Created by author Jack Boyle, Boston Blackie was a master safecracker and hardened criminal who served time in a California prison. Rehabilitated, he decided to use his knowledge of the underworld to fight crime as an amateur detective. Known as “an enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend,” Boston Blackie’s exploits were adapted to film, radio, and television. Chester Morris, who had played Boston Blackie in a series of B movies for Columbia, originated the character on radio in 1944. By 1945 Richard Kollmar had taken over the title role in a radio series syndicated by Frederic W. Ziv. Over two hundred radio episodes were produced between 1944 and 1950. While investigating the cases, Blackie would invariably encounter harebrained Police Inspector Faraday (Maurice Tarplin) and always solve the crime before Faraday could. The initial friction between Blackie and Faraday gave way as the series continued and Faraday came to recognize Blackie’s talents, occasionally even requesting his assistance. Blackie dated Mary Wesley (Jan Miner), and for the first half of the series, his best pal Shorty (Tony Barrett) was on hand. Boston Blackie transitioned to television in 1951.

Episodes include “The Brandon Murder,” “The Condon Ransom,” “The Baseball Player Murder,” “The Stolen Car Ring,” “The Frances Fielding Murder,” “The Winthrope Jewelry Company Thefts,” “The Paul Blaine Murder,” “Mike Harlan Escapes from Prison,” “The Old Man Graham Murder,” “The Case of the Disappearing Plane,” “The Masked Gang Protection Racket,” and “Mary Steals a Stolen Diamond Necklace.”

Here are original broadcasts of the old-time radio show featuring amateur detective Boston Blackie

Created by author Jack Boyle, Boston Blackie was a master safecracker and hardened criminal who served time in a California prison. Rehabilitated, he decided to use his knowledge of the underworld to fight crime as an amateur detective. Known as “an enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend,” Boston Blackie’s exploits were adapted to film, radio, and television.

While investigating cases, Blackie would invariably encounter harebrained Police Inspector Faraday and always solve the crime before Faraday could. The initial friction between Blackie and Faraday gave way as the series continued and Faraday came to recognize Blackie’s talents, occasionally even requesting his assistance. Blackie dated Mary Wesley, and for the first half of the series, his best pal Shorty was on hand.

Boston Blackie is played by Richard Kollmar in these twelve exciting episodes, which aired between December 1946 and March 1947:

“Mary, Registered Nurse””Police Impersonator””The Derailed Gold Train””Carl Browning Cleaning Shop””The Search for Jim Gary””Jacques Pierre and the Diamonds””Seven Years’ Bad Luck for Florence Wells””Joe Delivers the Goods””Larry ‘The Kid’ vs. Savinni””The Tenth Street Gym and the Stolen Car Ring””Sam Fisher’s Past””The Horseroom Thefts of Boston Blackie”

Movie star Alan Ladd played Dan Holiday, retired newspaperman turned fiction writer and adventurer extraordinaire. To gain ideas for his books, Holiday placed an ad in the Star-Times newspaper: “Adventure wanted–will go anywhere, do anything–Box 13.” It wasn’t long before his Box 13 became jammed with adventures galore.

Holiday always had more adventure than he had originally sought because those who responded to his ad never revealed all of their glorious, unusual, and sometimes sinister details until they met in person and the adventure had already begun. Sylvia Picker played Holiday’s scatterbrained secretary, Suzy. Suzy added touches of humor to the mystery-adventure and nail-biting storylines.

Box 13 was produced by Mayfair Productions, a company run by Alan Ladd and Richard Sandville. The name came from Mayfair Restaurant, which Ladd and Sandville owned during World War II. In addition to producing Box 13, Ladd also wrote some of the scripts.

Episodes include:

The First LetterInsurance FraudBlackmail Is MurderActor’s AlibiExtra, ExtraShanghaiedShort AssignmentDouble MothersBook of PoemsThe Great TorinoSuicide or MurderTriple Cross

Movie star Alan Ladd played Dan Holiday, a former newspaperman turned mystery novelist and adventurer. To gain ideas for his books, Holiday placed an ad in the Star-Times newspaper: “Adventure wanted–will go anywhere, do anything–write Box 13, Star-Times.” It wasn’t long before his post office box became jammed with adventure offers galore. The stories follow his escapades when he responds to the letters.

Holiday always had more adventure than he had originally sought because those who responded to his ad never revealed all of their glorious, unusual, and sometimes sinister details until they met in person and the adventure had already begun. Holiday’s scatterbrained secretary, Suzy, played by Sylvia Picker, added touches of humor to this mystery-adventure and its nail-biting story lines.

Box 13 was produced by Mayfair Productions, a company run by Alan Ladd and Richard Sandville. In addition to producing Box 13, Ladd also wrote some of the scripts.

Included are these twelve exciting episodes:

“Hot Box” (26 Dec 48), “The Better Man” (2 Jan 1949), “The Professor and the Puzzle” (9 Jan 1949), “The Dowager and Dan Holiday” (16 Jan 1949), “Three to Die” (23 Jan 1949), “The Philanthropist” (30 Jan 1949), “Last Will and Nursery Rhyme” (6 Feb 1949), “Delinquent Dilemma” (13 Feb 1949), “One One Three Point Five” (20 Mar 1949), “Dan and the Wonderful Lamp” (27 Mar 1949), “Tempest in a Casserole” (3 Apr 1949), and “Mexican Maze” (10 Apr 1949).

Broadway Is My Beat was a dark, gritty radio crime drama that ran on CBS from 1949 until 1954. The series was originally broadcast from New York with Anthony Ross portraying Times Square Police Detective Danny Clover. Produced by Lester Gottlieb, it was directed by John Dietz. But by the thirteenth episode, the series moved to Hollywood (still set in NYC) with producer Elliott Lewis directing a new cast in scripts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin (the duo that would later write and develop TV’s popular secret-agent series I Spy). The re-creation of Manhattan’s rich, aural tapestry required the talents of three sound effects artists. The opening theme of “I’ll Take Manhattan” introduced Detective Danny Clover (now played by Larry Thor) as a hardened New York City cop who worked homicide “from Times Square to Columbus Circle–the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world.” Clover narrated tales of the Great White Way to the music of Wilbur Hatch and Alexander Courage.

Episodes included:

CD 1: The Val Dane Murder Case 8/25/49 – The Henry Baker Murder Case 12/17/49

CD 2: The Lt. Jimmy Hunt Murder Case 2/3/50 – The Julie Dixon Murder Case 2/10/50

CD 3: The Dion Hartley Murder Case 2/17/50 – The Hope Anderson Murder Case 3/31/50

CD 4: The Morris Bernstein Murder Case 6/16/50 – The Stephen Courtney Murder Case 6/23/50

CD 5: The Celia Jordan Murder Case 7/24/50 – The Mary Dimming Murder Case 8/14/50

CD 6: The Tom and Alice Corey Suicide Pact 8/21/50 – The Helen Carrol Murder Case 10/13/50

Candy Matson was no girl detective … she was all woman.

Candy Matson was a response to all the hard-boiled detectives on the radio like Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, and Pat Novak, and all those other detectives who were beaten up on a regular basis. Candy, played by Natalie Park, was hard-boiled in her own way. She never compromised her femininity but she did know how to use a gun and didn’t hesitate to use it when it was necessary. She didn’t take any guff from the guys–the good guys or the bad guys. With a snappy comeback, she could take anybody’s head off. Candy was fearless, never hesitating to go wherever she needed to solve a case from the lowest dive to the classiest nightclub. Candy worked hard to get her goon. Men orbited around her like she was the sun. Her best friend and partner in detection was Rembrandt Watson, a flamboyant photographer. All private detectives need a police detective foil and, in Candy’s case, that was Lt. Ray Mallard. It didn’t hurt that Mallard was easy on the eyes (plus she and the good detective dated). Candy Matson aired on NBC from 1949 until 1951 and was a regional success. Natalie Park Masters starred as Candy, and her husband, Monty Masters, wrote the show.

Episodes included are: “Donna Dunham Case,” “The Fort Ord Story,” “The Devil in the Deep Freeze,” “Jack Frost,” “Insurance Crash,” “Eric Spaulding Concert,” “Symphony of Death,” “The Movie Company,” “The Egyptian Amulet,” “San Juan Bautista,” “Candy’s Last Case,” and “Fortune Teller.”

In the March 1934 issue of the legendary pulp magazine Black Mask, Jack “Flashgun” Casey, crime photographer, made his debut. His creator was former newspaper and advertising executive George Harmon Coxe Jr., who wrote more than sixty crime fiction novels in his lifetime. Casey’s keen eye for detail served him well on the job, helping him to solve the crimes he was assigned to photograph for the newspapers. These “Flashgun Casey” stories were an instant success with Black Mask readers and soon made the leap to both radio and the silver screen.

Voiced by Staats Cotsworth for more than a decade, Casey was aided in his amateur detecting by fellow reporter Ann Williams, who, like Casey, worked for the Morning Express. When not at work, they frequented the Blue Note Caf+(r), a late night lounge where the bartender, Ethelbert, provided both a sounding board and levity for Casey and Ann as they awaited their next job. Casey, Crime Photographer aired on radio from 1943 until 1955 and made the transition to television in 1951.

Episodes include “The Grey Kitten,” “The Twenty-Minute Alibi,” “The Mysterious Lodger,” “The Demon Miner,” “Box of Death,” “The Gentle Strangler,” “The Laughing Killer,” “Pickup,” “Self-Made Hero,” “Photo of the Dead,” “Bright New Star,” and “The Chivalrous Gunman.”

One of the top entertainers of the twentieth century, Frank Sinatra, stars in fourteen broadcasts from the golden age of radio.

Although “Ol’ Blue Eyes” would conquer records, film, and television, it was radio that first made Frank Sinatra a star. Spanning the years 1943 to 1954, this collection showcases Sinatra from such shows as Suspense, The Frank Sinatra Show, The Jack Benny Program, The Burns and Allen Show, and more. Included is the final episode of Sinatra’s action/detective series, Rocky Fortune, a low-budget radio series that he decided not to continue after winning his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in From Here to Eternity.

Enjoy these fourteen radio broadcasts from eleven different radio series starring one of the greatest entertainers of all time, Frank Sinatra.

Here are twelve radio episodes featuring Jack Benny in different series from the golden age of radio. This collection includes episodes from The Jack Benny Program, Suspense, The Burns & Allen Show, The Bing Crosby Show, The Ford Theatre, and many more.

Jack Webb (1920-1982) was a popular American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter. He started out in the entertainment industry in comedy but achieved his first success playing the title character in the radio show Pat Novak, for Hire. His greater success came from his role as Los Angeles Police Department sergeant Joe Friday in the show Dragnet, which he created based on actual LAPD criminal case files and which ran for many years on both radio and television.

This classic radio collection spotlights Jack Webb in episodes from a variety of series from the golden age of radio.

The Jack Webb Show: “Slim Slade, Western Bandleader” (17 Apr 46)

Suspense: “Murder by an Expert” (24 Jul 47)

Escape: “Ring of Thoth” (11 Aug 47)

The Whistler: “Meeting on Tenth Street” ( 25 Feb 48)

Jeff Regan, Investigator: “The Guy from Gower Gulch” (13 Nov 48)

Pat Novak, for Hire: “Watch Wendy Morris” (8 May 49)

The Whistler: “The Eager Pigeon” (28 Aug 49)

Escape: “Border Town” (13 Dec 49)

Escape: “Poison” (28 Jul 50)

Pete Kelly’s Blues: “Shy Woman” (29 Aug 51)

Dragnet: “Big Jolt” (5 Oct 52)

Dragnet: “Big Pill” (19 Oct 52)

This collection showcases Lucille Ball’s amazing spectrum of radio work, from comedy to mystery and everything in between.

As Lucy Ricardo, Lucille Ball brought a tomboy’s enthusiasm and a scatterbrained quality to the long-running television program I Love Lucy. She was the wacky wife making life difficult for her loving but exasperated husband Ricky Ricardo, played by Ball’s real-life husband Desi Arnaz. Long before I Love Lucy, Ball worked her way up Hollywood’s ladder, appearing in films and many radio shows, including dramatic roles in which she could show her acting chops.

In the summer of 1948, she accepted the role of Liz Cooper, a zany housewife who found herself facing comical situations, in the radio comedy My Favorite Husband. In the series, Liz Cooper’s husband George Cooper was played by veteran actor Richard Denning. But Lucille Ball also acted in episodes of the radio mystery Suspense and in Lux Radio Theatre’s adaptation of Broadway plays.

This collection of eleven episodes that aired from 1945 to 1951 includes:

From My Favorite Husband: “George’s Mother Visits”From Suspense: “A Shroud for Sarah”From Lux Radio Theatre: “The Dark Corners” with Lucille Ball and Mark StevensFrom “Bill Stern Sports Newsreel” with Lucille Ball as guestFrom Suspense: “A Little Piece of Rope”From The Screen Guild Players: “Too Many Husbands” with Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, and Lucille BallFrom The Screen Director’s Playhouse: “Bachelor Mother” with Lucille Ball and Robert CummingsFrom Suspense: “The Red-Headed Woman” with Lucille Ball and Desi ArnazFrom The Screen Director’s Playhouse: “Her Husband’s Affairs”From The Kraft Music Hall with Al Jolson and Lucille BallFrom The Screen Director’s Playhouse: “Miss Grant Takes Richmond”

This collection spotlights the iconic Orson Welles in nine of his works from the golden age of radio. These radio dramas, airing from 1938 through 1951, are among his very best and can be enjoyed for years to come.

Armed with the nickname the “Boy Genius,” Orson Welles graduated from the New York stage to expand his creative talents in the radio industry, hoping to use the audio medium to promote his stage ventures. Welles followed the practice followed by most stage actors: he played roles in hundreds of radio dramas produced by advertising agencies and the radio networks.

After creating a minor panic among radio listeners with his 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast, Welles attracted the attention of a movie studio that offered the actor the spotlights of tinsel town–resulting in Citizen Kane.

Making the move to California, Welles continued to appear on radio programs, became established as a Hollywood actor, and made numerous guest appearances on variety, comedy, and dramatic programs. In 1941 and again in 1946, he starred in a chilling story titled “The Hitch-Hiker,” scripted by Lucille Fletcher, which thirteen years later was adapted into a television episode of The Twilight Zone.

In the early 1950s, when Welles was temporarily blacklisted, he moved to England and narrated the radio program The Black Museum and starred in The Lives of Harry Lime, a prequel to the classic The Third Man, now regarded as one of the 100 best movies ever made.

In this collection:

The Mercury Theatre on the Air: “Three Short Stories”The Campbell Playhouse: “Mutiny on the Bounty”Suspense: “The Marvelous Barastro”The Black Museum: “The Champagne Glass”The Lux Radio Theatre: “The Break of Hearts”This Is My Best: “Diamond as Big as the Ritz”The Mercury Summer Theatre: “The Hitchhiker”The Lives of Harry Lime: “Art Is Long and Lime Is Fleeting”The Lives of Harry Lime: “In Pursuit of a Ghost”

William Conrad was a big part of the golden-age of radio. Not only did he star as US Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke (five episodes in this collection), but he appeared on hundreds of radio shows during the 1940s and 50s. Here’s sixteen radio broadcasts that either star William Conrad or have him in the supporting cast. You won’t have any problem identifying his deep baritone voice!

Strange Wills, 12/7/46 – “Portsmith Square”Favorite Story, 7/17/48 – “The Strange Mr. Bartleby”Rocky Jordan, 5/22/49 – “Desert Betrayal”Box, 13 6/12/49 – “The Dead Man Walks”Screen Director’s Playhouse, 7/8/49 – “The Big Clock”Richard Diamond, Private Detective, 11/12/49 – “$50,000 Heist”The Halls of Ivy, 1/20/50 – “Gangster Money”The Story of Dr. Kildare, 2/15/50 – “Colonel Beauregard, Paralysis”Night Beat, 2/20/50 – “A World All His Own”The Line-Up, 7/27/50 – “The Paradise Murder Case”Escape, 7/11/51 – “The Island”Gunsmoke, 8/9/52 – “The Kentucky Tolmans”Gunsmoke, 8/23/52 – “Shakespeare”Gunsmoke, 11/21/52 – “Fingered”Gunsmoke, 12/13/52 – “Post Martin”Gunsmoke, 12/20/52 Christmas Story

This collection contains twelve of the greatest Christmas radio shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio! You’ll hear Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll in Amos ‘n’ Andy, Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband, Laurence Olivier as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, Jim and Marian Jordan in Fibber McGee & Molly, Harold Peary in The Great Gildersleeve, Eve Arden as Connie Brooks on Our Miss Brooks, William Bendix as Chester A. Riley on The Life of Riley, Edmund Gwenn recreating his Academy Award performance as Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street, plus many more! Relive these classic Christmas radio shows from yesteryear and the legendary stars that made them great in this incredible collection.

Contents include:

Fibber McGee & Molly – “Radio Phonograph”The Great Gildersleeve – “Gildy’s Christmas Woes”The Kraft Music Hall with Bing Crosby – “Christmas Program of 1944”My Favorite Husband – “The Sleigh Ride”The Life of Riley – “Embezzled Money from the Family Christmas Club Account”Screen Director’s Playhouse – “Miracle on 34th Street”Grand Central Station – “Miracle for Christmas”Our Miss Brooks – “The Magic Christmas Tree”The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe – “The Case of the Slaughtered Santas”The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show – “Andy Plays Santa Claus”Theatre Royal – “A Christmas Carol”Suspense – “Out for Christmas”

This collection contains twelve of the greatest comedy shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio. You’ll hear Ozzie and Harriet Nelson in The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll as Amos ‘n’ Andy, Robert Young in Father Knows Best, Jim and Marian Jordan as Fibber McGee and Molly, William Bendix as Chester A. Riley in The Life of Riley, Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband, Eve Arden as English teacher Connie Brooks in Our Miss Brooks, plus many others, including The Fred Allen Show, The Aldrich Family, The Great Gildersleeve, Life with Luigi, and Lum & Abner.

Relive twelve of the best classic radio comedy shows from yesterday and hear the legendary stars who made them great in this incredible collection.

Contents include:

The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, “Housekeeping,” starring Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard

The Aldrich Family, “Henry Forgets to Mail a Letter,” starring Ezra Stone

The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show, “Andy Gets a Job as Charles Boyer’s Valet,” starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, with special guest Charles Boyer

Father Knows Best, “The Elusive Card Game,” starring Robert Young

Fibber McGee & Molly, “Jewelry Store Robbery,” starring Jim and Marian Jordan

The Fred Allen Show, “The Chicken Surplus,” starring Fred Allen, with special guest Orson Welles

The Great Gildersleeve, “Gildersleeve vs. Golf,” starring Willard Waterman

The Life of Riley, “Staying Out Late,” starring William Bendix

Life with Luigi, “The Traffic Light,” starring J. Carrol Naish

The Lum & Abner Show, “Baby Cedric the Mind Reader,” starring Chester Lauck and Norris Goff

My Favorite Husband, “Trying to Cash the Prize Check,” starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denning

Our Miss Brooks, “Trying to Sell a Trailer,” starring Eve Arden

Relive twelve of the best classic radio comedy shows from yesterday and the legendary stars that made them great in this incredible collection.

Here are twelve of the greatest American comedy shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio. You’ll hear Ozzie and Harriet Nelson in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll in Amos ‘n’ Andy, Ed Gardner as Brooklyn barkeep Archie on Duffy’s Tavern, Jim and Marian Jordan in Fibber McGee and Molly, William Bendix as Chester A. Riley in The Life of Riley, Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband, and Eve Arden as English teacher Connie Brooks in Our Miss Brooks, plus many others, including The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show, The Fred Allen Show, The Great Gildersleeve, Life with Luigi, and Lum and Abner.

Contents include:

The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, “The Antique Vase,” starring Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard

The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show, “Arrested as Spies,” starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll

Duffy’s Tavern, “Guest: Marie ‘The Body’ MacDonald,” starring Ed Gardner

The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show, “Guest: Martha Ray,” starring Edgar Bergen

Fibber McGee and Molly, “Too Much Energy,” starring Jim and Marian Jordan

The Fred Allen Show, “Guest: Carmen Miranda,” starring Fred Allen and Portland Hoffa

The Great Gildersleeve, “An Old College Chum Visits,” starring Harold Peary

The Life of Riley, “Win a Buick Contest,” starring William Bendix

Life with Luigi, “Getting Rid of His Cough,” starring J. Carrol Naish

The Lum and Abner Show, “Bulldogging Lum,” starring Chester Lauck and Norris Goff

My Favorite Husband, “George Attends a Teenage Dance,” starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denning

Our Miss Brooks, “No Uniforms for Opening Day,” starring Even Arden

This collection contains twelve of the greatest detective shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio. You’ll hear Sydney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe, Howard Duff as Sam Spade, Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, Dick Powell as Richard Diamond, Edmond O’Brien as Johnny Dollar, and Les Tremayne as Nick Charles, a.k.a. “The Thin Man”–plus many more gumshoes, including Boston Blackie, Philip Marlowe, The Fat Man, and others. With this incredible collection, relive twelve of the best classic radio detective shows from yesterday and the legendary stars who made them great.

Contents include:

The Adventures of Nero Wolfe, “The Case of the Vanishing Shells,” starring Sydney Greenstreet

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, “The August Lion,” starring Gerald Mohr

The Adventures of Sam Spade Detective, “The Bouncing Betty Caper,” starring Howard Duff

The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, “The Adventure of the Black Angus,” starring Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce

Boston Blackie, “Blackie Goes to Jail for Diamond Theft,” starring Dick Kollmar

Casey, Crime Photographer, “A Death in Lover’s Lane,” starring Staats Cottsworth

The Falcon, “The Case of the Babbling Brooks,” starring Les Damon

The Fat Man, “The Nightmare Murders,” starring J. Scott Smart

Let George Do It, “Journey into Hate,” starring Bob Bailey

Richard Diamond, Private Detective, “The Joyce Wallace Case,” starring Dick Powell

The Thin Man, “The Adventure of the Passionate Palooka,” starring Les Tremayne

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, “The Earl Chadwick Matter,” starring Edmond O’Brien

Here are twelve episodes from the greatest detective shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio, with the legendary stars that made them great. You’ll hear Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson, Sydney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe, Howard Duff as Sam Spade, Chester Morris as Boston Blackie, Dick Powell as Richard Diamond, and Jack Webb as Dragnet‘s Sergeant Joe Friday, plus more gumshoes like Philip Marlowe, Bulldog Drummond, Michael Shayne, and Johnny Dollar.

This collection includes:

The Adventures of Michael Shayne, Private Detective: “Big Voice Means Big Body” with Wally Mahr 5/7/45, The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: “The Promise to Pay” with Gerald Mohr 5/14/49, The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective: “The Dry Martini Caper” 8/1/48, Boston Blackie: “The Star of the Nile” with Chester Morris 7/14/44, Broadway Is My Beat: “Harold Clark” with Larry Thor 10/27/50, Bulldog Drummond: “Death Uses Disappearing Ink” with Ned Weaver 6/9/48, Dragnet: “The Big Bull” with Jack Webb 9/14/52, The New Adventures of Nero Wolf: “The Case of the Malevolent Medic” with Sydney Greenstreet 2/23/51, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: “The Great Gandolfo” with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce 10/22/45, Philo Vance, Detective: “The Movie Murder Case” with Jackson Beck 4/5/49, Richard Diamond, Private Detective: “Lynn Knight Wants Protection” with Dick Powell 8/6/49 and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: “The Big Scoop Matter” with Bob Bailey 11/11/56

This collection contains twelve of the greatest mystery shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio! You’ll hear Richard Widmark starring in Inner Sanctum Mysteries, Orson Welles in The Black Museum, Peter Lorre in Mystery in the Air, William Conrad in The Whistler, Ernest Chappell in Quiet, Please, Everett Clarke in Lights Out, Harry Bartell in Escape, and Fredric March in a tale well calculated to keep you in Suspense, plus such others as The Weird Circle, Molle Mystery Theatre, The Hall of Fantasy, and Crime Classics. Pull the covers up close and relive twelve of the best classic radio mystery shows from yesterday and the legendary stars who made them great in this incredible collection.

Contents include:

The Black Museum, “A Lady’s Shoe,” starring Orson Welles

Crime Classics, “Blackbeard’s Fourteenth Wife and Why She Was No Good for Him,” starring Lou Merrill

Escape, “The Second Class Passenger,” starring Harry Bartell

The Hall of Fantasy, “Death in the Bayous,” starring Richard Thorne

Inner Sanctum Mysteries, “The Shadow of Death,” starring Richard Widmark, with Paul McGrath (host)

Lights Out, “The Battle of the Magicians,” starring Everett Clarke, written and directed by Wyllis Cooper

Molle Mystery Theatre, “Female of the Species,” starring Lizabeth Scott

Mystery in the Air, “Beyond Good and Evil,” starring Peter Lorre

Quiet, Please, “The Thing on the Fourble Board,” starring Ernest Chappell

Suspense, “Actor’s Blood,” starring Fredric March and Hans Conried

The Weird Circle, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” by Edgar Allan Poe

The Whistler, “Whirlpool,” starring William Conrad

This collection contains twelve of the greatest mystery shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio, featuring the legendary stars that made them great.

You will hear Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Vincent Price, Basil Rathbone, Joan Fontaine, and other stars in classic radio episodes from such radio shows as Suspense, Escape, The Whistler, Inner Sanctum, The Screen Director’s Playhouse,and The Weird Circle, among others. Settle in to relive twelve of the best classic radio mystery shows from yesteryear:

“The Bloody, Bloody Banks of the Fall River” a.k.a. “The Story of Lizzie Borden,” with Lou Merrill (09/30/1953); Escape: “Present Tense,” with Vincent Price (01/31/1950); The Humphrey Bogart Theatre: “Dead Man,” with Humphrey Bogart (09/17/1949); Inner Sanctum: “Murder Faces East,” with Karl Swenson (12/13/1948); Murder at Midnight: “The Dead Come Back,” with Joseph Julian (06/14/1946); Screen Directors Playhouse: “The Uninvited,” with Ray Milland (11/18/1949); Screen Directors Playhouse: “The Spiral Staircase,” with Dorothy McGuire (11/25/1949); The Screen Guild Theatre: “Suspicion,” with Joan Fontaine, Basil Rathbone, and Nigel Bruce (01/04/1943); Suspense: “The Moment of Darkness,” with Peter Lorre (04/20/1943); Suspense: “Lazarus Walks,” with Orson Welles (10/19/1943); The Weird Circle: “The Thing in the Tunnel,” based on a story by Charles Dickens (01/19/1945); and The Whistler: “The Gentle Way,” with Howard McNear (07/23/1947).

This collection contains thirteen of the greatest science fiction shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio–including two episodes each of Dimension X, CBS Radio Workshop, and X Minus One, plus three episodes of Suspense and Escape. Radio’s finest actors perform before the microphones, including William Conrad, Parley Baer, Joseph Cotton, Hans Conried, Paul Frees, John Dehner, and Peggy Webber. You’ll be entertained by stories from such master science fiction writers as H. G. Wells, Aldous Huxley, Graham Doar, Mary Shelley, H. L. Gold, and George Steward. Relive thirteen of the best classic radio sf shows from yesteryear and the legendary stars that made them great in this incredible collection.

This collection contains twelve episodes from the greatest science fiction shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio, including a two-part Suspense episode starring Orson Welles written by Curt Siodmak, author of The Wolf Man, one of Universal Pictures’ biggest hits. Other classics include stories by H. G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, Frederick Pohl, and Murray Leinster on Dimension X, Escape, and X Minus One.

You’ll hear radio’s finest actors perform before the microphone, including Lawrence Olivier, Raymond Burr, John McIntire, Jeanette Nolan, Daws Butler, Alan Reed, June Foray, Joseph Kearns, John Dehner, Dick Beals, Betty Lou Gerson, and more.

Relive twelve of the best science fiction radio shows from yesteryear and the legendary stars that made them great in this incredible collection.

Included are the following shows and episodes:

Suspense, “Donovan’s Brain, Part 1” by Curt Siodmak 5/18/44

Suspense, “Donovan’s Brain, Part 2” by Curt Siodmak 5/25/44

The Sealed Book, “Beware of Tomorrow” by Robert Arthur and David Kogan 7/29/45

Escape, “Dream of Armageddon” by H. G. Wells 9/5/48

Mysterious Traveler, “The Big Brain” by Robert Arthur and David Kogan 3/14/50

Dimension X, “The Roads Must Roll” by Robert Heinlein 9/1/50

Theatre Royal, “The Country of the Blind” by H. G. Wells 1/2/54

Exploring Tomorrow, “First Contact” by Murray Leinster 1/15/58

X Minus One, “Requiem” by Robert Heinlein 10/27/55

X Minus One, “Tunnel under the World” by Frederick Pohl 3/14/56

CBS Radio Workshop, “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 5/25/56

CBS Radio Workshop, “A Pride of Carrots, or Venus Well Served” by Robert Nathan 9/14/56

This collection contains twelve of the greatest radio shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio! You’ll hear Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll as Amos and Andy, Howard Duff as Detective Sam Spade, Tom Conway as the immortal Sherlock Holmes, Jim and Marian Jordan as Fibber McGee and Molly, Willard Waterman as the Great Gildersleeve, Eve Arden as Connie Brooks of Our Miss Brooks, William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, Charles Laughton in a terrifying episode of Suspense, plus many more! Experience the classic radio shows from yesterday–and the legendary stars who made them great–in this incredible collection.

Contents include:

The Adventures of Sam Spade, “The Lazarus Caper,” starring Howard Duff

The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, “The Adventure of the Stuttering Ghost,” starring Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce

The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show, “Orchids Mix-Up,” starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, with special guest Adolphe Menjou

Dimension X, “The Lost Race,” starring Norman Rose as host

Escape, “Confession,” starring William Conrad

Fibber McGee & Molly, “Dodging the Finance Company,” starring Jim and Marian Jordan

The Great Gildersleeve, “Getting Leroy to Study and Grow Up,” starring Willard Waterman

Gunsmoke, “The Queue,” starring William Conrad, Howard McNear, and Parley Baer

Inner Sanctum Mysteries, “The Lonely Sleep,” starring Paul McGrath as host

Our Miss Brooks, “Who’s Going Where?” starring Eve Arden, Gale Gordon, and Richard Crenna

Suspense, “The Man Who Knew How,” starring Charles Laughton

The Whistler, “Conspiracy,” starring Bill Forman as host

This collection contains twelve of the greatest radio shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio. You’ll hear Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll in Amos ‘n’ Andy; Bob Bailey in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar; Jim and Marian Jordan in Fibber McGee and Molly; William Bendix as Chester A. Riley in The Life of Riley; Eve Arden as Connie Brooks in Our Miss Brooks; William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke; Edward G. Robinson in a terrifying episode of Suspense, plus many more. You can relive the classic radio shows from yesterday, featuring the legendary stars that made them great, in this incredible collection.

Contents include:

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, “The Girl from Pitchfork Corners,” starring Gerald Mohr

The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show, “Kingfish’s Brother-in-Law Visits,” starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll

Dragnet, “The Big Test,” starring Jack Webb

Fibber McGee and Molly, “Merchant Marines,” starring Jim and Marian Jordan

Gunsmoke “The Overland Express” starring William Conrad

Have Gun-Will Travel, “The Silver Queen,” starring John Dehner

The Life of Riley, “Thanksgiving with the Gillises,” starring William Bendix

Our Miss Brooks, “The Auction Mix-Up,” starring Eve Arden

Suspense, “My Wife, Geraldine,” starring Edward G. Robinson

The Whistler, “Package for Emily,” starring Bill Forman

X Minus One, “Nightfall,” by Isaac Asimov and starring Bob Hastings

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, “Rasmussen Matter,” starring Bob Bailey

This collection contains twelve of the greatest Western shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio, including many first episodes from their series. You’ll hear William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, John Dehner as the man called Paladin on Have Gun–Will Travel, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans on The Roy Rogers Show, Gene Autry on Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch, Raymond Burr as Captain Lee Quince on Fort Laramie, and Jack Mather in The Cisco Kid, plus the Western favorites The Adventures of Red Ryder, Tales of the Texas Rangers, Wild Bill Hickok, Frontier Gentleman, Luke Slaughter of Tombstone, and Frontier Town. In this incredible collection, you can relive twelve of the best classic radio Western shows from yesteryear with the legendary stars who made them great.

Contents include:

The Cisco Kid, “Secret Mission,” starring Jack Mather and Duncan Renaldo

Fort Laramie, “Playing Indian,” starring Raymond Burr

Frontier Gentleman, “The Education of Kid Yancy,” starring John Dehner

Frontier Town, “Return to Dos Rios,” starring Jeff Chandler

Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch, “Art Richards Killed with Gene’s Gun,” starring Gene Autry

Gunsmoke, “Kitty’s Kidnap,” starring William Conrad

Have Gun–Will Travel, “Heyboy’s Revenge,” starring John Dehner

Luke Slaughter of Tombstone, “Duel on the Trail,” starring Sam Buffington

The Adventures of Red Ryder, “The Range War,” starring Reed Hadley

The Roy Rogers Show, “The Night Riders,” starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

Tales of the Texas Rangers, “Clean Up,” starring Joel McCrea

Wild Bill Hickok, “Rustlers of Rattlesnake Bend,” starring Guy Madison and Andy Devine

Here are twelve episodes from the greatest Western shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio! You’ll hear William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke; John Dehner as the man called Paladin in Have Gun–Will Travel; Alan Ladd in a Western tale well-calculated to keep you in suspense; John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Gregory Peck reprising their film roles in Fort Apache, Destry Rides Again, and Yellow Sky; plus other great Western radio episodes, including four episodes of the high-adventure series Escape.

Relive six hours of the best classic radio Westerns of yesteryear and the legendary stars that made them great.

Escape: “The Pistol” with Gerald Mohr and Betty Lou Gerson (3 Jan 50), Escape: “Command” with Harry Bartell (26 May 50), Escape: “Sundown” with Sam Edwards (23 Jun 50), Escape: “Wild Jack Rhett” with John Dehner (17 Dec 50), Fort Laramie: “Never the Twain” with Raymond Burr (6 May 56), The Gulf Screen Guild Theatre: “Destry Rides Again” with Henry Fonda (2 Feb 41), Gunsmoke: “Lochinvar” with William Conrad (17 Oct 52), Have Gun–Will Travel: “Bitter Wine” with John Dehner (14 Jun 59), Screen Director’s Playhouse: “Yellow Sky” with Gregory Peck (15 Jul 49), Screen Director’s Playhouse: “Fort Apache” with John Wayne (5 Aug 49), Suspense: “A Killing in Abilene” with Alan Ladd (14 Dec 50), and Tales of the Texas Rangers: “Quick Silver” with Joel McCrea (12 Aug 50)

Crime Classics was a true-crime radio docudrama that aired on CBS from June 1953 to June 1954. Created, produced, and directed by Elliott Lewis, the program examined crimes and murders throughout history. Founded in Lewis’ own personal interest in famous murder cases, the program meticulously recreated the facts, atmosphere, and personages of the era in which the crime took place. Very little dramatic license was taken with the facts, but a touch of humor was added to the narration of the story to soften the tragedy.

The crimes dramatized spanned from ancient Greece to late nineteenth-century America. Some were famous assassinations, such as Abraham Lincoln and Julius Caesar, and others were more obscure cases, such as Bathsheba Spooner, who became the first woman tried and executed in America after killing her husband in 1778. Actor Lou Merrill played the host, Thomas Hyland, and the series featured radio’s finest supporting players.

Episodes include:

“The Checkered Life and Sudden Death of Colonel James Fisk Jr., Esq.” “The Shrapnelled Body of Charles Drew Sr.” “The Terrible Deed of John White Webster and His Crime That Shocked the Nation” “The Dread Events Surrounding Mr. Thrower’s Hammer” “The Axe and the Droot Family; How They Fared” “The Bloody, Bloody Banks of Fall River” “The Hangman and William Palmer. Who Won?” “Raschi among the Crocodiles and the Prank He Played” “The Killing Story of William Corder and the Farmer’s Daughter””If a Body Need a Body, Just Call Burke and Hare” “The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln” “John and Judith, Their Crime, and Why They Didn’t Get to Enjoy It”

In 1949 NBC brought handsome Irish American actor Brian Donlevy to the radio microphones as international troubleshooter Steve Mitchell in the spy series Dangerous Assignment. Mitchell worked for an unnamed US government intelligence agency, whose boss, “the Commissioner,” dispatched him to world trouble spots. Mitchell’s assignment was to solve problems in record time and in accordance with US interests.

The radio series ran from 1949 to 1953, due in part to Donlevy’s terrific performances and the mystique of the foreign locations and situations, which radio listeners could create in their own “theater of the mind.” During its last year on radio, Donlevy formed a production company to convert the series to television, producing thirty-nine episodes for syndication.

Enjoy twelve exciting, half-hour radio adventures of globe-trotting troubleshooter Steve Mitchell as he solves another dangerous assignment.

“Italy: Thropp Foundation Stolen Relief Supplies” [first show] (9 Jul 49), “Switzerland: International Blackmail” (20 Mar 50) ,”Egypt: The Renew Sheik Haroun’s Uranium Deal” (27 Mar 50), “Trinidad: Recover Underwater Demolition Secrets” (10 Apr 50), “Alaska: Investigate Missing Scientists” (24 Apr 50), “Paris: Find Szabo and the Briefcase” (3 May 50), “Sweden: Smash Lecture Circuit Spy Ring” (10 May 50), “Burma: Solve Kent Jackson’s Murder” (24 May 50), “Vienna: Recover Lost Troop Movement Documents” (2 Aug 50), “Africa: Defeat African Hate Campaign” (9 Aug 50), “Hatia: Recover ‘Operation Fish Hook’ Data” (6 Jan 51), and “Madrid: Find Missing Scientist Dr. Wieczek” (13 Jan 51).

Dimension X was one of old-time radio’s first adult science fiction shows. Though it only ran for a short time, the show made its mark by adapting short stories written by some of the best known masters of the genre–Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Kurt Vonnegut, and others. Writers Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts adapted the stories, occasionally contributing original scripts of their own.

The show, promising “adventures in time and space, told in future tense,” transported listeners from their everyday existence to new worlds and foreign landscapes, where alien encounters and rocket ship adventures were no more unusual than a stroll through a park.

Episodes include

“With Folded Hands” by Jack Williamson, starring Peter Capell and Philip Bourneuf “The Report on the Barnhouse Effect” by Kurt Vonnegut, starring Santos Ortega and Bob Hastings “No Contact” by George Lefferts and Ernest Kinoy, starring Wendell Holmes and Lawson Zerbe “Knock” by Fredric Brown, starring Arnold Moss and Luis van Rooten “Almost Human” by Robert Bloch, starring Santos Ortega and Rita Lynn “The Embassy” by Donald Wollheim, starring Joseph Julian and Berry Kroeger “The Green Hills of Earth” by Robert Heinlein, starring Ken Williams and Nelson Olmsted “Beyond Infinity” by Villiers Gerson, starring Les Damon and Lotte Stavisky “Hello Tomorrow” by George Lefferts, starring Nancy Olson and Santos Ortega “Time and Time Again” by H. Beam Piper, starring Peter Capell and Joe De Santis “Universe” by Robert Heinlein, starring Mason Adams and Peter Capell “Nightfall” by Isaac Asimov, starring John McGovern and Staats Cotsworth

“Adventures in time and space … told in future tense…” was famous narrator Norman Rose’s opening to the radio show with some of radio’s earliest science fiction, adapted from masters of the genre.

Dimension X was one of radio’s first adult science fiction series and made its mark by adapting short stories by acknowledged masters in the field, including Isaac Asimov, Clifford D. Simak, and William Tenn. Scriptwriters Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, who also contributed their own original scripts, adapted the original stories.

At the start of every broadcast, host Norman Rose promised us “adventures in time and space, told in future tense“ and you knew you were about to be transported from your everyday existence to somewhere completely different–maybe even a distant planet. Radio was a fertile medium for science fiction. It was easy to visit other planets, interact with aliens, or fly in a rocket ship simply by using your imagination. Dimension X debuted April 8, 1950, and completed its broadcast run September 29, 1951.

Included here are the following episodes:

“A Logic Named Joe” by Murray Leinster, with Joseph Julian and Roger DeKoven (07/01/1950), “The Man in the Moon” by George Lefferts, with Luis van Rooten and Santos Ortega (07/14/1950), “The Potters of Firsk” by Jack Vance, with Karl Weber and Raymond Edward Johnson (07/28/1950) , “Pyrigi’s Wonderful Dolls” by George Lefferts, with Les Damon and Joan Alexander (08/04/1950), “The Castaways” by Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, with Santos Ortega and Gregory Morton (08/11/1950), “Dr. Grimshaw’s Sanitorium” by Fletcher Pratt, with Karl Weber and Roger DeKoven (09/22/1950), “Shanghaied” by Ernest Kinoy, with Leon Janney and John Sylvester (11/12/1950), “The Last Objective” by Paul Carter, with Lawson Zerbe and Ralph Bell (06/03/1951), “Nightmare” by Stephen Vincent Benet, with Joseph Julian and Joe DeSantis (06/10/1951), “Pebble in the Sky” by Isaac Asimov, with Santos Ortega and Susan Douglas (06/17/1951), “Child’s Play” by William Tenn, with Karl Weber and Leon Janney (06/24/1951), and “Courtesy” by Clifford Simak, with Lawson Zerbe and William Zuckert (07/26/1951).

Set in Los Angeles, and starring Jack Webb as the stoic Sergeant Joe Friday, Dragnet is perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama of all time, having made extensive runs on both radio and television. Webb, also the producer of the show, took the series to new highs, insisting on realism in every facet of the program. The dialogue was clipped and sparse, taking its cue from hard-boiled crime fiction +a la Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The stories were fast-paced but thorough, making sure to chronicle every step of the police work from start to finish. As a result, Dragnet draws listeners deeply in to its world of gritty crime and dedicated cops, guaranteeing an exhilarating audio experience.

Episodes include

“Who Killed Helen Corday?” “The City Hall Bombing” “A Mad Killer at Large” “Sixteen Days of Jewel Thefts” “The Blitz Bandits” “The Mother-in-Law Murder” “The Spring Street Gang” “The Jade Thumb Rings” “The Big Gangster, Part 1” “The Big Gangster, Part 2” “The Big Smut Press””The Big Payoff”

Set in Los Angeles, and starring Jack Webb as the stoic Sergeant Joe Friday, Dragnet is perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama of all time, having made extensive runs on both radio and television. Webb, also the producer of the show, took the series to new highs, insisting on realism in every facet of the program. The dialogue was clipped and sparse, taking its cue from hard-boiled crime fiction +a la Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The stories were fast-paced but thorough, making sure to chronicle every step of the police work from start to finish. As a result, Dragnet draws listeners deeply in to its world of gritty crime and dedicated cops, guaranteeing an exhilarating audio experience.

Episodes included are: “The Big Friend,” “The Big Threat,” “The Big Saint,” “The Big Mailman,” “The Big Imposter,” “The Big Building,” “The Big Run,” “The Big Cliff,” “The Big Love,” “The Big Set-Up,” “The Big Seventeen,” and “The Big Waiter.”

Duffy’s Tavern was a radio comedy series featuring tavern manager Archie, his get-rich-quick schemes, and his well-known guest stars.

The familiar opening song “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” is interrupted by the ring of a telephone and actor Ed Gardner’s New Yorkese accent as he answered, “Hello, Duffy’s Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin’. Duffy ain’t here–oh, hello, Duffy.”

Duffy’s Tavern, first heard in 1940, was cocreated and written by Ed Gardner, who played Archie, the manager of Duffy’s Tavern, which was a flea-infested dive in New York City. Archie’s abuse of the English language quickly became a favorite feature of the show. Regulars on the show included Duffy’s man-hungry daughter Miss Duffy; Clifton Finnegan, the classic village idiot, played by Charlie Cantor; Eddie the waiter, played by Eddie Green; and Clancy the cop, played by Alan Reed. Duffy himself was never heard on the show; he was an absentee owner who left the daily operations to Archie.

Archie was always trying to get rich quick, and his harmless schemes often involved weekly guests who were well-known stars, including Shelley Winters and Vincent Price.

Some of radio’s sharpest comedy was penned for Duffy’s Tavern by top Broadway and TV veterans, including Abe Burrows, Larry Marks, Larry Gelbart, and Dick Martin.

From 1947 to 1954, CBS’s Escape was radio’s leading high-adventure anthology series. The show’s famous opening, delivered by Paul Frees and William Conrad, asked: “Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you … Escape!” This was followed by another announcer adding, “Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure!”

Many of the episodes, which included both original stories and adaptations, centered on a protagonist facing a life-or-death situation. Numerous actors made appearances on the show, including Elvia Allman, Eleanor Audley, Parley Baer, Harry Bartell, William Conrad, Ted de Corsia, John Dehner, Sam Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Lou Merrill, Howard McNear, Jeanette Nolan, Alan Reed, Bill Johnstone, Marvin Miller, Frank Lovejoy, Berry Kroeger, Vic Perrin, Elliott Lewis, Jack Webb, Peggy Webber, and Will Wright.

Episodes include “The Fourth Man,” starring William Johnstone; “The Most Dangerous Game,” starring Hans Conreid; “The Fall of the House of Usher,” starring Paul Frees; “Pollack and the Porrah Man,” starring Barton Yarborough; “Evening Primrose,” starring Elliott Lewis; “The Young Man with the Cream Tarts,” starring Paul Frees; “The Country of the Blind,” starring William Conrad; “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” starring Harry Bartell; “Wild Oranges,” starring William Conrad; “Back for Christmas,” starring Paul Frees; “Leinengen vs. the Ants,” starring William Conrad; and “Three Skeleton Key,” starring Vincent Price.

From 1947 to 1954, CBS’s Escape was radio’s leading high-adventure anthology series. The show’s famous opening, delivered by Paul Frees and William Conrad, asked: “Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you … Escape!” This was followed by another announcer adding, “Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure!”

Many of the episodes, which included both original stories and adaptations, centered on a protagonist facing a life-or-death situation. Numerous actors made appearances on the show, including William Conrad, Jack Webb, Elvia Allman, Eleanor Audley, Parley Baer, Harry Bartell, Ted de Corsia, John Dehner, Sam Edwards, Virginia Gregg, Lou Merrill, Howard McNear, Jeanette Nolan, Alan Reed, Bill Johnstone, Marvin Miller, Frank Lovejoy, Berry Kroeger, Vic Perrin, Elliott Lewis, Peggy Webber, and Will Wright.

Episodes included here are “Papa Benjamin,” “Three Good Witnesses,” “The Vanishing Lady,” “Snake Doctor,” “Ancient Sorceries,” “The Log of the Evening Star,” “A Shipment of Mute Fate,” “Action,” “The Brute,” “The Drums of the Fore and Aft,” “The Match,” and “John Jock Todd.”

Escape was radio’s leading anthology series of high-adventure, airing on CBS radio from 1947 to 1954.

The series’ well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain with an introduction spoken by Paul Frees and William Conrad: “Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you … Escape!” Following the opening theme, a second announcer, usually Roy Rowan, would add, “Escape–designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure!”

Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits. Actors starring in the series include Victor Mature, Frank Lovejoy, Ed Begley, Parley Baer, William Conrad, Jack Webb, John Dehner, and many others.

Music was supplied by Del Castillo, organist Ivan Ditmars, Cy Feuer, Wilbur Hatch, and Leith Stevens.

Included in this collection are the following episodes:

“Finger of Doom” (19 Mar 1949)

“Confidential Agent” (2 Apr 1949)

“When the Man Comes, Follow Him” (9 Apr 1949)

“The General Died at Dawn” (16 Apr 1949)

“The Great Impersonation” (23 Apr 1949)

“Action” (21 Jul 1949)

“The Fortune of Vargas” (21 Sep 1949)

“Figure a Dame” (20 Dec 1949)

“Seeds of Greed” (27 Dec 1949)

“The Vanishing Lady” (10 Jan 1950)

Treasure, Inc.” (24 Jan 1950)

“Two If by Sea” (14 Feb 1950)

A hilarious collection of episodes from the beloved radio show Fibber McGee & Molly

Excitable and loose-lipped Fibber means well enough, but it’s not always easy for even-tempered Molly to keep him in check and out of trouble. Of course, the long suffering Mrs. McGee’s penchant for patience makes it all the funnier when she’s finally pushed to the point of exasperation. What both McGees have in common is that they’re fabulously friendly, opening their door at seventy-nine Wistful Vista to welcome all sorts of interesting guests, including Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, and neighborly nemesis Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve.

Jim and Marian Jordan star in this radio comedy classic, in which warm-heartedness usually wins out over hot-headedness. A safe bet for laughs–as long as you don’t go too close to the closet.

Episodes include: “McGee’s Fish Fry,” “Fifteenth Wedding Anniversary,” “Fibber’s Gossip Column,” “Fibber Is Too Sick for Housework,” “Killer Canova’s Autograph,” “The Rummage Sale,” “Raking Leaves,” “Halloween Party at Gildersleeve’s House,” “The Wistful Vista Auto Show,” “Hiawatha,” “Traffic Ticket,” and “The Overdue Library Book.”

Fibber McGee & Molly had a long and successful run on radio from 1935 to 1959, featuring its creators and stars, married couple Jim and Marian Jordan. Living in the fictional midwestern city of Wistful Vista, Fibber was an American teller of tall tales and a braggart, usually to the exasperation of his long-suffering wife, Molly, who tried to keep him out of trouble. Fibber’s weekly schemes would be interrupted by, inspired by, and often played upon the people of Wistful Vista, a set of regular players and characters that were as beloved as the stars of the program.

Life in their town of Wistful Vista followed a well-developed formula but was always fresh. The show began as a comic reflection of Depression-era America, but as time went on and the shadows of war came over the nation, the show again caught the mood of the country. World War II was fought on the home front in Wistful Vista as surely as anywhere else in America, but here they had the benefit of Fibber’s somewhat addled perspective on life.

Fort Laramie was an adult-oriented Western radio series that aired Sunday afternoons on the CBS radio network in 1956. Produced and directed by Gunsmoke‘s Norman Macdonnell, this realistic Western drama depicted life at Fort Laramie, an important stop on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, as well as a staging point for various military excursions during the nineteenth century. In 1849 the fort was taken over by the United States Army to protect the many wagon trains of migrant travelers on the trail. The fort was located across the North Platte River from the town of Laramie, at the mouth of the Laramie River, in Wyoming Territory.

The radio series starred Raymond Burr as Lee Quince, captain of the cavalry. Regulars included Vic Perrin, Harry Bartell, Jack Moyles, Howard McNear, Sam Edwards, John Dehner, John McIntire, Virginia Gregg, James Nusser, Parley Baer, and Barney Phillips. Most of the scripts were written by John Meston, Kathleen Hite, Les Crutchfield, and John Dunkel. Amerigo Marino supplied the music.

These twelve exciting episodes aired in February and April 1956 and include:

“Squaw Man””The Woman at Horse Creek””Boredom””The Captain’s Widow””The Shavetail””Hattie Pelfrey””The Beasley Girls””The Coward””The Lost Child””Stage Coach Stop””The New Recruit””Capture”

Here are twelve episodes of the adventures of an English journalist in the American West of the 1870s in this show from the golden age of radio.

Frontier Gentleman was a radio western series aimed at adults that aired on CBS radio for one season in 1958. It starred radio veteran John Dehner as J. B. Kendall, a reporter for the London Times. The series followed the adventures of the freelance journalist as he roamed the western United States in search of stories for his newspaper. Kendall often crossed paths with well-known historical figures, such as Jesse James, Calamity Jane, and Wild Bill Hickok. And to survive in those turbulent times, he became as proficient with a gun as he was with a pen.

The announcer opened each show with the following:

“Herewith, an Englishman’s account of life and death in the West. As a reporter for the London Times, he writes his colorful and unusual accounts. But as a man with a gun, he lives and becomes a part of the violent years in the new territories. Now, starring John Dehner, this is the story of J. B. Kendall, frontier gentleman.”

Frontier Gentleman was written, produced, and directed by Anthony Ellis. The supporting cast included Harry Bartell, Lawrence Dobkin, Virginia Gregg, Joseph Kearns, Jack Moyles and Vic Perrin. Music was by Wilbur Hatch and Jerry Goldsmith.

This collection includes the following episodes: “A Meeting with Sitting Bull” (9 Feb 58), “The Claim Jumpers” (9 Mar 58), “The Actress” (23 Mar 58), “Aces and Eights” (20 Apr 58), “Duel for a School Marm” (1 Jun 58), “Sheriff Belljoy’s Prisoner” (8 Jun 58), “The Well” (15 Jun 58), “A Wagon Full of Cats” (10 Aug 58), “The Fastest Gun That Never Was” (17 Aug 58), “A Horse for Kendall” (14 Sep 58), “The Preacher” (19 Oct 58), and “The Rainmaker” (26 Oct 58).

“Around Dodge City and in the territory out West, there’s just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that’s with a US marshal and the smell of … Gunsmoke!”

Radio Westerns were strictly for kids until 1952, when Gunsmoke hit the radio airwaves. The stories were grim, the deaths brutal, and life on the plains was harsh. Radio audiences had never heard anything like Gunsmoke, and they made it the number one Western on the radio. It soon made a successful transition to television, becoming the longest-running dramatic series in television history. Join William Conrad (Marshal Matt Dillon), Parley Baer (Deputy Chester Proudfoot), Georgia Ellis (Kitty Russell), and Howard McNear (Doc Adams) in the continuing “story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it,” Matt Dillon, United States marshal.

Episodes include “Tara,” “Fingered,” “Kitty,” “I Don’t Know,” “The Old Lady,” “Cavalcade,” “Indian Scout,” “Doc Quits,” “Thick ‘n’ Thin,” “Box o’ Rocks,” “Pretty Mama,” and “Brother Whelp.”

“Around Dodge City and in the territory out West, there’s just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that’s with a US marshal and the smell of … Gunsmoke!”

Radio Westerns were strictly for kids until 1952, when Gunsmoke hit the radio airwaves. The stories were grim, the deaths brutal, and life on the plains was harsh. Radio audiences had never heard anything like Gunsmoke, and they made it the number one Western on the radio. It soon made a successful transition to television, becoming the longest-running dramatic series in television history. Join William Conrad (Marshal Matt Dillon), Parley Baer (Deputy Chester Proudfoot), Georgia Ellis (Kitty Russell), and Howard McNear (Doc Adams) in the continuing “story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it,” Matt Dillon, United States marshal.

Episodes include:

“Cain””The Round-Up””Meshougah””Trojan War””Absalom””Cyclone””Pussy Cats””Quarter-Horse””Jayhawkers””Gonif””Bum’s Rush””Tacetta”

Have Gun–Will Travel follows the adventures of Paladin, a soldier of fortune turned hired gunfighter, played by John Dehner. Paladin prefers to settle problems without violence, yet when forced to fight, he excels.

It’s 1875, and Paladin lives at the swanky Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, where he dresses in formal wear, eats gourmet food, attends the opera, has a Chinese valet named Hey Boy, and enjoys the company of beautiful women. When working as a gun-for-hire, he dresses entirely in black, uses calling cards, and wears a holster decorated with a chess knight emblem–a symbol that refers both to his name and to his occupation as a champion-for-hire. One of radio’s best-loved Westerns, Have Gun–Will Travel ran from 1958 until 1960 and was a successful offshoot of the highly rated television show.

The twelve suspenseful episodes in this collection aired in 1959 and are “The Return of Doctor Thackeray,” “Winchester Quarantine,” “The Monster of Moon Ridge,” “Death of a Young Gunfighter,” “The Five Books of Owen Deaver,” “Maggie O’Banion,” “The Gunsmith,” “The Colonel and the Lady,” “Gun-Shy,” “In an Evil Time,” “Blind Courage,” and “Roped.”

Have Gun–Will Travel follows the adventures of Paladin, a soldier of fortune turned hired gunfighter, played by John Dehner. Paladin prefers to settle problems without violence, yet when forced to fight, he excels.

It’s 1875, and Paladin lives at the swanky Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, where he dresses in formal wear, eats gourmet food, attends the opera, has a Chinese valet named Hey Boy, and enjoys the company of beautiful women. When working as a gun-for-hire, he dresses in all black, uses calling cards, and wears a holster decorated with a chess knight emblem. This symbol refers to his name and his occupation as a champion-for-hire. One of radio’s best-loved Westerns, Have Gun–Will Travel aired on the radio from 1958 until 1960 and was a successful offshoot of the highly rated television show.

Episodes include “Strange Vendetta,” “The Road to Wickenberg,” “Ella West,” “The Outlaw,” “The Hanging Cross,” “No Visitors,” “Helen of Abajinian,” “The Englishman,” “Three Bells to Perdido,” “The Teacher,” “A Matter of Ethics,” and “Killer’s Widow.”

Three of the episodes were written by Gene Roddenberry. Hey Boy is played by Ben Wright.

Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBC’s Blue Network in January 1941. It featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned, and the famous “creaking door” slowly began to open. Every week, Inner Sanctum Mysteries told stories of ghosts, murderers, and lunatics. Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Claude Rains. What made Inner Sanctum Mysteries unique among radio horror shows was its host, a slightly sinister sounding fellow originally known as “Raymond.” The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from the Crypt-Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson was the show’s host until 1945; Paul McGrath took over as host until the show left the air in 1952. Producer Hiram Brown would utilize the creaking door again in the 1970s, when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

Episodes include:

The Voice on the Wire, starring Lesley Woods

Trapped on an island, a voice on the telephone warns a woman that she has only four hours to live. Originally aired November 29, 1944.

Desert Death, starring Horace Braham

Two men driving across the desert pick up three hitchhikers who turn out to be escaped Nazi prisoners. Originally aired January 9, 1945.

Death Is an Artist, starring Lee Bowman

Four dead cats and a man are found in an apartment–all with their throats slit or their heads cut off. Originally aired January 23, 1945

Death in the Depths, starring Santos Ortega

A deep-sea diver meets some old friends down in a shipwreck. Originally aired February 6, 1945.

No Coffin for the Dead, starring Les Tremayne

Who killed Peter Frame? The killer may be an insane person who is unable to walk. Originally aired February 20, 1945.

The Bog Oak Necklace, starring Miriam Hopkins

The discovery of a necklace around a skeleton is the key to a forty-year-old murder. Originally aired April 10, 1945.

The Black Art, starring Simone Simone

A murderer about to be hanged is rescued by a woman with strange powers. Originally aired May 15, 1945.

Dead to Rights, starring Elspeth Eric

An inept couple murders for profit and then flees when the net closes in on them. Originally aired May 22, 1945.

Death across the Board, starring Raymond Massey

A murdering madman is battling the police as a chess game–with dead bodies galore! Originally aired June 5, 1945.

Portrait of Death, starring Lesley Woods

A cursed painting invariably kills its owner. Originally aired June 12, 1945.

Dead Man’s Deal, starring Larry Haines

A poker game has murder as the stakes. Originally aired August 28, 1945.

The Murder Prophet, starring Wendy Barrie

Who killed Claudia’s first husband … and her second … and the man who loved her? Originally aired September 4, 1945.

Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBC’s Blue Network in January 1941. It featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history: an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned, and the famous “creaking door” slowly began to open. Every week, Inner Sanctum Mysteries told stories of ghosts, murderers, and lunatics. Produced in New York, the cast usually consisted of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Claude Rains. What made Inner Sanctum Mysteries unique among radio horror shows was its host, a slightly sinister sounding fellow originally known as “Raymond.” The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from the Crypt-Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson was the show’s host until 1945; Paul McGrath took over as host until the show left the air in 1952. Producer Hiram Brown would utilize the creaking door again in the 1970s, when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

Episodes include

“Blood of Cain””Skeleton Bay””The Man Who Couldn’t Die””I Walk in the Night””Death Is a Double-Crosser””Strands of Death””Lady with a Plan””Make Ready My Grave””You Could Die Laughing””Detour to Terror””Eight Steps to Murder””I Want to Report a Murder”

Every week, Inner Sanctum Mysteries told a story of ghosts, murderers, and lunatics. Taking its name from a popular series of mystery novels, Inner Sanctum Mysteries debuted over NBC radio’s Blue Network in January 1941 and featured one of the most memorable and atmospheric openings in radio history as an organist hit a dissonant chord, a doorknob turned, and a creaking door slowly began to open.

Inner Sanctum Mysteries was produced in New York, the cast usually consisting of veteran radio actors, with occasional guest appearances by such Hollywood stars as Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Claude Rains. What made Inner Sanctum Mysteries unique among radio horror shows was its host, a slightly sinister sounding fellow originally known as “Raymond.” The host had a droll sense of humor and an appetite for ghoulish puns, and his influence can be seen among horror hosts everywhere, from the Crypt Keeper to Elvira. Raymond Edward Johnson was the show’s host until 1945; Paul McGrath took over as host until the show left the air in 1952. Producer Himan Brown would utilize the creaking door again in the 1970s, when he produced and directed The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

In this collection are the following episodes and the date they aired on radio:

“Corridor of Doom” (23 Oct 45)

“The Wailing Wall” (6 Nov 45)

“Boomerang” (20 Nov 45)

“The Dark Chamber” (11 Dec 45)

“The Confession” (22 Jan 46)

“Death of a Doll” (18 Oct 48)

“The Devil’s Fortune” (31 Jan 49)

“The Unburied Dead” (16 May 49)

“The Corpse without a Conscience” (20 Jun 49)

“Beneficiary: Death” (17 Apr 50)

“No Rest for the Dead” (13 Jul 50)

“Twice Dead” (6 Nov 50)

Jeff Regan, Investigator came to CBS Radio on July 10, 1948, with Jeff Regan as a tough private eye working for a detective agency run by Anthony J. Lyon. Regan introduced himself on each show with “I get ten a day and expenses. They call me the Lyon’s Eye.”

Lyon, portrayed by Wilms Herbert, ran the International Detective Bureau, a small private investigations firm in downtown Los Angeles, with often oversized ambitions. Regan handled rough assignments from Lyon, with whom he was not always on good terms. Actor Jack Webb played Regan as tough and tenacious, with a dry sense of humor. When Webb left the show in December 1948, the series ended but was resurrected in October 1949 with a new cast. Frank Graham starred as Jeff Regan, and Frank Nelson portrayed his boss, Anthony J. Lyon. This version lasted until August of 1950.

Enjoy twelve episodes from this terrific hard-boiled detective series, with the first four episodes starring Jack Webb and the remaining eight starring Frank Graham.

“The Diamond Quartet” (14 Aug 48), “The Man Who Came Back” (21 Aug 48), “The Lawyer and the Lady” (4 Dec 48), “The Gambler and His Lady” (11 Dec 48), “Some Enchanted Carhop” (21 Dec 49), “It All Comes Back to Me Now” (26 Apr 50), “They’ve Got More Than Coffee in Brazil” (18 Jun 50), “No Sad Clowns for Me” (25 Jun 50), “She’s Lovely, She’s Engaged, She Eats Soybeans” (9 Jul 50), “A Fire for Romano” (30 Jul 50), “There’s Nothing like a Pork Chop When Supper Rolls Around” (6 Aug 50), “Gentlemen Prefer Horses” (27 Aug 50).

The detective series Let George Do It came to radio in 1946. It starred Bob Bailey as George Valentine, ex-GI and detective for hire. Clients came to Valentine’s office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad:

Personal notice: Danger’s my stock-in-trade. If the job’s too tough for you to handle, you’ve got a job for me, George Valentine. Write full details.

Valentine’s secretary was Claire Brooks, a.k.a. Brooksie. Other regulars included Brooksie’s kid brother, Sonny; George’s nemesis on the police force, Lieutenant Riley; and elevator operator and handyman in George’s apartment building, Caleb.

Casts came from radio’s top tier of actors, including William Conrad, John Dehner, Lurene Tuttle, Harry Bartell, and Hans Conreid, to name a few. Don Clark directed scripts by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. Sponsored by Standard Oil, Let George Do It was last heard in 1955.

The twelve exciting episodes in this collection aired in 1948 and 1949:

“The Body in the Closet” (12 Apr 48), “The Penthouse” (19 Apr 48), “The Pack of Boys” (26 Apr 48), “The Tunnel” (3 May 48), “The Island in the Lake” (31 May 48), “Have Some Excitement” (7 Jun 48), “The Bodyguard” (14 Jun 48), “The Unfit Mother” (21 Jun 48), “One against the City” (7 Feb 49), “Destination Dead End” (14 Feb 49), “The Roundabout Murder” (7 Mar 49), and “The Motive Is Murder” (14 Mar 49)

Created by Frances and Richard Lockridge, Mr. & Mrs. North were fictional amateur detectives appearing in novels, motion pictures, radio, and television. The Norths were not professional detectives, but simply a well-to-do New York couple who stumbled across a murder or two every week and felt compelled to solve the crimes. A 1942 MGM movie starred William Post Jr. and George Burns’ wife, Gracie Allen. That same year, it debuted on radio and was soon generating top ratings with a weekly audience of twenty million fans. Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost originally voiced the radio roles of Jerry and Pam North. Later, Richard Denning and Barbara Britton were cast as the Norths, staying on for its successful transition to television. The characters were later resurrected, in spirit, with ABC’s Hart to Hart, the 1979 through 1984 crime drama about a wealthy husband (Robert Wagner) and wife (Stefanie Powers).

Episodes include: “Clarinet in the Country,” “Die Hard,” “Wheel of Chance,” “Bet on Murder,” “Family Affair,” “No Vacation from Murder,” “House of Hate,” “Brother Danny,” “Masquerade,” “Death Is Forever,” “Collector’s Item,” and “Cry Foul.

Mr. District Attorney came to radio in 1939 and focused on a crusading DA named Paul Garrett. Created, written, and directed by former law student Ed Byron, the series was inspired by the early years of New York governor Thomas E. Dewey. It was Dewey’s public war against racketeering which led to his election as governor and enabled him to run for the presidency of the United States. Phillips H. Lord, the creator of Gang Busters, helped Byron develop the concept and coined the title. Dwight Weist was radio’s first Mr. District Attorney. With the help of his sidekick, Len Harrington, and his secretary, Edith Miller, Mr. District Attorney proved each week to be “champion of the people–guardian of our fundamental rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!” Near the end of its radio run in the early 1950s, the series made a transition to television with the current radio cast reprising their roles.

Episodes included are: “The Fifteen-Year-Old on Trial,” “The Joy Ride Murder,” “The Murderous Hitchhiker,” “The Staircase Killer,” “The Charity Killer,” “The Hit and Run Killer,” “The Desert Killer,” “The Missing Corpse,” “The Bank Killer,” “Knifing in the Park,” “Hungry Hobo,” and “Phony Confessions.”

Produced in New York, Murder at Midnight came to ABC Radio in September of 1946 and featured horror stories with supernatural twists. Raymond Morgan, a former Long Island minister who had left the cloth for the excitement of radio, was the foreboding host who each week uttered the lines: “Midnight, the witching hour when the night is darkest, our fears the strongest, and our strength at its lowest ebb. Midnight, when the graves gape open and death strikes.” Over its six-year run in syndication, Murder at Midnight had a relatively high production budget which helped it pull respectable audience shares. The supporting players were New York’s best, including Lawson Zerbe, Karl Swenson, Berry Kroeger, Lon Clark, Elspeth Eric, and Raymond Edward Johnson. Anton M. Leader directed the series and the scripts were by top writers, including Joe Ruscoll, Max Ehrlich, and Robert Newman.

Episodes included are “The Dead Hand,” “The Man Who Was Death,” “The Secret of XR3,” “Wherever I Go,” “Trigger Man,” “Death’s Goblet,” “The Heavy Death,” “Nightmare,” “The Creeper,” “Murder’s a Lonely Business,” “The House Where Death Lived,” and “The Kabbalah.”

My Favorite Husband hit the CBS Radio airwaves in 1948, starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denning as Liz and George Cugat–who later became Liz and George Cooper when confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change. Set in the fictitious town of Sheridan Falls, the show follows the happily married couple, residents of 321 Bundy Drive, through mischief and various predicaments, from faked illnesses to trouble with exes. George, a banker, and Liz, a housewife, were billed as “two people who live together and like it.” The beloved series eventually transitioned to television in 1953, recast with Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson, as Lucille Ball was busy filming the megahit I Love Lucy with her real-life husband Desi Arnaz.

Episodes include “The Quiz Show,” “Katy and Roscoe,” “Piano and Violin Lessons,” “April Fool’s Day,” “Liz and George Reminisce,” “The Surprise Halloween Party,” “Vacation Time,” “Learning to Drive,” “Selling Dresses,” and “George Is Messy.

Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman auditioned for the roles of a married couple in a radio pilot for a new comedy, My Favorite Husband, based on the novel Mr. and Mrs. Cugat by Isabel Scott Rorick. The concept was very well received and within a few weeks the weekly sitcom was established. Bowman was replaced by Richard Denning and during the first season, the Cugats were renamed the Coopers, who lived “in a little white two-story house” in the bustling, small suburb of Sheridan Falls. Sometimes forgetful, always loveable, Liz Cooper was constantly embroiled in situations that took an unexpected turn and showcased Lucille Ball’s flair for comedy and her wonderful sense of timing. Liz was the wacky wife; George Cooper was her ultra-conventional banker-husband. Character actor Gale Gordon, who would work with Ball numerous times over the decades, appeared on a regular basis as Rudolph Atterbury, George’s boss. The program’s sponsor was General Foods, makers of Jell-O. The dessert was heavily promoted during the commercial spots and, predictably, the Coopers’ maid Katy (played by actress Ruth Perrott) always enjoying making Jell-O. Jess Oppenheimer produced and directed the series and wrote most of the radio scripts. When CBS asked Lucille Ball to come up with an idea for a television show, she and Oppenheimer reworked the concept into I Love Lucy, replacing Richard Denning with the comedienne’s real-life husband, Desi Arnaz.

Episodes included are: “The Portrait Artist,” “Over Budget–Beans,” “Marriage License Error,” “The Absolute Truth,” “Speech For Civic Organization,” “Valentine’s Day,” “Gum Machine–Demand Your Rights,” “Horseback Riding,” “Time Budgeting,” “Overweight,” “Liz Changes Her Mind,” “The Elves,” “Superstition,” “Is There Another Woman?,” “Liz Teaches Iris to Drive,” and “Liz and the Green Wig.”

Some might remember My Friend Irma as the movie that served as the launching pad for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Others recall a television show of the same name. But My Friend Irma actually originated as a radio sitcom that aired on CBS from 1947 to 1954. The show chronicled the daily high jinks of an extremely dim-witted blonde stenographer named Irma Peterson and her screwball friends. One of Irma’s best friends was her logical and very dependable roommate, and narrator of the show, Jane Stacy. Irma dated Al, a deadbeat, barely on the right side of the law, who hadn’t held a job in years. Jane dated her millionaire boss, Richard Rhinelander, and dreamed of one day marrying him. Created by Cy Howard, My Friend Irma was a top-rated radio comedy that escalated to film, television, and even a comic strip.

Episodes include:

“The Reward” “The Eyes Have It” “Dancing Fools” “Double Surprise” “The Professor’s Concerto” “It’s All Relative” “Fortune Raised” “Double Troubles” “Buy or Sell” “Election Connection” “Dinner Date” “Manhattan Magazine”

There were several newspaper-based dramas during radio’s golden age, including Box 13, Let George Do It, and Casey, Crime Photographer, but Night Beat was a cut above. It was the story of Randy Stone, hard-nosed Chicago Star newsman, and his quest for the human-interest story behind the headlines. It starred Frank Lovejoy as Stone, who came to vivid life thanks to expert scripts by Russell Hughes, E. Jack Neuman, John Michael Hayes (who would later write the Hitchcock film classics To Catch a Thief and Rear Window), and Larry Marcus.

Lovejoy’s distinctive voice and approach to the role, combined with top performances by veteran radio actors, gave Night Beat a noir style that listeners loved. The stories ran the gamut from lighthearted to tragic, and through it all, Randy Stone would narrate the story and comment on it from beginning to end–often with a hard-edged cynicism. Night Beat aired on NBC Radio from 1950 to 1952. This collection features twelve episodes.

Episodes include

“Zero””The Night Is a Weapon””The Girl in the Park””A World All His Own””Number 13″”Am I My Brother’s Keeper?””Flowers on the Water””The Man Who Claimed to Be Dead””I Know Your Secret””Tong War””Mentallo, the Mental Marvel””The Elevator Caper”

This radio drama stars Frank Lovejoy in twelve half-hour episodes that aired in 1950, during the golden age of radio.

Among several newspaper-based dramas during radio’s golden age, Night Beat was a cut above the others. It was the story of Randy Stone, a hard-nosed Chicago Star newsman, and his quest for the human-interest story behind the headlines.

Frank Lovejoy starred as Randy Stone, who came to vivid life thanks to expert scripts by Russell Hughes, Larry Marcus, E. Jack Neuman, and John Michael Hayes, who would later write the Hitchcock film classics To Catch a Thief and Rear Window. Lovejoy’s distinctive voice and approach to the role, combined with top performances by veteran radio actors, gave Night Beat a noir style that listeners loved. The stories ran the gamut from lighthearted to tragic, and through it all, Randy Stone, in a hard-boiled yet sensitive portrayal, would narrate the story and comment on it from beginning to end–often with a hard-edged cynicism.

Night Beat aired on NBC radio from 1950 to 1952. This collection includes the following episodes:

The Devil’s Bible (24 Jul 50)

A City at Your Fingertips (31 Jul 50)

Old Blind Pop (7 Aug 50)

Gunner’s Last Fight (14 Aug 50)

Doctor’s Secret (21 Aug 50)

Old Home Week (4 Sep 50)

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted (11 Sep 50)

Wanna Buy a Story? (18 Sep 50)

A Case of Butter (25 Sep 50)

The Kenny Day Amnesia Case (6 Oct 50)

Einar Pierce and Family (13 Oct 50)

Judge Arnold’s Daughter (20 Oct 50)

Our Miss Brooks was a highly popular radio sitcom that was eventually adapted for both television and film. It starred Hollywood film and New York stage veteran Eve Arden, who specialized in playing the wisecracking friend. She often did it better than anyone else, receiving an Oscar nomination for the 1945 film Mildred Pierce. Since her skill with the wicked one-liner was beginning to lead to typecasting, Arden signed on for the lead in radio’s Our Miss Brooks to find a new image.

The series centers on Connie Brooks, a sharp-witted, lovable English teacher at fictional Madison High School. Between gentle wisecracks, Miss Brooks dotes on nerdish student Walter Denton, played by Richard Crenna, and frequently locks horns with crusty, cranky principal Osgood Conklin, played by Gale Gordon. Many plot lines revolve around Miss Brooks’ longing for Philip Boynton, the school’s bashful biology teacher.

The radio series lasted until 1957, having already made a successful jump to television in 1952 where Arden won a Primetime Emmy for Best Female Star in a Regular Series.

Episodes include “Snap Magazine’s Model American Teacher”; “Stretch Snodgrass and the English Exam”; “Peanuts, the Great Dane”; “Arguments, Arguments”; “Christmas in July”; “Mrs. Davis’ Pensacola Popovers”; “Miss Brooks Takes the Blame”; “Chaperone for the Cereal Bowl Game”; “Connie’s Letter to ‘Sandy Clawsss'”; “Babysitting for New Year’s Eve”; “Professorship at State U”; and “Making Dinner for Mr. Boynton.”

Our Miss Brooks was a situation comedy show heard on radio and seen on television and films starring Oscar winner Eve Arden. Her skill with the wicked one-liner and acid aside had begun to lead to typecasting so, to find a new image, Arden signed on for the lead in radio’s Our Miss Brooks. The series centered on Connie Brooks, a smart, sharp-witted, lovable English teacher at fictional Madison High School. Between gentle wisecracks, Miss Brooks doted on nerdish student Walter Denton and frequently locked horns with crusty, cranky Principal Osgood Conklin. Many plot lines revolved around Miss Brooks’ longing for Philip Boynton, the school’s bashful biology teacher. Our Miss Brooks made a successful jump to TV in 1952 while the radio series lasted until 1957.

Episodes included are: “Old Clothing,” “Poor Heat,” “Student Government Day,” “Head of the English Department,” “The Frog,” “Stretch Has a Crush,” “Faculty Dance, New Hairdo,” “Cafeteria Boycott,” “Clay City High Wants Brooks,” “April Fool’s Party,” “Wake Up Plan,” and “Working for Easter Outfit.”

These twelve exciting episodes take you to the San Francisco waterfront as you follow Pat Novak as he solves some shady crimes.

Pat Novak, for Hire is set on the San Francisco waterfront and depicts the city as a dark, tough-as-nails jungle where the main goal is survival. Not a detective by trade, Novak owns a boat shop on Pier 19 where he rents out boats and does odd jobs to earn money while dishing out sarcasm and colorful metaphors.

The set up begins with an unknown person asking Novak to perform an unusual or risky job. In need of money, Novak reluctantly accepts and soon finds himself in hot water, usually involving a dead body and a femme fatale. Then Police Inspector Hellman, played by Raymond Burr, is called to the case. Hellman hates Novak and badly wants to lock him up and throw away the key. While solving the crime, Novak usually relies on the help of his friend, drunken ex-doctor Jocko Madigan, played by Tudor Owen.

Pat Novak, for Hire began in 1946 as a regional radio show produced at KGO in San Francisco and starred Jack Webb in the title role, with scripts by Webb’s friend Richard L. Breen. When Webb moved to Los Angeles in 1947, Ben Morris replaced Webb as Novak. In a later network version, Jack Webb resumed the role, along with Breen as scriptwriter. Pat Novak, for Hire lasted until 1949, when Jack Webb turned his attention to the series that would make him a star, Dragnet.

The twelve episodes in this collection, with the actor in the role of Pat Novak and the date of its broadcast, are the following:

“John Brown Gambling Ring” with Ben Morris (3 August 1947), “The Mysterious Set of Books” with Ben Morris (10 August 1947), “Death in Herald Square” with Ben Morris (30 November 1947), “The Jack of Clubs” with Jack Webb (20 February 1949), “Marcia Halpern” with Jack Webb (27 February 1949), “Reuben Callaway’s Pictures” with Jack Webb (13 March 1949), “Rory Malone” with Jack Webb (20 March 1949), “Joe Candano” with Jack Webb (27 March 1949), “Shirt Mix-Up at the Laundry” with Jack Webb (9 April 1949), “Sam Tolliver” with Jack Webb (23 April 1949), “Rita Malloy” with Jack Webb (1 May 1949), “Geranium Plant” with Jack Webb (15 May 1949).

Philo Vance is a fictional character featured in numerous crime novels written by S. S. Van Dine published in the 1920s and 1930s, and who was later revived on radio and in film and television. During that time, Vance was immensely popular. He was portrayed as a stylish, even foppish, dandy, a New York bon vivant with a highly intellectual bent–America’s Sherlock Holmes. He worked closely with his secretary and right-hand woman, Ellen Deering, and his pal John Markham, New York County district attorney–not that Vance needed any help solving a crime.

Episodes included: “The Back-Stage Murder Case,” “The Argus Murder Case,” “The Bulletin Murder Case,” “The Cover-Girl Murder Case,” “The Black-Jack Murder Case,” “The Star-Studded Murder Case,” “The Murdock Murder Case,” “The Vanilla Murder Case,” “The Tea Cup Murder Case,” “The Jackpot Murder Case,” “The Ivory Murder Case,” and “The Mimic Murder Case.”

Created by Blake Edwards, Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC Radio in 1949, starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film Murder, My Sweet and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on the radio. Diamond was a lighthearted, New York-based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionaire girlfriend, Helen Asher. Its theme, “Leave It to Love,” was whistled by Powell at the beginning of each episode.

Powell’s production company, Four Star Television, produced a version of Richard Diamond, Private Detective for CBS in 1957. The lead role went to David Janssen, who would later gain fame as Dr. Richard Kimble on The Fugitive. Sam, Diamond’s beautiful secretary, was only ever shown from the waist down. Those beautiful legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore, as well as other actresses.

Episodes include “The Ralph Chase Case,” “The Stolen Purse and Counterfeit Ring,” “The Betty Moran Case,” “The Rene Benay Protection Case,” “The John Blackwell Case,” “A Christmas Carol,” “The Doug Saxon Case,” “Timothy the Seal,” “The Elaine Tanner Case,” “The Jewel Thief,” “The Cop Killer,” and “The Louis Spence Case.”

Created by Blake Edwards of The Pink Panther fame, Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC radio in 1949 starring film actor and singer Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film Murder, My Sweet and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on radio.

Edwards’ hard-boiled private detective scripts for Richard Diamond, Private Detective became NBC’s answer to Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, reflecting Edwards’ unique humor.

Richard Diamond was a lighthearted, New York-based private eye who enjoyed poking fun at the cops and singing songs to his millionairess girlfriend, Helen Asher, played by Virginia Gregg. The show’s theme song, “Leave It to Love,” was whistled by Powell at the beginning of each episode.

Powell’s production company, Four Star Television, later produced a TV version of Richard Diamond, Private Detective for CBS in 1957, with David Janssen cast in the role of Diamond.

The exciting episodes in this collection are:

“The Fred Sears Murder Case” 6/19/49, “Tom Waxman Bomb Case” 6/26/49, “Charles Walsh to Kill Diamond” 7/9/49, “The Gibson Murder Case” 10/8/49, “The Newspaper Boy and the Ring” 10/15/49, “Death and the Package” 4/5/50, “Pete Rocco Breaks Jail” 10/4/50, “The Nancy Lang Case” 11/8/50, “The Marilyn Connors Case” 1/12/51, “A Man with a Scar” 1/19/51, “The Rollins Case” 1/26/51, and “The Gunsmith Case” 6/28/53

Here are twelve adventure-packed episodes of the radio drama Rocky Fortune.

This 1953 radio adventure series stars Frank Sinatra as Rocco Fortunato, a.k.a. Rocky Fortune, a footloose and fancy-free young man of several talents. In constant need of employment, Rocky accepts odd jobs from the Gridley Employment Agency–jobs that typically lead him into situations where he tracks down criminals and ends up rescuing people in trouble–especially women. The job done, Rocky ultimately needs to find more work.

In a wink to his own career, Sinatra infused his role with a witty, tongue-in-cheek quality. The one other recurring role was that of Hamilton J. Finger, a not very bright but solid and dependable police sergeant voiced by Barney Phillips.

The show’s creator, George Lefferts, was also one of its primary scriptwriters, along with Ernest Kinoy. The final episode of Rocky Fortune aired March 30, 1954, less than a week after Sinatra won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Private Angelo Maggio in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity.

Episodes included are: “Oyster Shucker at Fifty Fathoms,” “Steven in a Rest Home,” “The Rodeo Murder Mystery,” “The Museum Murder,” “The Football Fix,” “The Catskills Cover-Up,” “One Husband Too Many,” “A Sitting Duck for Death,” “Honor among Thieves,” “The Twice Murdered Man,” “Psychological Murder,” and “Rocket Racket.”

Rogue’s Gallery was an old-time radio program starring Dick Powell as Richard Rogue, a private detective who trailed luscious blondes, protected witnesses, and did whatever else detectives do to make a living. What set this show apart from others in the genre was that midway through every episode, Rogue would invariably end up getting knocked out and spending his dream-time in acerbic conversation on Cloud 8 with his subconscious self–named Eugor–“Rogue” spelled backwards. The presence of the alter ego served to give Rogue enough information for his final deduction. Eugor would appear cackling like the host of The Hermit’s Cave while imparting some vital information our hero had overlooked. Rogue would then awaken with a vague idea of what to do next.

Directed by Dee Englebach, with music by Leith Stevens, Rogue’s Gallery employed radio’s best supporting actors including: Lou Merrill, Gerald Mohr, Gloria Blondell, Tony Barrett, Lurene Tuttle, and Peter Leeds. Dick Powell left the series in 1946 and would later star in Richard Diamond, Private Detective. Rogue’s Gallery continued on until 1952 starring Barry Sullivan and later Paul Stewart.

Rogue’s Gallery, Vol. 1 features the following twelve episodes:

“Blondes Prefer Gentlemen” (10/18/1945)”Murder with Muriel” (10/25/1945)”Little Drops of Rain” (11/8/1945)”Lovely Little Old Lady” (11/29/1945)”Triangle of Death” (2/21/1946)”A Fortune in Furs” (12/20/1945)”The Stark McVey Case” a.k.a. “Murder at Minden” (1/3/1946)”The Pamela Leeds Case” a.k.a. “A Will in Question” (1/17/1946)”Carlotta, the Magnificent” a.k.a. “Special Added Attraction” (1/31/1946)”Death House Legacy” (4/4/1946)”The Star of Savoy” (6/23/1946)”Cabin on a Lake” (7/7/1946)

A thrilling collection of episodes from the classic radio show Suspense

Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion. It aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962 and is considered by many to be the best mystery drama series of the golden age. Often referred to as “Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills,” the show focused on suspenseful thrillers starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by the “Man in Black” who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that usually had an unseen twist or two at the very end. Hollywood’s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on Suspense, including Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, and Orson Welles. Scripts were by John Dickson Carr, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury, and many others.

Episodes include:

In “The Cave of Ali Baba,” Lord Whimsey infiltrates a secret crime society, only to be caught; can they eliminate Lord Whimsey without destroying the society? In “The Hitchhiker,” a cross-country motorist sees the very same hitch-hiker all along his way! In “The Kettler Method,” Dr. Kettler has been in an asylum since his “Kettler Method” killed his last patient; then Kettler finds a visiting girl with a headache a prime candidate for brain surgery. In “A Passage to Benares,” the strange death of a recent bride in a Hindu temple prompts Henry Pajoli to investigate. In “One Hundred in the Dark,” a group of men in a writer’s club discuss the mystery story and how it is more compelling in the creation than in the resolution. In “The Lord of the Witch Doctors,” the Germans seize control of parts of Africa by having one of their own pose as a witch doctor, frightening the natives into submission.In “Will You Make a Bet with Death?,” a man matches his life against his evil stepfather for $25,000.In “Menace in Wax,” a reporter discovers Nazi spies are using playing cards in the hands of wax dummies in Madame Trousseau’s Wax Museum to relate coded messages.In “The Body Snatchers,” a pair of “resurrection men” are paid by a doctor for a fresh corpse; when the attempted body snatching goes wrong, the grave robbers and an accomplice decide to make their own corpse. In “The Doctor Prescribed Death,” a psychologist goes to extreme lengths to prove his theory that a suicidal individual can easily be convinced to commit murder instead.In “In Fear and Trembling,” a hypochondriac is sure that her husband and his lover want to kill her, so she decides to act first.In “Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble,” a famous actress is killed by a long blade through her eye while watching Macbeth.

Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion. It aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962 and is considered by many to be the best mystery drama series of the golden age. Often referred to as “Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills,” it focused on suspenseful thrillers starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by the “Man in Black” who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that usually had an unseen twist or two at the very end. Hollywood’s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on Suspense, including Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, and Orson Welles. Scripts were written by John Dickson Carr, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury, and many others. Running more than twenty years, Suspense aired nearly one thousand radio broadcasts. It made the transition to television in 1949, but it was on radio that Suspense enjoyed its glory days.

Included are the following episodes:

“The Man without a Body,” starring George Zucco”A Friend to Alexander,” starring Robert Young”The King’s Birthday,” starring Dolores Costello”Marry for Murder,” starring Lillian Gish”Statement of Employee Henry Wilson,” starring Gene Lockhart”Thieves Fall Out,” starring Gene Kelly”Dime a Dance,” starring Lucille Ball”A World of Darkness,” starring Paul Lukas”Sorry, Wrong Number,” starring Agnes Moorehead”Portrait without a Face,” starring George Coulouris”The Visitor,” starring Eddie Bracken”The Ten Grand,” starring Lucille Ball

Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion. It aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962, and is considered by many to be the best mystery/drama series of the golden age. Often referred to as “Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills” it focused on suspenseful thrillers starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by the “Man in Black” who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that, at the very end, usually had an unseen twist or two. Hollywood’s finest actors jumped at the chance to appear on Suspense, including Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Alan Ladd, Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, and Orson Welles. Scripts were by John Dickson Carr, Lucille Fletcher, James Poe, Ray Bradbury, and many others. Running more than twenty years, Suspense aired nearly one thousand radio broadcasts. It made the transition to television in 1949, but it was on radio that Suspense enjoyed its glory days.

“Texas, more than 260,000 square miles! And fifty men who make up the oldest and most famous law enforcement body in North America!”

Like its predecessor, Dragnet, Tales of the Texas Rangers adapted actual police cases for its broadcasts. Leading each week’s investigation was Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, portrayed by movie star Joel McCrea. Because the stories were set in the present, Pearson used the latest scientific techniques to identify criminals. Unlike Joe Friday, Pearson didn’t have a regular partner, typically working with the local sheriff instead. Working environments would range from big cities to isolated wilderness areas that could only be reached on horseback. Produced and directed by Stacy Keach Sr., Tales of the Texas Rangers ran from 1950 to 1952 and featured radio’s top supporting actors. Its popularity spawned a 1955 Saturday morning television series starring Willard Parker and Harry Lauter broadcast on CBS until 1958.

Included are the following episodes:

“Apache Peak””The Trigger Men””Play for Keeps””Dead or Alive””The Hatchet””Sweet Revenge””Death Plant””Pick-Up””Last Stop””Cover-Up””Three Victims””Misplaced Person”

The first volume of the perennial favorite sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet

Ozzie Nelson was Red Skelton’s bandleader on the populare radio series The Red Skelton Show. Ozzie’s wife, Harriet Hilliard, was Skelton’s singer. When Skelton was drafted in March of 1944, Ozzie was prompted to create his own family sitcom radio series. The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet launched on CBS Radio October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. It starred Ozzie as the head of the Nelson household that included his wife, Harriet, and their two boys, David and Ricky. Each week, the Nelsons found themselves in another amusing situation, much to the delight of the listeners. In 1952, Ozzie brought The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet to ABC television, attracting an even larger audience, becoming synonymous with the ideal of 1950s American family life. Bowing out in 1966, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet became the longest-running live-action sitcom in US television history.

Episodes included are: “The Fight,” “Exaggeration Troubles,” “Haunted House,” “Ozzie Is in a Rut,” “The Boy’s Night Out,” “Worrying about Worrying,” “New Radio Phonograph,” “New Year’s Resolution,” “Card Tricks,” “Night Game,” “The Compliment,” and “Have a Cigar.”

Raymond Chandler’s celebrated hard-boiled private eye, Philip Marlowe, made his radio debut in 1945 on the Lux Radio Theatre with “Murder, My Sweet,” starring Dick Powell. Two years later, NBC brought the character to the air in his own weekly series starring Van Heflin, The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe. A summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show, the series was short-lived, ending September 9, 1947. CBS revived it in 1948 with The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, starring Gerald Mohr. With producer/director Norman MacDonnell at the helm, the series captured the largest audience in radio by 1949. Scripts were by Gene Levitt, Robert Mitchell, Mel Dinelli, and Kathleen Hite. While Chandler’s distinctive similes were largely lacking, the strong, dry, sarcastic narration was there, and the way Mohr delivered his lines made you forget they weren’t written by Chandler. Supporting Mohr were radio’s best, including Howard McNear, Parley Baer, Lawrence Dobkin, Virginia Gregg, and Lou Krugman. One of the best detective shows on the air at the time, it lasted until 1951.

Episodes include:

“Red Wind” (aired September 26, 1948): In the first show in the CBS series, Marlowe finds himself dealing with dames, bullets, and a double cross.

“The Persian Slippers” (aired October 3, 1948): Marlowe tries to find a woman who has left her husband and disappeared.

“The Panama Hat” (aired October 10, 1948): Marlowe becomes involved with a gambling debt, an attempted murder, a kidnapping, a redheaded Dragon Lady, and the mysterious man in the Panama hat.

“The Heart of Gold” (aired October 24, 1948): A $50 bill in advance and a heart-shaped locket lead to an apparent suicide and an old secret.

“The Hard Way Out” (aired November 28, 1948): Murder at the Quigg & Slater Construction Company, and a surprising amount of luxury on $175 a week!

“The Restless Day” (aired January 8, 1949): An inventor killed in an explosion aboard his yacht hires Marlowe to find his killer!

“The Black Halo” (aired January 15, 1949): Marlowe is hired to find the missing Julia Perry. Murder and a suicide complicate the case and add a surprise ending.

“The Orange Dog” (aired January 22, 1949): Multiple murders and a strange Chinese statuette lead Marlowe down a trail of violence and counterfeiter’s plates.

“The Easy Mark” (aired January 29, 1949): Marlowe is hired to find a blackmailer but must soon solve a murder.

“The Long Rope” (aired February 5, 1949): Marlowe gets involved with a man with a bad heart, a cash register receipt, a corpse, and $30,000!

“The Green Flame” (aired March 26, 1949): Marlowe must solve a murder in Hollywood and thwart a blackmailer.

“Mexican Boat Ride” (aired July 30, 1949): A girl who hated the water took a boat ride to old Mexico.

Raymond Chandler’s celebrated hard-boiled private eye, Philip Marlowe, made his radio debut in 1945 on the Lux Radio Theatre with “Murder, My Sweet,” starring Dick Powell. Two years later, NBC brought the character to the air in his own weekly series starring Van Heflin, The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe. A summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show, the series was short-lived, ending September 9, 1947. CBS revived it in 1948 with The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, starring Gerald Mohr. With producer/director Norman MacDonnell at the helm, the series captured the largest audience in radio by 1949. Scripts were by Gene Levitt, Robert Mitchell, Mel Dinelli, and Kathleen Hite. While Chandler’s distinctive similes were largely lacking, the strong, dry, sarcastic narration was there, and the way Mohr delivered his lines made you forget they weren’t written by Chandler. Supporting Mohr were radio’s best, including Howard McNear, Parley Baer, Lawrence Dobkin, Virginia Gregg, and Lou Krugman. One of the best detective shows on the air at the time, it lasted until 1951.

Episodes include “The Eager Witness,” “The Bum’s Rush,” “The High-Collared Cape,” “The Sea Horse Jockey,” “The Hiding Place,” “The Cloak of Kamehameha,” “The Fox’s Tail,” “The Bedside Manners,” “The Uneasy Head,” “The Face to Forget,” “The Gold Cobra,” and “The Last Wish.”

Reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart’s character Rick Blaine from the classic movie Casablanca, Rocky Jordan relocated to Cairo after being ousted from St. Louis by his enemies. Now living in North Africa, Rocky Jordan owns and operates a gin joint, the Cafe Tambourine, and finds himself involved in an assortment of mystery and intrigue endeavors while unwillingly moonlighting as a crime fighter.

Cairo police chief Sam Sabaaya is an Egyptian Muslim who strictly adheres to the law. When a crime is committed, Jordan is often the prime suspect, which forces Jordan to solve the crime so he can clear his name and save his neck.

The show was first heard in 1945, with Jack Moyles starring as Rocky Jordan. The show’s writers, Larry Roman and Gomer Cool, strove to create an authentic North African feel to the show by featuring Middle Eastern theme music by Richard Aurandt and using actual street names from Cairo.

Episodes included are: “Up in Flames,” “Red Stands for Blood,” “The St. Louis Blues,” “Consignment for Naples,” “Lady in Disguise,” “The Race,” “The Coward of Mutakhan,” “Barlache,” “Gold Fever,” “Cairo Vendetta,” “The Gum Queen,” and “A Stranger to the Desert”

Dashiell Hammett created the character Sam Spade for his crime story The Maltese Falcon. Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail, and an unflinching determination to exact his own justice. For most people, Spade is most closely associated with actor Humphrey Bogart, who played him in the third and most famous film version of The Maltese Falcon. In 1946 one of radio’s top producers, William Spier, brought Sam Spade to the airwaves in a radio show starring newcomer Howard Duff, who took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character. Duff remained Spade until 1951.

Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the new series, and Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) played Spade’s secretary, Effie Perrine. In 1947 the program won scriptwriters Jason James and Bob Tallman an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery Writers of America.

Starring Howard Duff with Lurene Tuttle, William Conrad, Sandra Gould, Hans Conried, June Havoc, and many more, these episodes include “The Bail Bond Caper,” “The Rushlight Diamond Caper,” “The Wheel of Life Caper,” “The Missing Newshawk Caper,” “The Mad Scientist Caper,” “The Vapio Cup Caper,” “The Hot One Hundred Grand Caper,” “The Dick Foley Caper,” “The Insomnia Caper,” “The Quarter-Eagle Caper,” “The Stopped Watch Caper,” and “The Farmer’s Daughter Caper.”

Sam Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail, and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. The character of Sam Spade was created by writer Dashiell Hammett in 1930 for his crime story The Maltese Falcon, and for most people, the character is closely associated with actor Humphrey Bogart, who played Sam Spade in the third and most famous film version of the story.

In 1946 William Spier, one of radio’s top producers, brought Sam Spade to the airwaves starring newcomer Howard Duff with Lurene Tuttle (and occasionally Sandra Gould) as Effie Perrine, Spade’s secretary. Duff took a more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character than did the novel or movie. Dashiell Hammett lent his name to the radio series but did little more than cash the checks sent to him for the privilege.

Scriptwriters were Jason James and Bob Tallman, who received an Edgar Award in 1947 for best radio drama from the Mystery Writers of America. Howard Duff starred as Spade until 1951 when Stephen Dunne took the role. Starring here are Starring Howard Duff or Stephen Dunne as Sam Spade, with Lurene Tuttle, Paul Frees, Wally Maher, Verna Felton, Shirley Mitchell, Lou Merrill, and others.

Episodes included in this collection are “The Bow Window Caper” (9 Nov 47), “The Critical Author Caper” (15 Aug 48), “The Sugar Kane Caper” (3 Oct 48), “The Overjord Caper” (5 Jun 49), “The Sure Thing Caper” (9 Feb 51), “The Soap Opera Caper” (16 Feb 51), “The Shot in the Dark Caper” (23 Feb 51), “The Crab Louis Caper” (2 Mar 51), “The Spanish Prisoner Caper” (9 Mar 51), “The Kimberly Cross Caper” (23 Mar 51), “The Vendetta Caper” (30 Mar 51), and “The Civic Pride Caper” (13 Apr 51).

The Aldrich Family was a popular situation comedy that was heard on radio and seen in films, on television, and in comic books. Teenager Henry Aldrich, the creation of playwright Clifford Goldsmith, was an endearingly bumbling kid growing awkwardly into adolescence. Episodes revolved around Henry’s misadventures with girls, his family, and his friends.

Henry Aldrich was portrayed on radio by twenty-something Ezra Stone when The Aldrich Family launched as a summer replacement program for The Jack Benny Show on NBC in 1939. He kept the lead role until 1942, followed by others, including Bobby Ellis, who became the last Henry Aldrich in 1952.

The show had a top-ten rating within two years of its launch, landing it solidly alongside The Jack Benny Show and Bob Hope’s The Pepsodent Show. Earning $3,000 a week, Goldsmith was the highest paid writer in radio, and his show became a prototype for the teen-oriented situation comedies that followed on radio and television.

Included in this collection are twelve episodes from 1952 and 1953:

“The Barter System” (21 Sep 1952)

“He-Man or Mouse?” (28 Sep 1952)

“Class Debt Chairman” (5 Oct 1952)

“The Big Deal” (12 Oct 1952)

“The Debating Team” (16 Nov 1952)

“The Thanksgiving Turkey” (22 Nov 1952)

“Henry’s Father is Sick” (30 Nov 1952)

“The Lost Watch” (7 Dec 1952)

“The English Project” (11 Jan 1953)

“Love Letter Mix-Up” (25 Jan 1953)

“Latin Homework” (15 Mar 1953)

“The Delivery Bicycle” (26 Apr 1953)

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll made their radio debut on January 12, 1926, as the comedic blackface characters Sam ‘n’ Henry. On March 19, 1928, they introduced Amos ‘n’ Andy, which went on to become one of the most popular and longest-running programs in radio history. During the height of its popularity, almost the entire country listened to the fifteen-minute, Monday-through-Friday adventures of Amos and Andy. Department stores open in the evening piped in the broadcasts so shoppers wouldn’t miss an episode; movie theaters scheduled their features to end just prior to the start of Amos ‘n’ Andy so they too could pipe it in.

The characters were members of the Mystic Knights of the Sea Lodge, of which George Stevens was “the Kingfish.” Amos and Andy ran the Fresh-Air Taxi Company, with the more stable, married Amos doing most of the work while Andy chased girls. One of the best-remembered sequences was the time Andy almost married Madame Queen. In 1943, after 4,091 quarter-hour episodes, it switched to a half-hour weekly comedy. While the five-a-week show often had a quiet, easygoing feeling, the new version was a brassy Hollywood-style production, complete with studio audience, full cast of supporting actors, and full orchestra. Many of the half-hour programs were written by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, later the writing team for Leave It to Beaver and The Munsters. In the new version, Amos became a minor character to the more dominant Andy and Kingfish duo. The new Amos ‘n’ Andy Show endured for the next twelve years as one of the most popular weekly programs on radio.

Episodes include “Uncle,” “Piano Lesson,” “Libel,” “Trunk,” “Matrimonial,” “Thanksgiving,” “Friendship,” “Counterfeiters,” “Baby Carriage,” “Laundry Business,” “New Year’s Eve,” and “Soldier.”

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll made their radio debut January 12, 1926, as the comedic, blackface characters Sam ‘n’ Henry. On March 19, 1928, they introduced Amos ‘n’ Andy, which went on to become one of the most popular and longest-running programs in radio history. During the height of the show’s popularity, almost the entire country listened to the fifteen-minute adventures of Amos and Andy that aired Monday through Friday. Department stores open in the evening piped in the broadcasts so shoppers wouldn’t miss an episode; movie theaters scheduled their features to end just prior to the start of Amos ‘n’ Andy so they, too, could pipe it in.

The characters were members of the Mystic Knights of the Sea Lodge, of which George Stevens was the “Kingfish.” Amos and Andy ran the Fresh-Air Taxi Company, with the more stable, married Amos doing most of the work while Andy chased girls. In 1943, after 4,091 quarter-hour episodes, it switched to a half-hour weekly comedy. While the five-a-week show often had a quiet, easygoing feeling, the new version was a brassy Hollywood-style production, complete with a studio audience, a full cast of supporting actors, and a full orchestra. Many of the half-hour programs were written by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, later the writing team for Leave It to Beaver and The Munsters. In the new version, Amos became a minor character to the more dominant Andy and Kingfish duo. The new Amos ‘n’ Andy show lasted for the next twelve years as one of radio’s most popular weekly programs.

Episodes include:

“Violets””Culture””Diamond Ring””Sunday, Monday or Always””Madam Queen, Part 1″”Madam Queen, Part 2″”Insurance, Part 1″”Insurance, Part 2″”Amnesia””Get Acquainted””Chauffeur””Secretary”

Here are twelve more episodes of the antics of Amos, Andy, and the Kingfish, along with guest stars, including Jack Benny, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, and “Wizard of Oz” Frank Morgan.

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll made their radio debut on January 12, 1926, as the comedic blackface characters Sam ‘n’ Henry. On March 19, 1928, they introduced Amos ‘n’ Andy, which went on to become one of the most popular and longest-running programs in radio history. During the height of its popularity, almost the entire country tuned in to their adventures.

The characters were members of the Mystic Knights of the Sea Lodge, of which George Stevens was “the Kingfish.” Amos and Andy ran the Fresh-Air Taxi Company, with the more stable, married Amos doing most of the work while Andy chased girls. In 1943, after 4,091 quarter-hour episodes, it switched to a half-hour weekly comedy. Many of the half-hour programs were written by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, later the writing team for Leave It to Beaver and The Munsters. Amos ‘n’ Andy became a nightly disc-jockey program from 1954 to 1960. It later was the basis for a comic strip, a television show, and a film.

Included here are the following half-hour episodes: “Nieces” (11/04/1933); “Employment Agency” with guests Jack Benny and Eddie “Rochester” Anderson; “DeWitt (11/17/1944); “Cleaning Fluid” with guests Hugh Herbert and Adolphe Menjou (11/14/1944); “Fountain Pen” (12/01/1944); “Brazilian Brass” with guest Frank Morgan (12/08/1944); “Andy Fakes Suicide” (12/15/1944); “Christmas Show” (12/22/1944); “New Year’s Show” (01/29/1944); “Victor Moore Show” with guest Victor Moore (01/05/1945); “George Washington Desk” (01/12/1945); “Adoption Show” (01/19/1945)

Here are twelve episodes of the classic mystery radio show, The Black Museum.

The Black Museum was a weekly radio crime drama produced for the BBC in 1951 and based on real-life cases from the files of Scotland Yard. Orson Welles, who was living in London at the time, was both host and narrator for these dramatized stories based on Scotland Yard’s Black Museum, which housed its collection of murder weapons and various ordinary objects once associated with historical crime cases. Walking through the museum, Welles would pause at one of the exhibits, and his description of an artifact served as a device to lead into a tale of terror or a brutal murder.

In the weekly opening, Welles states: “The Black Museum…a repository of death. Here in the grim stone structure on the Thames, which houses Scotland Yard, is a warehouse of homicide, where everyday objects…a woman’s shoe, a tiny white box, a quilted robe…all are touched by murder.”

The series aired in the United States in 1952 on the Mutual Network. It was produced by Harry Alan Towers. Ira Marion wrote the scripts, and Sidney Torch composed and conducted the music for the series.

“A Blued .22 Caliber Pistol”, “A Wool Jacket”, “The Canvas Bag”, “An Open-End Wrench”, “The Tan Shoe”, “The Notes”, “The Spotted Bed Sheet”, “An Old Wooden Mallet”, “A Champagne Glass”, “The Small White Boxes”, “The Raincoat”, and “The Gas Receipt”

George Burns and Gracie Allen were one of the biggest comedy duos the world has ever known. Enjoy sixteen of their greatest radio broadcasts!

When real life husband and wife George Burns and Gracie Allen worked together in vaudeville, George was the comic and his wife Gracie had the straight lines. They switched their roles upon discovering that Gracie’s delivery got a bigger laugh than George’s punch lines. The duo became a big hit on vaudeville and in films so when radio beckoned, they delivered. Their first regular radio work were as supporting players on CBS’s The Guy Lombardo Show in the 1930s. When Lombardo switched to NBC, George and Gracie took over the show. Early on, the two did not play a married couple on the air. For a long time they continued a ‘flirtation act’ with George as Gracie’s most persistent suitor. But when the show’s ratings began to sag toward the end of the 1930s, George decided it was time their real-life marriage was written into the show. The new format included husband-and-wife characters in a situation comedy setting. George’s instincts were spot-on and The Burns & Allen Show went on to new heights, eventually making a successful transition to television.

9/9/40 – “George Owes Money to the Telephone Company”9/16/40 – “George is Looking for a Guest”10/14/40 – “What’s Wrong with Gracie?”10/21/40 – “Prof. Thorndyke Studies Gracie”10/28/40 – “Tries to Get Out of Doing the Broadcast”11/4/40 – “Tries to Impress Fifi”11/11/40 – “Gracie Writes a Musical”11/18/40 – “Thanksgiving Show”3/3/42 – “Gracie Testifies in Accident Case”3/10/42 – “The Fowlers Won’t Leave”10/3/44 – “Gracie Protects Bill Goodwin from a Gold-Digger”2/5/48 – “Hunting Rabbits for a Fur Coat”2/10/49 – “George and Sam Spade Jailed w/ guest, Howard Duff”5/12/49 – “Worried about TV w/ guest, Marie McDonald”9/28/49 – “Courting Gracie Again”2/8/50 – “Gracie’s Bent Fender”

The Cinnamon Bear is arguably the best holiday series ever developed for radio. First heard in 1937, this wonderful Christmas fantasy adventure was created and written by Glanville Heisch (with the help of his wife, Elisabeth) for children of all ages. It all starts with twins Judy and Jimmy Barton just before Christmas. Someone–or something–has taken the “Silver Star” for the top of their Christmas tree. The very Irish teddy bear, Paddy O’Cinnamon, comes to their rescue and tells them that the Crazy Quilt Dragon has taken the star to Maybeland. The three venture off to find the Silver Star and come face-to-face with many fantastical characters in Maybeland, including a dragon, a witch, a whale, a queen, a rhyming rabbit, a magician, cowboys, a gentle giant, and even pirates. The adventure concludes with a trip to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus himself!

Many well-known radio actors lent their voices to this popular series, including Howard McNear, Gale Gordon, Verna Felton, Frank Nelson, Elliott Lewis, Lou Merrill, and Joseph Kearns. Judy Barton was played by Barbara Jean Wong, Jimmy Barton by Tommy Carr, and Paddy O’Cinnamon by Buddy Duncan. Now, in collaboration with the Heisch estate, we bring you all twenty-six episodes of The Cinnamon Bear, recorded directly from the original masters for superb sound quality.

Episodes include “Surprised by the Cinnamon Bear”; “Piloted through the Attic Tunnel”; “Stranded in Looking Glass Valley”; “Captured by Ruthless Ink Blotters”; “Outwitted by a Polka Dot Whale”; “Frustrated by a Pelican”; “Intrigued by a Treasure Chest”; “Befriended by Pirates”; “Upset by a Mysterious Force”; “Approached by a Giant”; “Scared by Yellow Flashing Lights”; “Trapped in a Forest”; “Threatened by a Witch”; “Helped by Queen Melissa”; “Foiled by a Crocodile”; “Obstructed by a Deep, Dark Well”; “Pelted with Mud”; “Chased by Indians”; “Confronted by an Angry Witch”; “Lulled to Sleep by a Singing Tree”; “Flown to the Land of Ice and Snow”; “Welcomed by Santa Claus”; “Enchanted by Santa’s Storeroom”; “Thrilled by a Train Ride”; “Betrayed by Crazy Quilt”; and “Returned to the Attic.”

Enjoy twelve half-hour episodes of the Western adventures of the Cisco Kid and his sidekick Pancho from the popular radio series of the 1940s and ’50s.

The Cisco Kid was a popular film, radio, television, and comic-book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his short story, “The Caballero’s Way,” published in 1907 in the collection Heart of the West. Films and television depicted the Cisco Kid as a heroic Mexican caballero, a more honorable character than in O. Henry’s original story.

The Cisco Kid came to radio October 2, 1942, with Jackson Beck in the title role and Louis Sorin as Pancho. It was followed by another Mutual series in 1946, starring Jack Mather and Harry Lang, who continued to head the cast in the syndicated radio series of more than 600 episodes.

The radio episodes ended with one or the other of them making a corny joke about the adventure they had just completed. They would laugh, saying, “Oh, Pancho!” “Oh, Cisco!” before galloping off, while laughing.

The twelve episodes included in this collection are “Morbid Jones and the Web of Death” (09/26/1957), “Wheel of Chance” (10/01/1957), “The Vengeance of Laughing Lou” (10/03/1957), “Pancho and the Princess” (10/08/1957), “Flood at Humbug City” (12/31/1957), “Salmon River Rustlers” (01/02/1958), “Stampede in Texas” (01/14/1958), “Jingle Bob’s Last Stand” (01/16/1958), “The Fighting Deputies” (01/21/1958), “The Old Shell Game” (01/23/1958), “The Law’s a Fool” (01/28/1958), and “The Son of Rawhide Cargan” (01/30/58).

Damon Runyon was a newspaperman and writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of New York City’s Broadway that grew out of the Prohibition era. He created a little world of characters that live on even today in such classic movies as Little Miss Marker and Guys and Dolls, both based on Runyon’s stories.

Actor Alan Ladd’s Mayfair Productions brought Runyon’s short stories to radio in the early 1950s. Each episode of The Damon Runyon Theatre is told through the eyes of a hoodlum with a heart of gold named “Broadway,” who takes the listener inside the world of some of the Big Apple’s toughest yet most charming perpetrators. Broadway and the many thugs, touts, dames, and palookas he encounters speak in a thick present-tense Brooklynese that is a delight for the listener to hear.

John Brown played Broadway, and the supporting casts were a who’s who of radio, including William Conrad, Alan Reed, Frank Lovejoy, Sheldon Leonard, Hans Conreid, Anne Whitfield, and Ed Begley. The series made a brief transition to television.

Included here are the following episodes, which aired from October 1950 to January 1951:

“The Hottest Guy in the World””All Horseplayers Die Broke””Princess O’Hara””For a Pal””A Piece of Pie””Barbecue””The Brain Goes Home””Hold ‘Em Yale””Old Em’s Kentucky Home””Blood Pressure””Lonely Heart””Broadway Complex”

The Falcon radio series aired from 1943 until 1954. “The Falcon” was an alternate identity for detective Michael Waring. Like the Falcon movies, the radio plots mixed danger, romance, and comedy in equal parts. Each show began with a telephone ringing and Michael Waring, the Falcon, answering the phone. Speaking with a woman whose voice was never heard, Waring would explain that he had an urgent situation he had to deal with. This led into the standard opening, followed by the week’s tale of adventure. Often, incompetent police were unable to solve the mysteries without his help.

Waring was billed on radio as a freelance detective who was “always ready with a hand for oppressed men and an eye for repressed women.” Berry Kroeger, James Meighan, Les Tremayne, Les Damon, and George Petrie portrayed “The Falcon” during its radio run.

The twelve episodes included here, which aired in 1950 and 1951, are “The Case of the Carved Ham,” “The Case of the Gangster’s Girl,” “The Case of the Mighty Muscle,” “The Case of the Invisible Thug,” “The Case of the Raw Deal,” “The Case of the Harried Husband,” “The Case of the Stooge’s Errand,” “The Case of the Puzzling Pinup,” “The Case of the Widow’s Gorilla,” “The Case of the Rich Racketeer,” “The Case of the Double Exposure,” and “The Case of the Disappearing Doll.”

A hilarious collection of episodes from the beloved radio show The Great Gildersleeve

Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was a popular character, appearing each week on the Fibber McGee & Molly radio show. On August 31, 1941, Gildersleeve landed his own situation comedy show, The Great Gildersleeve, which was radio’s first spin-off. Gildersleeve moved from the town of Wistful Vista to Summerfield, where he oversaw his late brother-in-law’s estate and took on the rearing of his orphaned niece and nephew, Marjorie (originally played by Lurene Tuttle and followed by Louise Erickson and Mary Lee Robb) and Leroy Forrester (Walter Tetley). The household also included a cook named Birdie.

The Great Gildersleeve was the first show to be centered on a single parent balancing raising children, work, and a social life, accomplished with taste and genuine wit, often at the expense of Gildersleeve’s slightly understated pomposity. Radio veteran Hal Peary originated the role of Gildersleeve but left the series at the height of its popularity in 1950, giving way to well-known character actor Willard Waterman. Waterman continued in the radio role until 1957 and also played Gildersleeve in a television version syndicated in 1955.

Episodes include:

In “Leroy’s Old Car,” it’s finally time to teach Leroy how to drive. In “Friendly to Bullard,” it’s time for the county fair. Gildersleeve goes to war with Mr. Bullard once again.In “Meets Paula Winthrop,” it’s school time, and Gildy seems to be falling in love with Mr. Bullard’s sister. In “Marjorie as Secretary,” Marjorie gets a job in the water commissioner’s office after taking care of the twins becomes too much for her. In “Jolly Boys Speak Candidly,” Gildersleeve’s re-election as president of the Jolly Boys is delayed by a session of self-criticism.In “Leroy Stays with Judge Hooker,” Leroy spends a few days at Judge Hooker’s house, and it become too quiet at the Gildersleeves’s.In “Anniversary of First Date,” Bronco almost forgets about the date he had with Marjorie.In “Babs Frustrates Romance,” Gildersleeve takes Mrs. Winthrop and her daughter Babs on a picnic. In “Lost Boy on Halloween,” Gildersleeve can’t decide to spend the evening with the Jolly Boys or with a date on Halloween, when a little lost ghost settles the question. In “Couple Buying a Lot,” Bronco and Marjorie buy a lot for their home of the future.In “Oak Tree Problem,” will the old oak tree remain standing or not? Only Gildersleeve and Mr. Bullard know for sure!In “Inviting Guests for Thanksgiving,” who should be invited for Thanksgiving dinner at the Gildersleeve house?

Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was a popular character appearing each week on the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show. On August 31, 1941, Gildersleeve landed his own situation comedy, The Great Gildersleeve, becoming radio’s first spin-off.

Gildersleeve moved from the town of Wistful Vista, where Fibber McGee and Molly lived, to Summerfield, where he oversaw his late brother-in-law’s estate and took on the rearing of his orphaned niece and nephew, Marjorie and Leroy Forrester. The household also included a cook named Birdie. The Great Gildersleeve was the first show to center on a single parent balancing child rearing, work, and a social life, and it was accomplished with taste and genuine wit, often at the expense of Gildersleeve’s slightly understated pomposity.

Radio veteran Hal Peary originated the role of Gildersleeve and performs here in these twelve episodes that aired from December 1947 to March 1948:

“New Year’s Eve Party””Anne Tuttle’s Back in Town””Marjorie’s New Romance””School Board Election””License Plate Time””Acting Mayor””Getting Glasses””Leila’s Cousin Arrives in Town””Adeline Is Trying to Steal Birdie””Girl Shy Leroy””The Duel””Adeline Wants to Visit the Jolly Boys”

Here are twelve episodes of the horror and mystery series written and produced by radio announcers beginning in 1946.

There were several series under the Hall of Fantasy banner, all produced by Richard Thorne. The first originated from radio station KALL in Salt Lake City. Richard Thorne and Carl Greyson were announcers for the station and coproduced the bare-bones horror series beginning in 1946. Written or adapted by Robert Olson and directed by Thorne, the stories were mostly murder mysteries with traditional endings. This first series ended in 1947 when Thorne and Greyson went their separate ways.

The Hall of Fantasy was revived in 1949, when by pure coincidence, Thorne and Greyson found themselves working together at WGN in Chicago. This time the series featured stories with shocking endings involving struggles against the supernatural in which man was usually the loser.

In Chicago, actor Don Ameche’s brother, Jim Ameche, sometimes appeared in the episodes. In 1952 The Hall of Fantasy went nationwide over the Mutual network, with Thorne writing original horror stories and also adapting classics of literature, including Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Markheim” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

Episodes included are: “The Perfect Script,” “The Judge’s House,” “Man-Size, in Marble,” “Markheim,” “The Mark of Shame,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Black Figurine of Death,” “The Night the Fog Came,” “The Return from Death,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “Stone’s Revenge,” and “The Castle of Lavoka.”

Born in Chicago, February 14, 1894, Benjamin Kubelsky would later become known as Jack Benny. As a boy, he was encouraged by his Jewish immigrant parents from Poland to become a concert violinist. He learned to play quite well and hit the vaudeville stage, where he played popular songs and honed a suave-but-fragile personality, telling self-deprecating jokes. Benny guested on Ed Sullivan’s radio show March 19, 1932 and was an instant success. Canada Dry signed him to a contract that same year and soon Jack Benny was broadcasting each week on CBS. His career included several seasons on NBC and then a return to CBS through his final radio days. His all-star supporting cast included his wife Mary Livingstone, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, Dennis Day, Phil Harris, Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson, and announcer Don Wilson. As Jerry Seinfeld would emulate years later on Seinfeld, Benny’s cast received the best jokes–many pointed at the show’s star. Expertly-crafted scripts constantly reminded listeners of Benny’s portrayal of himself as a lovable, vain, miser, concerned about his receding hairline and insistence that he was no older than thirty-nine. His sponsors over the years included Canada Dry, General Tire, General Foods, and the American Tobacco Company. The Jack Benny Program made a successful transition to television with his entire supporting cast in tow. Benny’s radio and television shows entertained audiences for more than three decades and is generally regarded as the high-water mark in twentieth century American comedy.

2/20/49 – “The Horn Blows at Midnight w/ Fletcher Markle and Jack Warner”9/11/49 – “Bus Tour Introduces the Cast”9/18/49 – “Edward My Son”10/16/49 – “Recovering from a Cold”10/23/49 – “Jack is Recovering from Nose Surgery”11/20/49 – “Jack Goes to Rehearsal w/ Ed Wynn”12/11/49 – “Texas Benefit w/ Frank Leahy”1/8/50 – “Drear Pooson Fluff w/ Rosalind Russell, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly”3/5/50 – “Buck Benny Rides Again w/ Sarah Churchill”3/19/50 – “The Champion”3/26/50 – “From Palm Springs w/ Bob Hope”4/2/50 – “From Palm Springs w/ Al Jolson”4/16/50 – “Jack Gets the House Pained w/ Frank Fontaine”5/7/50 – “Jack Buys a New Suit”11/26/50 – “Tries to Buy Tickets to the USC-UCLA Game”12/10/50 – “Murder at the Racket Club”

Created by Irving Brecher, The Life of Riley starred William Bendix as Brooklyn-born Chester A. Riley, a family man who worked as a wing riveter at the fictional Cunningham Aircraft plant in California. The stories were usually set at home, where Riley would cheerfully disrupt life with his malapropisms and ill-timed intervention into minor problems. His stock answer to every turn of fate became a popular catch phrase: “What a revoltin’ development this is!” Trouble usually arose when Riley received bad information from his coworker, Jim Gillis.

Paula Winslowe played Riley’s wife, Peg; John Brown doubled as undertaker “Digger” O’Dell and Jim Gillis; Tommy Cook, Bobby Ellis, and Scotty Beckett each played the role of Riley’s son, Junior; and Sharon Douglas played the Riley’s daughter, Babs. Alan Reed, the voice of Fred Flintstone, played multiple characters, including Riley’s boss, Mr. Stevenson, as well as Peg’s father.

The program aired on radio from 1944 until 1951, making a successful transition to television in 1949. Due to a contract dispute, Bendix couldn’t initially play Riley on television, so the role went to Jackie Gleason. In 1953 Bendix was free to star as Riley on the small screen and continued with it until 1958.

Episodes include:

“Cissio’s Marriage””Riley the Dogcatcher””Riley Fixes Dinner for Mother’s Day””Fish Story””The Boss’ Son-in-Law””The Halloween Show: Haunted House””Big Football Bet””Riley’s Mash Note at Night School””Wedding Anniversary””Five Dollars Is Missing””Gambling Does Not Pay””Riley Thinks He’s Promoted”

From the golden age of radio comes twelve episodes of this popular and realistic police procedural.

The Lineup was a hard-boiled drama. Like Dragnet, it realistically showed police doing their jobs. The show always began with a police sergeant ordering suspects to stand at attention so that the victim, behind one-way glass, could try to identify the criminal. While the lineup was rarely the key to solving the case, it did give the show a rhythm and also allowed for humor in the interrogation of the suspects by the sergeant.

Bill Johnstone, best known as one of the voices of The Shadow, starred as Lieutenant Ben Guthrie. Wally Maher originally played Sergeant Matt Grebb, until the actor’s death. His character was replaced by Sergeant Pete Carger, played by Jack Moyles. The supporting cast members were a who’s who of Hollywood radio actors, including Howard McNear, William Conrad, Barton Yarborough, Hy Averback, and Herb Butterfield.

The series began as a summer replacement for The FBI in Peace and War in 1950 but soon got its own time slot and would remain on radio until the spring of 1953 before making a successful transition to television.

Twelve episodes included in this collection are “The Grocery Store Matter” (1 Feb 51), “The Silver Swan Case” (22 Feb 51), “The Molly about Seven Case” (27 Feb 51), “The Pointless Pierson Polemic Polarity” (5 Sep 51), “The Senile Slugging Case” (12 Sep 51), “The Fur-Flaunting Floozy” (26 Sep 51), “The Wild, Wild Woman Case” (4 Oct 51), “The Frivolous Forger Fracas” (11 Oct 51), “The Nicely Nixed Nixon Case” (18 Oct 51), “The Pixie-Picker Pickle Case” (8 Nov 51), “Bentley’s Boo-Boo Case” (15 Oct 52), and “Buggered Bunco Boys” (12 Nov 52).

Made as a prequel to the hit film The Third Man, this radio show was created to follow the adventures of the popular character Harry Lime, played here, and in the movie, by Orson Welles.

The 1949 film The Third Man won an Academy Award and was an international success, called “magic” by Roger Ebert and “one of the finest films ever made” by the New York Times. Written by New York Times bestselling novelist Graham Greene and directed by Carol Reed, the production starred Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, an America who travels to postwar Vienna at the request of his old friend Harry Lime, played by Orson Welles. But it was the character of Harry Lime who nearly stole the show.

While living in London, Orson Welles became acquainted with producer Harry Alan Towers, who convinced Welles to appear in a radio series based on his character in The Third Man and to be titled The Lives of Harry Lime. Since Lime meets his end in the sewers of Vienna in the movie, Towers, with Welles’ involvement, decided to make the radio show a prequel.

Produced in England and recorded in London’s IBC Studios, The Lives of Harry Lime had an authentic continental flavor, with adventures taking place in such exotic locales as Paris, Rome, Venice, Tangiers, and the French Riviera.

Thanks to brilliant scripts, expertly performed by Welles and a stock company of talented actors, the underworld activities of Harry Lime and his always-questionable associates make for great entertainment.

Episodes included in this collection are “Too Many Crooks” (3 Aug 51), “Clay Pigeon” (17 Aug 51), “A Ticket to Tangiers” (24 Aug 51), “The Bohemian Star” (7 Sep 51), “Love Affair” (14 Sep 51), “Rogue’s Holiday” (21 Sep 51), “Work of Art” (28 Sep 51), “Operation Music Box” (5 Oct 51), “Golden Fleece” (12 Oct 51), “Blue Bride” (19 Oct 51), “Every Frame Has a Silver Lining” (26 Oct 51), and “Mexican Hat Trick” (2 Nov 51).

Hosted by Cecil B. DeMille and starring numerous icons of the screen, this collection of old-time radio classics includes six episodes of The Lux Radio Theatre–one of the longest running, most extravagant shows from radio’s golden age. The show featured the greatest stars in Hollywood appearing in hour-long radio adaptations of their biggest motion pictures, making this lavish production a veritable checklist of many of Hollywood’s best films from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. The stars of the movie usually appeared in their audio counterparts, though sometimes contracts or schedules got in the way. The productions were live, with a full orchestra, and many Hollywood legends were not used to performing in public without the benefit of retakes. Just some of the stars that appeared on The Lux Radio Theatre include Elizabeth Taylor, Ronald Colman, Errol Flynn, Robert Young, Mickey Rooney, Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, James Stewart, and Loretta Young. Sponsored by Lever Brothers, the makers of Lux Soap, The Lux Radio Theatre came to radio in 1934 and lasted until 1955 for a total of 926 hour-long broadcasts. It transitioned to television in thirty-minute weekly installments in 1950, with James Mason as host.

Episodes include

“Kid Galahad,” starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, and Wayne Morris, with special guest Jack Dempsey”The Perfect Specimen,” starring Errol Flynn and Joan Blondell”The Devil and Miss Jones,” starring Frank “Wizard of Oz” Morgan and Linda Darnell”Only Yesterday,” starring Ida Lupino and Robert Young”The Petrified Forest,” starring Ronald Colman and Susan Hayward”National Velvet,” starring Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, and Donald Crisp

The Lux Radio Theatre was one of the longest running–and most extravagant–shows from radio’s golden age. The show featured the greatest stars in Hollywood appearing in hour-long radio adaptations of their biggest motion pictures. Cecil B. DeMille was the host for the lavish production of what was to become a veritable checklist of many of Hollywood’s best films from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. The stars of the movie usually appeared in their audio counterparts, although sometimes contracts or schedules meant that another actor took the part. The productions were live, with a full orchestra, and many Hollywood legends were not used to performing in public without the benefit of retakes. The greatest film legends appeared on The Lux Radio Theatre, including Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, James Stewart, and Loretta Young, to name a few. Sponsored by Lever Brothers, the makers of Lux Soap, The Lux Radio Theatre came to radio in 1934 and lasted until 1955 for a total of 926 hour-long broadcasts. It transitioned to television in thirty-minute weekly installments in 1950, with James Mason as host.

Episodes include

“The Virginian,” starring Gary Cooper and Charles Bickford”A Farewell to Arms,” starring Clark Gable and Adolphe Menjou”The 39 Steps,” starring Robert Montgomery and Ida Lupino”Young Tom Edison,” starring Mickey Rooney and Beulah Bondi”O.S.S.,” starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake”Sampson and Delilah,” starring Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr

Here are twelve exciting episodes of international intrigue from the golden age of radio.

“Wherever there is mystery, adventure, intrigue, in all the strange and dangerous places in the world, there you will find the man called X!”

Debonair British actor Herbert Marshall stars as FBI secret agent Ken Thurston, “the man who crosses the ocean as readily as you and I cross town; he is the man who fights today’s war in his unique fashion, so that tomorrow’s peace will make the world a neighborhood for all of us.” Leon Belasco plays Mr. X’s comedic sidekick, Pagan Zeldchmidt, who always turns up in remote parts of the world to assist Thurston.

The Man Called X debuted over CBS radio on July 10, 1944, moved to NBC in 1950, and continued through May 20, 1952. In 1956 Ziv Television adapted The Man Called X as a thirty-nine-episode syndicated series starring Barry Sullivan as Ken Thurston.

This collection contains the following episodes and the dates they aired on radio:

Antarctic Expedition (3 Apr 47)

Mr. Messler and the Insurance (17 Apr 47)

Acme Oil Refinery (24 Apr 47)

Stamp Story (15 May 47)

A Journey to Xenophon (27 Oct 50)

Professor Czorny Disappears behind the Iron Curtain (3 Nov 50)

Race against Death (21 Apr 51)

Knocked off His Feet (11 May 51)

Enough Intrigue to Fill a Book (18 May 51)

Amazon River (15 Jun 51)

Petroleum Sabotage in Lima (1 Jan 52)

A Flying Trip to Nowhere (8 Jan 52)

The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman, who is best known for his Oscar-winning performance as Professor Charles Kingsfield in the The Paper Chase. After a series of acclaimed stage productions, Welles and his Mercury Theatre were offered their own weekly hour-long radio program over the CBS radio network. Here Welles–along with Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Joseph Cotten, Alice Frost, Martin Gabel, and others–presented powerful adaptations of literary classics with Bernard Herrman as composer and conductor.

Considered by many critics as the finest dramatic hour on radio, The Mercury Theatre on the Air was without a sponsor until a single broadcast changed all that: The War of the Worlds.

Episodes include “Dracula,” starring Martin Gabel, Agnes Moorehead, George Coulouris, Ray Collins, and Karl Swenson; “A Tale of Two Cities,” starring Martin Gabel, Ray Collins, Edgar Barrier, Frank Readick, and Kenny Delmar; “Abraham Lincoln,” starring Orson Welles as Lincoln, plus Ray Collins, George Coulouris, Karl Swenson, Agnes Moorehead, Carl Frank, and William Allen; “The Count of Monte Cristo,” starring Orson Welles, Ray Collins, Eustace Wyatt, George Coulouris, and Edgar Barrier; “The Immortal Sherlock Holmes,” starring Orson Welles, Ray Collins, Edgar Barrier, Alfred Shirley, William Allen, and Arthur Anderson; “Around the World in Eighty Days,” starring Orson Welles, Al Swenson, Arlene Francis, Edgar Barrier, Frank Readick, and Ray Collins.

Michael Shayne, “the reckless, red-headed Irishman,” was a popular hard-boiled detective created by crime novelist Brett Halliday. Mike settled in New Orleans just after World War II, making crime pay by fighting it with a license and an attitude.

Like Mike Hammer and Philip Marlowe, Shayne is a loner. Once happily married, Mike is devastated when his wife is suddenly and tragically murdered. Grief-stricken, Shayne loses himself in his work as a private eye, prowling the dark streets of New Orleans, seeking out his style of revenge on injustice.

The radio version of Mike’s exploits debuted as Michael Shayne, Private Detective in the fall of 1944 with Wally Maher in the title role. In 1948 Mutual Radio debuted The New Adventures of Michael Shayne starring movie star Jeff Chandler. Simultaneously in 1948, Chandler was playing bashful biologist Philip Boynton, the love interest on Our Miss Brooks, proving he could handle comedy as well as dramatic roles.

Episodes include

“Premier Episode””The Case of the Hunted Bride””The Case of the Blood-Stained Pearls””The Case of the Phantom Gun””The Hate That Killed””The Case of the Gray-Eyed Blonde””A Problem in Murder””The Case of the High-Priced Twins””The Case of the Corresponding Corpse””The Case of the Mail-Order Murders””The Case of the Wandering Fingerprints””The Case of the Purloined Corpse”

Michael Shayne, “the reckless, redheaded Irishman” was a popular hard-boiled detective created by crime novelist Brett Halliday. In the novels, Michael Shayne settled in Miami just after WWII, making crime pay by fighting it with a license and an attitude. Like Mike Hammer and Philip Marlowe, Shayne was a loner. The backstory on Mike is that he was happily married, but it hit him hard when his wife was tragically murdered. Grief stricken, Shayne loses himself in his work as a private eye, prowling the dark streets of the city, seeking out his style of revenge for injustice.

The radio version of Mike’s exploits debuted as Michael Shayne, Private Detective in the fall of 1944 with Wally Maher in the title role. In 1948, Mutual Radio debuted The New Adventures of Michael Shayne starring movie star Jeff Chandler with his adventures taking place in New Orleans. Simultaneously in 1948, Chandler was playing bashful biologist Philip Boynton, the love interest on Our Miss Brooks, proving he could handle comedy as well as dramatic roles.

Others to portray Shayne on radio included Donald Curtis and Robert Sterling. Richard Denning, who had starred for years on the radio comedy series My Favorite Husbandopposite Lucille Ball, portrayed Mike Shayne in the 1960s television version, Michael Shayne.

Here are twelve exciting episodes of Michael Shayne’s investigations, which aired on radio in 1948.

“The Case of the Left Handed Fan,” “The Case of the Deadly Dough,” “The Case of the Popular Corpse,” “The Case of the Bayou Monster,” “The Case of the Carnival Killer,” “The Case of the Constant Companion,” “The Case of the Borrowed Heirloom,” “The Case of the Eager Victim,” “The Case of the Phantom Neighbor,” “The Case of the Model Murder,” “The Case of Tahlani’s Tears,” and “The Case of the Generous Killer.”

Created in 1934 by American mystery author Rex Stout, Nero Wolfe is one of the most iconic private investigators in crime fiction. As Watson did for Holmes, Archie Goodwin, Wolfe’s confidential assistant, narrates the cases of the detective genius. Wolfe was an armchair detective who rarely left his luxurious brownstone in New York, so Archie would collect the facts and report back. Wolfe would probably not have taken on many cases had he not needed his client’s money to pay for his two true passions: fine food and his orchid collection.

Nero Wolfe first appeared on radio on July 5, 1943, in a short-lived NBC series starring Santos Ortega as Wolfe with Luis Van Rooten as Archie. The second series aired during 1945 on the Mutual network and starred Francis X. Bushman, with Elliott Lewis as Archie. The third and most successful incarnation came to radio in 1950. It starred Sydney Greenstreet as Wolfe with the part of Archie voiced by several actors, including Lawrence Dobkin, Gerald Mohr, and Harry Bartell.

Enjoy twelve of the finest radio episodes of The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe, starring Sydney Greenstreet, who is perhaps best known for playing Kasper Gutman, the villain opposite Humphrey Bogart in the film The Maltese Falcon.

Episodes include

“Stamped for Murder””The Case of the Careless Cleaner””The Case of the Beautiful Archer””The Case of the Brave Rabbit””The Case of the Impolite Corpse””The Girl Who Cried Wolfe””The Case of the Bashful Body””The Case of the Deadly Sell-Out””The Case of the Killer Cards””The Case of the Calculated Risk””The Case of the Phantom Fingers””The Case of the Party for Death”

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective genius, Sherlock Holmes, came to NBC radio in 1930 with Richard Gordon playing the legendary sleuth. By 1939 Basil Rathbone was heard as Holmes, with Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson. The duo was simultaneously starring in a popular series of Sherlock Holmes features for Twentieth Century Fox and later for Universal Studios. By the end of the mid-1940s, Rathbone was eager to separate himself from the radio show to avoid being typecast. Though the show’s sponsor offered him generous pay to continue, he decided to move on.

Tom Conway then took over the role, with Nigel Bruce continuing as Watson. Conway and Bruce were replaced in 1947 by John Stanley and Alfred Shirley. Others to portray Holmes and Watson during the radio program’s run were George Shelton and Ian Martin and Ben Wright and Eric Snowden. In 1955 NBC signed heavyweights John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson to star as Holmes and Watson, but with radio quickly giving way to television, it lasted only one season. This collection contains twelve amazing Sherlock Holmes adventures, starring Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce.

Episodes include “The Clue of the Hungry Cat,” “The Adventure of the Original Hamlet,” “The Singular Affair of the Dying Schoolboys,” “The Adventure of the Genuine Guarnarius,” “The Adventure of the Sally Martin,” “The Strange Death of Mrs. Abernetty,” “The Adventure of the Half-Eaten Apple, the Coptic Compass, and the Unclothed Corpse,” “The Adventure of the Elusive Emerald,” “The Adventure of the Grand Old Man,” “The Singular Affair of the White Cockerel,” “The Darlington Substitution Case,” and “The Singular Affair of the Babbling Butler.”

This collection contains twelve amazing detective adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective genius, Sherlock Holmes, first came to NBC radio in 1930, starring Richard Gordon. By 1939, Basil Rathbone took over as Holmes, with Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson. The duo were simultaneously starring in a very popular series of Sherlock Holmes’ movies for the Fox and Universal studios. By the end of that feature run in the mid 1940’s, Rathbone was eager to separate himself from the radio show to avoid being typecast, and even though the show’s sponsor, Petri Wines, offered him generous pay to continue, he decided to move on. Tom Conway took over as Holmes, with Nigel Bruce continuing as Watson and getting top billing, followed by other actors as the series continued.

Included here are the following episodes that aired in 1946: “The Strange Case of the Murder in Wax,” “Murder beyond the Mountains,” “The Telltale Pigeon Feathers, “The Case of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber,” “The Camberwell Poisoner,” “The Submarine Caves,” “The Adventure of the Blarney Stone,” “The April Fool’s Day Adventure,” “The Disappearing Scientists,” “The Tankerville Club,” “The Waltz of Death,” and “The Man with the Twisted Lip.”

The Weird Circle radio show was an anthology of classic thrillers from the pens of the world’s best-known and respected fiction authors of the nineteenth century. The focus was on stories of horror, suspense, and the supernatural by such authors as Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mary Shelley, with an occasional drama by the likes of Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, and George Eliot.

For The Weird Circle, produced in New York by NBC and offered in syndication, the announcer sat in a cave beside a restless sea and instructed a bell keeper to “toll the bell so all may know that we are gathered again in the weird circle for another strange and weird story from out of the past.”

The casts included New York’s steady pool of busy supporting actors, including Lawson Zerbe, Eleanor Audley, Jackson Beck, Mason Adams, Raymond Edward Johnson, and Arnold Moss.

This collection of twelve episodes from 1943 includes stories based on works by Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Colllins, Honore de Balzac, Guy de Maupassant, Prosper Merimee, and more.

“The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The House and the Brain,” “The Vendetta,” “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym,” “Declared Insane,” “A Terribly Strange Bed,” “What Was It?,” “The Knightsbridge Mystery,” “The Horla,” “William Wilson,” “A Passion in the Desert,” “Mateo Falcone”

The Whistler was one of radio’s top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with, “I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak.” The opening dialog was heard over the echo of footsteps and Wilbur Hatch’s haunting signature thirteen-note theme, whistled each week by Dorothy Roberts. The stories followed an effective formula in which a person’s criminal acts were typically undone by their own missteps. The Whistler narrated, often commenting directly on the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective.

One of the show’s trademarks was the ironic twist endings that helped serve as a payoff for the listener. Bill Forman had the title role of host and narrator the longest. Others who portrayed the Whistler included Gale Gordon, Lucille Ball’s future television costar; Joseph Kearns, Mr. Wilson on the television series Dennis the Menace; Marvin Miller, soon to be television’s Michael Anthony on The Millionaire; Bill Johnstone, the Shadow on radio from 1938-1943; and Everett Clarke.

Episodes include “Night Final,” “Undertow,” “Money Is the Root of All Evil,” “Quiet Suicide,” “Return Engagement,” “The Human Catalyst,” “The Dark Room,” “Bird of Prey,” “The Silent City,” “Tough Guy,” “Chain Reaction,” and “Stranger in the House.”

The Whistler was one of radio’s top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with, “I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak.” The opening dialog was heard over the echo of footsteps and Wilbur Hatch’s haunting signature thirteen-note theme, whistled each week by Dorothy Roberts. The stories followed an effective formula in which a person’s criminal acts were typically undone by their own missteps. The Whistler narrated, often commenting directly on the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective.

One of the show’s trademarks was the ironic twist endings that helped serve as a payoff for the listener. Bill Forman had the title role of host and narrator the longest. Others who portrayed the Whistler included Gale Gordon, Lucille Ball’s future television costar; Joseph Kearns, Mr. Wilson on the television series Dennis the Menace; Marvin Miller, soon to be television’s Michael Anthony on The Millionaire; Bill Johnstone, the Shadow on radio from 1938-1943; and Everett Clarke.

Episodes include “Night Melody,” “Seven Steps to Murder,” “Safety in Numbers,” “A Woman’s Privilege,” “Mavis Cameron Disappears,” “The Lady and the Knife,” “The Blank Wall,” “Backlash,” “The Black Book,” “Fateful Friday,” “Caesar’s Wife,” and “Juggernaut.”

The Whistler was one of radio’s top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955, sponsored by the Signal Oil Company.

The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with: “I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak.

The opening dialog was heard over the echo of footsteps and a haunting signature thirteen-note theme, whistled each week by Dorothy Roberts. The stories followed an effective formula in which a person’s criminal acts were typically undone by their own missteps. The Whistler narrated the story, often commenting directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective. One of the show’s trademarks was the ironic twist endings that helped serve as a payoff for the listener.

Bill Forman held the title role of host and narrator the longest. Others who portrayed the Whistler include Gale Gordon (later starring in I Love Lucy), Joseph Kearns (Mr. Wilson in television’s Dennis the Menace), Marvin Miller (later starring on television as Michael Anthony in The Millionaire), Bill Johnstone (The Shadow on radio from 1938 to 1943) and Everett Clarke.

The twelve half-hour episodes starring Bill Forman included here with the date of broadcast, are:

“Strange Sisters” (28 Jan 1946)

“Panic” (4 Feb 1946)

“Six Letter Word for Death” (11 Feb 1946)

“Murder in Haste” (25 Feb 1946)

“Terror Stricken” (8 Apr 1946)

“Smart Boy” (15 Apr 1946)

“Ambassador of Death” (16 Jun 1947)

“Beyond Reasonable Doubt” (16 Jul 1947)

“Whispered Verdict” (13 Aug 1947)

“Curtain Call” (27 Aug 1947)

“A Question of Murder” (4 Aug 1948)

“Payment in Full” (1 Sept 1948)

This Is Your FBI, as the title suggests, was a crime drama that featured true cases from the FBI and was told from an agent’s viewpoint. The show’s producer and director, Jerry Devine, had once worked for the FBI, so having him for the show would allow each story to be told in the best way possible. J. Edgar Hoover, who was the chief of the FBI at the time, gave it his endorsement, calling it “the finest dramatic program on the air,” and gave Devine access to the FBI files for the stories used in the show.

The show’s main character was Agent Jim Taylor, who handled crime cases on the West Coast. Each thirty-minute episode allowed for the presentation of the criminal’s actions, followed up with Taylor’s investigation of the crime. This long-running series starred Frank Lovejoy (and later Dean Carlton and William Woodson) as the narrator, Betty White, and Stacy Harris.

Episodes included are: “The Serviceman’s Fraud,” “The Desert Dictator,” “The Unwelcome Guest,” “The Sinister Souvenir,” “The Cautious Killer,” “The Corrupt City,” “The Pan American Patriots,” “The Castaway Killer,” “The Paroled Killer,” “The Delinquent Parents,” “The Nylon Hijacker,” and “The Singing Swindler.”