Lights Out

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Lights Out is an extremely popular American old-time radio program, an early example of a network series devoted mostly to horror and the supernatural, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum. Versions of Lights Out aired on different networks, at various times, from January 1934 to the summer of 1947 and the series eventually made the transition to television.

In the fall of 1933, NBC writer Wyllis Cooper conceived the idea of "a midnight mystery serial to catch the attention of the listeners at the witching hour."[1] The idea was to offer listeners a dramatic program late at night, at a time when the competition was mostly airing music. At some point, the serial concept was dropped in favor of an anthology format emphasizing crime thrillers and the supernatural. The first series of shows (each 15 minutes long) ran on a local NBC station, WENR, at midnight Wednesdays, starting in January 1934. By April, the series proved successful enough to expand to a half hour. In January 1935, the show was discontinued in order to ease Cooper's workload (he was then writing scripts for the network's prestigious Immortal Dramas program), but was brought back by huge popular demand a few weeks later. After a successful tryout in New York City, the series was picked up by NBC in April 1935 and broadcast nationally, usually late at night and always on Wednesdays. Cooper stayed on the program until June 1936, when another Chicago writer, Arch Oboler, took over. By the time Cooper left, the series had inspired about 600 fan clubs.

Cooper's run was characterized by grisly stories spiked with dark, tongue-in-cheek humor, a sort of radio Grand Guignol. A character might be buried or eaten or skinned alive, vaporized in a ladle of white-hot steel, absorbed by a giant slurping amoeba, have his arm torn off by a robot, or forced to endure torture, beating or decapitation -- always with the appropriate blood-curdling acting and sound effects. Adhesive tape, stuck together and pulled apart, simulated the sound of a man's or woman's skin being ripped off. Pulling the leg off a frozen chicken gave the illusion of an arm being torn out of its socket. A raw egg dropped on a plate stood in for an eye being gouged; poured corn syrup for flowing blood; cleavered cabbages and cantaloupes for beheadings; snapped pencils and spareribs for broken fingers and bones. The sound of a hand crushed? A lemon, laid on an anvil, smashed with a hammer.

Though there had been efforts at horror on radio previously (notably The Witch's Tale), there does not seem to have been anything quite as explicit or outrageous as this on a regular basis. When the series switched to the national network, a decision was made to tone down the gore and emphasize tamer fantasy and ghost stories.

There are no known recordings from Cooper's 1934-1936 run, but his less gruesome scripts were occasionally rebroadcast. An interesting example is his "Three Men", which had aired on Christmas 1935, was performed again on the series in 1937 (a version circulates among collectors under titles like "Uninhabited" or "Christmas Story"), and was revived for a 1948 episode of NBC's prestigious "Radio City Playhouse" anthology series. The plot is typical of Cooper's gentler fantasies. On the first Christmas after World War I, three Allied officers meet by chance in a train compartment and find one another vaguely familiar. They fall asleep and share a dream in which they are the Three Wise Men searching for Jesus. But is it really a dream? In the best tradition of supernatural twist endings, Cooper has the officers wake to find a strange odor in their compartment -- which turns out to be myrrh and frankincense.

In the mid-1940s, Cooper's decade-old scripts were used for three brief summertime revivals of Lights Out. The surviving recordings reveal that Cooper was experimenting with both stream of consciousness and first person narration a few years before these techniques were popularized in American radio drama by, among others, Arch Oboler and Orson Welles. In one tale, a murderer describes how the Chicago police try to beat a confession out of him. When that doesn't work, they put him in a jail cell haunted by the ghost of a previous occupant, a smooth gangster named Skeeter Dempsey who describes his own execution and discusses the afterlife knowledgably. In the final twist, the narrator reveals that he has taken Skeeter's advice to commit suicide and is now, himself, a ghost.

Another story, originally broadcast in March 1935 as "After Five O'Clock" and revived in 1945 as "Man in the Middle", allows us to follow the thoughts of a businessman as he spends a day at the office cheating on his wife with his secretary. The amusing contrast between what the protagonist thinks to himself and what he says out loud to the other characters enlivens one of Cooper's favorite plot devices, the love triangle.

One radio critic, in reviewing a March 1935 episode that used multiple first person narrators, said:
“ Technique in writing and producing this script is one of pure radio license and can't even be compared to the flashback from the movies, since characters dead at the close of the tale do considerable talking of their experiences. This feat, combined with the terse, stark sock of the drama, is probably one of the most realistic pieces radio has ever presented.[2] ”

Other Cooper scripts are more routine, perhaps in part because the author's attention was divided by other projects. From the summer of 1933 until August 1935, Cooper was NBC Chicago's continuity chief, supervising a staff of writers and editing their scripts. He resigned in order to devote more time to Lights Out as well as a daily aviation adventure serial, Flying Time. At various times, he also served on NBC's Program Planning Board, wrote soap operas like Betty and Bob and commuted weekly to produce another program in Des Moines, Iowa.

From early 1934 to mid-1936, Cooper produced close to 120 scripts for Lights Out. Some episode titles (all from 1935) include "The Mine of Lost Skulls", "Sepulzeda's Revenge", "Three Lights From a Match", "Play Without a Name" and "Lost in the Catacombs" (about a honeymoon couple in Rome who lose their way in the catacombs under the city).

When Cooper departed, his replacement -- a young, eccentric and ambitious Arch Oboler -- picked up where he left off, often following Cooper's general example but investing the scripts with his own concerns. Oboler made imaginative use of stream of consciousness narration and sometimes introduced social and political themes that reflected his commitment to anti-fascist liberalism.

Although in later years Lights Out would be closely associated with Oboler, he was always quick to credit Cooper as the series' creator and spoke highly of the older author, calling him "the unsung pioneer of radio dramatic techniques" and the first person Oboler knew of who understood that radio drama could be an art form.








TV


In 1946, NBC brought Lights Out to TV in a series of four specials, broadcast live and produced by Fred Coe, who also contributed three of the scripts. NBC asked Cooper to write the script for the premiere, "First Person Singular", which is told entirely from the point-of-view of an unseen murderer who kills his obnoxious wife and winds up being executed. Variety gave this first episode a rave review ("undoubtedly one of the best dramatic shows yet seen on a television screen"), but Lights Out did not become a regular NBC TV series until 1949.

Coe initially produced this second series but, for much of its run, the live 1949-1952 Lights Out TV series was sponsored by Admiral (makers of television sets and refrigerators), produced by Herbert Bayard Swope, Jr., directed by Laurence Schwab, Jr., and hosted by Frank Gallop. Critical response was mixed but the program was successful for several seasons (sometimes appearing in the weekly lists of the ten most watched network shows) until competition from the massively popular sitcom I Love Lucy helped to kill it off.

The 1949-1952 series featured 'Dead Man's Coat,' an episode starring Basil Rathbone, adapted from the radio script 'Wear the Dead Man's Coat' from the program 'Quiet, Please.' Arch Oboler's 'And Adam Begot' was also adapted from the radio script for the television series, with Kent Smith in the lead.

Lights_Out-S3E26-Strange_Legacy.mp4

Lights_Out-S3E32-The_Mad_Dullaghen.mp4

Lights_Out-S3E44-The_Passage_Beyond.mp4

Lights_Out-S3E50-The_Faceless_Man.mp4

Lights_Out-S3E51-The_Man_with_the_Watch.mp4 

Lights_Out-S4E08-I_Spy.mp4 

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Famous Jury Trials

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"Famous Jury Trials was billed as 'the dramatic story of our courts, where rich and poor alike, guilty and innocent, stand before the bar of justice."



All Shows

Famous Jury Trials.zip


Single Shows

From the 1936-10-03 issue of Radio Guide:

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Mr. President

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Mr. President was a radio series that ran on the ABC Network from June 26, 1947 to September 23, 1953. Each half-hour episode was based on an incident in the life of one of the people who have held the office of President of the United States, but the dialogs were written in such a way as not to reveal the name of the President until the last line of dialog at the end of the program, when the President would be addressed by name. The audience was thus encouraged to guess, from the plot of the episode, which President it was.

The series was created by Robert G. Jennings and written by a team that included Jean Holloway, Bernard Dougall and Ira Marion. A research staff made certain that the stories were accurate. It was produced and directed by Dick Woolen.

The President each week was played by Edward Arnold, with supporting performances by Bea Benaderet, Gil Stratton, Hans Conreid, Lurene Tuttle, and Herb Butterfield. The announcer was Owen James.

Radio City Playhouse

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RADIO CITY PLAYHOUSE premered July 3, 1948 and ran until it's last curtain call on January 1, 1950 over NBC stations. This was a short-lived but solid drama series that frequently compared favorably with Suspense drama. Some scripts for the series were written by Ray Bradbury (for example, "The Wind"), Steven Vincent Benet and Cornell Woolrich. Frequent appearences were made by John Larkin and Jan Minor in major roles. Announcers for the series were Fred Collins and Bob Warren. Harry W. Junkin directed and narated. Production supervisor was Richard P. McDonough.

During the Summer of 1949, NBC ran a special series of 8 repeat shows that ran concurrent with the regular run. These shows aired on Thursdays and is known as RADIO CITY PLAYHOUSE.

Encore Theater

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Encore Theater was a 1946 Summer replacement series, sponsored by Schenley Labs, Inc. All shows had a medical theme, some concerned medical research, some covered personal stories of people in the medical field but all based on true stories. Schenley Labs, Inc. was the sponsor for the series. The shows aired Tuesday evenings from 9:30 to 10:00 PM over CBS affiliated stations. Members of the cast were typically well-known radio or screen actors, such as Lurene Tuttle, Eric Snowden, Gerald Mohr, Ronald Colman, Robert Young or Lionel Barrymore. Producer for series was Bill Lawrence, who also directed the series. The announcer was Frank Graham. Music was by Leith Stevens. Scripts were written and adapted by Jean Holloway, Lloyd C. Douglas, Sidney Kingsley and Milton Geiger.

Twelve of the thirteen scripts were adapted by Jean Holloway. The 1946 Summer series ended with the August 27th show, replaced by "Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players" (possibly known as "The Hollywood Players Company". There was a second Encore Theater Summer series in 1949, however there is little information on it. It aired on Sundays. Eight shows are known to be in circulation. Known air dates are April 17, April 24, May 8 and June 5.

Roy Acuff Show, The

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Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the King of Country Music, Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful.

Acuff began his music career in the 1930s, and gained regional fame as the singer and fiddler for his group, the Smoky Mountain Boys. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1938, and although his popularity as a musician waned in the late 1940s, he remained one of the Opry's key figures and promoters for nearly four decades. In 1942, Acuff co-founded the first major Nashville-based country music publishing company— Acuff-Rose Music— which signed acts such as Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, and The Everly Brothers. In 1962, Acuff became the first living person to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Great Gildersleeve, The

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The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957), initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. Built around Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest success in the 1940s. Actor Harold Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off and later in a quartet of feature films released at the height of the show's popularity.

On Fibber McGee and Molly, Peary's Gildersleeve was a pompous windbag who became a consistent McGee nemesis. "You're a haa-aa-aa-aard man, McGee!" became a Gildersleeve catch phrase. The character was given several conflicting first names on Fibber McGee and Molly, and on one episode his middle name was revealed as Philharmonic. Gildy admits as much at the end of "Gildersleeve's Diary" on the Fibber McGee and Molly series (10/22/40).

He soon became so popular that Kraft Foods - looking primarily to promote its Parkay margarine spread - sponsored a new series with Peary's Gildersleeve as the central, slightly softened, and slightly befuddled focus of a lively new family.

Carter Brown Mystery Hour (AU)

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Australian paperback writer Alan G. Yates poured from his typewriter between 1953-68 under the name Carter Brown about 150 crime stories, with sales in the tens, perhaps hundreds of millions of copies. His last books appeared in the early 1980's. All the stories were set in the Unites States, but he never became there so well-known as in Europe. Yates's novels had light atmosphere and his heroes could deliver more wise-guy remarks than Robert B. Parker's famous private detective Spencer.

Alan Geoffrey Yates was born in London and educated at schools in Essex. From 1942 to 1946 he served in the Royal Navy as a lieutenant. After the war he worked as a sound recordist at Gaumont-British Films for two years and moved to Australia in 1948. In the same year he became an Australian citizen. Before devoting himself entirely to writing from 1953, Yates was a salesman in Sydney and a public relations staff member at Quatas Empire Airways. His early books were intended only for Australian audience, but when Carter Brown series was picked up by the New American Library, he found readers also in the United States.

The Brown books were fast paced, they had humor and action, and several corpses, although not much violence. Women are gorgeous, and the story is usually set among the rich and glamorous. A typical Carter Brown story did not take itself too seriously - it was a mixture of sex, action, and humor. Yates's female hero was the curvaceous private detective Mavis Seidlitz, whose feminine weapons are more developed than her mental capacities. Petri Liukkonen (author)

The Carter Brown Mystery Hour was based on his best selling novels and are introduced by Carter Brown himself.

10-2-4 Ranch

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A syndicated radio show during World War II called “The 10-2-4 Ranch” (later, “10-2-4 Time”), aired in the South and other areas to which Dr. Pepper’s distribution had extended. The show featured the Sons of the Pioneers.

Dr Pepper was identified with the slogan, "King of Beverages." "Old Doc," a typical country doctor character with monocle and top hat, became the Dr Pepper trademark character in the 1920s and 1930s. During that era, research was discovered proving that sugar provided energy and that the average person experiences a letdown during the normal day at 10:30a.m., 2:30p.m. and 4:30p.m. A contest was held for the creation of an ad using this new information. The winner of the ad campaign came up with the famous advertising slogan, "Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2, and 4."  Dr Pepper Museum


To play or download a single file just click on it, this opens up play page. Then click on any file to play and download link for selection is at bottom right of page.  Zip file is under miscellaneous.

Whistler, The

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The Whistler is one of American radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955.The Whistler was the most popular West Coast-originated program with its listeners for many years. It was sponsored by the Signal Oil Company: "That whistle is your signal for the Signal Oil program, The Whistler."

Each episode of The Whistler began with the sound of footsteps and a person whistling.[1] (The Saint radio series with Vincent Price used a similar opening.) The haunting signature theme tune was composed by Wilbur Hatch and featured Dorothy Roberts performing the whistling with the orchestra.

The stories followed an effective formula in which a person's criminal acts were typically undone by either an overlooked but important detail or their own stupidity, except on some rare occasions when a curious twist of fate caused the story to end happily for the episode's protagonist. Ironic twist endings were a key feature of each episode of the series. The Whistler himself narrated, often commenting directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective.

Bill Forman had the title role of host and narrator. Others who portrayed the Whistler at various times were Gale Gordon, Joseph Kearns, Marvin Miller (announcer for The Whistler and The Bickersons and, later, Michael Anthony on TV's The Millionaire), Bill Johnstone (who had the title role on radio's The Shadow from 1938 to 1943) and Everett Clarke. Cast members included Hans Conried, Joseph Kearns, Cathy Lewis, Elliott Lewis, Gerald Mohr, Lurene Tuttle and Jack Webb.

Writer-producer J. Donald Wilson established the tone of the show during its first two years, and he was followed in 1944 by producer-director George Allen. Other directors included Sterling Tracy and Sherman Marks with final scripts by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton. A total of 692 episodes were produced, of which over 200 no longer have copies in existence. In 1946, a local Chicago version of The Whistler with local actors aired Sundays on WBBM, sponsored by Meister Brau beer.

Detectives Black And Blue

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The exploits of shipping clerks named Black and Blue who take a correspondence course and open a detective agency "and promptly set the art of detection back 40 years." The show aired from 1933-1935.

Dead Of Night Radio (New Drama - Horror Podcast)

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Turn off the lights. Lock your doors. It's... the Dead of Night!

Dead Of Night Radio (website) is a new radio podcast done in the tradition of the old time radio horror shows like "The Witch's Tale" and "Inner Sanctum."

Jonathan Thomas and His Christmas on the Moon (OTRR Certified)

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Jonathan Thomas and His Christmas on the Moon is a daily children’s series that ran between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 1938. The story begins with six year old Jonathan Thomas lying in bed on Christmas Eve with his teddy bear Guz. While he is lying in bed, two elves slide down a moonbeam into his room. Guz, his teddy bear, chases the elves back up the moonbeam and Jonathan Thomas follows in order to get his Guz back.

Upon reaching the moon, Jonathan Thomas meets the Man in the Moon and his horse Gorgonzola. After being accused of kidnapping Santa Claus, the troop is commanded to bring back him in time for Christmas.

On their adventure, they confront an evil witch, a dragon with thirteen tales, and they meet several characters from the Lewis Carol classic: Alice in Wonderland.

 

 

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Earplay(NPR)

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Earplay was the longest-running of the formal series of radio drama anthologies on National Public Radio, heard from 1972 into the 1990s. It approached radio drama as an art form with scripts written by such leading playwrights as Edward Albee, Arthur Kopit, Archibald MacLeish and David Mamet.

Airing in stereo, Earplay provided a showcase for original and adapted work. Eventually, the less-sustained successor series NPR Playhouse drew episodes from the Earplay run. Often presented by NPR member stations on a weekly basis, Earplay episodes were produced with much attention to recording technique and sound-effects.

In 1975, it scored a triumph with Listening, an original play written by Edward Albee for stereo radio, employing one speaker for one character and another speaker for another character. Since both characters are seated in a room, the illusion is created that they are in the same room as the listener. After its premiere on radio, Listening was later performed on stage.

• Earplay 76-12-12 (x) Another Visit with John Howard Griffin.mp3
• Earplay 77-01-16 (x) The Maze by Stewart Ferrar.mp3
• Earplay 77-01-23 (x) The Midnight Mocker by Leo Goldman.mp3
• Earplay 77-02-13 (x) Crime and Punishment by Dostoevski - Part 1.mp3
• Earplay 77-02-20 (x) Crime and Punishment by Dostoevski - Part 2.mp3
• Earplay 77-02-27 (x) Crime and Punishment by Dostoevski Part 3.mp3
• Earplay 77-03-06 (x) The Grappling Court by David Kranes.mp3
• Earplay 77-03-20 (x) Good Causes by Gamble Rogers.mp3
• Earplay 78-01-01 (x) Wings by Aurthur Kopit.mp3
• Earplay 78-01-08 (x) The Tempation Game by John Gardner.mp3
• Earplay 78-01-15 (x) The Water Engine by David Mamet.mp3
• Earplay 78-01-22 (x) Dancin to the Calliope by Jack Gilhooley.mp3
• Earplay 78-01-29 (x) The Lesson of the Master by Richard Howard.mp3
• Earplay 78-02-05 (x) The Last Phone-In by Keith Waterhouse.mp3
• Earplay 78-02-12 (x) Porch by Jack Hefner.mp3
• Earplay 78-02-18 (x) Girls of the Golden West by Ann Leeton.mp3
• Earplay 78-02-26 (x) American Modern by Joanna M Glass.mp3
• Earplay 78-03-05 (x) Death of a Pig by John Kirkmorris.mp3
• Earplay 78-03-12 (x) A Phoenix Too Frequent.mp3
• Earplay 78-03-19 (x) The Disintegration of Aaron Weiss by Mark Medoff.mp3
• Earplay 78-03-26 (x) Chinaman's Chance by Roy London.mp3
• Earplay 78-04-02 (x) Judgement Part 1.mp3
• Earplay 78-04-09 (10) Judgement ( Part 2).mp3
• Earplay 78-04-16 (x) The Sun City Chronicles.mp3
• Earplay 78-04-30 (x) A Game of Dice by Dimitri Kehaidis.mp3
• Earplay 78-05-14 (x) Stones by Shirley Gee.mp3
• Earplay 78-05-22 (x) Murder Therapy by David Kranes.mp3
• Earplay 78-05-29 (x) The Dissolution of Marcus Fleishman by Stephen David.mp3
• Earplay 78-06-04 (x) The General Brutus by Jeff Wonshell.mp3
• Earplay 78-06-11 (x) Priest Penitent by Wally K Daly.mp3
• Earplay 78-06-18 (x) The Hunter Gracchus by John Robinson.mp3
• Earplay 78-07-09 (x) J B by Archibald Macleish.mp3
• Earplay 78-08-13 (x) My Name Is Bird Mc Kai by Anne Leaton.mp3
• Earplay 79-01-07 (x) I Never Sang for My Father by Robert Anderson.mp3
• Earplay 79-01-14 (x) Fire in the Hole by Tim Obrian.mp3
• Earplay 79-01-21 (x) Custer by Robert Ingham.mp3
• Earplay 79-01-28 (x) Stevie by Hugh Whitmore.mp3
• Earplay 79-02-04 (x) Earplay - Stuffings by James Purdo - I Hope I Never Get to Monmouth by Kay Kinion.mp3
• Earplay 79-04-29 (x) A Question of Benefit by Dave Simpson.mp3
• Earplay 79-05-06 (x) Third and Oak - The Laundomat by Marsha Norman.mp3
• Earplay 79-05-13 (x) Third and Oak - The Pool Hall by Marsha Norman.mp3
• Earplay 79-05-27 (x) Thaw by Michael Kennedy.mp3
• Earplay 79-05-30 (x) Cold Earth Travelling by Mike Walker.mp3
• Earplay 79-06-10 (x) Tthe Dog in the Alley - The Child in the Sky by John Irving - The Lie by John Antrobu.mp3
• Earplay 79-06-17 (x) Monk by John Kirkmorris.mp3
• Earplay 79-06-24 (x) Sweet Potatoes by Rochelle Owens - Station to Station by Peter Mc Nichol.mp3
• Earplay 80-01-13 (x) Middleman out by Dick Riley.mp3
• Earplay 80-01-20 (x) In Camera by Robert Pinger.mp3
• Earplay 80-01-27 (x) Lone Star by James Mc Lure.mp3
• Earplay 80-02-17 (x) The Deerslayer by John Ghem.mp3
• Earplay 80-03-02 (x) The Stolen Jew by Jay Neugeboren.mp3
• Earplay 80-03-09 (x) Canadian Gothic by Joanna Glass.mp3
• Earplay 80-03-23 (x) Hotdogs and Soda Pop by Thomas Babe.mp3
• Earplay 80-03-30 (x) Holidays - a Quartet of Plays.mp3
• Earplay 80-04-13 (x) Beggar's Choice by Kathleen Betsko.mp3
• Earplay 80-04-20 (x) Private Wars by James Mc Lure.mp3
• Earplay 80-04-27 (x) The Desert by Janet Niepris.mp3
• Earplay 80-05-25 (x) Kennedy's Children by Robert Patrick.mp3
• Earplay 80-06-01 (x) Children of the Night by Neil Bell.mp3
• Earplay 80-06-08 (x) The Blood Jet - Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Barry Kyle.mp3
• Earplay 80-06-15 (x) Great Days - Three Dialogues by Donald Barthelme.mp3
• Earplay 80-06-22 (x) Right Between the Ears by Dudley Riggs.mp3
• Earplay 80-06-29 (x) Anything You Want to by the Firesign Theater.mp3
• Earplay 80-07-13 (x) Giving up by J C W Brook - Falling by Jonathan Baban.mp3
• Earplay 80-07-20 (x) Korsakov's Psychosis by Geoffrey Parkinson.mp3
• Earplay 80-07-27 (x) Fate of a Cockroach by Tewfik a L-Hakim.mp3
• Earplay 80-08-10 (x) Don't Be Cruel by Rose Tremain.mp3
• Earplay 80-08-17 (x) Hope by David Cregan.mp3
• Earplay 80-08-24 (x) Nightingale's Defense by Peter Whalley.mp3
• Earplay xx-xx-xx (21) The Party.mp3

Key, The

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The Key was a mystery series from Australia that aired in the mid 1950's. Not much is known about the series. There  was an ad in the ABC Weekly 11 Dec 1957 and it named the scriptwriter as James Workman who is known as a pulp writer.

James Workman was educated in England and trained as a naval cadet. He spent three years in the London Metropolitan Police. Moving to South Africa, Workman enlisted with the Witwatersand Rifles and later joined a touring theatre company. He worked for the South African Broadcasting Commission as an announcer, scriptwriter and producer, occupations he continued to pursue after his move to Australia.






Titles with episode numbers

ep03 The Cellar
ep04 Alexis
ep11 Big Time Hoodlum
ep12 Close Shave
ep16 Seppi & Pancho
ep20 Years later
ep21 Showgirl Murdered
ep22 Sword Swallower
ep29 Robber Murdered
ep30 Two-timed
ep34 The Moon or bust
ep35 Escape Artist
ep37 93 year old man
ep38 Suicide
ep39 Gentleman Companion
ep42 Night prowler
ep43 Bank Robbery
ep51 The Ghost


Titles without episode numbers

Child Murderer
Dear John Letter
Extension of Time
Ghostly Organ
Grandpop
Lost in the Amazon
Playing Chicken
Subconscious Experiment
The Archeologist
The Deception
The Embezzler
Union Corruption
What happens when you die
Window Cleaner
Woman Beater
Woman Murdered.

Johnny Madero, Pier 23

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Mystery series about a part-time private eye who ran a boat supply business out of Pier 23 along the Embarcadero in San Francisco's waterfront. This series ran from 4/24/47 to 9/4/47 on Mutual at 8pm on Thursdays and starred Jack Webb.

Crime Does Not Pay

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First Show: Oct 10, 1949
Last Show: Apr 11, 1951
Number Shows: 78


CRIME DOES NOT PAY was a series based on short films of the same name produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was similar to Gangbusters, having a moralistic message about the law and lawbreaker. It was first heard over WMGM (NYC), hosted by Donald Buka. The last original show aired on Apr. 11, 1951.

The series started on Monday evenings at 7:30 PM (on WMGM) and held that time/day spot until Oct. 30, 1950. The 56'th show marked a change to Wednesday night, again at 7:30. After show number 78 (Apr. 11, 1951) the shows were repeated, starting with the first, "Kid With a Gun". The repeats followed the original order up until repeat of number 26, "Ingenious Woman" on Oct. 10, 1951. Repeats were not uncommon. Even before the last original show, older shows were repeated on alternate dates to the main series run.

On Jan. 7, 1952, the series moved to Mutual but lasted just one year. Only repeats of the original series were aired and show ordering did not match the first run. The show was heard on Dec. 22, 1952.

Log Comments:

Besides the broadcast dates shown in the log below, catalogs listed
broadcast dates one day after the dates in the log frequently.  This
may be because the shows may have been broadcast on different days
in different parts of the country.  An alphabetical list follows the
chronological log.


Chronological Log:

Date          Num  Title                            Star         Avail
------------  ---  -------------------------------  -----------  -----
                   ... Mondays 7:30 PM ...
Oct 10, 1949    1  "Kid With a Gun"                              yes
Oct 17, 1949    2  "All-American Fake"              S.Blackmer   yes
Oct 24, 1949    3  "Death is a Song"                Margo
Oct 31, 1949    4  "Kid Twist"                      W.Prince
Nov 07, 1949    5  "Trigger Man's Moll"             N.Kelly      yes
Nov 14, 1949    6  "Body of the Crime"              P.Fennelly   yes
Nov 21, 1949    7  "Summertime Take"                C.Korvin     yes
Nov 28, 1949    8  "Female of the Species"          K.Lynch      yes
Dec 05, 1949    9  "A Piece of Rope"                C.Mitchell   yes
Dec 12, 1949   10  "Gasoline Cocktail"              B.Lugosi     yes
Dec 19, 1949   11  "Dead Pigeon"                    M.McCormick  yes
Dec 26, 1949   12  "Glossy Finish"                  M.Gabel      yes
Jan 02, 1950   13  "Clothes Make the Woman"         J.Muir       yes
Jan 09, 1950   14  "Law of the Jungle"              A.Baxter     yes
Jan 16, 1950   15  "Speech is Silver"
Jan 23, 1950   16  "Devil in the Dar"               H.Dantine
Jan 30, 1950   17  "The Snatcher"
Feb 06, 1950   18  "Kid Sister"                     M.Hunt
Feb 13, 1950   19  "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"   J.Beal       yes
Feb 20, 1950   20  "Death on the Doorstep"                       yes
Feb 27, 1950   21  "Kangaroo Court"                 R.Derr       yes
Mar 06, 1950   22  "What's in a Name"                            yes
Mar 13, 1950   23  "Death on Blake Street"                       yes
Mar 20, 1950   24  "Man Who Never Was Caught"                    yes
Mar 27, 1950   25  "Thick As Thieves"               E.Sloan      yes
Apr 03, 1950   26  "Ingenious Woman"                B.O'Niel     yes
Apr 10, 1950   27  "The Bagman"                     T.Keith
Apr 17, 1950   28  "The Rum Runner"
Apr 24, 1950   29  "Visiting Fireman"               A.Whelan
May 01, 1950   30  "Six, Two and Seven"             A.Ryder
May 08, 1950   31  "Don't Write, Telephone"         J.LaRue      yes
May 15, 1950   32  "Between Dark and the Daylight"  L.Stander    yes
May 22, 1950   33  "Second Hand Pistols"            R.Colman     yes
May 29, 1950   34  "Imported Headache"                           yes
Jun 05, 1950   35  "Fishmongers Fortune"            G.Reeves
Jun 12, 1950   36  "Short Circuit"
Jun 19, 1950   37  "Clip Joint"                                  yes
Jun 26, 1950   38  "Professor Pulls the Switch"     J.Loder      yes
Jul 03, 1950   39  "The Lady Loves Kittens"         A.Lee        yes
Jul 10, 1950   40  "Once Too Often"                              yes
Jul 17, 1950   41  "Burglar Alarm"                  B.Furness    yes
Jul 24, 1950   42  "Horseshoes Are For Buck"        N.Hamilton   yes
Jul 31, 1950   43  "Beauty and the Beast"           E.Sloan      yes
Aug 07, 1950   44  "Giddyap Horsie"                 R.Webb       yes
Aug 14, 1950   45  "The Gangster Was a Lady"                     yes
Aug 21, 1950   46  "Murder Makes Book"              J.Wiseman    yes
Aug 28, 1950   47  "Father's Day"                   R.Hart       yes
Sep 04, 1950   48  "The Weak Spot"                               yes
Sep 11, 1950   49  "Horse Face"                                  yes
Sep 18, 1950   50  "They Gotta Have What to Eat?"   H.MacMahon   yes
Sep 25, 1950       ... no show ...
Oct 02, 1950   51  "Sucker's Bait"                  E.Bagley
Oct 09, 1950   52  "Riggers Racket"
Oct 16, 1950   53  "Voice of Death"                 J.Loder      yes
Oct 23, 1950   54  "The Recruit"                                 yes
Oct 30, 1950   55  "Escort For Hire"                             yes

                   ... Wednesdays 7:30 PM ...
Nov 08, 1950   56  "The Big Book"                   D.Curtis     yes
Nov 15, 1950   57  "Mow the Man"                    W.Wilson     yes
Nov 22, 1950   58  "The Celluloid Candle"           R.Forbes     yes
Nov 29, 1950   59  "The Doll"                       S.Haden      yes
Dec 06, 1950   60  "Kid Shive"                      D.Moore      yes
Dec 13, 1950   61  "Two Gun Annie"                  J.Lorring    yes
Dec 20, 1950   62  "Strange Token"                  M.Carnovsky  yes
Dec 27, 1950   63  "Building Blocks"                R.Dere       yes
Jan 03, 1951   64  "Death on the Upgrade"           D.Woods      yes
Jan 10, 1951   65  "Edge of the Desert"             H.Woods      yes
Jan 17, 1951   66  "Cards and Spades"               S.Douglas    yes
Jan 24, 1951   67  "The Old Mob Goes"               I.Kieth      yes
Jan 31, 1951   68  "Love is not All"                R.Forbes     yes
Feb 07, 1951   69  "Heir Apparent"                  P.Reed       yes
Feb 14, 1951   70  "Carnival Frail"                 D.Barrymore  yes
Feb 21, 1951   71  "Rough Customer"                 J.Shelton    yes
Feb 28, 1951   72  "For Sweet Charity"              R.Brent      yes
Mar 07, 1951   73  "Operation Payroll"              H.Vermelyea  yes
Mar 14, 1951   74  "Diamond Trumped"                R.Meeker     yes
Mar 21, 1951   75  "Through the Hoop"               U.O'Conner   yes
Mar 28, 1951   76  "Plug-Ugly"                      E.Ryan       yes
Apr 04, 1951   77  "Front, Boy"                     B.Fletcher   yes
Apr 11, 1951   78  "Violets, Sweet Violets"         R.Lowery     yes


Alphabetical List:

        Title                            Date      Num
        -------------------------------  --------  ---
        All-American Fake                49-10-17    2
        Bagman, The                      50-04-10   27
        Beauty and the Beast             50-07-31   43
        Between Dark and the Daylight    50-05-15   32
        Big Book, The                    50-11-08   56
        Body of the Crime                49-11-14    6
        Building Blocks                  50-12-27   63
        Burglar Alarm                    50-07-17   41
        Cards and Spades                 51-01-17   66
        Carnival Frail                   51-02-14   70
        Celluloid Candle, The            50-11-22   58
        Clip Joint                       50-06-19   37
        Clothes Make the Woman           50-01-02   13
        Dead Pigeon                      49-12-19   11
        Death is a Song                  49-10-24    3
        Death on Blake Street            50-03-13   23
        Death on the Doorstep            50-02-20   20
        Death on the Upgrade             51-01-03   64
        Devil in the Dar                 50-01-23   16
        Diamond Trumped                  51-03-14   74
        Doll, The                        50-11-29   59
        Don't Write, Telephone           50-05-08   31
        Edge of the Desert               51-01-10   65
        Escort For Hire                  50-10-30   55
        Father's Day                     50-08-28   47
        Female of the Species            49-11-28    8
        Fishmongers Fortune              50-06-05   35
        For He's a Jolly Good Fellow     50-02-13   19
        For Sweet Charity                51-02-28   72
        Front, Boy                       51-04-04   77
        Gangster Was a Lady, The         50-08-14   45
        Gasoline Cocktail                49-12-12   10
        Giddyap Horsie                   50-08-07   44
        Glossy Finish                    49-12-26   12
        Heir Apparent                    51-02-07   69
        Horse Face                       50-09-11   49
        Horseshoes Are For Buck          50-07-24   42
        Imported Headache                50-05-29   34
        Ingenious Woman                  50-04-03   26
        Kangaroo Court                   50-02-27   21
        Kid Shive                        50-12-06   60
        Kid Sister                       50-02-06   18
        Kid Twist                        49-10-31    4
        Kid With a Gun                   49-10-10    1
        Lady Loves Kittens, The          50-07-03   39
        Law of the Jungle                50-01-09   14
        Love is not All                  51-01-31   68
        Man Who Never Was Caught         50-03-20   24
        Mow the Man                      50-11-15   57
        Murder Makes Book                50-08-21   46
        Old Mob Goes, The                51-01-24   67
        Once Too Often                   50-07-10   40
        Operation Payroll                51-03-07   73
        Piece of Rope, A                 49-12-05    9
        Plug-Ugly                        51-03-28   76
        Professor Pulls the Switch       50-06-26   38
        Recruit, The                     50-10-23   54
        Riggers Racket                   50-10-09   52
        Rough Customer                   51-02-21   71
        Rum Runner, The                  50-04-17   28
        Second Hand Pistols              50-05-22   33
        Short Circuit                    50-06-12   36
        Six, Two and Seven               50-05-01   30
        Snatcher, The                    50-01-30   17
        Speech is Silver                 50-01-16   15
        Strange Token                    50-12-20   62
        Sucker's Bait                    50-10-02   51
        Summertime Take                  49-11-21    7
        They Gotta Have What to Eat?     50-09-18   50
        Thick As Thieves                 50-03-27   25
        Through the Hoop                 51-03-21   75
        Trigger Man's Moll               49-11-07    5
        Two Gun Annie                    50-12-13   61
        Violets, Sweet Violets           51-04-11   78
        Visiting Fireman                 50-04-24   29
        Voice of Death                   50-10-16   53
        Weak Spot, The                   50-09-04   48
        What's in a Name                 50-03-06   22

19 Nocturne Boulevard

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19 Nocturne Boulevard is an awesome Audio Drama anthology series, presenting half hour tales of terror, suspense, humor, and madness, in the grand tradition of such classic radio shows as Lights' Out, Quiet Please, and more recent TV shows like The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt.

View: 19 Nocturne Boulevard


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Curtain Time

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Curtain Time had two separate runs on radio. The fist run was sponsored by General Mills from 1937 to 1939 and the second aired from 1945 to 1950, sponsored by the Mars Candy Co.

Interesting is that this romantic drama had a theater setting and announcements with the announcer shouting "tickets please". Many of the episodes were romantic stories where a boy meets his dream girl and what happens afterwards.

Announcer for the series was Harry Halcomb who was later known best for his appearances on the 60 minutes television show.


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Defense Attorney

Defense Attorney ran from 1951 to 1952 and starred Denise McCambridge as Martha Ellis Bryant, defense attorney who would go out of her way to prove their innocence if they were innocent.
 

Mercury Theater

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THE MERCURY THEATER ON THE AIR was first heard as a Summer series of nine shows, on CBS affiliated stations and in Canada on the CBC. It was the first time a theater company brought drama to the radio. The shows featured hour-long dramatizations of classic books. It was produced and directed by Orson Welles, who also acted in the main roles, probably one of the most versatile and creative talents in  the history of entertainment.

When the Summer series ended with "The Man Who Was Thursday" on Sept. 5, 1938, CBS continued to sustain the series, until Dec. 4 of that year. It was during this time that the best known show from this series, in fact, the best known radio show in radio's history, was broadcast, the radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The War of the  Worlds".

The series didn't end on Dec. 4. At the conclusion of the Nov. 6  show, Mr. Welles announced that the Campbell's Soup Company would  become sponsor. The series changed its name to THE CAMPBELL  PLAYHOUSE and moved from Sunday to Friday. On December 9, 1938,  the first show of the new series aired on Friday at 8:00 PM.

The same creative staff stayed on, but the show had a different flavor under sponsorship. This was partially due to a guest star policy which relegated the Mercury Players to supporting roles. There was a growing schism between Welles, still reaping the rewards of his Halloween night notoriety, and Houseman, who became more like an employee than a partner. The primary writer, as during the unsponsored run, was Howard Koch.

On June 7, 1946, The Mercury Theater made one last appearence on  radio. This was for a Summer series, THE MERCURY SUMMER THEATER.  Unlike the 1938 Summer series, these shows were only 30 minutes in  length. Compare titles to the other Orson Welles series. Six shows  were 30 minute versions of shows of 1938. "I'm a Fool", one story of  two in the broadcast of August 23, was also used in 1938. A total  of 15 shows were broadcast.

You'll also find one of the best-remembered shows in this series, "The Hitchhiker". First done in 1941 in the Mercury Theater series, this show appeared in SUSPENSE, on September 2, 1942 and even stared Orsen Welles. It appears in many OTR "must-have" lists.

Lone Ranger, The 1949 - 1956

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Page has moved to HERE

Strange Wills

• Strange Wills 46-01-15 Audition and Sales Presention.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-06-08 (01) The Mad Concerto.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-06-15 (02) Alias Doctor Svengali.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-06-22 (03) Black Interlude.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-06-29 (04) The Lady and the Pirate.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-07-06 (05) Prince of Broadway.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-07-13 (06) Treasure to Starboard.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-07-20 (07) One Shining Night.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-07-27 (08) Midnight on the Moor.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-08-03 (09) Seven Flights to Glory.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-08-10 (10) The Girl from Shadowland.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-08-17 (11) Madman's Diary.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-08-24 (12) Emeralds Come High.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-08-31 (13) Emily.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-09-07 (14) Margin for Love.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-09-14 (15) They Met in Monte Carlo.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-09-21 (16) The Girl in Cell 13.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-09-28 (17) So Deep the Stream.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-10-05 (18) The Miser's Gold.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-10-12 (19) East of Hudson's Bay.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-10-19 (20) Autograph Girl.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-10-26 (21) Penthouse Orphan.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-11-02 (22) Singapore Liz.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-11-09 (23) Crosswinds.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-11-16 (24) Dance Director.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-11-23 (25) Death Is My Destiny.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-11-30 (26) The Killer and the Saint.mp3
• Strange Wills 46-12-07 (27) Portsmouth Square.mp3

Inspector Thorne

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NBC aired a British crime drama in 1951 called INSPECTOR THORNE that starred Karl Weber as the inspector. Danny Ocko played Police Sgt. Muggio. About 11 shows exist.

Fridays 9:00 - 9:30 pm till 9-6-51.............Then Thursdays 9:00 - 9:30 pm

The series was short-lived and also had two stars portraying the lead. The first was Karl Weber and the second was Staats Cotsworth.

Heartbeat Theater

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Heartbeat Theater (1956 - 1985) was the last live, regularly scheduled radio drama produced in Hollywood. The first one was produced in December of 1955 and released in March, 1956. I think Preston Foster was in the first one. Raymond Burr did some, Greer Garson--everyone's done a 'Heartbeat' at one time or another. All sorts of famous people appeared on the show.

The Salvation Army saved "Heartbeat" in 1977 with its plan to update sound effects and dramatize social issues. After the 1977 transformation, Hills' new "Heartbeat Theater" wallowed in prostitution, incest and homosexuality with the regularity of a 1980s TV sitcom. At one point, Hills had to discourage an overenthusiastic would-be TV writer from submitting "Heartbeat" plays with a Kojak-like Salvation Army captain climaxing final acts by chasing down villains in a squad car.

The final show, featuring Daws Butler and hosted by "Days of Our Lives" soap-opera doctor MacDonald Carey, was taped Oct. 10, 1985 at Studio House in Hollywood, just after producers George Galbraith and Don Hills got word that the Salvation Army had written them out of their 1985 budget.

Hills, who cranked out 52 morality tales a year for the show, said the Salvation Army spent half its annual media budget on keeping the half-hour drama alive for the 500 U.S. radio stations on the "Heartbeat" distribution list.

Bold Venture

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Bold Venture is a 1951-1952 syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions.

Salty seadog Slate Shannon (Bogart) owns a Cuban hotel sheltering an assortment of treasure hunters, revolutionaries and other shady characters. With his sidekick and ward, the sultry Sailor Duval (Bacall), tagging along, he encounters modern-day pirates and other tough situations while navigating the waters around Havana. Aboard his boat, the Bold Venture, Slate and Sailor experience "adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance in the sultry settings of tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean."

Calypso singer King Moses (Jester Hairston) provided musical bridges by threading plot situations into the lyrics of his songs. Music by David Rose. Beginning March 26, 1951, the Frederic W. Ziv Company syndicated 78 episodes. Other sources claim that the 78 episodes include reruns, and that there were only around 30 episodes. Heard on 423 stations, the 30-minute series earned $4000 weekly for Bogart and Bacall.

Check the Fills and Working on section for upgrades and new episodes found.









First Lines


01.  Alright sailor, Havana, Cuba...
02.  You can't tell much about Havana with a boat tied to it...
03.  (song) No people come to Shannon's place the cash register...
04.  You won't regret this, Mr. Shannon, you see you'll won't... (Bollock)
05.  (song)  Now in Havana, there is a hotel... (mentions Cincinnati early)
06.  (hahaha)  I just told you that hotel joke...
07.  One thing I don't understand, Mr. Johnson...
08.  (song)  In Shannon's Place do many dwell the pretty, the ugly...
09.  (tire screech) Watch it sailor, that's the second time in two blocks...
10.  (whistles)  You sound happy, Mr. Calvert... Oh, I am...
11.  Is your name Slate Shannon  That's right and this is Miss Duval...
12.  Ah, Slate, you should have been with us...
13.  Ah, that doesn't do it either, sailor, it's a two motored plane...
14.  Da da da dum, da da da dum... (Slate singing) Hey Slate!
15.  Where are you Slate  Stop yelling in my ear...
16.  Take the wheel sailor...
17.  (song) Shannon's Place, a sight to see new table clothes...
18.  Slate, I just had a thought.  Well, keep it...
19.  (song) The thing to consider when you got to sleep is the bed...
20.  Slate, wake up!  Come on, wake up!  (yawn) go away...
21.  (song) I offer information to all who heed  If a recuperation...
22.  Sailor, let go of the wheel for awhile...
23  (haha) I don't see anything funny...
24.  Sailor, come here.  How much do you want me
25.  And here, Sailor, we see Moral Castle, the famous fort guarding...
26.  (song)  Mr. Slate, he hold he head in he hand...
27.  Jade!  Jade!
28.  How soon will Slate be back, Miss Duval?
29.  That’s enough, Sailor, I can’t run any further
30.  Give me another handful of confetti, Sailor
31.  The next time I come to the bank to make a deposit, Sailor
32.  Now look, Mrs. Baker
33.  This is a dirty night to be out on the ocean, Slate
34.  Sailor, can you think of anything else to put in this letter to our former guests?
35.  You busy, Slate?  I’m all finished, come in
36.   36. (song) In the Carribees, is a city of grace/ with pretty women all wrapped in black lace
37.  Well, I don’t think it’s a lot to ask you to do, Mr. Shannon
38.  (song) To Havana city, the pleasure dome/ come fellows with wives
39.  Aww, Sailor, now there’s a sight that goes to his heart
40.  Awwww, rock me sailor.
41  We ought to do this more often, Slate, You like window shopping?
42.  Aww Slate, Trajiho.  Aren’t the lights beautiful?
43.  Can you lift his feet, Sailor?
44.  (song) In Cuba de grow da banana tree/ tree for you, banana for me
45.  You’ve been walking the wrong way.  Mr. John Bradford’s place is
46.  Mr. Slate, I have...  What’s wrong, King?
47.  Oh Joy,  Oh, Joy
48.  Feels good, huh, Sailor?
49.  A week, a whole week back in civilization.  You don’t know what it means
50.  If I wasn’t so tired, Slate, I’d take what’s left to the night to thank you
51.  Out of gas, huh?
52.  Come on, Slate, stop dragging.  Take another hitch in your trenchcoat
53   "You know the trouble with you, Sailor?"
54   (laughter)  "Oh, Mrs. Moyer, you're just a whiz-bang, that's all!"
55. Sailor, stand still a minute. I want you to slip into this.
56. {ha-ha-ha} Aww. What’ll they think of next?


Broadcast Dates

BV - ALL broadcast dates (by newspaper3).htm
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