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

Jack Benny's supporting cast - his "gang" - was the heart, soul, and success of his radio program. Mary Livingstone, Don Wilson, Phil Harris, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Dennis Day, Frank Nelson, Mel Blanc, Artie Auerbach, and Ronald and Benita Colman delivered many of the best jokes - and earned biggest laughs - on the show. Many members of this talented ensemble went on to star in programs of their own - always with Jack's support. This collection includes some of the gang's best work - both on and off of Benny's program.

Kick back and listen as Jean Shepherd discusses the vast minutiae of life. From (talking) machines to driving a Hudson Terraplane...from the end of the world to the strange (and rarely discussed) appetites of man...and much more, you will hear Shep's customary and matchless combination of wit, wisdom, and humor!

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. But, both McGee's are fabulously friendly, opening their door at 79 Wistful Vista to welcome the likes of Mayor LaTrivia (Gale Gordon), Doc Gamble (Arthur Q. Bryan), and neighborly nemesis Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (Hal Peary).

Welcome to The Lineup, "where under the cold, glaring lights pass the innocent, the vagrant, the thief, and the murderer". This tightly scripted radio series traced the activities Lieutenant Ben Guthrie (Bill Johnstone) and his Sergeants Matt Greb (Wally Maher) and Peter Carger (Jack Moyles). Ride along with the squad and follow the parade of arrests they make, through witness identifications, subsequent investigations, and the apprehension of additional criminals - all eventually culminating in the cracking (and closing) of the day's case.

Radio’s dark alleys and rain-swept side streets were prowled by plenty of detectives - but, only one of them sat down each week at the piano, after the felons were safely jugged, and crooned to his girlfriend. Dick Powell, the tenacious man with the sweet tenor voice, stars as Richard Diamond, Private Detective! Diamond is a delightfully unpredictable detective - as much inclined to shoot off his mouth in a tight spot as he is to shoot off his gun - who can take more than his share of punishment from goons and gunsels without having his sense of humor take a beating.

Hilarious Hollywood spoofs were a beloved feature on many classic Jack Benny radio shows. Regular cast members and guest stars alike were recruited to send up cinema classics like Casablanca, High Noon, and Sunset Boulevard. Celebrities could count on large laughs - and, looking good next to Jack’s lovably vainglorious and miserly self - while poking fun at their most famous films. A treasure trove for both Benny-philes and film fans, this set includes 12 digitally restored and remastered episodes, performances by the likes of Bob Hope and Edward G. Robinson.

Here comes the cowboy hero who took 1950 by storm - thundering across the West of your own wild imagination! Dressed in his famous black suit and riding his trusty horse Topper, it’s Hopalong Cassidy in 16 original radio adventures! William Boyd stars as Hoppy, with Joseph Duval as California Carlson. Though most of their adventures are in the general vicinity of the Bar 20 ranch, our heroes do venture out on occasion for exploits in the wider world. Listen in as they encounter scoundrels and schemes from the frontier to the formidable streets of New York!

On a cold, rainy night in the darkest shadows of your imagination, fate is waiting for you...in the form of The Whistler! Join him for 20 excursions into the realm of those nameless terrors of which we dare not speak! Bill Forman plays the role of the omniscient storyteller, offering terrible tales from the perspective of the very culprits themselves. Yet somehow, even though you know who’s guilty, there is always a shocking twist at the end!

Celebrate Christmas along with radio's greatest performers, characters and programs. These timeless holiday classics include moving and mirthful comedies, wholesome dramas, and adventurous missions of mercy. Laugh along with comedians like Jack Benny and Red Skelton (in a rare previously uncirculated performance), and with funny families on Fibber McGee & Molly, The Phil Harris - Alice Faye Show, Burns & Allen, The Great Gildersleeve, and The Life of Riley.

The Halls of Ivy presents real-life husband and wife Ronald Colman and Benita Hume as the first couple of Ivy College: William Toddhunter (“Toddy”) Hall and his wife, Victoria (“Vicky”) Cromwell Hall, a former actress of the British comedy stage. Although President Hall is an erudite and polished professor, he is completely unpretentious and truly concerned for the well-being of the students and faculty. Vicky - who is always at his side, and on his side - keeps her husband in check with her playful and down-to-earth ways.

It's a city of a million stories, and Broadway knows them all! High rollers and low lifes, classy dames and shady dealers are in it for the laughs (and the payoff) in this collection of 16 tales from the pen of Damon Runyon. John Brown stars as your narrator in these yarns of the Great White Way, along with Paul Dubov as homicide detective Johnny Brannigan (and a good many other characters). Join radio favorites Jack Webb, Ed Begley, Jeff Chandler, Alan Reed, Sheldon Leonard, and more for unusual bets, uncommonly good luck, and an unearthly meal at Mindy's.

When last we left our pals from Pine Ridge, they were involved in considerable intrigue. They were receiving reports from the Masked Muskrat, threats from the Black Pelican, and a baby from a melancholy mother. The further adventures of Lum Edwards and Abner Peabody find them confounded by one commotion after another. At the Jot 'em Down Store, there is much bother about the baby, a mystery about a coat-of-arms, and mischief about ghosts, gunshots, and gold mines.

Molle Mystery Theatre, the program that brings you “the best in mystery and detective fiction”, is presented here in eight digitally restored and remastered episodes, including rare recordings. The brilliant Bernard Lenrow plays the role of your host “Geoffrey Barnes” - a connoisseur, criminologist, and expert on crime, suspense, and detective fiction - guiding listeners through superior adaptations of mystery classics and original stories by the best radio writers. These exciting episodes will keep you riveted and tense.

Laughs come in twos with America's favorite comedy team! Here comes George Burns and Gracie Allen in 16 illogically logical half hours featuring a parade of guest stars, including Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, and Cary Grant! Bill Goodwin, Tobe Reed, and Meredith Willson are on hand as George and Gracie find themselves tangling with madcap matters of crime, competition, money, and matrimony. This collection features rare episodes and rare talent!

The pen is mightier than the sword, but is it mightier than the .45? That's the dilemma faced by hard-nosed crime reporter Randy Stone each week in one of radio's most memorable newspaper dramas: Night Beat. While guns blaze and thugs prowl the back alleys of Stone's Chicago, the solving crimes is almost incidental to the unraveling of compelling human problems. Frank Lovejoy stars as the enterprising Chicago newspaperman, whose stories focus not on the essential corruption of humanity, but on its basic decency.

What's more entertaining than a witty, snappy-talking detective? How about two witty, snappy-talking detectives? Publisher Jerry North and his always inquisitive wife Pamela are sophisticated sleuthing spouses who solved cases everywhere from magazine fiction, to novels, the stage, movies, radio and television. In these eight digitally remastered episodes from their long running radio series, the Norths can't seem to avoid mysteries and murders. In spite of Jerry's best attempts to put aside corpses and confessions - even quiet evenings at home and romantic ocean cruises turns deadly!

The boys from Pine Ridge get quite an education when the town finds itself in need of a new school teacher. The candidate they hire is eminently qualified - and not at all what president of the school board, Lum Edwards, had in mind! Professor Sloane, tireless in the pursuit of knowledge, spearheads ambitious plans for an observatory, a rocket ship, and a trip to Mars - manned by none other than Lum and Abner! With financial backing from the unscrupulous Squire Skimp, the duo declares themselves "scientifics" and set their sights on the stars.

Created and written by Philip Rapp, Mr. and Mrs. Bickerson were the first married couple on radio to have a truly adversarial relationship. Scathing, sarcastic and comical, John and Blanche would fight about anything. Although they often argued about Blanche’s good-for-nothing brother, she would certainly insist that the big troubles were caused by John’s snoring and her resulting insomnia. There was nothing sweet or tender about their pillow talk, but it sure was funny!

Fanny Brice described Snooks as “my kind of youngster, the type I like. She has imagination. She’s eager. She’s alive. With all her deviltry, she still is a good kid, never vicious nor mean”. Perhaps, but Daddy and Robespierre may beg to differ. Neither Daddy’s time, pet projects, nor peace of mind are safe from Snooks’ reliably relentless intrusions. As for how she treats her younger siblings and what she thinks of them...well, the fact that she tries to trade them for cats pretty much says it all!

Phil Harris was brash, egotistical, and charming as hell. Alice Faye was regarded by George Gershwin and Cole Porter as the best female singer in Hollywood. Together, they starred in one of the most uninhibited and funny comedy series on radio. Benefiting from the likeability of its stars, a wonderfully cast group of supporting players, and one of the most prolific and clever writing teams of the mid-20th century (Ray Singer and Dick Chevillat), The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show is a complete delight. This collection features 20 digitally remastered programs.