Murder By Experts

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Murder By Experts, a radio mystery drama series ran on American radio from 1949-1951, and was hosted first by John Dickson Carr, and later by Brett Halliday. Offering some of the best writing done for radio was David Kogan, the writer and creator of the show, who also did scripts on series like The Mysterious Traveler, Nick Carter, Master Detective and The Sealed Book as well as others.

Mr. Chameleon

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Mr. Chameleon was a melodrama from the Frank and Anne Hummert radio factory (best known for their voluminous output of soap operas) that began over CBS Radio July 14, 1948.

Mr. Chameleon operating out of a Police Headquarters in New York City. He captured his crime suspects by using ingenuous disguises, and once assigned to a case, it would be referred to as “famous” by either the police commissioner or narrator-announcer.

Playing the part of Mr. Chameleon during the shows run was veteran radio actor Karl Swenson (left). "Of Swedish descent, burly, light-haired character actor Karl Swenson was born in Brooklyn and started his four-decade career on radio. Throughout the late 30s and 40s, his voice could be heard all over the airwaves, appearing in scores of daytime serials ("Lorenzo Jones") and mystery dramas ("Inner Sanctum Mysteries"). He gave visual life to one of his serial characters, Walter Manning, in "Portia Faces Life" when it went to TV in 1953. It was during his lengthy work in this medium that he met his wife, stage and radio actress Joan Tompkins. They appeared together throughout their careers on TV and in a few films. In the 1950s, he kept afloat on TV in rugged guest spots ("Dr. Kildare" (1961), "Gunsmoke" (1955), "Maverick" (1957), "Mission: Impossible" (1966) and "Hawaii Five-O" (1968)). He didn't appear in films until age 50+ with minor roles in Kings Go Forth (1958), North to Alaska (1960), The Birds (1963) and The Sons of Katie Elder (1965). His voice was also well utilized in such animated features as The Sword in the Stone (1963) as the voice of Merlin. Karl met actor Michael Landon on the set of "Bonanza" (1959), appearing in four separate episodes over time. Landon remembered him when he began to film "Little House on the Prairie" (1974). Cast in the recurring role of lumber mill owner Lars Hanson, he remained with the show until his death in 1978 of a heart attack. His character on the show also died."

There is only two episodes of Mr. Chameleon known to have survived of over 200 episodes from 1948 - 1953.

Strange Adventure

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Short adventure stories of about three and a half minutes from 1945 narrated by Pat McGeehan. McGeehan was  best known as the radio announcer on "The Red Skelton Show", but he actually announced for and appeared on many other radio programs during the 1930's, '40s and '50s. At one time at the top of his career, he was heard on as many as 40 broadcast per week.

Strange Adventure was a Teleways syndication and the commercials were added locally.The stories while short, are quiet entertaining.

Miss Pinkerton, Inc

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Bentley Emerald from Miss Pinkerton, Inc. aired July 12, 1941 starring Joan Blondell and Dick Powell. The first show of the comedy-detective series. A lady lawyer inherits a detective agency and solves her first case by capturing three jewel thieves.


Miss Pinkerton, Inc 41-07-12 01 Bentley Emerald
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Candid Microphone

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Many of you may remember Allen Funt on CANDID CAMERA, the program that caught people in the act of being themselves. The jest for the popular TV show began on radio with CANDID MICROPHONE. Hidden microphones were hidden at unusual situations, and the main focus was to get everyday people’s reactions to those situations.Candid Microphone was first heard on Saturday, June 28, 1947, at 7:30pm on ABC radio. Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948. Here is two episodes of the radio show from 1947.

• Candid Microphone 47-07-13 (03) Exploding Cigarettes.mp3
• Candid Microphone 47-08-10 (07) Collecting for the OSCFFNE.mp3
• Candid Microphone 47-08-24 (09) Highlights Of The First Nine Shows.mp3
• Candid Microphone 47-08-31 (10) Getting Change From A Cab Driver.mp3
• Candid Microphone 48-02-12 (33) Sandwich Delivery Man.mp3
• Candid Microphone 48-04-01 (40) Girl from Texas.mp3
• Candid Microphone 48-04-15 (42) Operatic Coach Evaluates a Bathtub Singer.mp3
• Candid Microphone 48-06-17 (51) School Graduation Rehearsal in New Jersey (AFRS).mp3
• Candid Microphone 48-07-01 (53) First Anniversary Show (AFRS).mp3
• Candid Microphone 50-07-18 (72) Guest - Bela Lugosi.mp3

I Cover the Waterfront

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"Brother's Keeper" starring Larry Thor as a waterfront reporter aired august 29, 1955 from CBS radio. Stories from the files of a newspaper man's memory based upon the best selling book "I Cover the Waterfront" by Max Miller. This version includes parts 1 and 2.

I Cover the Waterfront - Brother's Keeper

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Smokey the Bear and the Sons of the Pioneers

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Smokey Bear (often unofficially referred to as Smokey the Bear) is a mascot of the United States Forest Service created to educate the public on the dangers of forest fires. Smokey Bear's message, "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires," was created in 1944 by the Ad Council.

Following the discovery of the living symbol of Smokey Bear, the character became a big part of American popular culture in the 1950s. He was on radio shows in the 1950s with the Sons of the Pioneers and appeared in comic strips and cartoons.

Hashknife Hartley & Sleepy Stevens

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Hashknife Hartley and Sleepy Stevens - Two episodes, Double Cross and Range War from this rare Old Time Radio Western Series from around 1950 taken from the tales of western writer W. C. Tuttle. The stories are narrated by the author (W. C.Tuttle) himself. Very entertaining and exciting adventure/western stories.

Hashknife Hartley & Sleepy Stevens
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Best Plays

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Best Plays was an one-hour dramatic anthology series broadcast on NBC from 1952 through 1953, hosted by drama critic for the New York Daily News, John Chapman. The plays mostly were comprised of works from the New York stage featuring adapted scripts from great authors like William Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, Noel Coward and Arthur Miller. Some of the stars in the plays were actors like Vincent Price, Maureen Stapleton, Boris Karloff, and Burgess Meredith.