Showing results by author "Original Radio Broadcasts" in All Categories

Stand back! The closet door swings open once again and out tumble Fibber McGee and Molly! Join Jim and Marian Jordan and their regulars, Gale Gordon, Bill Thompson, Isabel Randolph, Billy Mills, the King's Men, and Harlow Wilcox for 20 laugh-filled half-hours from the very peak of their radio popularity!

It's the summer of 1944! The world is at war...America wonders what the future will hold...and down in the little village of Pine Ridge, Arkansas, eccentric relatives and mysterious strangers are wreaking havoc on the peaceful lives of Lum & Abner! Here are 36 consecutive quarter-hour broadcasts of radio's classic rural comedy serial, featuring Chester Lauck and Norris Goff as an entire townful of eccentrics. Elmore Vincent co-stars as Phinus Peabody, with Frank Graham as the enigmatic B.J. Webster!

The war might be over, but for daring publisher Britt Reid, there's one fight that never ends - the battle against organized crime! With mask in place, gas gun in hand, and faithful valet Kato by his side, The Green Hornet surges forth against postwar racketeers and crime lords in this collection of 20 original radio adventures!

From start to finish, Dragnet brings you a real-life police drama of unprecedented realism. When the series hit the air in 1949, there was nothing else like it, anywhere. In this collection, Jack Webb and Barton Yarborough star in 20 broadcasts from the earliest months of radio's landmark police procedural.

You better not shout, you better not cry, you better not pout, we're telling you why! Great Radio Christmas is coming to town! Pour yourself an egg nog, break out the ribbon candy, and tune in for a whole stocking-full of radio favorites celebrating the holiday season.

Multi-talented Irish tenor Dennis Day played a charmingly naïve young man (not at all unlike his character from The Jack Benny Show) in his very own series. Singing and working the soda fountain in the town of Weaverville, his lyrical voice and comical ways delighted listeners for five seasons (1946 - 1951). Although he bemoaned his humble position in life, his lack of funds, and his inability to impress the parents of his girlfriend, Mildred Anderson (Barbara Eiler), Dennis never gave up trying.

Is Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (Harold Peary), Summerfield's most notorious "bachelor on the prowl," about to adopt a third child? That's how it seems when he finds an abandoned baby girl in the backseat of his car. Informed that the child could be taken away from him because of his bachelor status, The Great Man proposes to Adeline…and her cousin…Gildy's old flame, Leila Ransom!

Whoever you are, wherever you go, whatever you do, he knows the nameless terrors of which you dare not speak! Tales of crime, intrigue, and grim fate are brought to you by The Whistler! We offer you 20 edge-of-your-seat journeys into the darkest realms of the human soul from radio's preeminent showcase for stories with an unexpected twist.

In one corner: Connie Brooks (Eve Arden), the teacher who elevated education to a plateau never before realized from a transmitter! In the other corner: Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), the pompous principal of Madison High School who is the undisputed champion of the slow burn! On hand for the main event is a charismatic cast of characters, including squeaky-voiced student Walter Denton (Richard Crenna). As both the romantic interest of Conklin's daughter, and as one of Miss Brooks' leading co-conspirators, he was viewed with a jaundiced eye by the omnipresent principal.

Academy Award-winner Mercedes McCambridge stars as Martha Ellis Bryant, an experienced lawyer in private practice who has accepted the "challenge of defending the defenseless." Howard Culver plays her loving boyfriend, Jud Barnes, a reporter for the City Dispatch. In search of justice (and a good story), the two work both independently and together, checking records, talking to witnesses, and exchanging information with the police.

Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons was one of the best loved of all radio shows, and often one of the most listened to programs on the airwaves. The public loved the caring, fatherly sleuth who could resolve any problem and knew just how to handle any situation. Bennett Kilpack and Philip Clarke star as "The Kindly Old Tracer," in 20 digitally remastered tales of the missing and the murdered. James Kelly co-stars as Mike Clancy, the Irish former cop who not only assists the sleuth, but considers himself the old gentleman's bodyguard.

Connie Brooks (Eve Arden) rewrote the textbook on how popular culture looked at teachers - with a fresh, funny, and always human take on the pedagogic profession. Come and study these 16 terrific episodes from 1954-1956. If you travel with her through the halls, you might encounter adolescent blunderer Walter Denton (Richard Crenna), the principal’s bobby-soxer daughter Harriet (Gloria McMillan), or the fumbling frog-obsessed science teacher Philip Boynton (Robert Rockwell). Principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon) was her outstanding comic foil.

In 1946, Life Magazine declared, "Dashiell Hammett's Fat Man is suave, witty, hardboiled and provides better than average radio entertainment." By 1948, The Fat Man was one of the top 10 shows on Friday nights, with more than six million listeners every week. And, starring as Brad Runyon, the "Fat Man" of the title, was J. Scott Smart, a 270-pound actor who sounded every pound the part.

Lum and Abner are off to hunt for buried treasure in the wilds of Tennessee...and end up in the museum business. When you're heading down to Pine Ridge, you just never know what will happen! The lovable old fellers from the hill country ponder the intriguing Mystery of The Stuffed Owl, spend some time get to know Abner's bewildering father, and celebrate an anniversary.

The unpredictable adventures of freelance troubleshooter George Valentine entertained West Coast audiences for nearly a decade. Bob Bailey delivers a definitive performance in the title role, with able support from Frances Robinson as Brooksie, Eddie Firestone as Sonny, Wally Maher as Lieutenant Riley, and Joe Kearns as Caleb the Elevator Man. Together, they gave radio one of its most distinctive private-eye programs. Come experience the exciting exploits of an intelligent investigator who'd rather think than throw down...but, who could certainly handle himself in a scrap!

Based on the famous detective created by Rex Stout, The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe stars Sydney Greenstreet as “the balkiest, bulkiest, smartest, and most unpredictable detective in the world...that brilliant eccentric private detective, orchid fancier and gargantuan gourmet.” Nero Wolfe, armchair detective in the classic tradition, and Archie Goodwin, wisecracking hard-boiled investigator, shine in eight radio tales from this classic detective series first broadcast in 1950-1951.

Where there's trouble, you'll find him. Where there's mystery, there he is. And when there's romance, look out! He's Michael Waring to those who know him - and to those who fear him, he's The Falcon! Les Damon stars in this collection of 16 fast-moving adventures. With a little bit of a hard-boiled edge, a little bit sarcasm, and a whole lot of charm, The Falcon solves crimes, helps the helpless, and makes time with femmes-fatale all in equal measure.

"If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me." Whatever your problem, he's the solution! George Valentine is sardonic yet sympathetic as he solves mysteries, unravels crises, and gets to the bottom of whatever's complicating the lives of his paid-up clients. Bob Bailey made his first big impression on radio audiences in this series of tightly-packed, thought-provoking thrillers! Here are 16 of his most fascinating exploits, with Virginia Gregg co-starring as Claire "Brooksie" Brooks.

Natalie Park stars as Candy Matson, a San Francisco private investigator who is not only smart, sassy, and sexy, but tough, too! Candy's best friend and trusted assistant is photographer, and confirmed bachelor, Rembrandt Watson. Candy and her boyfriend, Police Detective Ray Mallard (Henry Leff), usually end up working the same case, but Candy always figures things out first. Known for its exceptional writing and sound effects, Candy Matson is popularly thought of as the best female detective show ever on radio. Includes eight digitally restored and remastered episodes.

Ronald and Benita Colman made 20 guest appearances on The Jack Benny Program, including some of the most hilarious entries in the series. The Colmans' refined personaes played an excellent "grand opera" to the "ragtime" of Jack's mercenary enterprises. In this set, you'll hear the dashing Ronald read the winning entry of the "I Can't Stand Jack Benny" contest. You will also hear Benita receive the third longest laugh ever on the Benny radio program. It's no wonder that The Colmans' visits to Benny's radio series have become listener classics.