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Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod

Boxcars711 Old Time Radio Pod originates from the ‘Heart Of Historic Germantown,” Philadelphia, Pa.

Bob Camardella began podcasting at Podomatic in October 2005 and at the Radio Nostalgia Network at Libsyn.com in January 2006. From 2006 through 2009, in addition to the top ranked Boxcars711 show at Podomatic and Libsyn, “Humphrey/Camardella Media Productions” commanded a top ten slot at Podshow (1.5 million downloads per month), a top 10 ranking at Libsyn (1.7 million downloads per month) and top rankings, which continue to date, in the Kids & Family section at I-Tunes. For the last several years, and to date (2013), his podcast here at Podomatic generates over 5 million downloads a year and continues to grow.

Prior to the onset of podcasting, he hosted WPNM Internet Radio, broadcasting a combination of talk, easy listening and early rock and from his hometown in Philadelphia, Pa.

Bob was writer and bass singer for a popular 60’s rock group with 6 releases on the Twist & Algonquin (EMI) labels. He’s a member of Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

In his early 20’s, Bob Attended Philadelphia Community College for Photography and the Antinelli School of Photography soon launching Robert Joseph Studios. specializing in portraits and weddings.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 9671: Escape - "Seven Hours To Freedom" (10-29-50) May 01, 2024

Show notes

Seven Hours To Freedom (Aired October 29, 1950) Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed on as a sponsor for five months in 1950. Despite these problems, Escape enthralled many listeners during its seven-year run. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with the introduction, intoned by Paul Frees and William Conrad: “Tired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!” Of the more than 230 Escape episodes, most have survived in good condition. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits, and the series featured more science fiction and supernatural tales than Suspense. October 29, 1950. CBS network. "Seven Hours To Freedom". Sustaining. Escaped convicts take over a fishing boat and make a break to Mexico. The program was broadcast on the west coast on November 3, 1950. Barney Phillips, Bud Nelson (writer), Jack Kruschen, Jack Moyles, Lou Krugman, Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Roy Rowan (announcer), Stan Waxman. 29:36. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9670: The Epic Casebook Of Inspector Carr - "Gates To Death" (1969) Apr 30, 2024

Show notes

Gates To Death (1969) *The Exact Date Is Unknown. The Epic Casebook Of Inspector Carr - The highly successful detective series, starring Hugh Rouse as Inspector Carr. Written & Produced by Michael Silver at the CRC Studios, Johannesburg. The series aired originally on Thursday evenings at 21H30, sponsored by the Epic Oil Company of S.A. In 1977 the sponsorship ended and the series was renamed "Inspector Carr Investigates" and moved to the earlier slot of 20H30. The first actor to play Inspector Carr was Don Davis, he was replaced in 1959 by Hugh Rouse. Don returned briefly in 1963 for 14 episodes. However Hugh Rouse made this series his own. A short lived television series was made by the SABC in the early 1980's with Michael McCabe, playing the famous Inspector. Sadly the transformation from radio to television was a total disaster. The series ended in June 1985 on Springbok Radio. A local Johannesburg radio station, Radio Today 1485am tried to revive the series in 1997, sadly copyright issues could not be cleared up & the idea was abandoned. The series is currently being rebroadcast on the Internet Radio Service of Springbok Radio & can be heard on Thursdays.

Episode 9669: Ellery Queen - "Nikki Porter Suspect" (03-05-47) Apr 29, 2024

Show notes

Nikki Porter Suspect (Aired March 5, 1947) Tuska cited Ellery Queen, Master Detective (1940) and Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery (1941) as the best of the Bellamy-Lindsay pairings. "The influence of The Thin Man series was apparent in reverse", Tuska noted about Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. "Ellery and Nikki are unmarried but obviously in love with each other. Probably the biggest mystery... is how Ellery ever gets a book written. Not only is Nikki attractive and perfectly willing to show off her figure", Tuska wrote, "but she also likes to write her own stories on Queen's time, and gets carried away doing her own investigations." In Ellery Queen, Master Detective, "the amorous relationship between Ellery and Nikki Porter was given a dignity, and therefore integrity", Tuska wrote, "that was lacking in the two previous entries in the series", made at Republic Pictures before Bellamy and Lindsay were signed by Columbia. THIS EPISODE: March 5, 1947. Grace Gibson syndication. "Nikki Porter Suspect". Commercials added locally. A bank robber with a broken nose has been shot and murdered on board a train. The evidence points to Nikki as the killer. An Australian production. The script was produced in the United States on March 5, 1947. Gypsy Rose Lee (guest armchair detective, she was on tour in Australia), Ken Crossen (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), John Saul (director). 25:40. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9668: Duffy's Tavern - "Guests Jimmy Durante & Ann Sothern" (03-30-49) Apr 28, 2024

Show notes

Guests Jimmy Durante & Ann Sothern (Aired March 30, 1949) 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 co-created the show, Ed Gardner. In the show's familiar opening, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," either solo on an old-sounding piano or by a larger orchestra, was interrupted by the ring of a telephone and Gardner's New Yorkese accent as he answered, "Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin'. Duffy ain't here — oh, hello, Duffy." Duffy, the owner, was never heard (or seen, when a film based on the show was made in 1945 or when a bid to bring the show to television was tried in 1954). THIS EPISODE: March 30, 1949. NBC network origination, Nostalgia Broadcasting Corporation syndication. Commercials added locally. "Guests Jimmy Durante and Ann Sothern" star in Archie's play, "The Mystery Of The Laughing Piano," or "Who Tickled The Ivories?" Ed Gardner does not appear on the program! Eddie Green, Charlie Cantor, Jimmy Durante, Ann Sothern, Matty Malneck and His Orchestra. 29:47. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9667: Dragnet - "The Big Strip" (02-01-53) Apr 27, 2024

Show notes

The Big Strip (Aired February 1, 1953) Dragnet was a long running radio and television police procedural drama, about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a Dragnet, meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects. Dragnet was perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama in American media history. The series gave millions of Americans a feel for the boredom and drudgery, as well as the danger and heroism, of real life police work. Dragnet earned praise for improving the public opinion of police officers. Actor and producer Jack Webb's aims in Dragnet were for realism and unpretentious acting. He achieved both goals and Dragnet remains a key influence on subsequent police dramas in many media. THIS EPISODE: February 1, 1953. Program #189. NBC network. "The Big Strip". Sponsored by: Chesterfield. A gang of car strippers is running rampant. A sixteen-year-old boy is killed in a crash while resisting arrest. Network, sponsored version of cat. #16312. Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, George Fenneman (announcer), Hal Gibney (announcer), Sarah Selby, Art Gilmore, John Robinson (writer), Walter Schumann (music). 29:59. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9666: Gunsmoke - "Fall Semester" (05-30-53) Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

Boxcars711 Overnight Western "Gunsmoke" - Fall Semester (Aired May 30, 1953) The radio show first aired on April 26, 1952 and ran until June 18, 1961 on the CBS radio network. The series starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, Howard McNear as Doc Charles Adams, Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell, and Parley Baer as Deputy Chester Proudfoot. Doc's first name and Chester's last name were changed for the television program. Gunsmoke was notable for its critically acclaimed cast and writing, and is commonly regarded as one of the finest old time radio shows. Some listeners (such as old time radio expert John Dunning) have argued that the radio version of Gunsmoke was far more realistic than the television program. Episodes were aimed at adults, and featured some of the most explicit content of the day: there were violent crimes and scalpings, massacres and opium addicts. THIS EPISODE: May 30, 1953. CBS network. "Fall Semester". Sustaining. Lee Dargan is being cheated by his foreman Jim Slater. His cattle are being stolen, but he doesn't know how! William Conrad, Parley Baer, Roy Rowan (announcer), Georgia Ellis, Howard McNear, Norman Macdonnell (director), John McIntire, Harry Bartell, John Dehner, John Meston (writer), Rex Koury (composer, conductor). 30:36. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9665: Hallmark Playhouse - "My Friend Flicka" (11-04-48) STEREO Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Aired November 4, 1948 The Hallmark Playhouse was heard over CBS stations Thursday evenings. This drama anthology of 30-minute shows was sponsored by, of course, Hallmark Greeting Cards. It was preceded by the Radio Readers Digest, which ran from September 13, 1942 thorugh June 3, 1948. Hallmark sponsored the Radio Readers Digest, from January 13, 1946 to it's end. On Feb. 8, 1953, the series name and format was changed. It was now called THE HALLMARK HALL OF FAME and presented biographal sketches of famous persons, past and present. The new format was used until the end of the 1955 season. The exception to the new format was the broadcast each Christmas season of "A Christmas Carol". Like other dramatic series of this time, this one made use of major screen actors in the productions. James Hilton, author of "Random Harvest", "Lost Horizon" and "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" plus others, served as host and Narrator. Dee Engelbach produced and directed the shows. Jean Holloway was the writer. Sound Effects were by Harry Essman and Gene Twombly. Musical conductor was Lyn Murray. The show's theme was "Dream of Olwne" by Charles Williams. THIS EPISODE: Hallmark Playhouse. November 4, 1948. CBS network. "My Friend Flicka". Sponsored by: Hallmark Cards. This classic story about a boy and his horse still stands strong. It's more an inspiring account of growing up and gaining self-assurance than it is a horse story. Wells is a surprising choice for narrating this book. His voice is urban and sophisticated, with no hint of soft edges that might be more suitable for a novel set in a simpler time in the American West. Fortunately, Wells deftly handles the life lessons discovered by 9-year-old Ken. Through Wells's voice we sense the vast gap between Ken's gentle mother and his demanding father, and what each parent brings to the son. Episode Notes From Boxcars711.

Episode 9664: The Hall Of Fantasy - "The Mark Of Shame" (05-01-47) Apr 24, 2024

Show notes

The Mark Of Shame (Aired May 4, 1947) When it comes to The Hall of Fantasy, there are some mysteries that persist to this day. Maybe that's appropriate, because it claimed to be "the series of radio dramas dedicated to the supernatural, the unusual, and the unknown." One mystery that remains unknown is who the announcer actually was. His lines were so over-the-top, maybe he wished to remain anonymous. But it's this same dead serious approach to monsters, horror, and the supernatural that makes this series so much fun to listen to in a modern context. Despite this campy dimension to the program, do not assume that the series wasn't scary. Many episodes were rather frightening. If the dark, desolate atmospheres didn't get at your nerves, the down-beat endings usually did. THIS EPISODE: May 4, 1947. CBS network, KALL, Salt Lake City origination. "The Mark Of Shame". Commercials deleted. A dying man's curse comes back to haunt a soldier after a fateful duel. The story is based on, "Evaline's Visitant" by Miss Braden. Miss Braden (author), Robert Olsen (adaptor), Richard Thorne (performer, producer, director), Beth Caulder, Archie Hugely, Ken Jensen, Mike Larogo, Earl Donaldson (music), Nefi Sorenson (engineer). 26:44. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9663: The Green Hornet - "Put It On Ice" (07-04-39) Apr 23, 2024

Show notes

Put It On Ice (Aired July 4, 1939) The main character was Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher of the Daily Sentinel by day and the Green Hornet by night. Britt Reid was the great-nephew of the Lone Ranger. Britt Reid's war against crime was an extension of his family history. The Green Hornet fought crime with his high-powered car, the Black Beauty. He also utilized a gun that fired knockout gas instead of bullets. His fists also came in handy on a regular basis. He was assisted by his Filipino valet, Kato. Kato would drive the Black Beauty, keep watch out for the police or the bad guys and sometimes lend a helping fist to the fighting. The Green Hornet pretended to be a villain while really battling the forces of crime in the big city. This would make for some interesting plot twists as the Green Hornet would be actively avoiding detection by the police while at the same time attempting to destroy criminal activity in the city. Many times the Green Hornet would lead the police to believe that the Green Hornet had been the mastermind of the case at hand. THIS EPISODE: July 4, 1939. Mutual network. "Put It On Ice". Music fill for local commercial insert. A meat packing plant is being sabotaged. The Hornet takes a bite out of a plot to control the company. This is a network version. Al Hodge, Fran Striker (writer), George W. Trendle (creator, producer), Charles D. Livingstone (director), Lee Allman, Raymond Toyo, Gilbert Shea, Fielden Farrington (announcer). 26:11. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9662: GM Radio Adventure Theater - "Youth" (07-10-77) Apr 22, 2024

Show notes

The series had it origins in the meeting of two minds: the ad agency for General Mills at the time, Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample was looking for a different means to reach a child audience besides television, which was decreasing commercial minutes and increasing costs; and Himan Brown, producer-director of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, who wanted to introduce new audiences to the dramatic form on radio. Tom Bosley was chosen as the host because of his television recognition from a kid’s oriented series, Happy Days. CBS chose to produce 52 original broadcasts followed by 52 repeat broadcasts. I believe they had hoped to maintain General Mills sponsorship during the complete 104 episodes, but General Mills dropped their sponsorship after the original broadcasts. The series continued for the next 52 repeats as the CBS Radio Adventure Theater. THIS EPISODE: July 10, 1977. Program #46. CBS network, WBBM, Chicago aircheck. "Youth". Sponsored by: General Mills, Orca (movie, local). The program was repeated on January 7, 1978 as, "The CBS Radio Adventure Theatre." Tom Bosley (host), Joseph Conrad (author), James Agate Jr. (adaptor), Himan Brown (producer, director), Russell Horton, Arnold Moss, Robert Dryden, William Griffis. 48:43. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

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