Classic Radio Theater

Chapters 12 through 14, the end of this story line, aired the week of September 17, 1945.

Chapters 8 through 11 aired the week of Spetember 17, 1945.

Chapters 4 through 7 aired the week of September 10, 1945.

Chapters 1 through 3 aired the week of September 4, 1945.

Dragnet, starring Jack Webb. “Big Jolt” aired on October 5, 1952. The original Chesterfield Cigarette advertisements are truly horrifying!

Dragnet starring Jack Webb. This episode, “Sixteen Jewel Thieves,” first aired on August 18, 1949. That's a fact, Jack.

Gunsmoke- “Drop Dead,” aired on September 20, 1952.

"The story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man that moved with it, U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad."
Gunsmoke- “Home Surgery,” aired on September 13, 1952.

Part 1: Sapphire’s new boss proposes marriage. Aired on August 4, 1952.

Part 2: Andy believes his girlfriend is looking for a husband. His marriage proposal does not go as planned. Aired on August 25, 1952.

Amos ’N Andy was a radio sitcom that aired from 1928 to 1960. The titled characters were Black, but were played by the two white show creators Freeman Gosden (Amos) and Charles Correll (Andy). The show had a brief stint on television from 1951 to 1953 where the title characters were played by Black actors.

Part 1: The Kingfish is bequeathed a weekly allowance for help care for his Great Dane. Aired on June 30, 1952.

Part 2: Uncle Harold leaves Andy $25,000 on the condition he never marries. Aired on July 7, 1952.

Arsenic and Old Lace is a comedy thriller based on a true story. A New York newspaper drama critic discovers his two aunts are insane murderers! It aired in 1952.

Our Miss Brooks was a radio sitcom that aired from 1948 to 1957. It was adapted for both television and a movie of the same name. This episode aired on December 5, 1949.

For our annual celebration of April fools Day, we present “The Great Crepitation Contest of 1946,” the championship farting contest between Lord Windesmear and Paul Boomer. Although nobody is certain, this recording was most likely done in 1940 by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation sports announcer Sidney S. Brown and CBC producer Jules Lipton as an in-house joke. Someone at Columbia records pressed the recording onto a set of two 78 rpm records, including album art. The official release was nixed by CBS brass, but a few premium copies made it out to the public. Enjoy!

Terry And The Pirates was adapted for radio from a 1934 comic strip of the same name by Milton Caniff. The radio show ran from 1937 to 1948. It was later adapted for TV in 1953. Terry and his associates fought villains throughout the Orient.

The Great Gildersleeve was a radio sitcom that aired from 1941 to 1958. It was a spin off of the popular radio program Fibber McGee and Molly. This episode aired on November 20, 1949.

Fibber McGee & Molly, “Selling The House,” aired on May 4, 1948.

Fibber McGee & Molly was a very popular radio sitcom on NBC, running from 1935 to 1956. The stars of the show were played by husband and wife team Jim and Marian Jordan, who had started their radio careers in the 1920s.

 “Goin’ Fishin’” aired on May 11, 1948.

Hansel & Gretel is an old German fairy tale. The Brothers Grimm published a collection of fairy tales in 1812, including Hansel & Gretel, that they compiled from various sources, bringing the story to the masses.

Hansel and Gretel are brother and sister who have been abandoned in the woods by their lovely parents. They were taken in by a witch who intended to cook and eat them. So, one could say this is a both a lesson on wandering alone in the woods and also a cooking show. We won’t ruin the twist ending here, even thought it’s over 200 years old.

This version was produced by Tale Spinners for Children, who released stories for young audiences on vinyl records in the 1960s.

The popular musical “The Pajama Game” is a staple in school and community theater productions. The plot revolves around romance and labor issues in a pajama factory. The musical premiered in 1954 on Broadway and in 1955 on London’s West End. This version stars the original Broadway cast. John Raitt, father of musician Bonnie Raitt, was known for playing many lead roles on Broadway and in film. He plays the lead character Sid Sorokin. Babe Williams is played by Janis Paige, one of the last stars from The Golden Age of Hollywood. Vernon Hines is played by Eddie Foy, Jr., whose 60 plus year career spanned from vaudeville and theater to film and television.

Aired on May 11, 1954.

Aired on May 4, 1954.

Dragnet was created and produced by Jack Webb, who also starred as Sergeant Joe Friday. His goal was to create a show that was realistic, so he attended police academy classes and did ride-alongs with the Los Angeles Police Department as part of his research. The cases in the shows were based on actual cases handled by the LAPD. Dragnet was broadcast on NBC radio stations from 1949 to 1957. It overlapped with its TV version which ran from 1951 to 1959 in black and white, and was brought back to TV in color from 1967 to 1970. 

 “Big Lift” aired on April 27, 1954. As always, please don't believe the cigarette ads.

The hit musical South Pacific by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II premiered on Broadway in New York City in 1949 and ran for 1,925 shows. It is based on the 1947 book “Tales of the South Pacific,” by James Michener and follows the story of a nurse based in the south Pacific during World War II.

This episode of The Edgar Bergen Show with Charlie McCarthy aired on November 9, 1952, and features Marilyn Monroe as their special guest. Charlie was a puppet, and having puppets on the radio seemed to make sense at the time.

This episode of The Edgar Bergen Show with Charlie McCarthy features Edward Everett Horton and Abbott & Costello as guests. It aired on May 3, 1942. Charlie was a puppet, and having puppets on the radio seemed to make sense at the time.

Enjoy Orson Welles’s production of the beloved “A Christmas Carol,” which aired on Christmas Eve in 1939.

The Doctor prescribed Death aired on February 2, 1943. Boris Karloff plays psychiatrist Antonio Bacile, who believes that a suicidal person can, instead, be convinced to murder someone else.

“Johnny Red” aired on August 13, 1955.

"Ben Tolliver’s Stud” aired on July 23, 1955

Gunsmoke, the story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man that moved with it, U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad. From a time when westerns were popular, and cigarette companies could advertise on children’s shows.

 "Twenty-Twenty” first aired on July 16, 1955.

Don Adams performed live at the Las Vegas Sands Casino in 1967. Adams is best known for playing Secret Agent Maxwell Smart on the hit TV series “Get Smart,” which ran from 1965 to 1970. He was also the voice of “Inspector Gadget,” in the 1980s.

Peter and the Wolf is a symphonic tale written by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The story is a Russian folk tale with different animals and characters being represented by different musical instruments. This performance is narrated by Captain Kangaroo, a/k/a Bob Keeshan, who was a beloved children’s TV host from 1955 to 1984.

The musical Wildcat opened on Broadway in New York City in 1960 and starred Lucille Ball in her only starring Broadway role. She was 49 at the time and had wrapped up her hit TV show, I Love Lucy, three years prior.  Lucy plays the lead role of Wildcat Jackson, who comes to Centavo City in search of striking oil and making it rich.

It’s time for our annual rebroadcast of Orson Welles’ “The War of the Worlds,” which aired on October 30, 1938. This legendary broadcast is one you don't want to miss! (Spoiler: It did not create the mass panic of legendary tales. Orson said it was fiction in the broadcast, and they took commercial breaks.)

Inner Sanctum, also known as Inner Sanctum Mystery, was a popular radio program that aired from 1941 to 1952. The stories had a good mix of horror and good humor. This is the show that established the creaking door as a scary sound effect. There were over 500 episodes broadcast, but only around 200 are known to still exist.
“The Vengeful Corpse,” aired on September 12, 1949.

The Doctor prescribed Death aired on February 2, 1943. Boris Karloff plays psychiatrist Antonio Bacile, who believes that a suicidal person can, instead, be convinced to murder someone else.

*Extra Scary!*
“House in Cypress Canyon,” starring Robert Taylor, from the radio series SUSPENSE. This episode is widely considered one of the most terrifying shows broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio. A couple moves into a new rental house, and finds blood running from beneath a closet door… This episode aired on December 5, 1946.

“Fugue in C Minor,” starring the legendary Vincent Price and Ida Lupino, from the radio series SUSPENSE. It’s a great story about a pipe organ that was built throughout an entire house, and the reason it plays on its own. This episode aired on June 1, 1944.

Go get your pumpkins and start carving! It's time for SCARY CLASSIC SHOWS!
Lights Out was one of the earliest radio programs focusing on horror and the supernatural. It ran on several networks from 1934 to 1947 before making the transition to television. This episode, “Oxychloride X,” was broadcast on January 26, 1938.

Halloween is approaching, so we figure it's time for some SCARY CLASSIC SHOWS!
Lights Out was one of the earliest radio programs focusing on horror and the supernatural. It ran on several networks from 1934 to 1947 before making the transition to television. This episode, “Rocket From Manhattan,” was broadcast on September 20, 1945, and is set in the distant future year of… 2000!

This episode was during their highest rated season. It aired on January 6, 1948.

Fibber and Molly were actually Jim and Marian Jordan, a married couple and comedy legends. This episode aired on October 14, 1947, on the NBC Radio Network.

Orson Welles adapted this live February 3, 1939, performance from the 1925 novel “Arrowsmith,” by Sinclair Lewis. It was part of The Campbell’s Playhouse, a CBS Radio series sponsored by Campbell’s Soup.

This adaptation of the 1938 film “Algiers” was performed live on October 8, 1939, on The Campbell’s Playhouse, a CBS Radio series sponsored by Campbell’s Soup.

Orson Welles’s adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s play from 1933. This performance was performed live on September 17, 1939, on The Campbell’s Playhouse, a CBS Radio series sponsored by Campbell’s Soup.

This radio dramatization of the film aired on January 9, 1949.

This radio dramatization of the film aired on August 5, 1949.

This radio dramatization of the 1939 film aired on November 5, 1945.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1927 publication of “The Adventure of Schoscombe Old Place” was dramatized by the BBC for radio broadcast.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1926 publication of “The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane” was dramatized by the BBC for radio broadcast.

The film was released in 1949. This Lux Radio Theatre series version starred mostly the same cast, and first aired on March 12, 1951.

Dragnet, “Big Net,” aired on April 20, 1954.
Dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun duuuunnnnnnn!

Dragnet, “Big Note,” aired on April 13, 1954.
All we need are the facts. But you already knew that.

Dragnet, “Big Saw,” aired on April 6, 1954.
Just the facts, Jack.

The legendary comedic duo Fibber McGee & Molly with “I Can Get It For You Wholesale.” This show was broadcast on December 9, 1941, two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This show includes news updates on World War II.

Broadcast on March 5, 1940. The giant mess in Fibber’s closet led to a short-lived expression of any household mess being called “Fibber McGee’s Closet.”

Uncle Oliver aired on July 9, 1955.

General Parcley Smith aired on July 2, 1955

Gunsmoke, the story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man that moved with it, U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad.

The Army Trial first aired on June 25, 1955.

Lily Tomlin is a showbiz legend who started out doing stand-up comedy in the 1960s. She is best known today for costarring in the 1980 movie “9 to 5” with Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, and more recently in the Netflix sitcom Grace and Frankie, also with Jane Fonda.

“This Is A Recording” was released in 1971. It features Lily’s character, Ernestine, a telephone operator who treats customers terribly. Ernestine also made a memorable appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1976 on a fake telephone company commercial, stating, "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company.”

The Great Crepitation Contest of 1946
For our annual celebration of April fools Day, we present “The Great Crepitation Contest of 1946,” the championship farting contest between Lord Windesmear and Paul Boomer. Although nobody is certain, this recording was most likely done in 1940 by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation sports announcer Sidney S. Brown and CBC producer Jules Lipton as an in-house joke. Someone at Columbia records pressed the recording onto a set of two 78 rpm records, including album art. The official release was nixed by CBS brass, but a few premium copies made it out to the public. Enjoy!

My Darling Clementine starring Peter Fonda
Another presentation of The Lux Radio Theater, this adaptation aired on April 28, 1947.

The Treasure of Sierra Madre, starring Humphrey Bogart
Broadcast on April 18, 1949 by The Lux Radio Theater on the NBC Blue Network. Lux was a brand of soap owned by Unilever.

The Lone Ranger - Eric Hyde Loses Cattle to Rustlers
The Lone Ranger radio show began its successful run at WXYZ Radio in Detroit, Michigan, in 1933 and would stay on the air until 1956. Although it was intended for a younger audience, at least half of listeners were adults. The show is well known for its use of The William Tell Overture as its theme.

Dragnet, “Big Confession,” aired on March 30, 1954.

Dragnet, “Big Mustache,” aired on March 23, 1954.

Dragnet, “Big Rod,” aired on March 3, 1954.
Dragnet was created and produced by Jack Webb, who also starred as Sergeant Joe Friday. His goal was to create a show that was realistic, so he attended police academy classes and did ride-alongs with the Los Angeles Police Department as part of his research. The cases in the shows were based on actual cases handled by the LAPD. Dragnet was broadcast on NBC radio stations from 1949 to 1957. It overlapped with it’s TV version which ran from 1951 to 1959 in black and white, and was brought back to TV in color from 1967 to 1970.

Gunsmoke, “The Reed Survives,” aired on June 18, 1955.

Gunsmoke, “Trust,” aired on June 11, 1955.

Gunsmoke, “Cow Doctor,” aired on May 28, 1955. Gunsmoke, the story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man that moved with it, U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad.

The legendary W.C. Fields was born William Claude Dukenfield in Pennsylvania in 1880. He started his career as a juggler on the vaudeville circuit, then moved into comedy and acting. He is know for his distinctive speech patterns and for his character’s love of alcohol.

Part 1: The Temperance Lecture
Part 2: The Day I Drank A Glass of Water

Does his act still hold up?

Flip Wilson (1933-1998) was the first Black comedian to host a successful TV variety show, The Flip Wilson Show, which aired from 1970 to 1974. Flip was well known for playing the character of Geraldine in his act as well ask for numerous TV appearances from he 1960s through the 1980s. He continued to perform into the 1990s until he passed away from cancer in 1998.

Orson Welles’s “A Christmas Carol”
Enjoy Orson Welles’s production of the beloved “A Christmas Carol,” which aired on Christmas Eve in 1939.

An Evening With Groucho Marx (Part 2 of 2)

An Evening With Groucho Marx (Part 1 of 2)
Released in 1972, An Evening With Groucho Marx was recorded live at three venues, Carnegie Hall in New York City, C.Y. Stephens Auditorium at Iowa State University, and Masonic Auditorium in San Fransisco. Groucho is introduced by Dick Cavett and is accompanied on piano by Marvin Hamlisch.

The Life of Riley with William Bendix- “Thanksgiving with the Gillises,” aired on November 29, 1947.
The Life of Riley was a radio sitcom that aired from 1944 to 1951. It was later developed into a movie and a TV series.

Gunsmoke, “The Liar From Blackhawk,” aired on May 21, 1955.

Gunsmoke, “Robber Bridegroom,” aired on May 14, 1955.

Gunsmoke, “Potato Road,” aired on May 7, 1955.
The story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man that moved with it, U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad.

It’s time for our annual rebroadcast of Orson Welles’s “The War of the Worlds,” which aired on October 30, 1938. This legendary broadcast is one you don't want to miss! (Spoiler: It did not create the mass panic of legendary tales. Orson said it was fiction in the broadcast, and they even took commercial breaks.)

“House in Cypress Canyon,” starring Robert Taylor, from the radio series SUSPENSE. This episode is widely considered one of the most terrifying shows broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio. A couple moves into a new rental house, and finds blood running from beneath a closet door… This episode aired on December 5, 1946.

Lights Out was one of the earliest radio programs focusing on horror and the supernatural. It ran on several networks from 1934 to 1947 before making the transition to television. This episode, “Rocket From Manhattan,” was broadcast on September 20, 1945, and is set in the distant future year of… 2000!

Lights Out was one of the earliest radio programs focusing on horror and the supernatural. It ran on several networks from 1934 to 1947 before making the transition to television. This episode, “Oxychloride X,” was broadcast on January 26, 1938.

Amos ’N Andy

Part 1: Kingfish tricks his uncle into sending money for medical school. Then the uncle comes to check on his new practice. Aired on June 16, 1952. 

Part 2: Kingfish buys Sapphire a gold bracelet on credit. Then it gets repossessed and sold to another friend. Aired on June 23, 1952.

Amos ’N Andy

Part 1: Kingfish acts as a marriage broker, but his plans go down the drain. Aired on October 10, 1948.

Part 2: Kingfish spends the budget for the yearly Lodge Outing. When the other members find out, he is forced to repay the money.

Amos ’N Andy

Part 1: Andy writes a column in the local newspaper and gets sued for giving bad advice. Aired on January 26, 1945.

Part 2: Kingfish sells Andy his mountain cabin. When Andy finds out there are taxes due on the cabin, he tricks Kingfish into returning the money.

Amos ’N Andy was a radio sitcom that aired from 1928 to 1960. The titled characters were Black, but were played by the two white show creators Freeman Gosden (Amos) and Charles Correll (Andy). The show had a brief stint on television from 1951 to 1953 where the title characters were played by Black actors.

Part 1: Andy and Kingfish enter a sales contest sponsored by a fountain pen company. Aired on December 1, 1944.

Part 2: Andy works as Santa Claus in a department store to buy Amos’s daughter a Christmas gift. Aired on December 12, 1944.

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Godfather (But Don’t Ask)
By The Crazy Gang.
This performance was recorded with a live audience on May 11, 1972.

Dragnet, “Big Cup,” aired on March 9, 1954.

Dragnet, “Big Pipe,” aired on February 23, 1954.

Dragnet, “Big Sucker,” aired on February 16, 1954. That’s just a fact, ma’am.

Gunsmoke, “Reward For Matt,” aired on April 30, 1955.

Dragnet, “Skid Row,” aired on April 9, 1955.