The NBC University Theater - dramatic anthology Offered novels, with programs for college credit. Broadcast History : July 30th, 1948 - February 14th, 1951 NBC. Mostly 60 minutes. Mostly aired on Sundays, with occasional weeknight airings. Announcer : Don Stanley Music : Albert Harris, Henry Russell Director : Andrew C. Love Writers : Claris A. Ross, Ernest Kinoy, George Lefferts, Jack C. Wilson Sound Effects : Bob Holmes, Rod Sutton.

THIS EPISODE:
February 12, 1950. NBC network. "The Light That Failed". Sustaining. A painter, interested only in money, loses his sight after his masterpiece has been defaced. The closing credits have been deleted. Alec Harford, Crauford Kent, Dan O'Herlihy, Earl Keen, Eileen Erskine, Eric Snowden, George Lefferts (writer), Henry Outland (Outland?--intermission commentator), John Ramsay Hill, Marlene Ames, Queenie Leonard, Rudyard Kipling (author), Tom Dylan, Tudor Owen. 56:28.

The FORD THEATER, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, presented hour long dramas first on NBC for one only season. The series moved to CBS for its second and last season. There were 39 NBC and 39 CBS hour- long shows (not verified). The show initially received an unfavorable review from the New York Times for poor script adaptation but was still highly rated for the actors' performance and overall production. The show was supposed to feature only original scripts but had to forgo that plan due to lack of quality material. The first season on NBC used radio actors under the direction of George Zachary. Martin Gabel announced the first show but was soon replaced by Kenneth Banghart. The second season, on CBS, used Hollywood screen actors in the lead roles, supported by radio actors. Fletcher Markle, who previously produced CBS's STUDIO ONE series, was the producer for the second season. Although a short series, it still has some of radio's best dramas.
 
THIS EPISODE:
October 29, 1948. CBS network, KNX, Los Angeles aircheck. "Of Human Bondage". Sponsored by: Ford, Bulova Watch (local). Not auditioned. Ray Milland, Joan Lorring, Somerset Maugham (author), Fletcher Markle (host, director), Hedley Rennie, Susan Douglas, Jack Manning, Elwood Hoffman (adaptor), Cy Feuer (conductor), Rita Vale, Robert Dryden, Miriam Wolfe, Neal Fitzgerald, Gregory Morton. 57:19.

Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s.

The Adventures Of Horatio Hornblower - Broadcast 1952; Transcribed in England for the BBC; aired in U.S. on CBS, then again on ABC in 1954 and Mutual in 1957.  Starring Michael Redgrave as Horatio Hornblower. a captain in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era. The radio series was based on twelve Horatio Hornblower novels written by C.S. Forester. These novels were, and still are, well liked due to their realistic tone and historical accuracy in telling the tales of Naval life in the late 1700s through the mid 1800s. C.S. Forester was well known for his novels about military and naval life, including such fine titles as The African Queen, The Gun, The Barbary Pirates, and The General.

The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (1939-1953), is remembered first and foremost for its unforgettable introduction: awkward teen Henry's mother calling, "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!" A top-ten ratings hit within two years of its birth (in 1941, the showm carried a 33.4 Crossley rating, landing it solidly alongside Jack Benny and Bob Hope), the show is considered a prototype for teen-oriented situation comedies to follow on radio and television and is a favourite if dated find for old-time radio collectors today. The Aldrich Family as a separate radio show was born as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O---which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time. The Aldriches ran in that slot from October 10, 1939 until May 28, 1940, moving to Thursdays, from July 4, 1940 until July 20, 1944. After a brief hiatus, the show moved to CBS, running on Fridays from September 1, 1944 until August 30, 1946 with sponsors Grape Nuts and Jell-O,.before moving back to NBC from September 05, 1946 to June 28, 1951 on Thursdays and, then, its final run of September 21, 1952 to April 19, 1953 on Sundays.

Screen Director's Playhouse - From 01/09/49 to 09/28/51 this series was greatly enjoyed by the radio listening audience. It opened as NBC Theater and was also known as The Screen Director’s Guild and The Screen Director’s Assignment. But most people remember it simply as Screen Director’s Playhouse. Many of the Hollywood elite were heard recreating their screen roles over the radio. John Wayne in his rare radio appearances, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson, Lucille Ball, Claire Trevor, Tallulah Bankhead and many others were on the air week after week during these broadcasts. Many of Hollywood’s directors were also heard in the recreation of their movies. The President of the Screen Director’s Guild appeared on 02/13/49, and Violinist Isaac Stern supplied the music for the 04/19/51 broadcast.

THIS EPISODE:
Caged aired August 2, 1951 starring Eleanor Parker as Marie Allen and Hope Emerson as Evelyn Harper. Caged tells the story of a teenage newlywed, who is sent to prison for being an accessory to a robbery. Her experiences while incarcerated, along with the killing of her husband, change her from a very frightened young girl into a hardened convict. This is one of the finest productions ever done for radio from Screen Director's Playhouse. The Academny Award performances by Parker and Emerson are nothing less than spectacular.

Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network (1934-1935); CBS (1935-1954); NBC (1954-1955)) adapted first Broadway stage works, and then (especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations. It quickly became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, running more than twenty years. The program always began with an announcer proclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, Lux presents Hollywood!" Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936, until January 22, 1945. On one occasion, however, he was replaced by Leslie Howard.

THIS EPISODE:
In life a selfish, mean-spirited old man, Peter Grimm returns from the grave to right the wrongs he committed while on Earth. The spectral Grimm pays a visit to his nasty nephew Frederick (John Roche), the husband of Grimm's ward Catherine (Janet Gaynor), who had been forced into the marriage. Literally entering Frederick's conscience, Grimm transforms his covetous, philandering nephew into a "good guy." After several similar episodes, both comic and dramatic, Return of Peter Grimm comes to a tear-stained finale as the tubercular young William (Mickey McBan) joins his grandfather Grimm in the hereafter.

Beyond Midnight - A replacement series for SF 68, this South African horror anthology was far more successful than its predecessor, running from 1968 through 1969. Its success may have been due in part to producer Michael McCabe - who also produced SF 68 - honing his talents to a higher degree. Little else is known about it, including the number of shows produced. As far as I can discover, there were at least 43 episodes, all in half-hour format.

The First Nighter Program. January 29, 1948. CBS net. "A Writer In The Family". Sponsored by: Campana cosmetics, DDD Prescription. Highway Eighty Seven is coming right through the living room in a romantic/comedy of mistaken identity and "Shorty West," a writer of western adventures. James Arthur Rotie (writer), Frank Worth and His Orchestra, Olan Soule, Barbara Luddy, Paul Frees, Hugh Studebaker, Arthur Q. Bryan, Mary Lansing, Larry Keating (announcer). 29:39

THIS EPISODE:
March 29, 1944. Mutual network. "The Chinese Gong". Sponsored by: Campana's cosmetics. Barbara Luddy, Olan Soule, Arch Oboler (author). 1/2 hour.

 

Calling All Cars was one of radio’s earliest cop shows, dramatizing true crime stories and introduced by officers from the Los Angeles and other police departments. The narrator of the program was speech professor Charles Frederick Lindsley, and the only other regular voice heard on the program week after week belonged to that of Sergeant Jesse Rosenquist of the L.A.P.D., whose name and voice were so unusually distinctive that he was retained for the show’s entire run. None of the actors on the show ever received on-air credit, but among the talent OTR fans can hear the likes of Elvia Allman, Jackson Beck, Charles Bickford, John Gibson, Richard LeGrand and Hanley Stafford, just to name a few.

THIS EPISODE:
May 2, 1934. Program #23. CBS Pacific network (Don Lee net). "Murder At Southgate". Sponsored by: Rio Grande Oil. A disturbance has taken place on San Gabriel Avenue in Southgate. A dramatization of the first murder ever to take place in Southgate. The system cue has been deleted. Not auditioned. Ann Sawyer, Martha Wentworth, True Boardman, Charlie Lung (triples), Caranina Burt (?), Hanley Stafford, Sam Pierce, Richard LeGrand, Robert Frazer, Wade Ling (?). 28:11.

My Friend Irma, created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard, was a top-rated, long-run radio situation comedy, so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated to films and television, while Howard scored with another radio comedy hit, Life with Luigi. Dependable and level-headed Jane Stacy (Cathy Lewis) narrated the misadventures of her innocent and bewildered roommate, Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), a dim-bulb stenographer. Wilson portrayed the character on radio, in two films and a TV series. The successful radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).

Counterspy was an espionage drama radio series that aired on ABC and Mutual from May 18, 1942 to November 29, 1957. David Harding (Don MacLaughlin) was the chief of the United States Counterspies, a unit engaged during World War II in counterespionage against Japan's Black Dragon and Germany's Gestapo. With spies still lurking in the post-war years, the adventures continued apace well after World War II ended.

THIS EPISODE:
September 29, 1949. ABC network. "The Case Of The Vicious Vistor". Sponsored by: Pepsi Cola. Not auditioned. A prison guard is beaten in the dark, a man and his wife are both murdered. The system cue has been deleted. Don MacLaughlin, Mandel Kramer, Phillips H. Lord (producer), William Sweets (director), Edward Adamson (writer), Jesse Crawford (organ). 28:55.

Academy Award Theater - The list of films and actors on Academy Award Theater is very impressive. Bette Davis begins the series in Jezebel, with Ginger Rogers following in Kitty Foyle, and then Paul Muni in The Life of Louis Pasteur. The Informer had to have Victor Mclaglen, and the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet (this movie was his first major motion picutre role) plus Mary Astor for the hat trick. Suspicion starred Cary Grant with Ann Todd doing the Joan Fontaine role, Ronald Coleman in Lost Horizon, and Joan Fontaine and John Lund were in Portrait of Jenny. How Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio were done is something to hear!

THIS EPISODE:
June 8, 1946. CBS network. "Ruggles Of Red Gap". Sponsored by: Squibb Drugs. The famous story of the English valet in the wild American West. Charles Laughton, Charles Ruggles. 1/2 hour.

The Chase is an exciting Old Time Radio series in which every episode contains, well, a chase. Tales, highly melodramatic and often improbable, of people on the run. The concept of "hunter and hunted" was built into the signatures. with the lone bugle of a fox hunt, the braying of dogs, the sounds of a man running, a gunshot, and the slowing footsteps and eventual fall of the victim.  It may be an adventure story, a crime story, or even science fiction, but there will always be a suspense filled chase.

THIS EPISODE:
March 29, 1953. NBC network. Sustaining. The curator of a museum of murderers tells the story of a British chap who marries ladies of wealth for his own mercenary purposes. Doris Smith, Fred Collins (announcer), Fred Weihe (director, transcriber), Ivor Francis, John Stanley, Cathleen Cordell, Lawrence Klee (creator, writer), Leona Powers, Ted Osborne, William Podmore. 29:52.

The Avenger is an Old Time Radio show aired by the South African Broadcasting System in the 1940s. It featured a biochemist crime-fighter by the name of Jim Brandon. Mr. Brandon had two inventions which assisted him in the fight against crime. Mr. Brandon was able to pick up telpathic thought flashes and had a diffusion capsule which allowed him to become invisible.

The Shadow - In September of 1939, a new voice of the Shadow appeared in the form of radio actor Bill Johnstone. Later in 1939, Agnes Moorehead left the show and was replaced by Marjorie Anderson as Margo Lane. The plot lines began to follow the standard formula of Margo Lane being in danger and the Shadow rescuing her from the clutches of evil. Bill Johnstone would be the voice of the Shadow for five seasons, until March 1943. Bret Morrison took over the Shadow role in 1943 for one season. John Archer and Steve Courtleigh took the Shadow role through the 1944-45 season. Bret Morrison then returned to be the Shadow for the duration of the program's run which lasted until December 26, 1954.

THIS EPISODE:
1938. Syndicated. "Murder On Approval". Sponsored by: B. F. Goodrich Tires. A foreign agent tries to conquer America by infecting the U. S. Army with a secret disease. Orson Welles, Margot Stevenson, Ken Roberts (announcer). 1/2 hour.

Author’s Playhouse - Famous stories by celebrated authors: among them, Elementals (Stephen Vincent Benet), The Piano (William Saroyan), and The Snow Goose (Paul Gallico).March 5, 1941 till June 4, 1945, NBC;  Blue Network until mid-October 1941, then the Red Network.  Many briefly held 30m timeslots, including Sundays at 11:30, 1941-42;  Wednesdays at 11:30, 1942-44;   Mondays at 11:30, 1944-45.  Sponsor was Philip Morris, 1942-43. Cast:  John Hodiak, Fern Persons, Arthur Kohl, Laurette Fillbrandt, Kathryn Card, Bob Jellison, Nelson Olmsted, Marvin Miller, Olan Soule, Les Tremayne, Clarence Hartzell, Curley Bradley, etc.  Orchestra:  Rex Maupin, Roy Shield, J6seph Gallicchio. Creator:  Wynn Wright.  Directors:  Norman Felton, Fred Weihe, Homer Heck, etc.

THIS EPISODE:
November 13, 1944. NBC network. "The Long Way Round". Sustaining. A man has just returned from a sanitarium after a mental break-down to find that wife has developed her own mental problems. James Ronald (author). 1/2 hour.

21ST PRECINCT was one of the realistic police drama series of the early- to mid-1950's that were aired in the wake of DRAGNET. In 1953 CBS decided to use New York City as the backdrop for their own half-hour police series and focus on the day-to-day operation of a single police precinct. Actual cases were used as the basis for stories. The Precinct Captain acted as the narrator for the series.

THIS EPISODE:
September 29, 1953. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. A young drug user tries to kick the habit by making a false alarm so he can go "cold turkey" in jail. Everett Sloane, Lawson Zerbe, Raymond Edward Johnson, Ken Lynch, Robert Readick, Gaylord Avery (announcer). 1/2 hour.

Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The program’s lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of America’s most famous addresses and Molly’s warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radio’s best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal miner’s daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and developed 145 different voices and characters.

Box 13 - The premise of the program was that Dan Holiday was an author who wrote mystery novels. To get ideas for his novels he placed an advertisement in a newspaper saying "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, Box 13." The ads always brought fun adventures of all kinds: from racketeer's victim to psychotic killer looking for fun. Most of the episodes were based on Dan Holiday replying to a letter he received at Box 13. He would generally solve a mystery in the process, and return to his office in time to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of Suzy, his amusingly stupid secretary. He would certainly not meet the strictest requirements for private eyes (not licensed, collected no fees from clients), but the definition should stretch to sneak him in under the rope. It was heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System as well as being syndicated. The series was produced by Mayfair Productions. Box 13, starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Sylvia Picker played Suzy, Dan Holiday's secretary and Edmond MacDonald as Lt. Kling.

THIS EPISODE:
August 14, 1949. Program #52. Mayfair syndication. "Round Robin". Commercials added locally. Dan Holiday foils a blackmail plot involving a valuable necklace and a lady's gambling losses. The last show of the series. Alan Ladd, Arthur Boland (writer), Richard Sanville (director), Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor), Sylvia Picker, Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 26:42.

CBS Radio Mystery Theater - As you walk through the creaking door you enter into another world, the world of imagination. This world is inside you, a part of you, and you take this journey alone. Each person hears and then sees with his or her mind's eye the events portrayed within these dramas. All of us interprets what they hear differently. The images we see is unique to ourselves. A voice becomes a person, living, breathing they come alive. They take on a physical form and characteristics that we assign to them. The wonders of your own mind are boundless. Scary thoughts? Perhaps, but what powers they bring us! To exercise one's imagination is to exercise one's soul. These dramas provide us with an escape from reality. To adventures beyond our own lives. Enjoy them. And pleasant dreams!

THIS EPISODE:
January 14, 1974. Program #9. CBS network. "Death Rides A Stallion". Sponsored by: Budweiser, Kellogg's. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Mason Adams, Marian Seldes, Paul McGrath. 52 minutes.

The Falcon - Regardless of the date of his first literary appearance, The Falcon was first brought to the screen in a 1941 RKO film, as a replacement for its popular series of B's featuring Leslie Charteris' The Saint. Except for the name change, at first at least it was pretty hard to tell the difference. The Falcon was also a good-looking suave, sophisticated type, a sort of freelance gentleman adventurer.

THIS EPISODE
September 3, 1950. NBC network. "Tthe Case Of The Quarrelsome Quartet". Sponsored by: Kraft Mayonnaise, Kraft Malted Milk. Who killed Dixie Saunders? Who killed George Saunders? Thieves fall out! Les Damon, Amzie Strickland, Jackson Beck, Jay Jackson (announcer), Arlo (music), Drexel Drake (creator), Richard Lewis (director), Bernard L. Schubert (producer), Eugene Wang (writer). 29:30.

The Black Musuem - Opening in 1875, the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard is the oldest museum in the world purely for recording crime. The name Black Museum was coined in 1877 by a reporter from The Observer, a London newspaper, although the museum is still referred to as the Crime Museum. The idea of a crime museum was conceived by Inspector Neame who had already collected together a number of items, with the intention of giving police officers practical instruction on how to detect and prevent burglary. It is this museum that inspired the Black Musuem radio series.

THIS EPISODE:
1952. Syndicated, WCRB, Boston aircheck. "The Service Card". A murderer is trapped by the odometer reading on his victim's car. The date is approximate. This series was heard on the Mutual net during 1952, but was probably produced in England and broadcast earlier on British radio. The series was syndicated by Harry Alan Towers after the network run for many years. Orson Welles (narrator), Harry Alan Towers (producer), Ira Marion (writer), Sidney Torch (composer, conductor). 1/2 hour.

Curtain Time, like First Nighter, presented romantic drama in a theater setting complete with the announcer shouting, “Tickets please, thank you”. The shows announcer was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show. Great scripts and superb acting, Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic. Mutual Network, local KNX show sustained, heard Fridays 7:30 - 8:00 pm

Hancock's Half-Hour is the yardstick against which all subsequent British sitcoms have been measured, the vast majority failing to size up to its extremely high standards. Based on his famous radio show of the same name, the TV run consolidated Tony Hancock's standing as Britain's leading comic of the day, the entertainer providing ample proof that his wonderfully flexible face could be as expressive as his dextrous radio voice. Tony Hancock was at the height of his powers during the late 1950s, squeezing every comic ounce out of his lines, pulling off perfectly judged pauses and demonstrating a sense of timing to match the great Jack Benny's. His character - Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock - was invariably a loser, whose aspirations and plans were dashed by fate, circumstance, Sid James or, more often than not, his own pomposity or unfettered ambition.

Murder By Experts. August 15, 1949. Mutual network. "Dig Your Own Grave". Sustaining. A woman becomes "the seed" to promote her husband's romance with another woman. Then, she gives him the idea to commit murder. John Dickson Carr (host), Joseph Ruscoll (writer), Ken Lynch, Richard Dupage (composer), Emerson Buckley (conductor), Ann Shephard, Ron Rawson, James Stevens, Robert A. Arthur (producer, director), David Kogan (producer, director), Hester Sondergaard. 29:49.

Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.

THIS EPISODE:
February 9, 1949. NBC network origination, Nostalgia Broadcasting Corporation syndication. Commercials added locally. Archie's doctor has told him that he only has three days to live...or did he? Archie keeps the true diagnosis from the gang down at the tavern. The system cue has been deleted. Ed Gardner, Eddie Green, Charlie Cantor, Hazel Shermet. 24:37.

The Golden Age of Radio was ending, not with a whimper, but with a robust bang. Many of the best network and syndicated shows began in the 1950s, even though public interest and advertising dollars were switching to television, FORT LARAMIE was certainly one of the finest radio series, and were it not for GUNSMOKE, it could be termed the best adult Western program ever aired. FORT LARAMIE is a close relative of GUNSMOKE since it had the same producer-director, same writers, same sound effects men, and many of the same actors. GUNSMOKE had been running for almost four years when Norman Macdonnell brought FORT LARAMIE to CBS. The latter had the same gritty realism, attention to detail, and integrity that audiences admired in GUNSMOKE.

Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer. After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946 as a 30-minute NBC Saturday morning show, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. The announcer was Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music. There are at least three generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handled challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not have been quite as interesting.

Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. Along with Miss Marple, Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-lived characters: he appeared in 33 novels and 54 short stories. Poirot has been portrayed on screen, for films and TV, by various actors including Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina and David Suchet. His character was based on two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes' Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans' Monsieur Poiret, a retired French police officer living in London. A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Blackie was a tough, wisecracking private detective working in New York, billed as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." His speciality was making fools of the police, a simple task with Inspector Farraday heading the official investigations. "An enemy to those who call him an enemy, a friend to those who have no friends." Boston Blackie is a reformed jewel thief who is never far from trouble. Inspector Farraday of the homicide squad tries to pin Blackie for the crime in every episode. To save his own skin, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and sidekick Shorty, Blackie ends up solving the case.

The Green Hornet program began in January of 1936 and played to December 5, 1952. The shows typically ran thirty minutes and ran twice a week in the beginning years. They later reverted to being broadcast once a week. The last season of the show in 1952 the show reverted back to a twice a week schedule. Al Hodge played the role of Britt Reid for seven years. Fran Striker, a co-creator of the Lone Ranger, wrote all of the scripts for the Green Hornet until April 1944. After that, several other writers were brought in to script the show. The writing output of Fran Striker was incredible. While he was scripting the Green Hornet he was also writing the scripts for the Lone Ranger program.

People are Funny was a television game show that premiered and ended on NBC from 1954-1961. It was shot in the outside world and dared people to do stunts for fun for spectators. This was done to "reveal the true nature" of their guests. This show was considered a predecessor to most of the reality game shows we know today, such as "Survivor" and MTV's "Jackass." Art Linkletter was the more well-known host of the show. Viewers grew up with him, but not just on People are Funny. He was also seen on Life With Linkletter (1950-52 & 1969-70), Art Linkletter's House Party (1952-69), and The Art Linkletter Show (1963).

Adventures In Research - A Public service production by the Westinghouse Research Labs. The series is very informative and entertaining.  Series ran from the early 1940's -mid 1950's. HOST: Paul Shannon

Today's Show:
Piece of Silk (2-02-43) and Fight Against Fire (2-09-43

The Story Of Doctor Kildare - Dr. James Kildare was a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show. The character was invented by the author Frederick Schiller Faust (aka Max Brand). The character began in the film series as a medical intern; after becoming a doctor he was mentored by an older physician, Dr. Leonard Gillespie. After the first ten films, the series eliminated the character of Kildare and focused instead on Gillespie.

THIS EPISODE:
December 8, 1950. Program #46. WMGM, New York-Mutual network origination, MGM syndication. Commercials added locally. The wife of an auto accident victim refuses to allow an operation to save his life. Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore. 1/2 hour.

The General Electric Theater featured a mix of romance, comedy, adventure, tragedy, fantasy and variety music. Occupying the Sunday evening spot on CBS following the Toast of the Town/Ed Sullivan Show from 1 February 1953 to 27 May 1962, the General Electric Theater presented top Hollywood and Broadway stars in dramatic roles calculated to deliver company voice advertising to the largest possible audience.

THIS EPISODE:
September 24, 1953. CBS network. "The Enchanted Cottage". Sponsored by: General Electric. Not auditioned. A plain woman and a criplled man fall in love and see a magic transformation in each other. The story was previously used on, "The Gulf Screen Guild Theatre" on November 26, 1939. Joan Fontaine, William Johnstone, Tom Tully, Gloria Gordon, Lurene Tuttle, Dan O'Herlihy, Arthur Wing Pinero (author), Jaime del Valle (director, transcriber), Ken Carpenter (announcer, host), Walter Newman (adaptor), Hett Manheim (editorial supervisor), Wilbur Hatch (music). 29:43.

Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

THIS EPISODE:
December 6, 1945. Red network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Tobacoo. Abbott and Costello are working as fireman. Mrs. O'Lay Hee's house is on fire. Abbott explains vitamins to Costello ("vitamins go from A to H...go to H?"). Camels salutes the "Fighting" 69th Division. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Ken Niles (announcer), Will Osborne and His Orchestra, Iris Adrian, Sidney Fields, Frederick Shields (commercial spokesman), Virginia Gordon, Dick Mack (director). 29:29

THE FAT MAN - "There he goes across the street into the drugstore, steps on the scale, height: 6 feet, weight: 290 pounds, fortune: Danger.  Who isit? The Fat Man." Brad Runyon was the Fat Man, played by Jack Scott Smart.  The series was created by Dashall Hammott and was first heard on the ABC network Jan. 21, 1946. J. Scott Smart fit the part of the Fat Man perfectly, weighing in at 270 pounds himself.  When he spoke, there was no doubt that this was the voice of a big guy.  Smart gave a witty, tongue-in-cheek performance and helped make THE FAT MAN one of the most popular detective programs on the  air. Smart also appeared in The March Of Time (early 1930s), the Theater Guild On The Air, Blondie, The Fred Allen Show, and The Jack Benny Program.

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scottish born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess, and is renowned for his skillful use of deductive reasoning (somewhat mistakenly - see inductive reasoning) and astute observation to solve difficult cases. He is arguably the most famous fictional detective ever created, and is one of the best known and most universally recognisable literary characters in any genre. Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured Holmes. All but four stories were narrated by Holmes' friend and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson, two having been narrated by Holmes himself, and two others written in the third person. The first two stories, short novels, appeared in Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 and Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. The character grew tremendously in popularity with the beginning of the first series of short stories in The Strand Magazine in 1891; further series of short stories and two serialized novels appeared almost right up to Conan Doyle's death in 1930. The stories cover a period from around 1878 up to 1903, with a final case in 1914.

The Clock, Imported from Austrailia, was a dramatic thirty-minute suspense and mystery series. It was written by Lawrence Klee and was first broadcast in November 1946. The story always began the same; “Sunrise and sunset, promise and fulfilment, birth and death … the whole drama of life is written in the sands of time”. This is a great series where the main theme seems to be Retribution. Stories as told by Father Time.

THIS EPISODE:
November 27, 1947. ABC network. Sustaining. An untitled story about Lucy, who visits her Aunt Emmie" in the country. See also cat. #12031. Lawrence Klee (writer), Clark Andrews (director), Glenn Osser (music director), Alice Frost, Leora Thatcher. 28:31.

Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb, was a private detective working out of Pier 19, a waterfront office in San Francisco. The stories were always very similar: Someone would hire him, (if not a beautiful woman, the job would lead to a beautiful woman) someone would get murdered, he would investigate the case, get beaten up by the thugs, and then the case would be solved and end with glorious violence. The closing was always the same; the listener would be told who had done what, to whom and why they had done it.

THIS EPISODE:
March 6, 1949. Program #2. ABC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. A dead horse leads to a dead jockey and a hot tip on murder. Jack Webb, Virginia Gregg, Hugh Thomas. 1/2 hour.

THE FRED ALLEN SHOW - Born John Florence Sullivan on May 31, 1894, Fred Allen began his career in vaudeville before becoming one of radio’s most acerbic and admired wits. Allen and his wife, former chorus girl Portland Hoffa, began their radio career on October 23, 1932, starring on The Linit Bath Club Revue. By 1934, Allen was starring on Town Hall Tonight, a one-hour show which featured Allen examining current events and interviewing unusual guests. It was here that Allen began radio’s longest-running “feud” in 1937, when he made a series of jokes about fellow comedian Jack Benny. Allen's best-remembered feature was “Allen's Alley,” a weekly segment in which he would discuss issues of the day with eccentric creations like the blustery Senator Claghorn, Brooklyn housewife Pansy Nussbaum and stoic New Englander Titus Moody. Allen was known to read up to nine newspapers a day and often spent 12 to 14 hours a day writing and re-writing his scripts. Poor health forced Allen off the air in 1944, but he returned in the fall of 1945 with The Fred Allen Show, which lasted until June 26, 1949. Fred Allen died on March 17, 1956. Fred Allen was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988.

The Adventures of Frank Race was a 1949-50 radio adventure serial syndicated by Bruce Ellis Productions. The 30-minute program was first broadcast in some markets beginning May 1, 1949. An attorney who turned international adventurer after WWII, Frank Race (Tom Collins, Paul Dubov) mainly investigated insurance scams. After the first 22 shows, Dubov took over the title role. Tony Barnett portrayed Mark Donovan. The series was written and directed by Joel Murcott and Buckley Angel. The announcer was Art Gilmore, and Ivan Ditmars provided the background organ music.

The Secrets of Scotland Yard is hosted by Clive Brook, narrator of LM Radio. Brook was a successful director writer, and actor in many films, including “Dressed to Thrill” in 1935, “The Flemish Farm” in 1943 and “On Approval” in 1944. He was probably best remembered for playing opposite Marlene Dietrich in the 1932 movie, “Shanghai Express.” He also played Sherlock Holmes in the 1932 movie of the same name.

THIS EPISODE:
Towers Of London syndication. "The Perfect Detective". Commercials added locally. The story Jonathan Wild, an extraordinary "fence" and all-around criminal. He also excelled at arresting criminals! To be a perfect detective, you have to be a perfect crook! Clive Brook (host). 30:01.

THE REAL MCCOYS - A happy-go-lucking West Virginia mountain family picks up stakes and moves to a ranch in California's San Fernando Valley. Center of the action, and undisputed star of the show, was Grandpa, a porch-rockin', gol-darnin', consarnin' old geezer with a wheezy voice who liked to meddle in practically everybody's affairs, neighbors and kin alike. His kin were grandson Luke and his new bride, Kate; Luke's teenage sister, Hassie; and Luke's 11-year-old brother, Little Luke (their parents were deceased). Completing the regular cast were Pepino, their loyal farm hand; George MacMichael, their crusty neighbor and Amos' best friend; and Flora, George's spinster sister who had eyes for Amos

THIS EPISODE:
Grampa Sells His Gun adapted for radio aired on October 24, 1957. The Real McCoys was a situation comedy that aired on the ABC network from 1957 through 1962. It aired for one more season on CBS before its end in 1963. The series revolved around the lives of a mountain family who originally hailed from West Virginia. The McCoys moved to California where they became dirt farmers. The family consisted of Grampa Amos McCoy, the head of the family played by Walter Brennan, his grandson Luke played by Richard Crenna, Luke's new bride Kate played by Kathleen Nolan, teenage sister Hassie played be Lydia Reed, and 11-year-old brother Little Luke played by Michael Winkelman. The Real McCoys paved the way for such rural hits as The Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show.

BLONDIE - Not many cartoon strips from the 30's are still popular, but Blondie is one of the few. Still widely read today, Blondie was also made into movies and of course, radio. Her beau, soon to be husband, Dagwood and her were an unlikely match. Dagwood actually came from money and his parents were displeased with his choice of girlfriend, but boldly defying them, he accepted being disowned and married Blondie anyway. In the beginning, Blondie was a flapper and portrayed as a bit of an airhead, but marriage seemed to mature her and she was actually the more levelheaded of the two, often getting Dagwood out of the messes he got himself into when he would cry out "BLONDIEEEEEEEE!!" Almost everyone could see a bit of themselves in the everyday lives of the Bumsteads and judging from the continued enjoyment of the characters, almost everyone still can. Truly a delightful show.

THIS EPISODE:
1950. ABC netwoek origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Dagwood loses an important package with $5000 in it. Now, where did he put it for safekeeping? The AFRS music fill has been deleted. Arthur Lake, Ann Rutherford, Hanley Stafford. 24:37.

Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer. William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."
Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.

Casey, Crime Photographer - The adventures of Casey, crack photographer for The Morning Express, were told in this series, which moved to television after a highly successful run on radio in the 1940’s. Casey hung out at the Blue Note Café, where the music was provided by the Tony Mottola Trio, and was friendly with Ethelbert, the bartender, to whom he recounted his various exploits. Richard Carlyle and John Gibson portrayed the roles when the series premiered in April, 1951, but by June they were replaced by Darren McGavin and Cliff Hall. Ann Williams, a reporter on The Morning Express, was Casey’s girlfriend. During the summer of 1951 he acquired a partner in cub reporter Jack Lipman, who wrote copy to go with Casey’s pictures. This live series was set in and broadcast from, New York City.

THIS EPISODE:
September 5, 1946. CBS network. "The Handkerchief". Sponsored by: Anchor Hocking Glass. A tavern owner is killed and his $20,000 is missing. The identity of the culprit is obvious, or is he? Alonzo Deen Cole (writer), Tony Marvin (announcer), John Gibson, John Dietz (director), Staats Cotsworth, Lesley Woods, Bernard Lenrow, Herman Chittison (piano), Archie Bleyer (composer), George Harmon Coxe (creator). 29:51.

Cloak & Dagger - "Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission for the United States, knowing in advance you may never return alive?" Cloak and Dagger first aired over the NBC network on May 7, 1950. It had a short run through the Summer on Sundays, changing to Fridays after its Summer run. The last show aired Oct. 22, 1950. This is the story of the WWII special governmental agency, the OSS, or Office of Strategic Services. Its mission was to develop and maintain spy networks throughout Europe and into Asia, while giving aid to underground partisan groups and developing espionage activities for Allied forces overseas.The show is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Col. Corey Ford and Major Alastair MacBain (who were associated with the OSS from its early days.) The dramas are not Hollywood-style, in that they sometimes end with plans foiled or leading characters dead.
 
THIS EPISODE:
May 28, 1950. NBC network. "The Trojan Horse". Sustaining. 4:00 P. M. Gabrielle Monet, a Parisian nightclub singer, is brought to Casablanca to give her former lover the wrong information about the planned Allied invasion of North Africa. Jane White, Raymond Edward Johnson, Berry Kroeger, Leon Janney, Joseph Julian, Karl Weber, Guy Sorel, Bernie Gould, Jon Gart (music director), Louis G. Cowan (producer), Corey Ford (originator), Alfred Hollander (producer), Sherman Marks (director, supervisor), Winifred Wolfe (writer), Alistair MacBain (originator). 29:25.

The Bickersons - This old time radio series from the 1940s was an extremely popular situation comedy performed by Don Ameche and Frances Langford as battling spouses, John and Blanche Bickerson. Other actors portrayed the parts in later years with Lew Parker ("That Girl") joining Langford and the non-stop petty insults on the television series. The unhappy couple was routinely overheard during their vituperative pillow talk sessions, spouting marital mayhem drenched in caustic wit.