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The Amos 'n' Andy Show - Radio And TV Delivery Job (04-04-54) Apr 08, 2010

Show notes

Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio. He suggested to Gosden and Correll that they adapt The Gumps to radio. They instead proposed a series about "a couple of colored characters" and borrowed certain elements of The Gumps. Their new series, Sam 'n' Henry, began January 12, 1926, fascinating radio listeners throughout the Midwest. That series became popular enough that in late 1927 Gosden and Correll requested that it be distributed to other stations on phonograph records in a "chainless chain" concept that would have been the first use of radio syndication as we know it today. When WGN rejected the idea, Gosden and Correll quit the show and the station that December. Contractually, their characters belonged to WGN, so when Gosden and Correll left WGN, they performed in personal appearances but could not use the character names from the radio show.THIS EPISODE:April 4, 1954. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Radio And TV Delivery Job". The Kingfish gets Andy into the TV repair business. After disaster strikes, Andy tells it to the judge whose nickname is, "Twenty-Year Johnson." Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Jeff Alexander (music), Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Joe Connelly (writer), Bob Mosher (writer), Ernestine Wade, Johnny Lee, Amanda Randolph, Cliff Howell (director), Tommy Moore, Jean Vander Pyl, Will Wright, Ken Christy. 25 minutes.

CBS Radio Mystery Theater - You Can Die Again (01-17-74) Mar 28, 2010

Show notes

The 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 17, 1974. Program #12. CBS network. "You Can Die Again". Sponsored by: Budweiser, Kellogg's. E. G. Marshall (host), Sam Dann (writer), Richard Mulligan, Mandel Kramer, Marian Seldes, Bryna Raeburn, Gilbert Mack, Himan Brown. 52 minutes.

The Adventures Of Frank Race - The Three On A Match (09-18-49) Mar 17, 2010

Show notes

The Adventures of Frank Race, by Bruce Ells Productions, was first heard in May of 1949. The main character, Frank Race, was an attorney before World War II. As a result of his activities in the war, when it was over, he traded his law books for a career with the OSS. There, "Adventure" became his business. Tom Collins played the role of Frank Race initially, immediately following his stint as Chandu, The Magician. The lead role was taken over later by Paul Dubof.THIS EPISODE:September 18, 1949. Program #21. Broadcasters Program Syndicate syndication. "The Adventure Of Three On A Match". Commercials added locally. In Bordeaux, the European Children's Fund has been cheated out of its relief funds. The beautiful Marie Vartell holds the clue to the missing $2 million dollars. Tom Collins, Tony Barrett, Buckley Angel (writer, director), Joel Murcott (writer, director), Bruce Eells (producer), Ivan Ditmars (organist), Art Gilmore (announcer), Gerald Mohr, Jeanne Bates, Paul Dubov, Michael Ann Barrett. 26:53.

Box 13 - The Haunted Artist (12-12-48) Mar 09, 2010

Show notes

Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of mystery novelist Dan Holiday (Alan Ladd), a former newsman. Created by Mayfair Productions, the series premiered August 22, 1948, on New York's WOR and aired in syndication on the East Coast from August 22, 1948, to August 14. 1949. On the West Coast, Box 13 was heard from March 15, 1948 to March 7, 1949. To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holiday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper. "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- Box 13." The stories followed Holiday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.THIS EPISODE:December 12, 1948. Program #17. Mayfair syndication. "The Haunted Artist". Commercials added locally. An artist's latest canvas seems to be haunted. A stone quarry keeps appearing on one side of the canvas. The date is approximate. Alan Ladd, Edmond MacDonald, Richard Sanville (director), Rudy Schrager (composer, conductor), Russell Hughes (writer), Sylvia Picker, Vern Carstensen (production supervisor). 26:56.

The FBI In Peace & War Dumb Luck (1944) Feb 26, 2010

Show notes

The FBI in Peace and War was a radio crime drama inspired by Frederick Lewis Collins' book, The FBI in Peace and War. The idea for the show came from Louis Pelletier who wrote many of the scripts. Among the show's other writers were Jack Finke, Ed Adamson and Collins. Airing on CBS from November 25, 1944 to September 28, 1958, it had a variety of sponsors (including Lava Soap, Wildroot Cream Oil, Lucky Strike, Nescafe and Wrigley's) over the years. Martin Blaine and Donald Briggs headed the cast. THIS EPISODE:September 22, 1957 CBS network. "Dumb Luck". Commercials deleted. A dumb blonde tries to pull an inheritance swindle and winds up marrying the insurance man she's trying to gyp! Jackson Beck (narrator), Charita Bauer, Arthur Winters, Louis Pelletier (writer), Betty Mandeville (producer, director), Warren Sweeney (announcer), Frederick L. Collins (creator). 20:04.

CBS Radio Mystery Theater - A Message From Space (02-28-78) Feb 20, 2010

Show notes

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!

Fibber McGee & Molly - Installing A Wall Safe (2-03-53) Feb 06, 2010

Show notes

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. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBC's Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.THIS EPISODE:February 3, 1953. NBC network. Sponsored by: Reynolds Aluminum. The program originates from the N. R. E. C. A. Convention, The Civic auditorium in San Francisco. Fibber is chopping a hole in the wall. He's planning to install a wall safe! Not auditioned. Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Harlow Wilcox, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, The King's Men, Phil Leslie (writer), Keith Fowler (writer), Max Hutto (director), Bill Thompson, Gale Gordon, Arthur Q. Bryan, Richard LeGrand. 27:40.

The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe - The Hard Way Out (11-28-48) Feb 02, 2010

Show notes

The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe - The first portrayal of Phillip Marlowe on the radio was by Dick Powell, when he played Raymond Chandler's detective on the Lux Radio Theater on June 11, 1945. This was a radio adaptation of the 1944 movie, from RKO, in which Mr. Powell played the lead. Two years later, Van Heflin starred as Marlowe in a summer replacement series for the Bob Hope Show on NBC. This series ran for 13 shows. On September 26, 1948, Gerald Mohr became the third radio Marlowe, this time on CBS. It remained a CBS show through its last show in 1951.THIS EPISODE:November 28, 1948. CBS network. "The Hard Way Out". Sustaining. Murder at the Quigg and Slater Construction Company, and a surprising amount of luxury on $175 a week! Barbara Fuller, William Lally, Edgar Barrier, Gene Levitt (writer), Gerald Mohr, Jeff Corey, Luis Van Rooten, Mel Dinelli (writer), Norman Macdonnell (producer, director), Raymond Chandler (creator), Richard Aurandt (music), Robert Mitchell (writer). 29:39.

Ellery Queen Master Detective - Vanishing Magician (11-06-43) Feb 01, 2010

Show notes

Ellery Queen Master Detective - On radio, The Adventures of Ellery Queen was heard on all three networks from 1939 to 1948. During the 1970s, syndicated radio fillers, Ellery Queen's Minute Mysteries, began with an announcer saying, "This is Ellery Queen..." and contained a short one-minute case. The radio station encouraged callers to solve the mystery and win a sponsor's prize. Once a winner was found, the solution was broadcast as confirmation. A complete episode guide and history of this radio program can be found in the book "The Sound of Detection: Ellery Queen's Adventures in Radio" from OTR Publishing, 2002.THIS EPISODE:November 6, 1943. NBC network. "The Adventure Of The Vanishing Magician". Sponsored by: Bromo Seltzer. A has-been vaudevillian promises to disappear from a house to win a $25,000 bet. A good wartime mystery! This is the East Coast broadcast. The West Coast broadcast took place on November 4, 1943. The script was previously used on "Ellery Queen" on September 15, 1940. Sydney Smith, Helen Lewis, Santos Ortega, Ted de Corsia, Charles Paul (organ), Edward Pawley ("Guest Armchair Detective," star of "Big Town"), S. Bigman ("Guest Armchair Detective," editor of "Time" magazine), Ernest Chappell (announcer), Frederic Dannay (writer), Manfred B. Lee (writer), Bruce Kamman (producer, director). 29:04.

The Hollywood Radio Theater - The Awful Truth (01-18-55) Jan 30, 2010

Show notes

The Hollywood Radio Theater (Lux Radio Theater) strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.THIS EPISODE:The Awful Truth from Hollywood Radio Theater aired January 18, 1955 starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. This is the radio version taken from the classic 1937 romantic comedy film. The plot concerns the machinations of a soon-to-be-divorced couple, played by Dunne and Grant, who go to great lengths to try to ruin each other's romantic escapades. The bright, zesty, and carefree film was nominated for six Academy Awards.

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