I was introduced to The Shadow as a teenager in the 80's and 90's, quickly followed by Lights Out! and Suspense. I also love Jack Benny and Burns and Allen. I recently started to listen to Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar---the Hartford insurance investigator with the action packed expense account! Lots of great stuff available on Youtube, and it's a good way to fall asleep at night. I'm amazed that these 7O plus year old shows generally hold up pretty well. I'm enjoying listening to many of them more than most podcasts. Any favorites or suggestions?
There was a big band station that played them in the evening when I was school and would have them on in the background when studying. Some of the Jack Benny stuff had aged well and was still funny.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | May 28, 2019 12:06 PM |
Bob and Ray !!
by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 28, 2019 12:08 PM |
I love them too, OP! Suspense is my favorite but I also like the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, Inner Sanctum, Lights Out, Escape, The Whistler plus more obscure ones like The Sealed Book, Mysterious Traveler, Weird Circle, Quiet Please, and The Hall of Fantasy. I never really got into the comedy or adventure ones. I’ll try Johnny Dollar on your suggestion. There are tons of podcasts that have old time radio episodes - I listen in bed as I fall asleep.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | May 28, 2019 12:24 PM |
I'll have to look up a bunch that you mentioned, R3. Love Inner Sanctum, but am kinda meh on The Whistler, not sure why. I had forgotten about CBS Radio Mystery Theater. It's interesting that there was a revival in interest in the idea of radio shows in the 70's Those seemed less melodramatic, but still quite well done.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | May 28, 2019 12:36 PM |
I love, love, love “Suspense”, OP, and first learned about it right here on datalounge when a DLer who loved the Cary Grant episodes was recommending them!!
by Anonymous | reply 5 | May 28, 2019 12:47 PM |
When I was in college in upstate NY, a local radio station had the old time mysteries on Sunday nights. I discovered it quite by chance, but it became my regular Sunday night listening. These weren’t old recordings, it was actually the local amateur drama group who performed. As I came to find out, they used the exact same props for sound effects as had been used in the originals. They were quite good!
Does anyone know if there’s anything similar in NYC or online to listen to now?
by Anonymous | reply 6 | May 28, 2019 1:00 PM |
You might like Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theater. It doesn't look like they offer anything streaming though.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | May 28, 2019 1:12 PM |
Thank you R7 - I’ll give it a look!
by Anonymous | reply 8 | May 28, 2019 1:19 PM |
If you have SiriusXM, channel 148 is all classic radio shows. I enjoy listening to the comedy/variety shows like Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Phil Harris and Alice Faye, etc.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | May 28, 2019 1:27 PM |
SUSPENSE! - My father used to tape these and play them on road trips. Love you, pops.
CANDY MATSON! - a tough talking, take-no-prisoners lady P.I.!
MISS PINKERTON - ditto.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | May 28, 2019 1:53 PM |
Hmm, it must have been unusual to showcase a woman investigator in the 40's. Will have to look those up, R10. Thanks!
by Anonymous | reply 11 | May 28, 2019 1:59 PM |
R10, if you can find it, there's a great little book which collected a number of pulp fiction stories that feature women.
It's titled "Hard Boiled Dames", edited by Bernard Drew. I have a copy and every once in a while I take it off the shelf and re-read the stories - they're terrific.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | May 28, 2019 2:28 PM |
You’d like the Harry Lime series. You can hear most of them on YouTube. Lime is a charming criminal type and each story is about a con he tries to run. Orson Welles narrates and most episodes are set in foreign cities. Very glamorous film noir feel.
Harry Lime is the mysterious villain in the classic black and white film called—poops, not the 39 steps. Name escapes me. Anyway although the character gets very little screen time he steals the show. The radio show is a spin off of that character’s back story.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | May 28, 2019 2:49 PM |
^Harry Lime was the villain in The Third Man, classic black and white film noir set in Vienna and starring Welles’ costar of many years onstage and in radio, his close friend Joseph Cotton.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | May 28, 2019 2:51 PM |
Big Fanny Brice/Baby Snooks fan here. She and the writing are truly hilarious.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | May 28, 2019 3:13 PM |
I love OTR. Bob & Ray, Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, Duffy's Tavern...all great stuff.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | May 28, 2019 4:00 PM |
We have a local station in Tacoma that plays all of those old time shows, I love it. The shows are mostly corny, but I find them relaxing.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | May 28, 2019 4:47 PM |
WBBM 780AM in Chicago plays them at midnight. I like a lot of the detective ones like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show is pretty good especially for the duo of Phil and Frank Remley (a perfectly cast Elliott Lewis).
by Anonymous | reply 18 | May 28, 2019 5:07 PM |
Pandora also has an old time radio show station that I've listened to from time to time. It can be hit and miss, with many of the shows being played being stuff I've never heard of, but sometimes you'll find a gem.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | May 28, 2019 11:42 PM |
There’s a radio show called “The Halls of Ivy,” starring actor Ronald Colman and his real life wife, actress Bonita Hume. They played a college professor and his wife called the Halls. I’ve listened to a few of them, they were very charming. That show broadcast around 1950.
If you get a chance, Jack Benny also did some episodes where Ronald Colman played himself, as Jack’s elegant, refined Englishman next door neighbor who was very annoyed by Jack for various reasons, but too polite to say so. Those episodes were really funny.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | May 29, 2019 1:42 AM |
I love the old comedy ones, Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Amos and Andy, Fibber McGee and Molly. Lucy's My Favorite Husband isn't bad, either. I also like listening to the old radio soaps, especially if you can find episodes that are in order, Perry Mason is especially interesting.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | May 29, 2019 1:46 AM |
LOVE Our Miss Brooks with Eve Arden.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | May 29, 2019 3:04 AM |
Eve Arden really never got her due, did she? Fantastic comic timing.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | May 29, 2019 3:50 AM |
Thank you, r12! I will check that book out.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | May 29, 2019 4:00 AM |
I love listening and all my favorites have been mentioned.
I’ll add Dragnet, which if you’ve ever seen the show, they are basically done just like the radio shows.
City of the Dead is amazing! I remember being so scared listening to it when I was little. Each episode ends on a cliffhanger and the mystery is very involving. I highly recommend it.
Oh and Lux Radio Theatre is great too.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | May 29, 2019 4:42 AM |
I like the mysteries. The closing door and footsteps....
by Anonymous | reply 26 | May 29, 2019 4:52 AM |
R6, did you go to Syracuse? Because I think I listened to the same station on Sundays!
by Anonymous | reply 27 | May 29, 2019 5:10 AM |
I'm a fan of old time radio too, and my dad had tapes that we would listen to on long car trips. Makes me feel nostalgic...
by Anonymous | reply 28 | May 29, 2019 5:11 AM |
Eve Arden had fantastic comic timing for the silver screen and radio. However, her brand doesn’t translate that well to TV. She is not a natural actress - everything is recited and overenunciated as if for the radio audience. She also had some stock mannerisms and takes that she relied on wayyyyyy too much.
She was on an episode of Alice in the 80s and the poor dear comes off very brittle and unfunny.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | May 29, 2019 5:14 AM |
My favorite is The Aldrich Family. Typical teenage sitcom, but it’s actually very funny (the scriptwriter later wrote for Bewitched). Unfortunately, only about 100 episodes exist, even though it ran for 13 years or so.
Almost all of the Fibber McGee & molly shows exist, which is a treat. The earlier episodes are the best.
CBS Radio Mystery Theatre was also fun and featured some big names in the 70s
by Anonymous | reply 30 | May 29, 2019 5:24 AM |
I used to listen to them all the time when KNX in Los Angeles played them every night from 9PM-10PM.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | May 29, 2019 5:29 AM |
R30 My parents loved Fibber McGee and Molly, and a few others when they were stationed in Germany in the early 1970s. Where they were they couldn't access AFRTS, so they listened to the radio service and the BBC, for English language entertainment.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | May 29, 2019 10:06 PM |
Fibber McGee and Molly was hilarious.
I was shocked when I found out Beulah was a white man!
I loved all their characters they would interact with.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | May 29, 2019 10:12 PM |
I got into listening to them a few years ago after I had back surgery and was immobile for an extended period of time. A lot of the comedy shows can seem corny and out-dated, but I thought The Magnificent Montague was hilarious.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | May 29, 2019 11:39 PM |
I'm going to have to sit down and go through a lot of the ones I haven't heard so far. R35, I accidentally hit play, and I already like it!
by Anonymous | reply 36 | May 29, 2019 11:49 PM |
My uncle said he like Jean Shepherd so I download a bunch of the shows I found on the internet and put them on a device for him to listen to since he's homebound without a computer.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | May 30, 2019 12:29 AM |
R34 I love “Fibber McGee and Molly” as well. When I was a kid in the 70s, my parents bought me episodes on vinyl records. I now stream them.
My only complaint is the songs by the Kingsmen. I love old music, but not these guys and the weird folk songs they sing. Too bad Perry como left the show.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | May 30, 2019 12:54 AM |
"The Great Gildersleeve," which was a spin-off of "Fibber McGee" is also pretty good.
They play a lot of the more recent "Harry Nile" series on the SiriusXM station. These were new scripts that emulated old radio shows; they were produced starting in 1976.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | May 30, 2019 1:49 AM |
Radio shows are back in the form of podcasts. Old radio shows are hardly necessary with the plethora of new podcasts out there.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | May 30, 2019 2:07 AM |
R40 There aren't really many scripted ones, most are more akin to talk radio or NPR.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | May 30, 2019 2:19 AM |
Yes R38, I could do without those musical interludes too.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | May 30, 2019 3:28 AM |
[quote] I love “Fibber McGee and Molly” as well.
"Molly" Marion Jordan was a drunk. She would miss the occasional broadcast and at some stages, would be missing from several episodes in a row due to "illness". Her alcoholism undoubtedly led to a relatively early death and her husband "Fibber" outlived her by almost three decades. He remarried and was often bitter about his radio days. Regardless, it was a beloved show and maintained high ratings for most of its run.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | May 30, 2019 4:42 AM |
R40, one could say the same about old movies and TV shows - hardly necessary with so much new product - but who thinks that?
The old radio shows are entertaining and interesting not only for themselves but for the view of an earlier America they present.
Anyway, are there good new scripted, dramatic podcasts? Like R41, I had the impression most podcasts were more akin to news and opinion programs, but I'd love to hear about new radio drama.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | May 30, 2019 4:59 AM |
One thing I learned listening to some of those old time radio shows, is that most of the sitcom tropes have been around a long,long time.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | May 30, 2019 5:03 AM |
I got hooked on "The Life of Riley" for awhile. It's not hilariously funny, but amusing enough. I just waited for the weekly appearance of Riley's neighbor, Digby O'Dell, The Friendly Undertaker. He was funny. Also, Riley's boss was played by Alan Reed, the original voice of Fred Flintstone.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | May 30, 2019 6:13 AM |
Mel Blanc as the depressed but optimistic postman from Burns and Allen still makes me laugh.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | May 30, 2019 6:49 AM |
R21, I listened to several My Favorite Husband episodes just a few weeks ago. It was fun but a little different from most radio shows for me because I could picture the two main characters so clearly - Lucy, obviously, but also her on-air husband, Richard Denning. I'm a big fan of 1950s B&W sci-fi, so of course Denning is a familiar, very handsome, face.
I suppose people listening to radio shows back at the time would form images of what they thought the characters looked like, only to be disappointed when the guy with the deep, sexy, masculine voice and heroic manner turned out to be 5'2" and 250 lbs. The stars of the most popular shows, like Fibber McGee and Molly or Jack Benny, were well-known faces, but I'm not sure that's true for all the programs.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | May 30, 2019 7:16 AM |
[quote] I suppose people listening to radio shows back at the time would form images of what they thought the characters looked like, only to be disappointed when the guy with the deep, sexy, masculine voice and heroic manner turned out to be 5'2" and 250 lbs
True. How many in the radio audience would tall mighty Matt Dillon was William Conrad
by Anonymous | reply 49 | May 30, 2019 8:03 AM |
R46, Me too. The actor who played Digby was John Brown, who played Broadway in The Damon Runyon Theatre radio show. That show is pretty good.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | May 30, 2019 4:53 PM |
I've got to start listening to some of the programs you guys are discussing.
If you haven't seen Woody Allen's (I know, boo, hiss!) movie "Radio Days", give it a watch. It's a delightful film, an incredible cast and no Woody Allen! (except for voice over).
Wallace Shawn as The Masked Avenger... for you R48 and you R49.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | May 30, 2019 5:47 PM |
WAMU airs "The Big Broadcast" on Sundays.
The show features a collection of vintage radio shows from the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s, hosted by Tony-Award winning playwright, lyricist and director Murray Horwitz.
Each Sunday night radio programs like Gunsmoke, The Jack Benny Show, The Lone Ranger, Suspense, Fibber McGee and Molly, and Dragnet are aired along with historical tidbits — and links between the shows and entertainment today.
Due to copyright concerns, audio is not made available in public archives except for the latest broadcast.
by Anonymous | reply 52 | May 30, 2019 5:52 PM |
R44 Why? Most radio shows are public domain.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | May 30, 2019 6:36 PM |
I also liked a Arthur Q Bryan as “Doc Gamble” on “Fibber McGee.” He was also the original voice of Elmer Fudd, which I had long thought was Mel Blanc.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | May 30, 2019 10:57 PM |
R36 - OP Have you heard this one? A very funny show. NBC wanted to take it to television, but Alice Faye refused. She loved Phil for a husband, but hated working with him.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | May 31, 2019 7:51 AM |
I know the names, vaguely, R55, but have never listened. I'll add it to the list. Thanks!
by Anonymous | reply 56 | May 31, 2019 6:27 PM |
Another, interesting one is The Bickersons, played by Don Ameche and Frances Langford. Unlike other couples at the time who were shown as either happily married, or having little spats, all the Bickerson's do is fight, they make Ralph and Alice from the Honeymooners look like amateurs.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | May 31, 2019 11:57 PM |
[quote]The actor who played Digby was John Brown, who played Broadway in The Damon Runyon Theatre radio show.
John Brown was also the second of the four actors who played Harry Morton, wife of Blanche Morton (Bea Benaderet) on George Burns and Gracie Allen's TV show. He was preceded by Hal March and followed by Fred Clark and Larry Keating.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | June 1, 2019 12:20 AM |
John Brown was blacklisted as a Communist in the early 50s. The only person of clout who provided him with steady employment was Ozzie Nelson.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | June 1, 2019 4:52 PM |
On radio, Brown played both "Digger" O'Dell and Riley's pal Gillis. He was also "Digger" in the short-lived first version of the TV series (the one that starred Jackie Gleason), but the character doesn't appear in the William Bendix TV series.
Brown lived only a few more years after being blacklisted. He died of a heart attack in 1957. He was only 53.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | June 1, 2019 5:26 PM |
I am always constantly amazed at the wealth of arcane knowledge around here. I'm learning an awful lot. Thanks to all the posters.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | June 1, 2019 6:13 PM |
Jackie Gleason as Chester A. Riley (1949), with Rosemary DeCamp as his wife, Peg.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | June 1, 2019 6:24 PM |
John Brown's having been blacklisted may explain how he ended up providing the voice of "Ro-Man," a.k.a. "Robot Monster," one of the worst (and cheapest) sci-fi movies ever made. The monster of the title was played by a man (not Brown) in a gorilla suit wearing a deep-sea diving helmet. The movie starred George Nader, a closeted actor and close friend of Rock Hudson's.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | June 1, 2019 7:00 PM |
R60 Brown did show up as Digby in the film version with Bendix. I saw it on TCM a few months back.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | June 1, 2019 7:22 PM |
Yours Truly.....
by Anonymous | reply 65 | June 1, 2019 7:25 PM |
The 1949 "Life of Riley" movie with William Bendix was released the same year as the first TV version starring Jackie Gleason.
John Brown, Rosemary DeCamp (as Peg) and Lanny Rees (as Junior) went on to play the same roles in the Gleason series. Apparently Bendix had contractual obligations that kept him from doing the first series.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | June 1, 2019 11:42 PM |
Johnny Dollar, the man with the action-packed expense account!
by Anonymous | reply 67 | June 1, 2019 11:45 PM |
That's "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account — America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator!" The mid-1950s episodes with Bob Bailey were excellent, and the five-part story format (one 15 minute episode per weekday, 75 minutes total) allowed them to tell a more detailed nuanced story. The stock players included Virginia Gregg, Larry Dobkin, Parley Baer, Howard McNear (Floyd the barber on the Andy Griffith Show), among others.
by Anonymous | reply 68 | June 2, 2019 12:06 AM |
[quote]The stock players included Virginia Gregg, Larry Dobkin, Parley Baer, Howard McNear (Floyd the barber on the Andy Griffith Show), among others.
Parley Baer also made several appearances on "The Andy Griffith Show" as Mayor Roy Stoner. He delivered the eulogy at Howard McNear's funeral. Baer's best-known role on radio was Chester Proudfoot in "Gunsmoke" (changed to Chester Goode for the TV series).
by Anonymous | reply 69 | June 2, 2019 12:36 AM |
R59 Don't forget that Howard McNear was Doc Adams on the radio Gunsmoke.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | June 2, 2019 12:51 AM |
Thanks, R70. I just realized I forgot to mention that and was about to send an addendum.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | June 2, 2019 12:55 AM |
R6 "The Golden Age of Radio" hosted by Max Schmid has been on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York Sundays from 7:00-9:00PM for almost thirty years and streams at www.wbai.org.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | June 2, 2019 1:33 AM |
R46 "Damon Runyeon Theatre" and "Box 13" were produced by Mayfair Productions owned by Alan Ladd.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | June 2, 2019 1:37 AM |
I live in Manhattan and listen to Old-Time Radio from 10:00PM to1:00AM, seven nights a week from CHML, a 50,000 watt station from Hamilton, Ontario at 900 on the AM dial, between WCBS-880 and WPAT-930.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | June 2, 2019 1:40 AM |
OP, check Amazon for "PRIVATE EYELASHES: RADIO'S LADY DETECTIVES" by Jack French
by Anonymous | reply 75 | June 2, 2019 1:44 AM |
I enjoy listening to 1940s Christmas radio shows in December while wrapping gifts or making cookies ... several on youtube - audio only obviously.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | June 2, 2019 2:23 AM |
I had no idea there were so many other people who shared my interest in old radio shows. If you're interested, there are quite a few available on Spotify as well.
by Anonymous | reply 77 | June 2, 2019 3:41 AM |
This is the website of the guy who hosts the SiriusXM channel, as well as some syndicated programming. He's also sponsoring an old-time radio cruise again this year.
by Anonymous | reply 78 | June 2, 2019 3:43 AM |
R77 Also Internet Archive. I especially like the file of an entire broadcast day of Washington DC's WJSV from September 21, 1939.
by Anonymous | reply 79 | June 2, 2019 4:05 AM |
R76, any titles you can suggest?
by Anonymous | reply 80 | June 2, 2019 4:23 AM |
R48 Radio's "Gunsmoke" starred Bill Conrad as Matt Dillon, because of his weight wasn't hired for TV. When "Life With Luigi" transferred to television, it failed. Characters didn't look like what radio listeners perceived.
by Anonymous | reply 84 | June 2, 2019 12:45 PM |
R6 Gotham Radio Players have been recreating old shows for twenty years. Occasionally on "The Golden Age of Radio" WBAI 99.5 FM Sundays 7:00-9:00PM with stream at www.wbai.org.
by Anonymous | reply 85 | June 2, 2019 12:50 PM |
There's also the California Artists Radio Theatre.
by Anonymous | reply 86 | June 2, 2019 2:30 PM |
[quote]Also Internet Archive. I especially like the file of an entire broadcast day of Washington DC's WJSV from September 21, 1939.
R79, Years ago, someone gave me the WJSV entire broadcast day in a binder on cassettes. I found them utterly fascinating, and still do. It was an interesting time in history, to say the least, and the tapes truly made me feel I had been transported back in time to that day. Arthur Godfrey was the morning host, before he became a national personality. A few years after getting the tapes, I ended up moving to D.C.. and was able to put together the local references with actual locations, which I enjoyed, but you don't have to know D.C. to enjoy hearing the programs. Soap operas, nighttime programming, news, and, of course, the commercials (WJSV was owned by CBS), from sign-on to sign-off, 19 hours in all.
by Anonymous | reply 87 | June 2, 2019 2:44 PM |
Don't open that closet, McGee!
by Anonymous | reply 88 | June 2, 2019 3:35 PM |
If you've ever wondered why so many of the broadcasts are from the Armed Forces Radio Network, in the 1960's a soldier in Germany was given the job of cleaning out an old warehouse and came across all the tapes from WWII and the Postwar Occupation. Instead of throwing them into the dumpster as ordered he saved them, and they represent a significant percentage of the surviving shows. I forget his name, but he hosted a show based out of Chicago for years, and made a modest living selling cassettes. Anyone remember who I'm talking about?
by Anonymous | reply 89 | June 2, 2019 4:02 PM |
R89 He should be given the Presidential Medal of Freedom or a Congressional Gold Medal, for helping to preserve a major part of US History.
by Anonymous | reply 90 | June 2, 2019 4:39 PM |
I thought I'd just pop this thread up again since someone was asking about OTR in the Lucy thread.
by Anonymous | reply 91 | October 16, 2019 6:07 PM |