-liner and acid aside was beginning to lead to typecasting so, to find a new image, Arden signed on for the lead in radio’s Our Miss Brooks. The series centered on Connie Brooks, a smart, sharp-witted, lovable English teacher at fictional Madison High School. Between gentle wisecracks, Miss Brooks doted on nerdish student Walter Denton (Richard Crenna) and frequently locked horns with crusty, cranky Principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon). Many plot lines revolved around Miss Brooks’ longing for Philip Boynton (Jeff Chandler), the school’s bashful biology teacher. Our Miss Brooks made a successful transition to TV in 1952 while the radio series lasted until 1957.
Enjoy two detective episodes of Sam SpadeA) 6/20/48 The Deathbed Caper w/ Howard DuffB) 9/12/48 The Lazarus Caper w/ Howard DuffThe detective character, Sam Spade, was created by Dashiell Hammett for his crime novel “The Maltese Falcon.” Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. The character is most closely associated with Humphrey Bogart who played Sam Spade in the third and most famous film version of “The Maltese Falcon.” In 1946, one of radio’s top producers (William Spier) brought Sam Spade to CBS radio starring newcomer Howard Duff with Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) as Spade’s secretary, Effie Perrine and sponsored by Wildroot Cream Oil. Duff took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movies. Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the radio series but had little involvement. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Howard Duff starred as Spade until November of 1950 when Steve Dunne took the role.
THE SCREEN DIRECTOR’S PLAYHOUSE 12/23/49 “Miracle On 34th Street” starring Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood. A half-hour radio dramatization of the famous holiday movie.
LUX RADIO THEATER 3/10/47 “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. An hour-long radio dramatization of the famous holiday movie.
Carl and Lisa present the radio episode Suspense 8/4/57 Flesh Peddler w/ DeForest Kelly
Carl and Lisa play Name That Tune, Quote This and Learning the Lyrics and present radio episodes of The Great Gildersleeve w/ Hal Peary / Frontier Gentleman w/ John Dehner and Cloak & Dagger w/ Raymond Edward Johnson
Carl and Lisa play Beat the Host and presents the mystery radio show Suspense w/ Zachary Scott
Carl and Lisa play Movie Jeopardy and presents The Philco Radio Time starring Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore
Carl and Lisa present the radio episode The Adv. of Philip Marlowe 4/11/50 The Anniversary Gift
Carl plays Name That Tune, Is It Real Or Is It Ridiculous? and Learning the Lyrics and present radio episodes of Kraft Music Hall 10/7/48 w/ Al Jolson and Edward G. Robinson / Sam Spade 7/25/48 The Mad Scientist w/ Howard Duff / WhiteHall 1212 4/27/52 Case of Francesca Nichelson
Carl and Lisa play Beat the Host and presents the comedy/quiz series You Bet Your Life 2/7/55 Secret Word: Show w/ Groucho Marx
Carl plays Movie Jeopardy and presents the patriotic war drama Arch Oboler’s Plays 3/9/40 Johnny Got His Gun w/ James Cagney
Enjoy two free amateur detective episodes of Casey, Crime Photographer
A) 2/6/47 The Grey Kitten w/ Staats Cottsworth
B) 2/20/47 The Twenty-Minute Alibi w/ Staats Cottsworth
For those who could not get enough of B-movie murder-mysteries, Casey, Crime Photographer was the radio equivalent. It employed similar plot devices, such as the suspect about to reveal important information being shot and killed by the guilty party. Loose ends, disappearing corpses, a lack of clues, and too many suspects were the hallmarks of this popular show. Casey was a top-notch photojournalist for the fictional Morning Express often started his assignments at the Blue Note Café’, a cozy jazz bar in a great city populated by murderers, kidnap victims, and ex-cons framed for crimes they didn’t commit. The police were portrayed unsympathetically – always willing to wrap up the case after Casey had solved it for them. Assisting Casey was fellow reporter and female interest, the always charming Annie Williams. The character of Jack “Flashgun” Casey was the creation of George Harmon Coxe, and first appeared in the pulp magazine Black Mask (in the radio series, his first name was never given). Alonzo Deen Cole, responsible for the eerie late-night horror program, The Witch’s Tale, wrote most of the radio scripts and many of his episodes featured elements of the supernatural. Casey, Crime Photographer inspired two motion pictures and a series of comic books. In 1951, the radio program made the transition to television with Darren McGavin in the lead. The video version lasted just one full season, McGavin later recalling the difficulty of adapting radio scripts for the visual medium. In 1954, the radio program came back on air for a further year and was a firm favorite with those fans who liked their mysteries laced with jazz music and their solutions fairly obvious.
Enjoy two free mystery episodes of Suspense
A) 4/11/46 The Name of the Beast w/ Vincent Price
B) 2/6/47 End of the Road w/ Glenn Ford
Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion (Hitchcock was unable to avail himself for its radio run on CBS). Considered by many to be the best mystery/drama series of the golden age, Suspense was known as Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills and focused on climactic stories starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by “The Man in Black” who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that, at the very end, usually had an unseen twist or two. Suspense had the ability to stir your nerves and withhold solutions until the last possible moment. Hollywood’s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on Suspense, including Cary Grant, James Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Ronald Colman, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Ford, Robert Montgomery, Bette Davis and Orson Welles. Agnes Moorehead was dubbed “The First Lady of Suspense” for having starred in more episodes than any other actor. Music for Suspense was by Bernard Herrmann (Lucille Fletcher’s husband from 1938-1948) and scripts were by John Dickson Carr, E. Jack Neuman, Robert Tallman, Mel Dinelli, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury and many others. Running more than 20 years, Suspense aired nearly 1,000 radio broadcasts. It made the transition to television in 1949, but it was much better suited for radio, where thetheatre of the mind could run free.
Enjoy two free sci-fi episodes of Dimension X
A) 4/15/50 With Folded Hands w/ Peter Capell
B) 5/6/50 Knock w/ Arnold Moss
Hosted by Norman Rose, Dimension X was one of radio’s first adult science-fiction series and made its mark by adapting short stories by acknowledged masters in the field, including Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Fredric Brown, Robert. A. Heinlein, Clifford D. Simak, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and William Tenn. Scriptwriters, Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, who also contributed their own original material, adapted the stories. At the start of every broadcast, host Norman Rose promised us Adventures in time and space, told in future tense! You knew you were about to be transported from your everyday existence to somewhere completely different -- maybe even a distant planet. Radio was a fertile medium for science fiction. It was easy to visit other planets, interact with aliens or fly in a rocket ship simply by using your imagination. Dimension X debuted over NBC on April 8, 1950 accumulated some 50 episodes with its final broadcast on September 29, 1951. There was a five-month hiatus during the winter and spring of 1951.
Carl and Lisa present the radio episode The Burns & Allen Show 4/25/46 w/ George Burns and Gracie Allen
Carl and Lisa present two radio episodes of Stay Tuned For Terror from 1945 The Man Who Raised the Dead & Wine of the Wizard
Carl and Lisa present the radio episode The Humphrey Bogart Theater 8/17/49 Dead Man w/ Humphrey Bogart
Carl and Lisa play Name That Tune, Is It Real Or Is It Ridiculous? and Learning the Lyrics and present radio episodes of Lights Out! 10/20/42 Poltergeist w/ Bea Benaderet, Inner Sanctum Mystery 5/7/46 You Could Die Laughing w/ Santos Ortega and Murder By Experts 7/11/49 Prescription for Murder w/ Ken Lynch
Carl and Lisa play Beat the Host and present the radio episode Suspense 11/1/45 The Dunwich Horror w/ Ronald Colman
Carl and Lisa present the scary radio episode Mystery House 7/3/44 The Thirsty Death w/ Bela Lugosi and John Carradine
Enjoy two free comedy/quiz episodes of You Bet Your Life w/ Groucho Marx
A) 4/21/54 Secret word: People
B) 4/28/54 Secret word: Smile
Created by John Guedel, You Bet Your Life was one of the best-loved quiz shows to air on both radio and television. It was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman at his side. It debuted on radio in 1947 and lasted until 1960. For much of this time it was also seen on television. Contestant teams usually consisted of one male and one female, mostly selected from the studio audience. Groucho would engage in humorous conversations with the contestants and if they said the “secret word” (a common word revealed to the audience at the outset of each episode) a toy duck resembling Groucho – with eyeglasses and a mustache – descended from the ceiling to bring a $100 prize. After the conversations, the actual game began. Contestants were allowed to choose from a list of 20 available categories and try to answer a series of questions within the category to win additional money. At the end of the show, the contestants could play for a Jackpot question, risking half of their previous earnings in the hope of winning the Jackpot.
Enjoy two free mystery episodes of Mystery In the Air w/ Peter Lorre
A) 8/28/47 Beyond Good and Evil
B) 9/4/47 The Mask of Medusa
Peter Lorre had always wanted to star in his own dramatic radio program so when The Abbott & Costello Show took its 1947 summer vacation, NBC and advertising agency William Esty & Company, granted his wish. They turned over the microphones to Lorre as star of thirteen episodes of a chiller series titled Mystery in the Air. Cut from the cloth of tales woven by the imaginations of some of the most famous authors in history, Mystery in the Air, brilliantly brought horror classics to life, including “The Telltale Heart,” “The Marvelous Barastro,” “The Lodger,” “The Horla,” “The Black Cat”, “Crime and Punishment” and “The Mask of Medusa”. Lorre delivered tour de force performances of men tortured and driven by dark impulses. The supporting casts were the best in the business, including Agnes Moorehead, Peggy Webber, Russell Thorson, John Brown, Hans Conried, Howard Culver, Jane Morgan, Luis Van Rooten, Herb Butterfield and Ben Wright. The announcer was Henry Morgan, who we would all know later as Harry Morgan from TV’s Dragnet and MASH. Sponsors were Camel Cigarettes and Prince Albert pipe tobacco. The series was produced and directed by Don Bernard and Cal Kuhl. Mystery in the Air was a collection of dark and compelling stories culled from the four corners of literature.* Unfortunately for Peter Lorre fans, the series did not continue in the fall following its initial summer cycle.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
A) 2/10/47 The Strange Case of the Persecuted Millionaire w/ Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce
B) 4/18/48 The Case of the Very Best Butter w/ John Stanley and Alfred Shirley
Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the legendary, violin-playing detective and his loyal companion were first heard on the air in a 1922 local production of “The Sign of the Four” by pioneer station (Schenectady, New York). Doyle wrote 56 short stories and four novels based on the Holmes character. Radio scriptwriter Edith Meiser handled all the adaptations during the first decade and when material was running low, the Conan Doyle estate gave her permission to create original mysteries. The stories have been dramatized so often and by so many performers in every known entertainment medium that listing them would require volumes of footnotes. Of all the Sherlock Holmes dramas broadcast on radio, however, the most popular starred Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (broadcast from 1939 until 1946). To many, these fine Hollywood actors represented the quintessential Holmes and Dr. Watson. Nigel Bruce, playing a retired Watson, usually functioned as the narrator, entertaining listeners with accounts of his adventures alongside the eccentric detective. Following Rathbone’s departure from the role in 1946, Tom Conway played Holmes to Nigel Bruce’s Dr. Watson. In 1947, both Conway and Bruce were replaced by John Stanley and Alfred Shirley, with Shirley replaced by Ian Martin for the 1948-49 season. Regardless of who performed the roles of Holmes and Watson, the quality of the stories remained constant. Well-crafted, atmospheric, and never sensationalized, these were good, solid mysteries and the millions of listeners who sat back in their easy chairs, cup of hot tea or coffee in hand, thoroughly enjoyed them.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Show w/ guests, Marlene Dietrich and Rosemary Clooney
A) 3/21/52 w/ guest, Marlene Dietrich
B) 9/16/52 w/ guest, Rosemary Clooney
In 1949, NBC tapped the comedy duo of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis as a Summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show. Dean and Jerry were popular nightclub performers with sold out crowds everywhere they played. NBC offered them Bob Hope’s vacated timeslot and committed to one of the biggest build-ups ever given to a pair of newcomers to radio comedy. Dean and Jerry didn’t disappoint and proved that they could dish out their distinctive brand of zanyism over the airwaves in a big way. The Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Show was more than just Martin’s golden voice and Lewis’ zany antics -- the network insisted on a weekly celebrity guest which included Dick Powell, Henry Fonda, Bing Crosby, John Garfield, Vincent Price, Jane Russell and even Bob Hope himself. The weekly budget was a pricey $10,000, but after a short while, the series attracted a sponsor and executives at NBC patted themselves on the back for establishing a hit show that also became a financial success. With that kind of budget, NBC could afford Norman Lear, the comedy genius later responsible for All in the Family and Sanford and Son, as writer. The success of the radio series led to Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis also appearing as monthly hosts for NBC’s Colgate Comedy Hour, a highly-rated television show. NBC used the television program to cross-promote the radio program, even recycling some of the radio sketches for the television counterpart. Film producer Hal Wallis jumped on the Martin & Lewis bandwagon, signing the boys to a multi-picture film contract. Their film comedies were box office gold catapulting them to mega-stardom. With meteoritic success on radio, TV and films, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis proved they were masters of all three commercial media. After their partnership ended in 1956, both went on to successful solo careers and neither would comment on the split nor consider a reunion.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator starring William Gargan
A) 12/5/51 The Paper Bullets
B) 12/12/51 Death and the Purple Cow
Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator was a popular detective series heard on NBC from 1951 until 1955. Initially it was titled Barry Crane but soon became Barrie Craig. The series starred William Gargan as New York-based Barrie Craig with Ralph Bell as homicide detective, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig liked to work alone and had an office on Madison Avenue. He solved his cases efficiently, and feared no one. He was billed as “your man when you can’t go to the cops, confidentiality a specialty.” Craig’s style was laid-back, which cut against the popular hard-boiled detective stereotype. Scripts were by Louis Vittes, John Roeburt and Ernest Kinoy. The series was broadcast from New York until 1954 with the East Coast’s best supporting actors rounding out the casts. In 1954, through the end of its run in 1955, NBC moved the show to Hollywood with Himan Brown and Andrew C. Love serving as directors. The producers hired Blake Edwards to write and direct a 1952 Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator TV pilot, but it never sold. A few years earlier, William Gargan had played a similar character on radio and TV called Martin Kane, Private Eye. Maybe the reason Gargan was such a convincing detective is because he was a real detective prior to becoming an actor. He worked as a credit investigator and collection agent for a clothing firm. After that, he worked as a private detective with a New York agency for $10.00 a day and expenses. As an actor, Gargan played Ellery Queen in three movies before being cast as Martin Kane, Private Eye. After he left Martin Kane, Gargan signed a million-dollar, seven-year contract with MCA to star in Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator on NBC.
Enjoy two free western episodes of Gunsmoke starring William Conrad
A) 9/19/53 There Was Never a Horse
B) 9/26/53 Fawn
Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there’s just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers and that’s with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of … GUNSMOKE! In the late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley, a fan of the Phillip Marlowe radio series, asked his programming chief to develop a hardboiled Western series. Several attempts were made but the project was shelved until 1952 when Norman Macdonnell and John Meston were brought in. Produced for adult listeners, Macdonnell and Meston set Gunsmoke in Dodge City, Kansas, during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Few radio westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. On Gunsmoke, the stories were grim, the deaths violent and life on the plains was harsh. Radio audiences had never heard anything like Gunsmoke and they made it the #1 western on radio drawing critical acclaim for unprecedented realism. The dialogue was often slow and halting, and as a result of the outstanding sound effects, listeners had a nearly palpable sense of the prairie where the show was set. The effects were subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious and authentic feel. Gunsmoke soon made a successful transition to television (with a completely different cast) becoming the longest-running dramatic series in TV history. Several of the radio scripts were adapted for the television show. Join William Conrad (U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon), Parley Baer (Deputy Chester Proudfoot), Georgia Ellis (Kitty Russell) and Howard McNear (Doc Adams) in the continuing story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe w/ Gerald Mohr
A) 12/3/49 The Kid on the Corner
B) 1/28/50 The Hairpin Turn
Raymond Chandler, author of the celebrated Philip Marlowe novels, had originally wanted to approve the scripts for the radio adaption of his creation. After the success of the Marlowe movies, Chandler knew the detective was a sure-fire hit, but in the end had very little involvement with the radio program. Van Heflin was the first actor to portray the cynical sleuth in a series that debuted in 1947, a scheduled summer replacement for The Bob Hope show. With his restrained yet forceful handling of the part, Heflin turned Philip Marlowe into a slicker sleuth than most. Chandler reportedly disliked Heflin’s portrayal, believing it was “thoroughly flat,” according to a letter sent to writer Erle Stanley Gardner. Marlowe returned to the airwaves in the fall of 1948, played by Gerald Mohr. The Broadway actor’s baritone voice was perfect for the fictional Los Angeles detective, and Mohr played him as a “packed personality” who would even rough up a street urchin to get information. Marlowe was a lone wolf who hired himself out to anyone who could pay his “ten-a-day plus expenses.” When the series left the air in 1951, CBS had begun production of a television pilot in the hopes of adapting the character for the tube. Mohr went along for the ride but the pilot didn’t sell. No worries, the actor soon found himself being offered strong supporting roles in television series and motion pictures by nearly every major TV and film studio. Philip Carey was cast as Marlowe in an ABC 1959-60 TV series and Powers Boothe portrayed the celebrated detective in a top-notch HBO series from 1983-1986.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe w/ Gerald Mohr
A) 12/3/49 The Kid on the Corner
B) 1/28/50 The Hairpin Turn
Raymond Chandler, author of the celebrated Philip Marlowe novels, had originally wanted to approve the scripts for the radio adaption of his creation. After the success of the Marlowe movies, Chandler knew the detective was a sure-fire hit, but in the end had very little involvement with the radio program. Van Heflin was the first actor to portray the cynical sleuth in a series that debuted in 1947, a scheduled summer replacement for The Bob Hope show. With his restrained yet forceful handling of the part, Heflin turned Philip Marlowe into a slicker sleuth than most. Chandler reportedly disliked Heflin’s portrayal, believing it was “thoroughly flat,” according to a letter sent to writer Erle Stanley Gardner. Marlowe returned to the airwaves in the fall of 1948, played by Gerald Mohr. The Broadway actor’s baritone voice was perfect for the fictional Los Angeles detective, and Mohr played him as a “packed personality” who would even rough up a street urchin to get information. Marlowe was a lone wolf who hired himself out to anyone who could pay his “ten-a-day plus expenses.” When the series left the air in 1951, CBS had begun production of a television pilot in the hopes of adapting the character for the tube. Mohr went along for the ride but the pilot didn’t sell. No worries, the actor soon found himself being offered strong supporting roles in television series and motion pictures by nearly every major TV and film studio. Philip Carey was cast as Marlowe in an ABC 1959-60 TV series and Powers Boothe portrayed the celebrated detective in a top-notch HBO series from 1983-1986.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Jack Benny Program w/ Jack Benny and all his gang
A) 3/27/55 The Shooting of Dan McGrew
B) 3/4/51 Going to the Dentist
Born in Chicago, February 14, 1894, Benjamin Kubelsky would later become known as Jack Benny. As a boy, he was encouraged by his Jewish immigrant parents from Poland to become a concert violinist. He learned to play quite well and hit the vaudeville stage, where he played popular songs and honed a suave-but-fragile personality, telling self-deprecating jokes. Benny guested on Ed Sullivan’s radio show March 19, 1932 and was an instant success. Canada Dry signed him to a contract that same year and soon Jack Benny was broadcasting each week on CBS. His radio career included a long run on NBC and then a return to CBS through his final radio days. His all-star supporting cast included his wife Mary Livingstone, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson, announcer Don Wilson and The Sportsmen Quartet. As Jerry Seinfeld would emulate years later on Seinfeld, Benny’s cast received the best jokes – many pointed at the show’s star. Expert scripts constantly reminded listeners of Benny’s portrayal of himself as a lovable, vain, miser, concerned about his receding hairline and insistence that he was no older than 39. His sponsors over the years included Canada Dry, Chevrolet, Jell-O, Grape Nuts Flakes and Lucky Strike. The Jack Benny Program made a successful transition to television with his entire supporting cast in tow. Benny’s radio and television shows ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as the high-water mark in 20th century American comedy.
Enjoy two free mystery episodes of The Whistler w/ Frank Lovejoy
A) 7/16/47 Beyond Reasonable Doubt
B) 8/6/47 Dark Future
Eerie whistling, picked up by the orchestra for dramatic effect, was the signature tune for this CBS mystery/crime anthology created by J. Donald Wilson. Many considered The Whistler a sister program to Suspense but without the celebrity guests. Through a careless mistake or a twist of fate, nearly every killer, blackmailer, and criminal would ultimately be brought to justice by the show’s conclusion. Always looming in the shadows was the Whistler, an omnipresent figure acting almost as a guilty conscience. Having foreseen the fate of the protagonists, he nevertheless urged them on, strangely aware of what they were thinking. The Whistler’s grim chortles concluded each story of those unfortunate enough to be caught in a dark web of their own making. The program initially aired on the CBS Pacific Network without a sponsor, then in December of 1943 secured the backing of Signal Oil. Two productions with recycled scripts were also broadcast for both Chicago and the East Coast, but with a different cast. The radio program never managed to secure a coast-to-coast sponsor for a nationwide hook-up yet it still had a long and successful run airing from 1942 until 1955. For a time, Gale Gordon, Marvin Miller and Joseph Kearns supplied the voice of the Whistler but Bill Forman had the role the longest. Columbia Pictures produced a series of eight motion pictures based on the radio series from 1944 to 1948. A television series comprising 39 episodes was produced in 1954 which was distributed via syndication throughout the rest of the decade.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of Boston Blackie w/ Dick Kollmar
A) 7/16/46 The Green Line Trucking Murder
B) 7/23/46 The Murdering Cuckoo Clock
Everyone loves an underdog, especially one who can exchange barbs with police inspectors and prove himself smarter than the law. On radio, Boston Blackie was an ex-safecracker, constantly suspected of crimes he did not commit and forced to play the role of detective to clear his name. Girlfriend Mary Wesley assisted Blackie from time to time. As the announcer reminded listeners each week, Blackie was “enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend.” Blackie helped many underworld characters resolve their disputes with the law and was forced to defend himself against the accusations of Inspector Faraday. Looking for a summer replacement for Amos ‘n’ Andy, Frederic W. Ziv test-marketed Boston Blackie nationwide. Lever Brothers sponsored the program and pitched Rinso Laundry soap. The short-run 1944 series featured Chester Morris reprising his 1941 screen role as Boston Blackie, with Richard Lane as Inspector Faraday. Blackie was aided by the Runt, a small-time hood, who also appeared in the Columbia Pictures series. For Columbia, the radio program served to cross-promote the latest Boston Blackie picture. For Ziv, the investment proved fruitful. The program was a tremendous success and quickly went into production for syndication … without Chester Morris. Beginning in 1945, Ziv released the first of what would be numerous package deals consisting of transcription discs to radio stations coast-to-coast. Broadway actor Richard Kollmar (husband to Dorothy Kilgallen) played the title role and the Runt was replaced by a character named Shorty. For the radio series, a female character was added, Mary Wesley (played by Jan Miner and Lesley Woods). In the Boston Blackie novels by Jack Boyle, Mary was Blackie’s wife but Ziv thought a girlfriend, especially one who suspected Blackie of committing crimes but hoped to be proven wrong, was more interesting. Boston Blackie proved to be among Ziv’s most lucrative investments, running a close second to The Cisco Kid but outshining his other radio ventures, including shows starring Red Skelton and Eddie Cantor.
Enjoy two free musical/variety episodes of The Kraft Music Hall w/ Bing Crosby
A) 7/6/44 w/ Bing Crosby and guests, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey
B) 11/30/44 w/ Bing Crosby and guests, Spike Jones and His City Slickers
The Kraft Music Hall was a top-rated musical-variety series first airing on NBC in 1933. Paul Whiteman (billed as “The King of Jazz”) was arguably America’s first music superstar and the show’s master of ceremonies. By 1936, Bing Crosby replaced Whiteman and stayed with the show for more than a decade. Crosby’s casual style and humorous easy-going banter made The Kraft Music Hall tops with the young “country club” set. FYI: The average radio listener was 21 during this period, compared to the average age of 11 at the movie houses. Each week, Crosby rubbed elbows with Hollywood guest stars, including Lucille Ball, Boris Karloff, Jimmy Stewart, Jack Benny, Henry Fonda and Judy Garland, to name a few. Sponsor, Kraft Foods, insisted that advertising and entertainment be kept separate. For this reason, the announcer (Ken Carpenter), not cast members, read its commercials. Crosby left in 1946 to star in Philco Radio Time, a show that could be recorded, conveniently, ahead of broadcast (having to host Kraft Music Hall live each week was cramping Crosby’s busy film and golf schedule). After a handful of short-lived hosts, Al Jolson landed the role of weekly master of ceremonies. Jolson’s sarcastic pianist and sidekick, Oscar Levant, was on hand to augment the show with his unique style of music and dry wit. Jolson stayed with the show until the end of its run in 1949. In 1958, Kraft Music Hall made a transition to television with singer Perry Como as host.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of Fibber McGee & Molly w/ Jim and Marian Jordan
A) 2/17/48 Book Nook
B) 6/1/48 Fibber’s Tune
Fibber McGee & Molly had a long and successful run on radio (1935-1959). The program showcased terrific comic and musical talent. Headlined by its co-creators and stars, Jim and Marian Jordan, they were a real-life husband and wife team that had been working in radio since the 1920s. Living in the fictional Midwestern town of Wistful Vista, Fibber was an American teller of tall tales and lovable braggart, usually to the exasperation of his long-suffering wife, Molly. Life in Wistful Vista followed a well-developed formula, but was always fresh. Fibber's weekly schemes would be interrupted, inspired by, and often played upon the people of Wistful Vista. Regular characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Beulah, Myrt, the Old Timer and Fibber’s next-door neighbor, Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (the Gildersleeve character would be spun-off into its own successful radio series, The Great Gildersleeve). Fibber McGee & Molly began as a comic reflection of Depression Era America, but as time went on and the shadows of war came over the nation, the show again caught the mood of the country. WWII was fought on the home front at Wistful Vista as surely as anywhere else in America, but here they had the benefit of Fibber's somewhat addled perspective. In the peak of the show’s success in the 1940s, it was adapted for the silver screen in a series of feature films. An attempt to bring the series to TV in 1959 with a different cast and new writers was both a critical and commercial failure proving that success in one medium is no guarantee of success in another.
Enjoy two free medical drama episodes of The Story of Dr. Kildare w/ Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore
A) 12/7/49 Appendectomy
B) 12/14/49 Experimental Cancer Treatment
In 1949, MGM Studios decided to embark on a new and potentially very profitable business venture – producing transcription discs of radio programs for syndication. Convinced they could build on the success of the already released Dr. Kildare motion-picture series, the studio hired Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore to reprise their screen roles as Dr. James Kildare and Dr. Leonard Gillespie, respectively. Kildare was a compassionate, caring physician at Blair General Hospital, New York City; Gillespie a crusty, lovable diagnostician. As Kildare reminded listeners week after week in the opening signature: Whatsoever house I enter, there will I go for the benefit of the sick, and whatever things I see or hear concerning the life of men I will keep silent thereon, counting such things to be held as sacred trusts. Lionel Barrymore became physically disabled before his screen role as Dr. Gillespie came to an end. Having already broken his hip twice, his condition deteriorated and he was confined to a wheelchair. Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM, assured the actor that there would always be employment for him at the studio and he was true to his word. Barrymore was soon in front of the microphone playing the physically active Dr. Gillespie and the radio audience was none the wiser. A total of 78 transcription discs were produced and syndicated across the country on local stations, with commercial time sold to local interests. Stations nationwide continued to air The Story of Dr. Kildare on radio a few years after Barrymore’s death in 1954.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective w/ Howard Duff
A) 6/27/48 The Bail-Bond Caper
B) 7/4/48 The Rushlight Diamond Caper
The detective character, Sam Spade, was created by Dashiell Hammett for his crime novel The Maltese Falcon. Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. The character is most closely associated with Humphrey Bogart who played Sam Spade in the third and most famous film version of The Maltese Falcon (1941). In 1946, one of radio’s top producers, William Spier, brought Sam Spade to CBS radio starring newcomer Howard Duff with Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) as Spade’s secretary, Effie Perrine and sponsored by Wildroot Cream-Oil. Duff took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movies. Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the radio series but had little involvement. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for “Best Radio Drama” from the Mystery Writers of America. In 1949, The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective moved to NBC, and soon after, Howard Duff was replaced by Steve Dunne.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Abbott & Costello Show w/ Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
A) 5/30/46 Cleopatra in Egypt
B) 4/21/48 Matrimonial Bureau
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello started in vaudeville in the early 1930s and by 1938 they were appearing as regulars on The Kate Smith Hour. By the fall of 1942, they had their own weekly radio program which topped the popularity polls of Radio Daily and Radio Guide. At first, radio listeners had trouble telling them apart, so they quickly adapted by Bud lowering his voice a tad with Lou raising his (something they continued to do throughout their careers). Their celebrated Who’s On First baseball routine helped make them a national sensation. The Abbott & Costello Show ran for seven years until the summer of 1949 when the boys ventured into the television business. Produced by Costello’s wife, Patricia, their television series lasted two seasons and gave Bud and Lou an opportunity to reprise the best comedic sketches and scenarios from their radio scripts. The next time you watch one of their television programs, or one of their big screen movies, remember that the flat sarcasm of Bud Abbott and shrieks from Lou Costello originated on radio – the perfect medium for verbal standup that is often imitated today.
Enjoy two free mystery episodes of Suspense w/ Lana Turner and Joseph Cotten
A) 5/3/45 Fear Paints a Picture
B) 9/27/45 The Earth is Made of Glass
Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion (Hitchcock was unable to avail himself for its radio run on CBS). Considered by many to be the best mystery/drama series of the golden age, Suspense was known as Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills and focused on suspenseful stories starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by “The Man in Black” who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that, at the very end, usually had an unseen twist or two. Suspense had the ability to stir your nerves and withhold solutions until the last possible moment. Hollywood’s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on Suspense, including Cary Grant, James Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Ronald Colman, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Ford, Robert Montgomery, Bette Davis and Orson Welles. Agnes Moorehead was dubbed “The First Lady of Suspense” for having starred in more episodes than any other actor. Music for Suspense was by Bernard Herrmann (Lucille Fletcher’s husband from 1938-1948) and scripts were by John Dickson Carr, E. Jack Neuman, Robert Tallman, Mel Dinelli, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury and many others. Running more than 20 years, Suspense aired nearly 1,000 radio broadcasts. It made the transition to television in 1949, but it was much better suited for radio, where thetheatre of the mind could run free.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Adventures of Maisie w/ Ann Sothern
A) 11/16/50 Maisie and the Wrestler
B) 11/30/50 Census and Screen Test Racket
In the mid 1930’s, MGM purchased the rights to a popular novel by Wilson Collison titled Dark Dame which they had planned to film with their platinum blonde glamour gal, Jean Harlow. Due to Harlow’s untimely death, MGM shelved the project until 1939 when it was retooled as a film called Maisie for another of their film stars, Ann Sothern. In total, MGM released 10 Maisie films from 1939 until 1947 and although the films were strictly B-movie fare, they proved quite popular. In 1945, CBS decided to bring the character to radio and cast Ann Sothern in the role she made famous on the big screen. On radio, as in the pictures, Maisie was a Brooklyn beauty and Jane-of-all-trades. Maisie was an underemployed burlesque dancer, who fell in love often, but always went her own way in the end. The radio casts included: Hy Averback, Arthur Q. Bryan, Hans Conried, Virginia Gregg, Peter Leeds, Johnny McGovern, Sheldon Leonard and Sidney Miller. During the height of the radio run, Sothern contracted infectious hepatitis after receiving an impure serum shot while she was in England for a stage performance. Confined to her bed, she continued to work on the Maisie radio series while she recuperated.
Enjoy two free true-crime episodes of This Is Your FBI w/ Stacy Harris
A) 5/14/48 The Big Guy
B) 11/21/52 The Swamp Killer
J. Edgar Hoover, the powerful first director of the F.B.I., insisted any portrayal of the bureau on radio should be positive, emphasizing its successes in the war on crime and the effectiveness of its modern techniques. Local police departments had already cooperated with producers of true-crime programs by providing files of old cases that could be dramatized. The F.B.I.’s files were bursting with robberies, murders, and assorted acts of skullduggery. For This Is Your FBI, Hoover gave producer/director Jerry Devine access to its closed F.B.I. files and fans of the series had a weekly treat in store. Told from the agent’s point of view, stories had our men in blue tracking down embezzlers, murderers, kidnappers, burglars and enemies of the state. Over a period of 8 years, screen star Frank Lovejoy, followed by Dean Carleton and William Woodson, narrated exciting, realistic dramatizations of racket-busting and crime detection. Special Agent Jim Taylor, played by Stacy Harris, took the lead role. His character was fictional but the cases were real, with the names of criminals, as well as locations, changed to protect the identity of innocent people involved. The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States sponsored This Is Your FBI for the entire run (1945-1953). The program covered much of the same ground as Gang Busters, which was created in 1935 by Phillips H. Lord.
Enjoy two free western episodes of Frontier Gentleman w/ John Dehner
A) 2/16/58 The Honkey Tonkers
B) 8/17/58 The Wonder Boy
Frontier Gentleman was a radio western series aimed at adults that aired on CBS radio for one season in 1958. It starred radio veteran John Dehner as J.B. Kendall, reporter for The London Times newspaper. The series followed the adventures of Kendall, an English journalist, as he roamed the western United States in search of stories for his newspaper. In order to survive in these turbulent times, Kendall became as proficient with a gun as he was with a pen. The announcer opened each show with “Herewith, an Englishman's account of life and death in the West. As a reporter for the London Times, he writes his colorful and unusual accounts. But as a man with a gun, he lives and becomes a part of the violent years in the new territories. Now, starring John Dehner, this is the story of J. B. Kendall, Frontier Gentleman.” Created,written, produced and directed by Antony Ellis, Kendall often crossed paths with well-known historical figures, such as Jesse James, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok. Music was by Wilbur Hatch and Jerry Goldsmith and the casts included Harry Bartell, Lawrence Dobkin, Virginia Gregg, Joseph Kearns, Jack Moyles and Vic Perrin.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of The Saint w/ Vincent Price
A) 8/27/50 Cupid and the Corpse
B) 6/3/51 The Girl in the Lowe Berth
The Saintwas a freelance detective with a dark side. He devoted his time and resources to curtailing the activities of murderers, embezzlers, and thieves … but heaven help those who interrupted his dinner. The protagonist of the novels penned by Leslie Charteris was not particularly saintly and his alias derives from the initials of his name, Simon Templar. Not adverse to breaking the law when necessary and always willing to hire himself out to the highest bidder, Templar was more of an anti-hero and the character often needed a little adjustment to make it past radio censors during the 1940s and 1950s. In the radio series, the Saint assisted law enforcement agencies when red tape hampered investigation and was portrayed as a “Robin Hood of modern crime,” who always came to the aid of victims. Sophisticated yet streetwise, he was an art lover, a fighter, and a super-sleuth. The program ran for less than a year with screen actors Edgar Barrier and Brian Aherne in the title role. Leslie Charteris wrote the scripts and produced the series, ensuring his literary property would remain faithful to the printed page. In the summer of 1947, the program returned with Hollywood star Vincent Price (and later Tom Conway) in the lead. By this point, Charteris had taken a back seat. In the new incarnation, the Saint was more of a lighthearted character and the scripts were peppered with witticisms and throwaway lines. It ran on radio until 1951 but by 1962, TV audiences were enjoying Roger Moore as the sophisticated Simon Templar.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Milton Berle Show w/ Milton Berle
A) 9/23/47 Saluting the Auto Industry
B) 9/30/47 Saluting Brooklyn
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger) had a comedy career that spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and television. As the host of NBC’s Texaco Star Theater (1948-55), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as “Uncle Miltie” and “Mr. Television.” From 1934-36, Berle appeared regularly on Rudy Vallee’s radio show. In 1939, he became host of Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One with panelists spontaneously finishing jokes sent in by listeners. In the late 1940s, he cancelled high-paying nightclub appearances to expand his radio career. His Philip Morris-sponsored show aired on NBC in 1947 and 1948. Scripted by Hal Block and Martin Ragaway, The Milton Berle Show brought Berle together with Arnold Stang. Others in the cast were Pert Kelton, Mary Shipp, Jack Albertson, Arthur Q. Bryan and Ed Begley. It served as a springboard for Berle’s emergence as television’s first major star.
Enjoy two sci-fi episodes of X Minus One w/ Wendel Holmes
A) 5/8/55 Mars is Heaven
B) 3/28/56 A Pail of Air
By 1955, television had become the dominant home-entertainment medium and no one at the NBC network, nor the country’s leading writers of science-fiction, cared much about X Minus One because it was a radio series. But the producers, directors, writers, and cast felt differently and against all the odds, their skill and commitment resulted in critical acclaim for the series. It was the longest-running adult science-fiction program on network radio. Space travel and alien life were hot topics through the 1950s and intelligent science-fiction writing was full of predictions about the future of the human race. If any network could broadcast good quality dramatizations of such thought-provoking stories on radio, it would be NBC. Van Woodward, producer of Dimension X was brought on board to repurpose the program, which would go out under a different name. By the time X Minus One came along in 1955, “television was knocking radio out of the box, particularly where advertising revenues were concerned,” Woodward recalled. The network agreed to produce the show on condition the budget remained below costs. Radio actors were paid minimum scale; scriptwriters Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts devoted long hours to re-write without additional pay, and canned music was used instead of a live orchestra. Recycling and adapting 34 of the first 35 radio scripts from Dimension X helped to keep the budget down. After that, new stories from Galaxy Science-Fiction magazine were dramatized, under a special arrangement of $50 per story for the broadcast rights: one-fifth of the usual price. Executives at NBC never understood the popular fascination for science-fiction, believing that only juvenile listeners tuned in to hear the broadcasts -- but they were wrong. Sci-Fi fans of all ages were listening and the series enjoyed a successful radio run from 1955 until 1958.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar w/ Bob Bailey
A) 1/20/57 The Blooming Blossom Matter
B) 6/18/61 The Big Date Matter
As originally conceived, Johnny Dollar was a smart, tough, wisecracking detective who tossed silver-dollar tips to waiters and bellhops. Dick Powell starred in the 1948 recorded pilot but withdrew from the role in favor of other projects. Charles Russell landed the part and early on Dollar’s expertise was deeply established in insurance fraud investigation. By the fall of 1949, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar came to CBS radio and chronicled the transcribed adventures of America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator, "the man with the action-packed expense account.” For 12 years, it was one of the most popular detective shows on the air, lasting until the final days of network radio drama in 1962. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance executive calling on Johnny Dollar to investigate an unusual claim. The investigations usually required Dollar to travel to distant locales and often involved murder. The stories were recounted in flashback, as Dollar listed each line item from his expense account: “Item one, $3.75 cab fare to the airport.” While Dollar was always a friend of the police, he wasn’t necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer, the Universal Adjustment Bureau, was protected. Over the years, many actors portrayed Johnny Dollar, including John Lund and Edmond O’Brien but in 1955, Bob Bailey, took over as the series was switching to a new dynamic format of 75-minute storylines told in five, 15-minute installments Monday-thru-Friday. In 1956, CBS retooled the show, which reverted to a weekly half-hour drama, airing on late Sunday afternoons. Bob Bailey continued in the leading role until 1960. Roy Rowan was the announcer (he was also the announcer on CBS’s I Love Lucy). While other radio shows were waning in the mid 1950s, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was at its peak. By 1960, Bob Readick played the lead giving way to Mandel Kramer, who became radio’s last Johnny Dollar.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Aldrich Family w/ Bobby Ellis
A) 11/23/52 Thanksgiving Show
B) 12/14/52 Renting the Aldrich’s House
The Aldrich Family was the quintessential teenage sitcom, focusing on the comic exploits of Henry Aldrich as he negotiated the challenges of growing up in the modern age. Youngsters were quick to identify with Henry, a typical teenager in high school, who – along with his pal Homer Brown - faced adolescent tribulations on a weekly basis. The success of the program stemmed from its insight into the curious facets of an adolescent’s nature and perhaps that was why teenagers of the times made up the largest group of faithful listeners. Henry Aldrich was the brainchild of Clifford Goldsmith, who wrote What a Life in 1937, a stageplay in which the character of Henry Aldrich first appeared. Henry’s misadventures were broadcast as 10-minute insertions on Rudy Vallee’s program in 1937, and became a weekly feature on Kate Smith’s radio show throughout 1938. By 1939, the concept was expanded into a half-hour situation comedy series entitled The Aldrich Family. MGM’s popular Andy Hardy movies had influenced the series. Andy’s father was a judge and Henry’s father was an attorney by profession and, like Judge Hardy, the patriarch to whom family members could turn to for advice. But most of the radio adventures centered on Henry’s zany experiences. Ezra Stone was radio’s first Henry Aldrich and would have the role the longest. There were other actors to portray Henry, including Norman Tokar, Raymond Ives, Dickie Jones and Bobby Ellis. Within two years, The Aldrich Family reached the top ten. A Crossley rating of 33.4 percent of listeners meant the show rivaled Jack Benny and Bob Hope. Hoping to cash in on the Andy Hardy film success, Paramount produced 11 Aldrich Family movies. A TV series and comic books followed. The show’s popularity inspired a number of other well-meaning teenage sitcoms including: Archie Andrews, A Date With Judy, Meet Corliss Archer and That Brewster Boy.
Enjoy two free horror episodes of Inner Sanctum Mystery w/ Paul McGrath
A) 5/30/49 The Corpse is Lonely
B) 4/17/50 Beneficiary, Death
Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mystery debuted over NBC’s Blue Network in January 1941. Inner Sanctum Mystery featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned and the famous “creaking door” slowly began to open. Every week, Inner Sanctum Mystery told stories of ghosts, murderers and lunatics. Produced in New York by Himan Brown, the casts usually consisted of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by Hollywood stars including Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains. What made Inner Sanctum Mystery unique among radio horror shows was its host -- a slightly sinister sounding fellow originally known as “Raymond.” The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from the Crypt-Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson was the show’s host until 1945; Paul McGrath took over as host until the show left the air in 1952. Beginning in 1945, Lipton Tea sponsored the series, pairing Raymond and a cheery spokeswoman (Mary Bennett – the Lipton Tea Lady), whose sprightly pitches for Lipton Tea seemed out of place with the macabre themes of the stories. Later in the run, Bromo-Seltzer came aboard as sponsor. In 1974-82, producer, Himan Brown, would utilize the creaking door again in his masterful attempt to resurrect radio drama, The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of Mr. & Mrs. North w/ Richard Denning and Barbara Britton
A) 6/9/53 Wheel of Chance
B) 3/30/54 Touch of Death
Created by Frances and Richard Lockridge, Mr. & Mrs. North were fictional amateur detectives appearing in dozens of novels (1936-63), a Broadway play, a motion picture and several radio and television series. The Norths were not professional detectives, but simply a well-to-do New York couple who stumbled across a murder or two every week (for 12 years) and felt compelled to solve the crimes. A 1942 MGM movie starred William Post, Jr. and George Burns’ wife, Gracie Allen. That same year, the adventures of Mr. and Mrs. North debuted on radio and was soon generating top ratings with a weekly listenership of 20-million fans. By 1946, the radio series received the Edgar Award of excellence from the Mystery Writers of America (in a tie with CBS’s The Adventures of Ellery Queen). Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost originally voiced the roles of Jerry and Pam North on radio. Later, Richard Denning and Barbara Britton were cast, staying on for its successful transition to TV. The TV series was seen on CBS in 1952 and 1953 and on NBC in 1954. The characters were later resurrected, in spirit, with ABC’s Hart to Hart the 1979 through 1984 crime drama about a wealthy husband (Robert Wagner) and wife (Stefanie Powers).
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of Life With Luigi w/ J. Carrol Naish
A) 5/2/50 “Sootho Cough Syrup”
B) 7/4/50 “July 4th Parade"
For five years, character actor and two-time Academy Award nominee J. Carrol Naish played Luigi Basco, the hard-working Italian immigrant owner of an antique store who attended night school classes in order to become a fully-fledged American citizen. Set in Chicago’s Italian community in the postwar era, the adventures of inexperienced young Luigi were hilarious and heart-warming in equal measure. Luigi’s ‘friend’ spaghetti-restaurant owner Pasquale was constantly attempting to marry Luigi off to his overweight and dim-witted daughter Rosa. Luigi, on the other hand, was equally determined not to have Pasquale as a father-in-law. Many episodes took place in Luigi’s citizenship class where he and Schultz, a German immigrant and fellow classmate, tested the patience of kindly teacher, Miss Spaulding. Every episode opened and closed with a touching letter dictated by Luigi to his beloved Momma-Mia Basco, back home in Italy. Alan Reed (the voice of Fred Flintstone) played Pasquale, Jody Gilbert was Rosa, Hans Conried was Schultz and Mary Shipp was Miss Spaulding. The show was created by Cy Howard, who also gave us My Friend Irma. Its radio run was September 21, 1948 until March 3, 1953 (some of that time it was sponsored by Wrigley’s gum) and made a short-lived transition to television in 1952.
Enjoy two free mystery episodes of Escape w/ William Conrad
A) 7/11/48 She
B) 9/12/48 Evening Primrose
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high-adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 until September 25, 1954. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with this introduction, as intoned by Paul Frees or William Conrad: Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape! Following the opening theme, a second announcer (usually Roy Rowan) would add … Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure! Like its first cousin Suspense, many of the Escape stories, both originals and adaptations, involved the protagonists in dire, life-or-death straits. For most of its seven-year run Escape did not have a sponsor, so CBS only sprung for name stars on rare occasions. Instead, Escape relied on radio’s row for lead and supporting roles, including Eleanor Audley, Parley Baer, Harry Bartell, William Conrad, Ted de Corsia, John Dehner, Sam Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Lou Merrill, Howard McNear, Jeanette Nolan, Alan Reed, Bill Johnstone, Berry Kroeger, Vic Perrin, Elliott Lewis, Peggy Webber and Will Wright. Music was supplied by Del Castillo, Ivan Ditmars, Cy Feuer, Wilbur Hatch and Leith Stevens. The announcers were Paul Frees and Roy Rowan.
Enjoy two free western episodes of Wild Bill Hickok w/ Guy Madison and Andy Devine
A) 6/3/51 The Missouri Kid
B) 7/29/51
James Butler Hickok, better known as “Wild Bill” Hickok was a folk hero of the American Old West known for being a lawman, gunfighter, gambler and showman. He earned a great deal of notoriety in life and in death. His life has been depicted numerous times in literature, radio, television and film. His death is also quite notable – he was shot and killed while playing five-card stud. He was holding two pairs, black aces and black eights, which has become known as “Dead Man’s Hand.” In 1951, Kellogg’s cereals brought Wild Bill Hickok to radio and television starring Guy Madison as U.S. Marshal Wild Bill Hickok and Andy Devine as his gravel-voiced comedy sidekick Jingles P. Jones. The series used a familiar western scenario enjoyed by producers of “Hopalong Cassidy” and “The Cisco Kid” in which a strong, fearless hero is accompanied by a comic sidekick. During the 1950s, several episodes of the television shows were spliced together and released as 16 feature films by Monogram Pictures.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of Pat Novak, For Hire w/ Jack Webb
A) 4/2/49 Father Leahy
B) 6/12/49 Georgie Lampson
Beginning in 1946, Jack Webb portrayed Pat Novak, a tough, wisecracking, and cynical amateur detective, firmly in the tradition of Philip Marlowe. Just about every one of Novak’s clients attempted to double-cross him or frame him for murder. Whether he was hired to act as a bodyguard or ride shotgun on a cross-country trip, the ever-suspicious Novak knew things would get complicated. A crime would take place, and Novak would be in the frame. Somehow, he always managed to come out on top and clear his name. The episodes were fast-moving with plenty of action. The dialogue was hardboiled, the soliloquies poetic, and cynical Novak had a never-ending stock of one-liners. For clarification, Pat Novak wasn’t really a detective. He owned a waterfront boat shop on Pier 19 in San Francisco. He rented out boats and, on occasion, accepted odd jobs when offered enough money. Police Inspector Hellman, played by Raymond Burr, was constantly trying to lock Novak up and throw away the key. After the two had traded the usual insults, Novak set off to save himself by tracking down the guilty party and bringing him or her to justice. The radio program was first heard as a regional West Coast offering. It was produced at KGO in San Francisco and featured genuine sound recordings of the city’s waterfront to add realism. From 1949, when the program moved to ABC for nationwide coverage, sound effects were created in the studio. Near the end of the run, Ben Morris replaced Jack Webb, who went to Los Angeles to work on other detective dramas including Johnny Madero, Pier 23, and Dragnet. Morris did not have the same ability as his predecessor to deliver rapid-fire dialogue and by 1949 the program (suffering from stiff competition) was cancelled.
Enjoy two free mystery episodes of Suspense w/ Ronald Reagan
A) 3/8/54 Circumstantial Terror
B) 4/5/55 Zero Hour
Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion. Hitchcock directed an audition show but was unable to avail himself for its radio run on CBS (1942-1962). Considered by many to be the best mystery/drama series of the golden age, Suspense was known as “Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills” and focused on suspenseful stories starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by “The Man in Black” who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that, at the very end, usually had an unseen twist or two. Suspense had the ability to “stir your nerves and withhold solutions until the last possible moment.” Hollywood’s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on Suspense, including Cary Grant, James Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Ronald Colman, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Ford, Robert Montgomery, Bette Davis and Orson Welles. Agnes Moorehead was dubbed “The First Lady of Suspense” for having starred in more episodes than any other actor. Music for Suspense was by Bernard Herrmann (Lucille Fletcher’s husband from 1938-1948) and scripts were by John Dickson Carr, E. Jack Neuman, Robert Tallman, Mel Dinelli, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury and many others. Running more than 20 years, Suspense aired nearly 1,000 radio broadcasts. It made the transition to television in 1949, but it was much better suited for radio, where thetheatre of the mind could run free.
Enjoy two free true-crime episodes of The Black Museum w/ Orson Welles
A) 5/10/53 The Brass Button
B) 3/18/52 The Pink Powder Puff
Produced in the UK and starring Orson Welles, The Black Museum specialized in recreating colorful true murder cases taken from the annals of Scotland Yard. At the real Black Museum, located at the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London, artifacts from famous criminal trials are displayed. These curious and sometimes gory relics – a yellowed tooth, a battered trunk, a blood-stained knife – gave Welles the opportunity to dramatize the murder cases in which they played vital roles. The series, which emphasized crime-solving techniques, offered American listeners the chance to observe how British “Coppers” tracked down culprits. Released through MGM Radio Attractions and broadcast over Mutual, the series eventually gained a sponsor, General Mills. NBC was initially approached by the producer, Harry Alan Towers, but decided to create its own in-house version, Whitehall 1212 – the phone number of Scotland Yard. Wyllis Cooper, the writer and director of the NBC series, beat Mutual to the punch and Whitehall 1212 went on air two months before The Black Museum. For a period of six months, radio listeners could hear two semi-documentary murder stories from the case files of Scotland Yard, on two separate networks. Gripping and well-paced, The Black Museum outranked its competitor, with its horror value upped by Welles’ portentous narration, which bridged the plot sequences. Recording the program in the UK, with British actors playing all the roles also gave authenticity to the dramatizations of crimes that took place abroad. Producer Harry Alan Towers maintained a high level of consistency and quality throughout the series, and the venture was profitable enough for him to convince Welles to star in another radio vehicle, The Lives of Harry Lime.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of The Fat Man w/ J. Scott Smart
A) 1/21/46 The 19th Pearl (premier episode in the series)
B) 7/8/46 The Black Angel
Building on the radio successes of The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective and The Adventures of the Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett came up with the concept for The Fat Man in 1946. Although Hammett is said to have disliked the radio incarnations of Sam Spade and The Thin Man, he grew to appreciate the sizable checks sent to him by radio producer E. J. Rosenberg (especially since Hammett was said to have been experiencing writer’s block at this time). Unlike the preceding radio programs, The Fat Man was not adapted from a novel, but was inspired by a fictional character – Casper Gutman the overweight villain in The Maltese Falcon. In the radio series, the witty ladies’ man and rotund private detective went by the name of Brad Runyon. He weighed 240+ pounds and solved crimes in the time-honored manner of a 1940s detective. Runyon’s extra weight did not impede him in this sleuthing, in fact he used it to his advantage, often successfully pinning down a henchman or gunman. Jack Scott Smart, (he went by J. Scott Smart) a performer from the earliest days of radio drama, played the title role. Smart looked the part and willingly participated in many publicity photo shoots. When Dashiell Hammett was named in the notorious Red Channels report in the summer of 1951, executives at ABC feared retribution from Hollywood and quickly disassociated themselves from the suspected Communist. Within three months of the report’s publication, The Fat Man was dropped from the air.
Enjoy two free western episodes of Have Gun-Will Travel w/ John Dehner
A) 7/26/59 The Wager
B) 8/9/59 Finn Alley
The Have Gun-Will Travel radio series starred John Dehner and followed the adventures of Paladin, a soldier of fortune-turned-hired gunfighter. Paladin was a former Union cavalry officer, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and a veteran of the American Civil War. Taking his name from that of the foremost knight warriors in Charlemagne’s court, Paladin preferred to settle problems without violence, yet, when forced to fight, excelled. He lived at the swanky Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, where he dressed in formal wear, ate gourmet food, attended the opera and enjoyed the company of beautiful women. When working as a gun-for-hire, he dressed in all black, gave out business cards imprinted with “Have Gun Will Travel” and wore a holster, decorated by a characteristic chess knight emblem. The knight symbol was in reference to his name and his occupation as a champion-for-hire. Paladin charged steep fees to clients who could afford him and provided his services for free to those who could not. A western favorite, Have Gun-Will Travel began as a television show in 1957 starring Richard Boone. It became one of the few TV series to spawn a radio version. Have Gun-Will Travel ran on radio from 1958 until 1960 and was televised from 1957 through 1963. Most of the 106 radio episodes were adapted for television. Of the 225 television episodes, Gene Roddenberry (future creator of Star Trek) wrote two dozen.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Burns & Allen Show w/ George Burns & Gracie Allen
A) 3/7/44 w/ guest, Alan Ladd
B) 2/1/50 w/ guest, Al Jolson
George Burns and Gracie Allen – a real-life married couple – performed a comedy routine with Gracie as the funny woman and George as the straight man. Millions of radio listeners truly believed Gracie was as dumb as she sounded which was a tribute to both her comic brilliance and the top-notch scripts. For two decades the duo had a weekly following on radio, which culminated with a decade-long television show. George and Gracie continually revised their act, moving from vaudeville crossfire to full-stage situation comedy. At first, their characters were not romantically linked. In 1936, Gracie decided to help educate singer Tony Martin about the opposite sex by flirting with him. Actor Paul Douglas, then an announcer, was also on the receiving end of Gracie’s affections in 1938. It was only later that George’s character began pursuing Gracie. By 1942, Gracie’s flirtations with other men had been shelved and the program evolved into a husband and wife situation comedy series with occasional guest stars. Ever the businessman, George Burns (and wife Gracie) left NBC and signed a lucrative contract with CBS that included television. Gracie was hesitant about TV at first but quickly discovered that she was a pro in front of the camera. On TV, George would often break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience while Gracie continued to play dumb. In 1958, after eight years on television, Gracie retired and after her passing, George kept himself busy by acting in films. He earned an Oscar for his role in The Sunshine Boys and starred as “God” alongside John Denver in the Oh, God! films.
Enjoy two free horror episodes of The Mysterious Traveler w/ Maurice Tarplin
A) 12/29/46 If You Believe
B) 7/27/47 The Man the Insects Hated
The Mysterious Traveler was a malevolent male figure (in one episode he described himself as a retired doctor) who rode the same passenger train every week. He invited listeners on a “journey into the realm of mystery and the unknown” that might involve ghosts, time travelers, death-row inmates, crooked lawyers, or made scientists. Created by Robert Arthur and David Kogan, The Mysterious Traveler came Mutual radio in 1943 and was mostly broadcast without a sponsor. Maurice Tarplin was the voice of the traveler, who could also be heard in supporting roles (if you listened closely). Supporting casts included Santos Ortega, Ross Martin, Art Carney (who would later play Ed Norton on “The Honeymooners”), Lon Clark, Jackson Beck, Lawson Zerbe and Joseph Julian. Arthur and Kogan would often recycle scripts for The Mysterious Traveler that they wrote for their two other series, The Strange Dr. Weird and The Sealed Book. In 1952, the last year it was on the air, the series won the Edgar Allan Poe award for Best Mystery Radio Show of the Year.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of Philo Vance, Detective w/ Jackson Beck
A) 12/28/48 The Rhumba Murder Case
B) 1/4/49 The Magic Murder Case
Detective Philo Vance was created by S.S. Van Dine (the pen name of Willard Huntington Wright). Vance was featured in 12 crime novels published in the 1920s and 30s. The character was so popular that he appeared in books, movies and on radio. Vance was a stylish, even foppish dandy; a New York bon vivant possessing a highly intellectual nature. On the silver screen, Vance was portrayed by William Powell, Basil Rathbone, Warren William, Paul Lukas, Edmund Lowe and William Wright. In 1945, NBC radio cast Jose’ Ferrer as Philo Vance in a short-lived series. A summer replacement series in 1946 starred John Emery. The best-known radio series ran from 1948 to 1950 starring Jackson Beck. Joan Alexander played Ellen Deering, Vance’s secretary and right-hand woman.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of Our Miss Brooks w/ Eve Arden
A) 2/4/51 Puppy Love
B) 4/1/51 New Dresses
Eve Arden starred as Connie Brooks, a competent, fair-minded school teacher with a dry wit who is often privy to the pranks of her pupils. Gale Gordon, was stuffed-shirt Principal Osgood Conklin, a pompous and tight-fisted character in charge of a school full of mischievous, plotting students. The success of Our Miss Brooks rested on the basic realism of the situations as well as the deft humor. As the wisecracking schoolmarm who went weak at the sight of Mr. Boynton, the bashful biology teacher (played by Jeff Chandler and Robert Rockwell), Arden found a character that exploited her full range of talents as a comedienne. CBS originally wanted Lucille Ball for the starring role, but she was unavailable. They auditioned Shirley Booth (Booth would later find fame as TV’s Hazel) but Arden was simply a natural for Connie Brooks and today it’s nearly impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Eve Arden brilliantly communicated the wit and sarcasm of Miss Brooks and the interplay between the various cast members succeeded in bringing out the comedy in every situation. Whether the episode focused on scheming student Walter Denton (Richard Crenna) or Principal Conklin blowing his top, the double-edged zingers spiced up the scripts. Our Miss Brooks came to CBS radio in 1948 and lasted until 1957 and made a seamless transition to television.
Enjoy two free horror episodes of The Sealed Book w/ Phillip Clarke
A) 3/18/45 The Hands of Death
B) 5/27/45 I’ll Die Laughing
Heard for one season in 1945 on Mutual, The Sealed Book offered mystery and terror tales, written by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan, the same writing team that brought us The Mysterious Traveler and The Strange Dr. Weird. Produced and directed by Jock MacGregor (of Nick Carter, Master Detective fame), it aired March 18th until September 9th, 1945 on Sunday nights from 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm. Each week, after the sound of a great gong, the mysterious silent “keeper of the book has opened the ponderous door to the secret vault wherein is kept the great sealed book, in which is recorded all the secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages. Here are tales of every kind, tales of murder, of madness, of dark deeds strange and terrible beyond all belief.” All 26 scripts for The Sealed Book were derived from scripts originally written for The Mysterious Traveler but each production used a different cast. It’s important to note that despite the extraordinary similarities between the scripts, writers and director, The Sealed Book was very much its own production. Produced on the east coast, it featured New York’s best supporting players including Mason Adams, Jan Miner, Maurice Tarplin, Lawson Zerbe and Bill Lipton with Phillip Clarke as “the keeper of the Sealed Book.”
Enjoy two free drama episodes of Night Beat w/ Frank Lovejoy
A) 9/25/50 A Case of Butter
B) 9/4/52 The Bomb on Flight 63
Frank Lovejoy starred as Randy Stone (in the pilot his name was “Lucky” Stone), a war hero and streetwise journalist, who combed Chicago’s windy streets after office hours – during the “Night Beat” – in search of human-interest stories. A prolific newspaper columnist for the Chicago Star, Randy was a hardboiled yet kind-hearted character and his laconic style came in handy when talking bad guys out of doing vile deeds. Airing from 1950 until 1952, NBC referred to the program as a “dramatic thriller” but that wasn’t completely accurate and Night Beat seemed to defy classification. It wasn’t really a detective series and there was no sidekick, little violence, and no bullying newspaper editor screaming on the phone about deadlines. Focusing on the psychology of the characters and their motivation, the series was cerebral in nature. The dialogue was rhythmic and hypnotic, the music of Frank Worth set the mood, and the critics raved. Less than a year after the radio program went off the air, Frank Lovejoy reprised his role as Randy Stone for a would-be pilot episode of television’s weekly anthology, Four Star Playhouse. The gritty tough-guy dialogue of the radio scripts was better suited to the airwaves and the pilot never went beyond the initial airing.
Enjoy two free western episodes of The Six Shooter w/ James Stewart
A) 11/22/53 Gabriel Starbuck
B) 12/27/53 Cora Plummer Quincy
The Six-Shooter was one of radio’s best western series but unfortunately, it came too late in radio’s dramatic life to have any longevity. The hero, Britt Ponset, was a slow-talking, easy-going maverick, but dangerous when pushed into a gunfight. The epigraph set the tone: The man in the saddle is angular and long-legged … his skin is sun-dyed brown … the gun in his holster is gray steel and rainbow mother-of-pearl, its handle unmarked. People call them both “the Six-Shooter.” James Stewart was perfect as the gentleman cowboy who roamed the western plains and blundered into other people’s troubles. The Six-Shooter was easily one of radio’s best westerns alongside Gunsmoke and Have Gun-Will Travel. Despite Stewart’s great star power, the show was largely sustained. The Liggett & Myer Tobacco Company, makers of Chesterfield was interested in sponsoring, but Stewart declined, not wanting a cigarette company to tarnish his largely wholesome screen image. The Six-Shooter ran on radio from 1953 until 1954 and did not make a transition to television.
Enjoy two free drama episodes of Dangerous Assignment w/ Brian Donlevy
A) 8/6/49 Investigate Millionaire Murder Conspiracy
B) 3/25/53 Assignment in Portugal
Movie actor Brian Donlevy came to NBC radio in 1949 to star as Steve Mitchell, a globe-trotting secret agent working for our Government. International espionage was the main theme of this action-packed series. Each episode found Mitchell being summoned to the office of “The Commissioner” a nameless administrator who was part of a Big Brother-type government agency enforcing law and order abroad. Mitchell’s usual assignment was to infiltrate various hotbeds of terrorism and thwart forces against America. Radio veteran Herb Butterfield co-starred as “The Commissioner.” The west coast’s best supporting actors were heard, including: William Conrad, Paul Frees, Virginia Gregg, Cathy Lewis, Harry Bartell, Joseph Kearns and Tony Barrett. The radio run lasted until 1953. Donlevy invested his own money in a TV series based on the radio show, reprising his role as Steve Mitchell. In the 39 TV episodes that were produced, Herb Butterfield was seen as “The Commissioner” and featured many of the same supporting actors from the radio series.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Charlie McCarthy Show w/ Edgar Bergan
A) 3/4/51 w/ guest, Robert Cummings
B) 3/14/54 w/ guest, Jane Wyman
Vaudeville in the 1930s had its fair share of ventriloquists but none was more successful than Edgar Bergen. After the entertainer made a guest appearance on Rudy Vallee’s variety program in 1936, many doubted the wisdom of launching a radio ventriloquist. This, however, was a gamble executive at Chase and Sanborn were willing to take. From 1937 onwards, Edgar Bergen and his “innocent” adolescent dummy, Charlie McCarthy, proved that radio listeners did not need to see the act to enjoy the jokes. The hour-long Sunday evening program quickly became fashionable with Hollywood celebrities making guest appearances and the trading of insults between Charlie and cast regulars W.C. Fields and Don Ameche was always a high point. Within two years The Chase and Sanborn Hour overtook Rudy Vallee on the ratings charts and became the most prestigious Sunday evening radio broadcast. Bergen introduced other dummy characters, notably slow-witted Mortimer Snerd and man-chasing Effie Klinker, but the spotlight never strayed far from Charlie. In 1940, the series switched to a 30-minute format that would last until the late 1950s. Bergen tried a few times to bring the series to television but it did not stick. He would, however, father the very talented future actress, Candice Bergen.
Enjoy two free mystery episodes of The Whistler w/ Elliott Lewis
A) 3/19/45 Murder Will Shout
B) 11/12/45 The Seeing Eye
Eerie whistling, picked up by the orchestra for dramatic effect, was the signature tune for this CBS mystery/crime anthology created by J. Donald Wilson. Many considered The Whistler a sister program to Suspense but without the celebrity guests. Through a careless mistake or a twist of fate, nearly every killer, blackmailer, and criminal would ultimately be brought to justice by the show’s conclusion. Always looming in the shadows was the Whistler, an omnipresent figure acting almost as a guilty conscience. Having foreseen the fate of the protagonists, he nevertheless urged them on, strangely aware of what they were thinking. The Whistler’s grim chortles concluded each story of those unfortunate enough to be caught in a dark web of their own making. The program initially aired on the CBS Pacific Network without a sponsor, then in December of 1943 secured the backing of Signal Oil. Two productions with recycled scripts were also broadcast for both Chicago and the East Coast, but with a different cast. The radio program never managed to secure a coast-to-coast sponsor for a nationwide hook-up yet it still had a long and successful run airing from 1942 until 1955. For a time, Gale Gordon, Marvin Miller and Joseph Kearns supplied the voice of the Whistler but Bill Forman had the role the longest. Columbia Pictures produced a series of eight motion pictures based on the radio series from 1944 to 1948. A television series comprising 39 episodes was produced in 1954 which was distributed via syndication throughout the rest of the decade.
Enjoy two free drama episodes of The Lives of Harry Lime
A) 11/23/51 Horse Play w/ Orson Welles
B) 2/1/52 The Dark Enchantress w/ Orson Welles
The Lives of Harry Lime was produced in the United Kingdom during the 1951 and 1952 seasons. Orson Welles reprised his role of Harry Lime from the celebrated 1949 film The Third Man which was based on the Graham Greene novel. The radio series was a prequel to the film, and depicted the many capers of con-artist Harry Lime. Lime engaged in any form of double-dealings that brought him cash but used only his wits to make his way and never a gun. British radio producer Harry Alan Towers and his company, Towers of London, secured rights to the character of Harry Lime and approached Orson Welles about reprising his role in a radio series that preceded the story told in The Third Man film. Welles was living in Paris at the time and agreed, making special trips to London to tape the episodes. Each episode would begin with an echoing gunshot. Then Welles would speak: “That was the shot that killed Harry Lime. He died in a sewer beneath Vienna, as those of you know who saw the movie The Third Man. Yes, that was the end of Harry Lime … but it was not the beginning. Harry Lime had many lives … and I can recount all of them. How do I know? Very simple. Because my name is Harry Lime.” 52 episodes of The Lives of Harry Lime were broadcast in the United States with only 16 episodes broadcast in the UK. When Welles discovered that Harry Alan Towers was paying a whopping $1,000 per script, he offered to write several scripts himself. The scripts were delivered to Towers and Welles was paid $6,000. Then one day, a man named Ernest Borneman walked into Towers’ office, demanding to be paid for the scripts which he had ghostwritten for Welles. When Welles was asked about it later, he smiled and said: “Don’t pay him. They weren’t very good scripts.” Eventually, Borneman was paid in full by Welles for the scripts.
Enjoy two free true-crime episodes of Dragnet
A) 5/10/53 The Big Joke w/ Jack Webb
B) 1/26/54 The Big Bid w/ Jack Webb
Jack Webb was a supporting actor on radio when he proposed Dragnet to CBS. The network heads, content with their own detective programs, turned down the idea but NBC saw its potential. However, a low-key dramatization of the real-life detection techniques used by two Los Angeles policemen and adapted from official case files at the Los Angeles Police Department, was not an original concept: the Gang Busters radio series had beaten Dragnet to the punch more than a decade earlier. But Webb’s insistence on a gritty brand of realism, coupled with innovative direction, storytelling, and convincing dialogue proved to be a winning formula. The result was often imitated but never came close to Dragnet. Jack Webb not only produced and directed each episode, he also played the central character of Sergeant Joe Friday. NBC paid him a mere $300 per broadcast in the first year and $600 in the second, but by the fourth year, Webb and his series were a bonafide hit. Unlike most radio detective programs, Dragnetdidn’t use the standard murder-solving format for each weekly episode. Cases were varied and reflected a wide range of criminal activities, such as supplying obscene comic books for sale in high schools, or forging checks. In December 1951, Dragnet made a monumentally-successful transition to television. Three years later a major motion picture, with some cast members from the radio program, was released. By giving fans a taste of real-life policing instead of the usual Hollywood theatrics, Jack Webb broke the mold. “From beginning to end – from crime to punishment – Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.”
Enjoy two horror episodes of Lights Out! w/ Boris Karloff
A) 4/26/39 The Devil’s Due w/ Arthur Kohl
B) 7/16/47 Death Robbery w/ Boris Karloff
Lights Out! was the brainchild of Wyllis Cooper. Originating out of the studios of WENR in Chicago, Cooper presented a late-night horror program - heard only in the Midwest - seething with vampires, invisible monsters, evil beings, and survivors of an atomic apocalypse. Several fan clubs sprang up and in 1935, NBC decided to expand its coverage nationwide. A year later, Wyllis Cooper went to Hollywood to pursue a screenwriting career, leaving the program in the capable hands of playwright Arch Oboler. Oboler wrote, directed and hosted the series confining most of the casts to two or three players. His favorite cast members included Lou Merrill, Bea Benaderet (who would later voice “Betty Rubble” on The Flintstones), Joseph Kearns, Mercedes McCambridge and Hans Conried. Oboler employed elaborate sound effects with the stark reality of no music, using only a gong sound for scene transitions. Under Oboler’s guidance, the show broadcast psychological chillers with stream-of-consciousness narrative, each featuring an element of classic horror – from giant worms and haunted houses to monsters from outer space. Announcer Frank Martin would often banter with Oboler after the story inquiring as to Oboler’s motivation for writing it. The Sterling Drug company was the sponsor (Ironized Yeast tablets and Energine Shoe polish) for the 1942-43 seasons, hosted by Oboler from Hollywood. In the summers of 1945, 1946 and 1947, Wyllis Cooper returned to the fold. His career in Hollywood never really panned out, so he chose to return to his roots. Lights Out! made a transition to television in 1949 hosted by Frank Gallop as a disembodied head introducing and closing each creepy episode.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet
A) 4/18/52 Baseball Team w/ Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard
B) 4/25/52 $5 Too Much Change w/ Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is one of the longest-running radio and television sitcoms in history, spanning 32 years on the air. Looking to supplement his earnings as a Rutgers law school graduate, Ozzie Nelson took up the baton as a bandleader in the 1930s, playing a circuit of hotel ballrooms, dance halls and school proms. Record deals and radio were contributing factors to his career jump. It was through his profession that Ozzie met Harriet Hilliard, an Iowa beauty queen and vocalist. Harriet was booked for the floorshow at the Hollywood Restaurant when Nelson was seeking a vocalist for his band. According to Ozzie himself, the decision to hire her took only thirty seconds. The business proposition soon blossomed into a marriage proposal. Ozzie and Harriet performed for numerous radio programs in the late '30s and early '40s. By the mid-forties, Red Skelton hired the couple to not only supply musical numbers for his program, but also provide a comic interlude once a week. This eventually led to a radio program of their own, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, beginning in 1944 for sponsor, International Silver. Variety reviewed the program two days after the premiere as "the surprise show of the season.” At the start, the Nelson boys were played by professional actors, Tommy Bernard and Henry Blair. The couple's sons Ricky and David eventually replaced the child stars on the radio show in 1949. In 1952, about the same time the radio program was making the transition to television, Universal-International theatrically released a motion-picture, Here Come the Nelsons. This served as the pilot for the proposed television series.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of Richard Diamond, Private Detective
A) 7/5/50 The Mike Burton Case w/ Dick Powell
B) 2/8/52 The Eddie Burke Case w/ Dick Powell
Richard Diamond, Private Detective may have bounced around on three different networks in five years but its creator, Blake Edwards, could be relied on to add a brilliant twist to an old genre. And it also starred Dick Powell, fresh from the movies, as Richard Diamond. The wisecracking, carefree gumshoe had an eye for a trim ankle, a penchant for getting mixed up with underworld characters, and smoked Camels, the brand of one of the show’s sponsors. Diamond also had a fine set of vocal chords as did Dick Powell, who started out as a professional singer, and he performed a song at the end of most broadcasts. In essence, this was a lighthearted detective series so if you took the program too seriously you missed most of the fun. Homicide lieutenant, Walt Levinson, bore the brunt of Diamond’s put-downs and Otis Ludlam, the dim-witted desk sergeant, added more humor. Sex appeal came courtesy of the red-headed Helen Asher, Diamond’s wealthy girlfriend, who always offered solace after a long day of violence. It came to radio in 1949 and lasted until 1953. In 1957, Richard Diamond, Private Detective made the transition to television starring David Janssen in the lead and produced by Powell’s television company. For a while, the beautiful legs of Diamond’s secretary were provided by Mary Tyler Moore.
Enjoy two free true-crime episodes of Gang Busters
A) 10/4/47 The Case of the Kidnapped Paymaster w/ Joseph Julian
B) 6/10/50 The Case of the Inside Track w/ Barbara Weeks
When Phillips H. Lord created Gang Busters, the crime rate was high and confidence in law enforcement was low. Crimes were highly publicized and their perpetrators were sometimes glamorized in Hollywood movies. With most radio crime programs dramatizing pulp-fiction stories, Lord decided to portray the procedure and practices of real-life law enforcement officers, basing his dramas on court records and police files. Official guest speakers, including Lewis J. Valentine, the former Commissioner of Police of New York City, further enhanced the program’s authenticity and credibility. At the close of the program, nationwide “clues,” consisting of descriptions of suspects and contact information for the relevant police force or FBI, were given out. Later, popular TV programs, such as America’s Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries, would make use of this same device. By May 1942, nearly 300 criminals had been apprehended as a result of the clues on Gang Busters, reinforcing the series’ central message – the futility of crime. The series premiered in 1935 under its original title, G-Men, and consisted of stories from official FBI case files that Lord adapted and dramatized. When FBI head J. Edgar Hoover attempted to gain control of the series, Lord revised the program to focus on local law enforcement and changed the name to Gang Busters. Soon, there was a craze for “true crime” and both Shirley Temple and Babe Ruth were ardent fans of the program. Universal Studios released a cliffhanger serial adapted from one of the episodes and DC Comics produced a series of comic books based on the radio program. In 1952, NBC premiered a television series of the same name that alternated with Dragnet on a weekly basis. Despite its higher ratings, Gang Busters was dropped in favor of Dragnet. The graphic descriptions of crime in the radio program may not have gone down well with the Parents and Teachers Association, but listeners were enthralled by narrator Colonel H. Norman Schwarzkopf, a former New Jersey State Police superintendent, who didn’t hold back “…and so this desperado ended his career with his bullet-ridden corpse stretched out in the mud and filth of a backstreet gutter. Crime does not pay.” It lasted on radio until 1957.
Enjoy two free musical/variety episodes of The Bing Crosby Show
A) 3/21/54 w/ Bing Crosby and guest, Frank Sinatra
B) 12/11/52 w/ Bing Crosby and guests, Rosemary Clooney and Joe Venuti
Bing Crosby was “discovered” in June of 1931 by William S. Paley, president of CBS, who was on a ship crossing the Atlantic. After listening to the crooner’s rich chords on record, Paley negotiated a deal for regular radio broadcasts before the voyage was over. Sponsors began expressing an interest and Crosby would soon become one of the hottest commodities at CBS. Until his semi-retirement in 1958, Bing Crosby worked steadily on radio and had a sizeable number of chart singles over two consecutive decades. Among the most popular was The Kraft Music Hall, starring Al Jolson and the Paul Whiteman orchestra. Crosby soon replaced the long-standing Jolson as the weekly host and the crooner was given a free hand with the content. The show was jam-packed with entertainment: Crosby sung a song or two, participated in verbal banter with celebrity guests, and joined in on the fun with a comedy sketch. Crosby’s radio success led Paramount Pictures to make The Big Broadcast (1932) and the studio quickly offered him a long-term contract. By one estimate, his movies were the most profitable in the studio’s history throughout the 1940s. In a number of Road pictures, Crosby and fellow radio star Bob Hope took potshots at one another – a successful comic device that carried over into their radio broadcasts. In 1946, at the height of his career, the Oscar-winning Crosby demanded that his sponsor, Kraft, allow him to pre-record multiple radio broadcasts in a single day, rather than broadcasting “live” and on schedule week after week. Through shrewd investments, Crosby had become very wealthy, but made just $6 per radio broadcast after taxes. Kraft duly released Crosby from his contract and the singer invested his own money into a new recording system on Ampex reel-to-reel tape recorders. The entertainment industry quickly saw its potential and radio broadcasting forever changed. Now, free to record shows around his schedule, he starred in The Bing Crosby Show for sponsor General Electric. Although his movie appearances began to decline, Crosby appeared on radio for the Ford Motor Company in 1956 and then joined forces with Rosemary Clooney, staying on the air until 1962.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Bickersons
A) 3/30/47 w/ Don Ameche and Frances Langford
B) 4/13/47 w/ Don Ameche and Frances Langford
The characters of John and Blanche Bickerson were created by Phil Rapp. They lived up to their name, exchanging verbal crossfire that was sharp, quick, and always hit the mark. A radio comedy consisting of a married couple arguing in short skits fared well and provided comic relief on a variety programs. Initially heard as brief sketches, The Bickersons eventually evolved into a weekly half-hour sitcom. With real bite in the dialogue and the husband usually getting the short end of the stick, the battle of the sexes was never more fun. John, a bowling-ball salesman by occupation, was a member of the Bourbon of the Month Club and suffered from a chronic case of snoring. Blanche, an insomniac, usually managed to wake him in the small hours and the familiar arguments would begin: Blanche wanted a baby, John didn’t; Blanche suspected John of cheating; John enjoyed “bachelor” parties organized for his friends. John and Blanche were introduced to radio audiences in 1946 on The Drene Show, starring Danny Thomas. Don Ameche and Frances Langford would play the bickering couple for a brief sketch and on a number of occasions, Thomas also played the role of Blanche’s obnoxious brother Amos. A year later, the warring pair starred in The Old Gold Show, named for its sponsor, Old Gold cigarettes. Subsequently, Blanche and John became a weekly feature on The Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy Show, with Hollywood actress Marsha Hunt temporarily replacing Frances Langford. The characters returned in 1951, starring Lew Parker as John with Frances Langford as Blanche. Attempts to adapt the characters for television were unsuccessful but some experts believe that Married With Children was based on The Bickersons.
Enjoy two free western episodes of Gunsmoke
A) 3/21/53 Pussy Cats w/ William Conrad
B) 4/18/53 Bum’s Rush w/ William Conrad
Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there’s just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers and that’s with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of … GUNSMOKE! In the late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley, a fan of the Phillip Marlowe radio series, asked his programming chief to develop a hardboiled Western series. Several attempts were made but the project was shelved until three years later when Norman Macdonnell and John Meston were brought in. Produced for adult listeners, Macdonnell and Meston set Gunsmoke in Dodge City, Kansas, during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Few radio westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. On Gunsmoke, the stories were grim, the deaths violent and life on the plains was harsh. Radio audiences had never heard anything like Gunsmoke and they made it the #1 western on radio drawing critical acclaim for unprecedented realism. The dialogue was often slow and halting, and due to the outstanding sound effects, listeners had a nearly palpable sense of the prairie where the show was set. The effects were subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious and authentic feel. Gunsmoke soon made a successful transition to television (with a completely different cast) becoming the longest-running dramatic series in TV history. Many times, the radio scripts were adapted for the television show. Join William Conrad (U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon), Parley Baer (Deputy Chester Proudfoot), Georgia Ellis (Kitty Russell) and Howard McNear (Doc Adams) in the continuing story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Jack Benny Program
A) 3/26/50 w/ Jack Benny and guest, Bob Hope
B) 4/27/52 w/ Jack Benny and guest, James Stewart
Born in Chicago, February 14, 1894, Benjamin Kubelsky would later become known as Jack Benny. As a boy, he was encouraged by his Jewish immigrant parents from Poland to become a concert violinist. He learned to play quite well and hit the vaudeville stage, where he played popular songs and honed a suave-but-fragile personality, telling self-deprecating jokes. Benny guested on Ed Sullivan’s radio show March 19, 1932 and was an instant success. Canada Dry signed him to a contract that same year and soon Jack Benny was broadcasting each week on CBS. His radio career included a long run on NBC and then a return to CBS through his final radio days. His all-star supporting cast included his wife Mary Livingstone, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson, announcer Don Wilson and The Sportsmen Quartet. As Jerry Seinfeld would emulate years later on Seinfeld, Benny’s cast received the best jokes – many pointed at the show’s star. Expert scripts constantly reminded listeners of Benny’s portrayal of himself as a lovable, vain, miser, concerned about his receding hairline and insistence that he was no older than 39. His sponsors over the years included Canada Dry, Chevrolet, Jell-O, Grape Nuts Flakes and Lucky Strike. The Jack Benny Program made a successful transition to television with his entire supporting cast in tow. Benny’s radio and television shows ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as the high-water mark in 20th century American comedy.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Jack Benny Program
A) 3/26/50 w/ Jack Benny and guest, Bob Hope
B) 4/27/52 w/ Jack Benny and guest, James Stewart
Born in Chicago, February 14, 1894, Benjamin Kubelsky would later become known as Jack Benny. As a boy, he was encouraged by his Jewish immigrant parents from Poland to become a concert violinist. He learned to play quite well and hit the vaudeville stage, where he played popular songs and honed a suave-but-fragile personality, telling self-deprecating jokes. Benny guested on Ed Sullivan’s radio show March 19, 1932 and was an instant success. Canada Dry signed him to a contract that same year and soon Jack Benny was broadcasting each week on CBS. His radio career included a long run on NBC and then a return to CBS through his final radio days. His all-star supporting cast included his wife Mary Livingstone, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson, announcer Don Wilson and The Sportsmen Quartet. As Jerry Seinfeld would emulate years later on Seinfeld, Benny’s cast received the best jokes – many pointed at the show’s star. Expert scripts constantly reminded listeners of Benny’s portrayal of himself as a lovable, vain, miser, concerned about his receding hairline and insistence that he was no older than 39. His sponsors over the years included Canada Dry, Chevrolet, Jell-O, Grape Nuts Flakes and Lucky Strike. The Jack Benny Program made a successful transition to television with his entire supporting cast in tow. Benny’s radio and television shows ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as the high-water mark in 20th century American comedy.
Enjoy two free episodes of The Adventures of Nero Wolfe, Detective
A) 1/19/51 The Case of the Calculated Risk w/ Sydney Greenstreet
B) 2/16/51 The Case of the Party for Death w/ Sydney Greenstreet
Among the colorful cast of private and not-so-private-eyes who populated the airwaves over the years, perhaps the most unusual was Nero Wolfe. The radio program was loosely based on Rex Stout’s novels and numerous incarnations of the character featured on network radio. J.B. Williams played the part for just three months, Santos Ortega for more than a year, and even silent-screen actor, Francis X. Bushman, found work behind the microphone as Wolfe. But no one was more suited to the gargantuan gourmet than Sydney Greenstreet, former Warner Brothers contract player. Greenstreet, despite his advanced years, was a smooth operator in the sleuthing business. His clipped, thunderous tones had an authentic ring and reflected Wolfe, the man, and his hobbies. Here was a gumshoe who solved mysteries from his armchair, leaving the legwork to his assistant, Archie Goodwin. Wolfe was the undisputed master at tracking down killers, conspirators, and assorted accomplices. Author Rex Stout said on one occasion that of all the actors in the role, Greenstreet came the closest to the character he had created. Yet the NBC series lasted just one season and the cause is still unclear. At the time, radio was a saturated market so advertising money may have been scarce. However, Greenstreet’s harsh treatment of his co-stars resulted in many cast changes and a frustrating search for replacements by director J. Donald Wilson. Greenstreet, indispensable and with a cast-iron contract, was suffering from Bright’s Disease – a possible reason for his aggressive behavior toward his fellow cast members. The exasperated producers may have finally called time on the program, but for the legions of whodunit fans, Greenstreet’s Nero Wolfe was in a class of his own.
Enjoy two free western episodes of The Cisco Kid
A) 4/17/58 Stage to Silver City w/ Jack Mather and Harry Lang
B) 1959 Robbery on the Railroad w/ Jack Mather and Mel Blanc
O. Henry’s outlaw followed a trail that led sometimes to adventure, often to danger, and always to beautiful senoritas. On the silver screen the Cisco kid was a sensation -- on radio his bandit characteristics were toned down for a younger audience. Riding through the Tex-Mex borderlands, the Cisco Kid dispensed justice in the manner of a Mexican Robin Hood. Like the English outlaw, the kind-hearted champion of the poor and downtrodden aimed to right wrongs and restore law and order. The Kid’s cheerful, rotund sidekick, Pan Pancho (Cisco called him “Chico”), was a master of the bullwhip and a hilarious misuser and mangler of the English language. The Cisco Kid came across as something of a bad-guy when the series was first broadcast from the studios of New York City in 1942, with Jackson Beck playing the title role. This cowboy Casanova seemed to spend more energy pursuing glamorous senoritas than punishing the mean-spirited hombres. The Cisco Kid’s second incarnation in 1946 proved not only more popular but also a landmark in radio broadcasting. Between 1946 and 1956 (airing longer through syndication), a total of 636 episodes of The Cisco Kid were produced and an unusual contract clause ensured the highest quality in the live broadcasts. This stipulated that should the episode fall below par, the cast was required to perform it off-air a second time (without additional pay) to meet syndicated recording requirements. The Cisco Kid’s audience share was as big as that of The Lone Ranger and Hopalong Cassidy. And of all the programs produced and syndicated by Frederick W. Ziv, from Boston Blackie to Bold Venture, none was more financially successful than this children’s western.
Enjoy two free adventure episodes of Bold Venture
A) 6/11/51 The Tears of Siva w/ Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
B) 8/13/51 Sunken Spanish Gold w/ Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
Humphrey Bogart and his wife Lauren Bacall were pitched radio program ideas by ad agencies, networks, sponsors and syndicators on a regular basis. One of those pitches included an adventure series set in Cuba reminiscent of Key Largo, called Bold Venture. Beginning in 1951, Bogart played the role of “Slate Shannon,” the proprietor of a small, quasi-respectable hotel in Havana, inhabited by a motley, shifting cast of characters. Shannon’s motorboat, the Bold Venture, was on stand-by, ready to roar to the rescue of a friend or track down an enemy. Bacall played “Sailor Duval,” ostensibly Shannon’s ward and given a seductive edge by the glamorous actress. With its exotic Cuban background and Latin-American flavor, the weekly seafaring adventure program was loaded with gunfights, pirates, questionable characters and romantic intrigue. The Bogarts’ busy schedule demanded that the series be pre-recorded, so mega-producer Frederick W. Ziv funded a syndicated series with a big operating budget ($12,000 per episode) with a fees-plus-royalties deal for each broadcast. Written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin, Bold Venture was produced by the Bogart’s picture company, Santana Productions (named after a boat they owned) and recorded in Ziv’s Hollywood studio. The series made a fortune and was syndicated to more than 400 radio affiliates, but after a season and a half, Bogart sank it … “I got tired of it. I never listened to it, but Betty did.”
Enjoy two comedy episodes of My Friend Irma
A) 1/3/49 The Double Date w/ Marie Wilson
B) 3/7/49 Will Al Marry Irma w/ Marie Wilson
Some might remember My Friend Irma as a 1949 movie that served as the launching pad for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Others recall a television show of the same name but My Friend Irma originated as a radio sitcom, created by Cy Howard, that aired on CBS from 1947 to 1954. Talented comedienne Marie Wilson became synonymous with the character of Irma Peterson, the archetypal “dumb Dora.” Dragging her roommate, the sensible and often exasperated Jane Stacy (played by Cathy Lewis and later by Joan Banks), into a series of hilarious misadventures, Wilson managed the role with the skill of a Gracie Allen. Irma worked as a stenographer for a lawyer, Mr. Clyde (played by Alan Reed), and was fired on many occasions … but always re-hired within hours because the filing system made no sense to anyone other than Irma. Irma’s scatterbrained character was certainly a source of comedy but she had a warmth and openness that endeared her to radio audiences. Irma’s boyfriend, Al (played by John Brown), was the deadbeat most mothers preferred their daughters to avoid at all costs, but Irma was crazy about him. Jane dated her millionaire boss, Richard Rhinelander III (played by Leif Erickson), and dreamed of one day marrying him. The radio sitcom was popular enough to warrant a motion picture starring Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn, produced by Hal Wallis, followed by a sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950). A newspaper comic strip (scripted for a time by Stan Lee of Marvel fame) and a series of comic books soon followed. It also made a transition to TV (1952-1954).
Enjoy two free episodes of The Screen Director’s Playhouse
A) 3/3/50 The Paleface w/ Bob Hope and Jane Russell
B) 11/11/49 Body and Soul w/ John Garfield
In 1948, CBS launched what are now considered “the notorious talent raids” on NBC’s highest-rated comedians, convincing them to switch networks in exchange for lucrative contracts. In a counter offensive, executives at NBC created multiple in-house programs, produced and owned by the network. Among these was the Screen Director’s Playhouse, a weekly drama anthology featuring Hollywood actors reprising their screen roles ‘a la Lux Radio Theatre. The primary focus of the program was the original movie’s director, who not only served as a guest host but also participated in an interview towards the end of the broadcast. Unlike Lux, which featured Cecil B. DeMille as a regular host, the Screen Director’s Playhouse had a different director every week. NBC poured a considerable amount of money into the productions. On one particular week, John Wayne and Claire Trevor reprised their screen roles in an adaptation of Stagecoach, with director John Ford chatting about his experiences making the movie. Tallulah Bankhead came back to star in Lifeboat, with director Alfred Hitchcock at the helm – rather surprising when you consider the two never got along well during filming. Edward G. Robinson revisited his role in The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Dick Powell replayed his part in Pitfall, and in this episode, Dorothy McGuire reprised The Spiral Staircase. The program was an immediate success and the most profitable of the network’s ventures during the two years NBC and CBS were vying for ratings. After 18 months, the program was extended from 30 to 60 minutes, which gave the network more time to sell sponsorship.
Enjoy two free western episodes of Fort Laramie
A) 2/11/56 The Woman at Horse Creek w/ Raymond Burr
B) 6/24/56 The Loving Cup w/ Raymond Burr
Fort Laramie aired on CBS radio for just one season in 1956. It starred Raymond Burr as Lee Quince, captain of the cavalry at Fort Laramie, on the Wyoming frontier during the 19th Century. The fort had 400 troops in all but they had to keep their eye on a nearby Indian reservation with 4,000 Cheyenne camped there. Producer/Director Norman Macdonnell saw Fort Laramie as “a monument to ordinary men who lived in extraordinary times” with their enemies being “the rugged, uncharted country, the heat, the cold, disease, boredom, and, perhaps last of all, hostile Indians.” Men died at Fort Laramie: some died of drowning, some of freezing, some of typhoid and smallpox “but it’s a matter of record that in all the years the cavalry was stationed at Fort Laramie, only four troopers died of gunshot wounds.” The stories focused as much on atmosphere and mood as on violence and action. Macdonnell made it clear to his writers that historical accuracy was essential to the integrity of the series. Correct geographic names, authentic Indian practices and true military terminology was insisted upon. Macdonnell relied on John Meston and Les Crutchfield, his Gunsmoke writers, for the Fort Laramie scripts. Vic Perrin was Sgt. Gorce, Harry Bartell was Lt. Seiberts and Jack Moyles was Major Daggett. Supporting roles were voiced by John Dehner, John McIntire, Virginia Gregg, Parley Baer and Barney Phillips.
Enjoy two espionage episodes of I Was a Communist for the FBI
A) 5/11/52 Card Game in the Clouds w/ Dana Andrews
B) 6/7/53 Fifteen Minutes to Murder w/ Dana Andrews
In 1941, the FBI asked American citizen Matt Cvetic to work undercover for the United States Government by joining the Communist Party and report back on their activities. After emerging in 1950 to testify before congress about his experiences, Cvetic’s exploits were soon chronicled in magazines, on the silver screen, and in a taut and entertaining radio series based on his real-life adventures. The 1951 film I Was a Communist for the FBI starred Frank Lovejoy. The success of the film spawned a radio series starring Dana Andrews which ran from April 23, 1952 until October 14, 1953. The film and radio show are, in part, artifacts of the McCarthy era, as well as a time capsule of American society during the Second Red Scare. The purpose of both is partly to warn people about the threat of Communist subversion of American society. The tone of the show was ultra-patriotic, with Communists portrayed as racist, vindictive, and tools of a totalitarian foreign power, the Soviet Union. The radio series was syndicated by Frederick W. Ziv to more than 600 radio stations and had the cooperation of the FBI. Real-life undercover agent Matt Cvetic dealt with great stress as he covertly infiltrated a local Communist Party cell. There were many personal and family problems cause by his being a Communist, as well as a certain amount of mental torment. Cvetic worked tirelessly to uncover Communist plans, and to help the FBI thwart them, while avoiding the snares the Party set for informants within their ranks.
A) 10/5/51 w/ guest, Dinah Shore
B) 5/26/53 w/ guest, Debbie Reynolds
In 1949, NBC turned their eye toward Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis as a Summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show. Dean and Jerry were popular nightclub performers with sold out crowds everywhere they played. NBC offered them Bob Hope’s vacated timeslot and committed to one of the biggest build-ups ever given to a pair of newcomers to radio comedy. Dean and Jerry didn’t disappoint and proved that they could dish out their distinctive brand of zanyism over the airwaves in a big way. The Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Show was more than just Martin’s golden voice and Lewis’ “kidding-on-the-square.” The network insisted on a weekly celebrity guest which included Dick Powell, Henry Fonda, Bing Crosby, John Garfield, Vincent Price, Jane Russell and even Bob Hope himself. The weekly budget was a pricey $10,000, but after a short while, the series attracted a sponsor and executives at NBC patted themselves on the back for establishing a hit show that also became a financial success. With that kind of budget, NBC could afford Norman Lear, the comedy genius later responsible for All in the Family and Sanford and Son, as writer. The success of the radio series led to Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis also appearing as monthly hosts for NBC’s Colgate Comedy Hour, a highly-rated television show. NBC used the television program to cross-promote the radio program, even recycling some of the radio sketches for the television counterpart. Film producer Hal Wallis jumped on the Martin & Lewis bandwagon signing the boys to a multi-picture film contract. Their film comedies were box office gold catapulting them to mega-stardom. With meteoritic success on radio, TV and films, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis proved they were masters of all three commercial media.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of Michael Shayne w/ Jeff Chandler
A) 6/27/48 The Case of the Crooked Wheel w/ Jeff Chandler
B) 7/2/49 The Pursuit of Death w/ Jeff Chandler
Michael Shayne, "the reckless, red-headed Irishman" was a popular hard-boiled detective created by crime novelist Brett Halliday. Mike settled in Miami just after WWII, making crime pay by fighting it with a license and an attitude. Like Mike Hammer and Philip Marlowe, Shayne was a loner. The back-story on Mike is that he was happily married, but suddenly his wife is tragically murdered, and that hit him hard. Grief-stricken, Shayne loses himself in his work as a private eye, prowling the dark streets of Miami seeking out his style of revenge on injustice. The radio version of Mike's exploits debuted as Michael Shayne, Private Detective in the fall of 1944 with Wally Maher in the title role. In 1948, Mutual radio debuted The New Adventures of Michael Shayne starring movie star Jeff Chandler. Others to portray Shayne on radio included Donald Curtis and Robert Sterling. Richard Denning, who had starred for years on the radio comedy series My Favorite Husband opposite Lucille Ball, portrayed Mike Shayne in a 1960’s TV version.
Enjoy two free science-fiction episodes of Dimension X
A) 6/3/50 The Embassy w/ Joseph Julian
B) 9/29/51 Nightfall w/ Cameron Prud'Homme
Hosted by Norman Rose, Dimension X was one of radio’s first adult science-fiction series and made its mark by adapting short stories by acknowledged masters in the field, including: Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Fredric Brown, Robert. A. Heinlein, Clifford D. Simak, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and William Tenn. The original stories were adapted by scriptwriters, Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, who also contributed their own original scripts. At the start of every broadcast, host Norman Rose promised us “adventures in time and space, told in future tense!” You knew you were about to be transported from your everyday existence to somewhere completely different … maybe even a distant planet. Radio was a fertile medium for science fiction. It was easy to visit other planets, interact with aliens or fly in a rocket ship simply by using your imagination. Dimension X debuted April 8th, 1950 and completed its run September 29th, 1951 including a 5-month hiatus in the middle.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of Duffy’s Tavern w/ Ed “Archie” Gardner
A) 1/5/51 w/ guest, Vincent Price
B) 2/9/51 w/ guest, Shelley Winters
Managing a fly-infested dive-of-a-tavern that had pretensions to be something much more was a weekly struggle for Archie the barkeep of Duffy’s Tavern. His unhappy conversations with his boss, Duffy (who was an absentee owner) occurred over the telephone at the beginning of each episode. Miss Duffy, Duffy’s man-hungry daughter and would-be singer, warned the gullible Archie of the evils of get-rich-quick schemes and made fun of his attempts to compete against other taverns in New York City. The resulting sitcom was hilarious and hugely popular. Created by Ed Gardner, who also played the role of Archie, the weekly comedy featured Eddie Green, a wisecracking black porter who often managed to get the upper hand. Other tavern regulars, including the dim-witted Finnegan and Clancy the cop, proved that intellectual discussions would never get beyond first-grade level. Writer Abe Burrows (whose son James Burrows created the sitcom Cheers) gave Archie license to misuse and mangle the English language in every episode, as well as deliver brilliant malapropisms. The highlight of the show, and what helped make it so successful, was the weekly guest spot. Hollywood celebrities would, for various reasons, drop in from time to time to discover that the rumors were true: the tavern was beyond any assistance. Exchanges were peppered with offensive barbs and no celebrity was immune to Archie’s sarcasm. Listeners tuned in each week (from 1940 until 1951) just to hear their screen favorites insulted on the air.
Enjoy two free true-crime episodes of Tales of the Texas Rangers w/ Joel McCrea
A) 11/12/50 Blood Relative
B) 1/27/52 Night Chase
Hopping on the adult western bandwagon, NBC radio presented a semi-documentary based on authentic case files of the select 50-member federation known as the Texas Rangers. Screen actor Joel McCrea was well-cast as the calm, cool and collected Ranger Jace Pearson. Given an assignment each week by superior Captain Stinson, Pearson investigated crimes and hunted down the culprits. Tales of the Texas Rangers was an instant hit; a modern-day take on Dragnet with a western flavor. By diligently and methodically tracking down murderers and desperadoes, Pearson always got his man. Then as each weekly case file was closed, judgment and sentence were meted out to the captured fugitives. Created and directed by Stacy Keach, Sr. (father to actor Stacy Keach of Mike Hammer fame), Tales of the Texas Rangers came to radio in 1950 and lasted until 1952. In 1953, a television version went into production at Columbia Pictures. Unlike the radio program, which focused exclusively on contemporary case files, the TV shows featured 19th century western capers as well as modern-day stories. Interestingly, Joel McCrea had been appearing in films, from screwball comedies to wild west movies, since the 1920s. During the two years that Tales of the Texas Rangers was on air, McCrea’s screen career revived.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Abbott & Costello Show
A) 11/16/44 School Play
B) 10/3/46 Breaking up the Act
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello started in vaudeville in the early 1930s and by 1938 they were appearing as regulars on The Kate Smith Hour. By the fall of 1942, they had their own weekly radio program which topped the popularity polls of Radio Daily and Radio Guide. At first, radio listeners had trouble telling them apart, so they quickly adapted by Bud lowering his voice a tad with Lou raising his (something they continued to do throughout their careers). Their celebrated Who’s On First baseball routine helped make them a national sensation. The Abbott & Costello Show ran for seven years until the summer of 1949 when the boys ventured into the television business. Produced by Costello’s wife, Patricia, their television series lasted two seasons and gave Bud and Lou an opportunity to reprise the best comedic sketches and scenarios from their radio scripts. The next time you watch one of their television programs, or one of their big screen movies, remember that the flat sarcasm of Bud Abbott and shrieks from Lou Costello originated on radio – the perfect medium for verbal standup that is often imitated today.
Enjoy two free mystery episodes of Suspense w/ Vincent Price, Ida Lupino and Henry Fonda
A) 6/1/44 Fugue in C Minor w/ Vincent Price and Ida Lupino
B) 10/18/45 Summer Storm w/ Henry Fonda
Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion. It aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962, and is considered by many to be the best mystery/drama series of the golden age. Known as Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills it focused on suspenseful stories starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by the 'Man In Black' who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that, at the very end, usually had an unseen twist or two. Hollywood’s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on Suspense, including: Cary Grant, James Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis and Orson Welles. Scripts were by John Dickson Carr, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury and many others. Running more than 20 years, Suspense aired nearly 1,000 radio broadcasts. It made the transition to television in 1949, but it was much better suited for radio where the theatre of the mind could run free.
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Life of Riley w/ William Bendix
A) 10/8/48 Better Husband w/ William Bendix
B) 12/8/50 Lawn-mowing Business w/ William Bendix
Created by Irving Brecher, the popular family sitcom The Life of Riley featured the comic misadventures of Chester A. Riley, an inept blue-collar factor worker and father of two, played by screen actor William Bendix. Riley’s wife, Peg, tried in vain to prevent her hot-headed husband’s interventions, which only made matters worse and usually ended in an embarrassing revelation. With a tendency to try and solve non-existent problems, Riley sought advice from his best friend and next-door neighbor, Gillis, but this only led to misunderstandings. Help came from Digger O’Dell, the “friendly undertaker,” who offered gruesome theories laced with repetitive puns, brilliantly delivered by John Brown. In 1949, Universal Studios released a Life of Riley motion picture and later that same year NBC produced a TV version with Jackie Gleason playing Riley (Bendix was unable to play the role due to a contract dispute). After 26 episodes, Gleason left the series for greener pastures and William Bendix resumed the role he’d made famous.
Enjoy two free detective episodes of Sherlock Holmes
A) 10/12/46 The Adv. of the Stuttering Ghost w/ Tom Conway
B) 10/19/46 The Adv. of the Black Angus w/ Tom Conway
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective genius, Sherlock Holmes, came to NBC radio in 1930 starring Richard Gordon. By 1939, Basil Rathbone was heard as Holmes with Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson. The duo were simultaneously starring in a popular series of Sherlock Holmes features for Fox, and later for Universal. By the end of the feature run in the mid 1940’s, Rathbone was eager to separate himself from the radio show to avoid being typecast, and even though the show’s sponsor (Petri Wines) offered him generous pay to continue, he decided to move on. Tom Conway took over with Nigel Bruce continuing as Watson (in this paring Nigel Bruce received top billing). Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce were replaced in 1947 by John Stanley and Alfred Shirley. Others to portray Holmes and Watson over the radio run were George Shelton and Ian Martin and Ben Wright and Eric Snowden. In 1955, NBC signed heavyweights Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson to star as Holmes and Watson, but with radio fast giving way to television, it only lasted one season.
Enjoy two free horror episodes of Murder At Midnight
A) 6/7/46 Nightmare w/ Elspeth Eric
B) 11/1/46 The Ape Song w/ Raymond Edward Johnson
Produced in New York, “Murder At Midnight” came to ABC radio in September of 1946 and featured crime dramas and supernatural thrillers. Raymond Morgan, a former long-Island Minister, who had left the cloth For the excitement of radio, was the foreboding host who each week uttered the lines: "Midnight, the witching hour when the night is darkest, our fears the strongest, and our strength at its lowest ebb. Midnight, when the graves gape open and death strikes." Over its six-year run in syndication “Murder at Midnight” had a relatively high production budget (about $5,000 per show) which helped it pull respectable audience shares. The supporting players were New York’s best, including: Lawson Zerbe, Karl Swenson, Berry Kroeger, Lon Clark, Elspeth Eric and Raymond Edward Johnson. Anton M. Leader directed the series and the scripts were by top writers, including Joe Ruscoll, Max Erlich and Robert Newman.
Enjoy two free thrilling adventures of The Green Hornet
A) 10/31/39 The Parking Lot Racket w/ Al Hodge
B) 11/24/46 Giuseppi’s Secret w/ Robert Hall
By day, Britt Reid was a successful newspaperman and publisher, by night he was The Green Hornet, a masked avenger determined to combat crime and hand out his own brand of justice. As the publisher of the Daily Sentinel, Reid had access to inside information from both police and criminal sources, and he made full use of it to combat his foes. Kato, Reid’s faithful Asian valet (and the only person who knew his secret identity) rendered valuable assistance in their crusade against crime. Armed with a gas gun to incapacitate his enemies, The Green Hornet always had the upper hand. With a roaring speedster known as the Black Beauty, the vigilante avoided capture by the police and being unmasked by his inquisitive staff reporter, Mike Axford. During World War II, The Green Hornet’s enemies included black market operators, Nazi spies and saboteurs. By 1949, The Green Hornet was smashing rackets on the waterfront, confronting juvenile delinquents, fighting Communist foes, and anyone else who, in the words of the opening narration, “sought to destroy our America.”
Enjoy two free comedy episodes of The Great Gildersleeve
A) 4/25/43 Raising Rabbits w/ Hal Peary
B) 8/29/43 Vacation at Grass Lake w/ Hal Peary
Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was a popular character appearing regularly on The Fibber McGee & Molly Show. On August 31, 1941, the character landed his own situation comedy show, The Great Gildersleeve, becoming radio’s first spin-off. Gildy moved from the town of Wistful Vista to Summerfield, where he raised his orphaned niece and nephew, Marjorie (originally played by Lurene Tuttle and followed by Louise Erickson and Mary Lee Robb) and Leroy (Walter Tetley). The household also included a cook named Birdie (Lillian Randolph). The Great Gildersleeve was the first show to be centered on a single parent balancing raising children, work, and a social life, accomplished with taste and genuine wit, often at the expense of Gildersleeve's slightly understated pomposity. Radio veteran, Hal Peary originated the role of Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve but left the series at the height of its popularity in 1950 giving way to Peary-sound-a-like and well-known character actor, Willard Waterman. Waterman continued in the radio role until 1957 and also played Gildersleeve in a TV version syndicated in 1955.
Enjoy two free detective adventures of Boston Blackie
A) 10/1/46 The Undersea Murder w/ Dick Kollmar
B) 5/28/47 The Ghost of Florence Newton w/ Dick Kollmar
Horatio Black was known to friend and foe as Boston Blackie -- an ex-jewel thief and safecracker constantly suspected of crimes he did not commit and forced to play the role of detective to clear his name. His girlfriend, Mary Wesley, assisted Blackie from time to time, as did his pal Shorty. Forced to defend himself against the accusations of New York Police Inspector Faraday, Blackie always managed to stay one step ahead of the cops in solving a crime. The wisecracks exchanged between Blackie and Faraday made the program an enjoyable mix of comedy and mystery. Chester Morris played the character in 15 Boston Blackie films for Columbia. When The Amos ‘N’ Andy Show needed a summer replacement in 1944, Chester Morris was lured to the NBC microphone for a short-lived Boston Blackie series sponsored by Rinso. The following year, Boston Blackie was syndicated by Ziv with Dorothy Kilgallen’s husband, Dick Kollmar, in the title role. This syndicated series lasted until 1950 and featured Maurice Tarplin as Inspector Faraday with Leslie Woods and Jan Miner as Mary. In 1951, the series made the leap to television starring Kent Taylor as Blackie, Lois Collier as Mary and Frank Orth as Faraday.
Enjoy two free comedy/quiz episodes of You Bet Your Life
A) 4/13/57 w/ Groucho Marx
B) 3/30/57 w/ Groucho Marx
Created by John Guedel, You Bet Your Life was one of the best-loved quiz show to air on both radio and television. It was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. It debuted on radio in 1947 and lasted until 1960. For much of this time it was also seen on television. Contestant teams usually consisted of one male and one female, mostly selected from the studio audience. Groucho would engage in humorous conversations with the contestants and if they said the “secret word” (a common word revealed to the audience at the outset of each episode) a toy duck resembling Groucho – with eyeglasses and a mustache – descended from the ceiling to bring a $100 prize. After the conversations, the actual game began. Contestants were allowed to choose from a list of 20 available categories and try to answer a series of questions within the category to win additional money. At the end of the show, the contestants could play for a Jackpot question, risking half of their previous earnings in the hope of winning the Jackpot.
Enjoy two free exciting adventures of Box Thirteen
A) 2/27/48 The Better Man w/ Alan Ladd
B) 1/9/48 Damsel in Distress w/ Alan Ladd
Movie star Alan Ladd played Dan Holiday, retired newspaperman turned fiction writer and adventurer extraordinaire. To gain ideas for his books, Holiday placed an ad in the Star-Times newspaper "Adventure wanted – will go anywhere, do anything – Box 13." It wasn’t long before his Box 13 became jammed with adventures galore. Holiday always had more adventure than he had originally sought, because those who responded to his ad never revealed all of their glorious, unusual, and sometimes sinister details until they met in person and the adventure had already begun. Silvia Picker played Holiday's scatter-brained secretary, Suzy. Suzy added touches of humor to the mystery-adventure and nail-biting storylines. “Box 13” was produced by Mayfair Productions, a company run by Alan Ladd and Richard Sandville. The name came from Mayfair Restaurant, which Ladd and Sandville owned during WWII. In addition to producing “Box 13”, Ladd also wrote some of the scripts.
Enjoy two western adventures of Hopalong Cassidy
A) 2/17/51 Black Gross Fever w/ William Boyd
B) 12/29/51 The Killers of Lion Canyon w/ William Boyd
Fictional cowboy hero Hopalong Cassidy was created in 1904 by author Clarence E. Mulford in a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Beginning in 1935, William Boyd starred as Hoppy in 66 popular films. On screen, the white-haired Bill “Hopalong” Cassidy was clad strikingly in all black, rode a white horse named “Topper” and thwarted dishonest characters that took advantage of honest citizens. By 1946, Hopalong Cassidy became the first network Western television series. Capitalizing on the success of the films and TV series, Mutual radio began broadcasting a weekly radio version in 1950 starring William Boyd as Hoppy with Andy Clyde as his comedic sidekick “California Carlson.” By 1950 more than 100 companies were manufacturing $70 million of Hopalong Cassidy product, including children’s dinnerware, lunch-boxes, pillows, roller skates, soap, wristwatches and pocketknives.
Enjoy two mystery episodes of The Whistler
A) 11/25/46 Two Year Plan w/ Lurene Tuttle
B) 4/1/46 Three Times a Sinner w/ Joseph Kearns
The Whistler was one of radio’s top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955 sponsored by the Signal Oil Company. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with: I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak. The opening dialog was heard over the echo of footsteps and Wilbur Hatch's haunting signature 13-note theme, whistled each week by Dorothy Roberts. The stories followed an effective formula in which a person's criminal acts were typically undone by their own missteps. The Whistler narrated, often commenting directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective. One of the show’s trademarks was the ironic twist endings that helped serve as a payoff for the listener. Bill Forman had the title role of host and narrator the longest. Others who portrayed the Whistler included: Gale Gordon (Lucille Ball's future television nemesis), Joseph Kearns (Mr. Wilson on TV series Dennis the Menace), Marvin Miller (soon to be television's Michael Anthony on The Millionaire), Bill Johnstone (The Shadow on radio from 1938-1943) and Everett Clarke.
Enjoy two detective adventures of Philip Marlowe
A) 9/15/50 The Final Payment w/ Gerald Mohr
B) 9/8/50 The Fifth Mask w/ Gerald Mohr
Raymond Chandler's celebrated hardboiled private eye, Philip Marlowe, made his radio debut in 1945 on The Lux Radio Theatre with “Murder My Sweet” starring Dick Powell. Two years later, NBC would bring the character to the air in his own weekly series starring Van Heflin in The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe. A summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show, the series was short-lived, ending September 9th, 1947. CBS revived it in 1948 with The Adventures of Philip Marlowe starring Gerald Mohr as Marlowe. With Producer/Director Norman Macdonnell at the helm, the series captured the largest audience in radio by 1949. Scripts were by Gene Levitt, Robert Mitchell, Mel Dinelli and Kathleen Hite. While Chandler’s distinctive similes were largely lacking, the strong, dry, sarcastic narration was there, and the way Mohr delivered his lines made you forget they weren’t written by Chandler. Supporting Mohr, were radio’s best, including Howard McNear, Parley Baer, Lawrence Dobkin, Virginian Greg and Lou Krugman. One of the best detective shows on the air, it lasted until 1951.
Enjoy two comedy episodes of My Favorite Husband
A) 11/6/48 Liz and Katie Switch Identities w/ Lucille Ball
B) 4/1/49 April Fool’s Day w/ Lucille Ball
My Favorite Husband began on CBS Radio July 23, 1948, starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denning as Liz and George Cugat. Midway into the first season, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Liz and George Cooper. The cheerful couple lived at 321 Bundy Drive in the fictitious city of Sheridan Falls and were billed as "two people who live together and like it." George was a banker and Liz was his happily married housewife. Sponsored by Jell-O, the series transitioned to television in 1953 starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson while Lucille Ball (and husband Desi Arnaz) starred in the mega-TV hit I Love Lucy.
Enjoy two horror episodes of Inner Sanctum Mystery
A) 10/2/45 Shadow of Death w/ Richard Widmark
B) 1/31/49 The Devil’s Fortune w/ Karl Swenson
Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mystery debuted over NBC’s Blue Network in January 1941. Inner Sanctum Mystery featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned and the famous “creaking door” slowly began to open. Every week, Inner Sanctum Mystery told stories of ghosts, murderers and lunatics. Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains. What made Inner Sanctum Mystery unique among radio horror shows was its host, a slightly sinister sounding fellow originally known as “Raymond.” The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from the Crypt-Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson was the show’s host until 1945; Paul McGrath took over as host until the show left the air in 1952. Producer Himan Brown would utilize the creaking door again in the 1970s, when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
Enjoy two western episodes of Have Gun, Will Travel
A) 7/5/59 Comanche w/ John Dehner
B) 7/12/59 Young Man w/ John Dehner
Have Gun, Will Travel followed the adventures of Paladin, a soldier of fortune-turned-hired gunfighter, played by John Dehner. Paladin preferred to settle problems without violence, yet, when forced to fight, excelled. He lived at the swanky Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, where he dressed in formal wear, ate gourmet food, attended the opera and enjoyed the company of beautiful women. When working as a gun-for-hire, he dressed in all black, used calling cards and wore a holster, decorated by a characteristic chess knight emblem. The knight symbol was in reference to his name and his occupation as a champion-for-hire. One of radio’s best-loved westerns, Have Gun, Will Travel lasted on radio until 1960 and was televised from 1957 through 1963.
Enjoy two true-crime episodes of Dragnet
A) 10/26/54 The Big Key w/ Jack Webb
B) 9/8/53 The Big Lift w/ Jack Webb
Starring Jack Webb, Dragnet was the most famous and influential police procedural drama of all-time. It dramatized cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. Actor and producer Jack Webb took Dragnet to new highs and insisted on realism in every facet of the show. The dialog was clipped, understated and sparse, influenced by the hardboiled school of crime fiction. Scripts were fast-paced yet didn’t seem rushed. Every aspect of police work was chronicled, step-by-step, from patrols and paperwork, to crime scene investigation, lab work and questioning suspects. Friday offered voice-over narration throughout the episodes, noting the time, date and place of every scene as he and his partners went through their day investigating the crime. While most radio series used one or two sound-effects experts, Dragnet needed five. A 30-minute episode could easily require 300 separate sound effects. Dragnet came it radio in 1949 and lasted until 1957 making an easy transition to television and films.
Enjoy two comedy episodes of Fibber McGee & Molly
A) 2/3/48 Fibber Makes a Lamp w/ Jim & Marian Jordan
B) 2/10/48 Repairing a Sled w/ Jim & Marian Jordan
Fibber McGee & Molly had a long and successful run on radio (1935-1959). The program showcased terrific comic and musical talent, headlined by its creators and stars, married couple Jim and Marian Jordan. Living in the fictional Midwestern city of Wistful Vista, Fibber was an American teller of tall tales and a braggart, usually to the exasperation of his long suffering wife Molly. Life in Wistful Vista followed a well-developed formula, but was always fresh. Fibber's weekly schemes would be interrupted, inspired by, and often played upon the people of Wistful Vista, a set of regular players and characters that were as beloved as the stars of the program. The program used a series of running gags that would become part of the common language, many treasures can be found in the Closet at 79 Wistful Vista. The show began as a comic reflection of Depression Era America, but as time went on and the shadows of war came over the nation, the show again caught the mood of the country. WWII was fought on the Home front on Wistful Vista as surely as anywhere else in America, but here they had the benefit of Fibber's somewhat addled perspective.
Enjoy two high-adventure episodes of Escape
A) 8/18/47 The Fourth Man w/ Paul Frees
B) 2/1/47 The Vanishing Lady w/ Joan Banks
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high-adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 until September 25, 1954. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with this introduction, as intoned by Paul Frees and/or William Conrad: Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape! Following the opening theme, a second announcer (usually Roy Rowan) would add: Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure! Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits. Actors on the series included: Eleanor Audley, Parley Baer, Harry Bartell, William Conrad, Ted deCorsia, John Dehner, Sam Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Lou Merrill, Howard McNear, Jeanette Nolan, Alan Reed, Bill Johnstone, Marvin Miller, Frank Lovejoy, Berry Kroeger, Vic Perrin, Elliott Lewis, Jack Webb, Peggy Webber and Will Wright. Music was supplied by Del Castillo, organist Ivan Ditmars, Cy Feuer, Wilbur Hatch and Leith Stevens. The announcers were Paul Frees and Roy Rowan.
Enjoy two sci-fi adventures of X Minus One
A) 5/1/56 Sea Legs w/ William Redfield
B) 8/1/57 End as a World w/ Peter Fernandez
X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio series broadcast from April 24, 1955 until January 9, 1958 over NBC. Initially a revival of NBC's Dimension X (1950-51), X Minus One is widely considered among the finest science fiction dramas ever produced for radio. The first 15 episodes were new versions of Dimension X episodes, but the remainder were adaptations by NBC staff writers, including Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, of newly published science fiction stories by leading writers in the field. New York’s finest radio actors are heard in the supporting casts, including Bob Hastings, Jan Miner, Luis Van Rooten, Teri Kean and Les Damon.
Enjoy two comedy episodes of Our Miss Brooks
A) 10/30/49 Halloween Pary w/ Eve Arden
B) 3/25/51 Buying a Parcel of Land w/ Eve Arden
Our Miss Brooks was a situation comedy show heard on radio and seen on television and films. It starred Hollywood film and New York stage veteran Eve Arden, who had specialized in playing the wisecracking friend to the heroine. She often did it better than anyone else, receiving an Oscar nomination for 1945’s “Mildred Pierce.” Arden’s skill with the wicked one-liner and acid aside was beginning to lead to typecasting so, to find a new image, Arden signed on for the lead in radio’s Our Miss Brooks. The series centered on Connie Brooks, a smart, sharp-witted, lovable English teacher at fictional Madison High School. Between gentle wisecracks, Miss Brooks doted on nerdish student Walter Denton (Richard Crenna) and frequently locked horns with crusty, cranky Principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon). Many plot lines revolved around Miss Brooks’ longing for Philip Boynton (Jeff Chandler), the school’s bashful biology teacher. Our Miss Brooks made a successful transition to TV in 1952 while the radio series lasted until 1957.
Enjoy two detective episodes of Sam Spade
A) 6/20/48 The Deathbed Caper w/ Howard Duff
B) 9/12/48 The Lazarus Caper w/ Howard Duff
The detective character, Sam Spade, was created by Dashiell Hammett for his crime novel “The Maltese Falcon.” Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. The character is most closely associated with Humphrey Bogart who played Sam Spade in the third and most famous film version of “The Maltese Falcon.” In 1946, one of radio’s top producers (William Spier) brought Sam Spade to CBS radio starring newcomer Howard Duff with Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) as Spade’s secretary, Effie Perrine and sponsored by Wildroot Cream Oil. Duff took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than the novel or movies. Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the radio series but had little involvement. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Howard Duff starred as Spade until November of 1950 when Steve Dunne took the role.
Enjoy two mystery episodes of Gunsmoke
A) 5/7/55 Potato Road w/ William Conrad
B) 12/13/52 Post Martin
“Around Dodge City and in the territory out West, there’s just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers and that’s with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of … GUNSMOKE!” Radio westerns were aimed at kids until 1952 when Gunsmoke hit the radio airwaves. Produced for adult listeners, the stories were grim, the deaths brutal and life on the plains was harsh. Radio audiences had never heard anything like Gunsmoke and they made it the #1 western on radio. It soon made a successful transition to television becoming the longest-running dramatic series in TV history. Join William Conrad (U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon), Parley Baer (Deputy Chester Proudfoot), Georgia Ellis (Kitty Russell) and Howard McNear (Doc Adams) in the continuing “story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.”
Enjoy two mystery episodes of Suspense
A) 11/16/50 On a Country Road w/ Cary Grant
B) 3/31/48 You Can’t Die Twice w/ Edward G. Robinson
Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion. It aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962, and is considered by many to be the best mystery/drama series of the golden age. Often referred to as 'Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills' it focused on suspenseful, thrillers starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by the 'Man In Black' who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that, at the very end, usually had an unseen twist or two. Hollywood’s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on Suspense, including: Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis and Orson Welles. Scripts were by John Dickson Carr, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury and many others. Running more than 20 years, Suspense aired nearly 1,000 radio broadcasts. It made the transition to television in 1949, but it was on radio that Suspense enjoyed its glory days.
Enjoy two hilarious episodes of The Jack Benny Program
A) 6/27/48 w/ special guest, Fred Allen
B) 2/6/49 w/ special guests, Claudette Colbert, Vincent Price and Fletcher Markle
Born in Chicago, February 14, 1894, Benjamin Kubelsky would later become known as Jack Benny. As a boy, he was encouraged by his Jewish immigrant parents from Poland to become a concert violinist. He learned to play quite well and hit the vaudeville stage, where he played popular songs and honed a suave-but-fragile personality, telling self-deprecating jokes. Benny guested on the Ed Sullivan radio show March 19, 1932 and was an instant success. Canada Dry signed him to a contract that same year and soon Jack Benny was broadcasting each week on CBS. His radio career included a long run on NBC and then a return to CBS through his final radio days. His all-star supporting cast included his wife Mary Livingstone, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson and announcer Don Wilson. As Jerry Seinfeld would emulate years later on his TV show, Benny’s cast received the best jokes – many pointed at the show’s star. Expert scripts constantly reminded listeners of Benny’s portrayal of himself as a stingy and vain man, concerned about his receding hairline and insistence that he was no older than 39. Benny’s radio show made a successful transition to television with his entire supporting cast following.