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Kids & Family

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 9631: Dangerous Assignment - "Intercept Dr. Korvel" (12-30-50) Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

Dangerous Assignment - Intercept Dr. Korvel (Aired December 30, 1950) This thirty-minute international spy adventure featured Steve Mitchell (Brian Donlevy), and investigator of crimes in exotic locations. 60 episodes. Herb Butterfield played the Commissioner and Betty Moran was the Commissioner's secretary. Other cast members were GeGe Pearson, Ken Peters, Betty Lou Gerson, Dan O’Herlihy. The director was Bill Cairn and the writer for the series was Robert Ryf. The opening was the same every week “Yeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I can’t even pronounce. They all spell the same thing though, trouble.” He would be summoned to his boss’s office where he would be given his assignment; he would then fly halfway across the globe to save the day! The worldwide locations are dealt up with a feeling of local, and the characters that inhabit these far-away places with strange sounding names are solid and capably acted by veterans. Music is an almost harsh orchestra. Donlevy carries the plots with a world-weary and wary tone that makes sense, based on his occupation.

Episode 9630: Danger With Grainger - "Phony Photographer Cas" (1956) Mar 17, 2024

Show notes

Phony Photographer Case (1956) *The Exact Date Is Unknown. Danger With Granger arrived too late in the Golden Age of Radio to have any real impact on the listening public. Mutual aired this show, starting in 1956, on Monday nights at 8:30 pm. It was a half hour show that featured a private eye in New York City, STEVE GRANGER. His two primary companions were Cal Hendrix, a reporter who served as an all-purpose source of criminal info, and Jake Rankin, a police detective with whom he had a grudging rivalry. The writing on the show seemed to incorporate most of the standard cliche's of the P.I. world. Granger, who was both the star and the first-person narrator of the show (not an uncommon practice with radio gumshoes), never saw a woman, instead "he gave the doll the once-over." He didn't kick with his foot, he "lifted a size 10." Instead of paying cash, he "forked over numbered lettuce." In his investigations Steve Granger cooperates with the police and the FBI and other authorities. The mysteries he solved were fairly reasonable, and while he was a tough guy who roughed up lesser mortals, he seemed to get knocked unconscious at least once in every program.

Episode 9629: Damon Runyon Theater - "Pick The Winner" (03-20-49) Mar 16, 2024

Show notes

Pick The Winner (Aired March 20, 1949) Broadcast from January to December 1949, "The Damon Runyon Theater" dramatized 52 of Runyon's short stories for radio. Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 – December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. He spun tales of gamblers, petty thieves, actors and gangsters; few of whom go by "square" names, preferring instead to be known as "Nathan Detroit", "Big Jule", "Harry the Horse", "Good Time Charlie", "Dave the Dude", and so on. These stories were written in a very distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense, and always devoid of contractions. THIS EPISODE: March 20, 1949. Program #12. Mayfair syndication. "Pick The Winner". Commercials added locally. Hot Horse Herbie, Cutie Andrews and Broadway travel to Florida to play the horses. They run into "The Professor," which is a horse of another color! Damon Runyon (author), John Brown, Richard Sanville (director), Russell Hughes (adaptor), Vern Carstensen (production supervisor), Frank Gallop (announcer). 27:49. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9628: Dad's Army - "The Menace From The Deep" (05-27-74) Mar 15, 2024

Show notes

The Menace From The Deep (Aired May 27, 1974) Dad's Army" was a long running British comedy series created and written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. The idea of a series came to Jimmy Perry when he realised that many people had forgotten about the contribution the Home Guard had made to the British Home Front during the years of the Second World War. Commencing in 1968, "Dad's Army" ran on BBC Television for 9 years with over eighty episodes spread within 10 series. The series is set in a small fictional seaside town called Walmington-on-Sea somewhere on the South Coast of England. "Dad's Army" is also remembered for its first class actors which starred amongst its credits, Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Arthur Wilson and Clive Dunn as Lance Corporal Jack Jones. THIS EPISODE: May 27, 1974 - "The Menace From The Deep"- Swallows Bank takes a direct hit during an air-raid, but the bomb fails to explode, leaving Mainwaring and Wilson stuck in the vault with it. When the Bomb Disposal officer retreats to collect the right tools, the platoon must take matters into their own hands. 27:41. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9627: Curtain Time - "Solid Sender" (07-26-47) Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

Solid Sender (Aired July 26, 1947) 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. Curtain Time is truly an Old Time Radio Classic. Mutual Network, local KNX show sustained, heard Fridays 7:30 - 8:00 pm THIS EPISODE: July 26, 1947. NBC network, Chicago origination. "Solid Sender". Sponsored by: Snickers. Nannette Sargent, Bert Farber (arranger, conductor), Harry Holcomb (director), Patricia Dunlap, Maurice Copeland, George Cisar, Tom K. O'Hara (writer), Patrick Allen (host), Harry Elders. 27:39. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9626: Crime Does Not Pay - "Operation Payroll" (02-28-51) Mar 13, 2024

Show notes

Operation Payroll (Aired February 28, 1951) As must be immediately noticeable from the long list of movie actors heard in Crime Does Not Pay, this was not your everyday Golden Age Radio drama. Indeed, you might be forgiven if you fail to recognize more than a couple of Radio voice talents in the entire list. The Radio program was based on a very popular series of MGM Short Subjects they produced between 1935 and 1948 under the same name, Crime Does Not Pay. The Marcus Loew Booking Agency had owned radio station call sign WHN since 1946. In September of 1948, WHN changed their call sign to WMGM, in part to capitalize on a series of MGM programming projects they were attempting to introduce to a national audience. Programs such as The Adventures of Maisie, Crime Does Not Pay, MGM Theatre of The Air, and Dr. Kildare, all drew on material that MGM, as a Film Studio, already had in the can. Show Notes From The Digital Deli. THIS EPISODE: February 28, 1951. Program #73. MGM syndication. "Operation Payroll". Commercials added locally. The date above is the date of the first broadcast of the program on WMGM, New York, from which this syndicated version may have been taken. Harold Vermilyea, Bob Williams (announcer), Marx B. Loeb (director), Ira Marion (writer), Jon Gart (composer, conductor), Burton B. Turkas (technical advisor). 25:29. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9625: The Crime Club - "Coney Island Nocturne" (07-10-47) Mar 12, 2024

Show notes

Coney Island Nocturne (Aired July 10, 1947) The Crime Club began life in 1928 with the publication of The Desert Moon Mystery by Kay Cleaver Strahan, and ceased publication in 1991. In the intervening 63 years, The Crime Club published 2,492 titles. Stories from this imprint were first dramatized on The Eno Crime Club, a detective series broadcast on CBS from February 9, 1931 to December 21, 1932, sponsored by Eno Effervescent Salts. The Crime Club novels were not adapted for the later Eno Crime Clues, heard on the Blue Network from January 3, 1933 to June 30. 1936. The Crime Club returned on the Mutual Broadcasting System as a half-hour radio series with adaptations from the Doubleday imprint. Each installment was introduced by the series host, The Librarian, portrayed by Barry Thomson and Raymond Edward Johnson (who was better known as the host of Inner Sanctum Mysteries). The series began December 2, 1946 and continued until October 16, 1947. THIS EPISODE: July 10, 1947. Mutual network. "Coney Island Nocturne". Sustaining. A dumb cop has his pocket picked on the boardwalk. His wallet is found later on a corpse. Stedman Coles (writer), Walter Kinsella, Joan Alexander. 29:04. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9624: Crime Classics - "The Axe And The Droot Family" (08-10-53) Mar 11, 2024

Show notes

The Axe And The Droot Family (Aired August 10, 1953) Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired over CBS from June 15, 1953 to June 30, 1954. Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was basically a historical true crime series, examining crimes, and especially murders, from the past. It grew out of Lewis's personal interest in famous murder cases, and took a documentary-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages, and feel of the time period. Comparatively little dramatic license was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration. THIS EPISODE: August 10, 1953. CBS network. "The Axe and The Droot Family: How They Fared". Sustaining. In Pennsylvania in 1795, the shortest distance to an inheritance is two crushed skulls. This is a network version. Lou Merrill (host), Morton Fine (writer), David Friedkin (writer), Elliott Lewis (producer, director), Bernard Herrmann (composer, conductor), Mary Jane Croft, Clayton Post, Herb Butterfield, Sam Edwards, Paul Frees, Charles Davis, George Walsh (announcer). 34:54. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9623: Crime & Peter Chambers - "The Hot Spot" (08-31-54) Mar 10, 2024

Show notes

The Hot Spot (Aired August 31, 1954) Crime and Peter Chambers, stared Dane Clark as a hard-hitting private eye that worked well the with police department. His counter part at the NYPD was Lt Parker played by Bill Zuckert. The series was based on the character created by Henry Kane who wrote eight Peter Chambers novels before the series came to radio. Henry Kane wrote the scripts for the radio show adaptation which aired from 6 Apr – 7 Sep 1954 on NBC. The show was directed by Fred Weihe. There are a total of 21 episodes available from the series. Show Notes From The Old Time Radio Researcher's Group. THIS EPISODE: August 31, 1954. NBC network. Sustaining. Johnny Silver, a well known band leader, has been murdered at "The Hot Spot," a swank nightclub. Dane Clark, Henry Kane (creator, writer), Fred Collins (announcer), Fred Weihe (director), William Zuckert, Rita Lynn, Donald Buka. 25:25. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.

Episode 9622: The Creaking Door - "Man In The Lift" (10-05-64) Mar 09, 2024

Show notes

Man In The Lift (Aired October 5, 1964) The Creaking Door stands on its own as a unique, well-produced, engaging supernatural thriller series on its own merit. The etymology of the name, The Creaking Door, bears some reflection. When legendary producer and director, Himan Brown first presented Inner Sanctum as one of three requested sponsorship candidates to Carter Products, he presented Inner Sanctum as The Creaking Door. Carter didn't care for the name, so on the spur of the moment Hi Brown suggested Inner Sanctum as an alternative, and voila, Radio history was made. The emphasis on high production values is perhaps the very reason that several early, morally challenged Radio traders felt they could get away with interspersing many of the Creaking Door episodes with their Inner Sanctum, Mysterious Traveler, and Strange Dr. Weird offerings to a still naive community of radio recording collectors. Although somewhat left-handed, it's still a compliment to both SABC and Springbok Radio that those early 'otr hooligans' managed to get away with the practice for well over 20 years. That takes nothing away from this excellent series in its own right.

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