The Cincinnati
Old Time Radio
and Nostalgia Convention
Discussion Board

Edited by author 08-30-2010 08:28 AM

IN THE OLD-TIME RADIO CORNER - PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE

Before Jack Webb made those four notes “dum da dum dum” forever famous, he starred in a quirky series set at the San Francisco harbor, called Pat Novak for Hire.

The dialog he wrote for Novak was just bizarre – there’s just no other way to describe it.

Listen for yourself, as we give you the April 23, 1949 episode of Pat Novak for Hire. This is called Rita Malloy.

Edited by author 08-23-2010 08:28 AM

DAN'S OLD-TIME RADIO CORNER - THE MEL BLANC SHOW

He was the voice of Bugs Bunny. He was the voice of Porky Pig. He was the voice of Jack Benny’s perpetually-frustrated violin teacher, and Jack’s parrot, and Jack’s antique Maxwell automobile when it struggled to get started.

Mel Blanc, the man of a thousand voices, had his own radio series that ran for one season on CBS. Mel played a mousy handyman who ran a fix-it shop with the help of his assistant Zookie, who sounded a lot like Porky Pig.

Sadly, Mel’s unique talents were wasted in this series. The writing was weak and the jokes not very funny. Still, for historical purposes, old-time radio fans should listen to an episode or two of The Mel Blanc Show.

This one is called The Astrologer, and it was originally broadcast on November 19, 1946.

Listen at http://radiofun.info

Edited by author 08-16-2010 10:24 AM

DAN'S OLD-TIME RADIO CORNER - I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE FBI

McCarthyism was rampant in the early 1950s, and radio gave us a weekly series called I Was a Communist for the FBI. It ran from 1952 to 1954.

Dana Andrews played the real-life spy who pretended to be a Red so he could infiltrate the Communist Party.

I Was a Communist for the FBI was an independent syndicated program, not run by any specific network, and it was carried by an astounding 600-plus radio stations. From May 7, 1952, here’s an episode of I Was a Communist for the FBI, called Little Red.

Listen at http://radiofun.info

Edited by author 08-09-2010 09:46 AM

DAN'S OLD-TIME RADIO SHOW - FORT LARAMIE

Radio producer-director Norman McDonnell and head writer John Meston gave us two old-time radio western series. Both were “adult, thinking-man” programs.

One was Gunsmoke.

The other was Fort Laramie.

Fort Laramie ran for less than a year, from January 1956 to October 1956. It starred a relatively unknown mostly bit-part actor who had done radio for several years and had been in the movies too.

The year after he starred in Fort Laramie, his career would skyrocket as he became television’s Perry Mason.

Canada’s Raymond Burr was picked to play Perry Mason over such better-known actors as Jeff Chandler, Fred MacMurray, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

Legend is that Perry Mason author Erle Stanley Gardner said, “THAT’s Perry Mason” when Burr walked in to audition.

Raymond Burr played cavalry Captain Lee Quince in Fort Laramie. From February 5, 1956, here’s an episode of Fort Laramie called Squaw Man:

http://radiofun.info

Edited by author 08-09-2010 09:44 AM

DAN'S OLD-TIME RADIO SHOW - NERO WOLFE

Nero Wolfe was a most unlikely detective.

He was a gourmet and an orchid connoisseur, and he was generally a rather nasty man altogether.

He was so vastly overweight that he seldom left his apartment.

He listened to clients tell their stories, then he sent his assistant Archie Goodwin to do the footwork (and the dirty work).

Archie tracked down the clues, often putting himself in great physical danger, then he turned his findings over to Wolfe, who solved the mystery in the comfort of his easy chair.

Three actors played Nero Wolfe on the radio. In this program, we hear the most well-known Nero Wolfe, Sydney Greenstreet.

This episode, Stamped for Murder, was originally broadcast on October 20, 1950.

Listen at http://radiofun.info.

DAN'S OLD-TIME RADIO SHOW - FIBBER MCGEE AND MOLLY

Fibber McGee and Molly were one of America's best-loved radio couples. Stars Jim and Marion Jordan were married in real life, and their show was on the air from 1935 to 1959.

Their radio show was as popular as The Lone Ranger, Jack Benny, Gunsmoke, and Burns and Allen, but unlike those programs, Fibber McGee and Molly was not able to adapt itself to television.

Perhaps it failed because it was better heard than seen. Fibber McGee and Molly was more "sound-oriented" than other radio shows.

For example, Jim Jordan was a wizard at delivering extended alliteration at breakneck speed, and he was also a professional punster. No picture is required to fully appreciate either of these verbal gymnastic techniques.

Also, the most popular running gag of the show was Fibber McGee's closet. It was stuffed with junk, and whenever it was opened, you heard everything fall out. The sound effects man would sweep shelf after shelf of umbrellas and bowling balls and pots and pans to the floor, going on for maybe thirty seconds, and it got funnier all the time.

But in real life, gravity isn't that slow. The closet crash would last only three seconds or so, and the humor was lost.

And finally, when the TV version was cast, new actors were chosen for the parts of Fibber and Molly. Like David Letterman said (repeatedly) of Val Kilmer, "That ain't Batman."

This episode, Catching a Train, first aired on February 20, 1945.

Listen now at http://radiofun.info

Edited by author 07-19-2010 11:13 AM

DAN'S OLD-TIME RADIO SHOW

Once upon a time there were radio shows - and then television shows - that told a completely different story every episode, with no continuing characters except the host who introduced each story, and with different locations, and even time periods, every week.

In radio, there was Suspense, and Lights Out, and The Whistler, and Academy Award Theater and Lux Radio Theater and the First Nighter Program. In television, there was Playhouse 90 and the Loretta Young Show and Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone.

One of the best radio shows of this type was Escape, which ran on CBS and was hosted by William Conrad and Paul Frees. Escape usually took place in some exotic locale, and dramatized someone in a life-or-death situation.

This episode, The Man Who Stole the Bible, first aired on May 5, 1950.

I just got this note from Jack French:

--------------------

I don't know if any of you were aware of this, but Robert Newman [note from Dan: See photo 76 below] of Cincinnati recently suffered two serious falls.

In his newsletter, RLL on the Air, he enclosed a note saying on June 16th he took a four foot fall onto a hard surface, face first, seriously injuring his back and cracking his ribs. His right arm was also badly damaged. Later, while in recovery, he was inspecting some storm damage (tree down) on his property on June 26th, got tangled in the debris, and fell hard on his damaged shoulder. He now has only limited use of his right arm and is recovering very slowly.

I've mailed him a get-well card to show support. His address is: 11509 Islandale Drive, Forest Park, OH 45240-2319. If you don't have time to buy a card, you could email him some cheer at <rto5@juno.com> but I've always thought email is a little too impersonal for get-well cards. Some of you may feel differently....

Feel free to pass this on to anyone else who knows Robert.

Regards,

Jack

-----------------------

Lennell Marshall adds:

Just an FYI - - Robert does not have a computer or email at his home. He accesses his account at the local library.
Lennell

The Other Side of the Story, from the World's Most Rabid Jack Benny Fan

Karen Hughes and Bruce Raleigh, Cincy OTR regulars

Edited by author 07-12-2010 04:48 PM

Bruce Raleigh and Robert Newman, President of Radio Listener's Lyceum. Taken at the 2010 Cincy Convention.

DAN'S OLD-TIME RADIO SHOW - THE GREEN HORNET

The Green Hornet (Britt Reid) was the son of the nephew of the Lone Ranger.

Like the Lone Ranger, he fought crime though law officers thought he was an outlaw.

And like the Lone Ranger, he had a foreign sidekick (Tonto for the Lone Ranger, Kato - a Philipino - for the Green Hornet).

The program ran from 1936 to 1952, and though several actors played Britt Reid, Al Hodge is best remembered for the role.

This episode, Torpedo on Wheels, originally aired on November 14, 1942.

Listen at http://radiofun.info.

DAN'S OLD TIME RADIO SHOW - DOCTOR SIXGUN

For every really successful radio western, like The Lone Ranger and Gunsmoke, there were dozens of lesser-known cowboy shows.

A good example of one of these programs that flew under the radar is Doctor Sixgun, which ran just one year, from 1954 to 1955.

Karl Weber played the gun-toting physician. Weber was no stranger to radio, or to the medical profession. He had played a doctor for two years in the radio soap opera The Guiding Light, and he appeared in several movies and tv shows, including Perry Mason, Doctor Kildare, and Maverick.

This episode, "No Guns" Ordinance, originally aired on October 31, 1954.

Listen at http://radiofun.info

Edited by author 06-28-2010 08:15 AM
DAN'S OLD-TIME RADIO SHOW - BURNS AND ALLEN

Nathan Birnbaum married Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen in 1926. For the next 30 years, they were one of the best-loved couples in America.


Nathan became George Burns and Gracie dropped all those middle names, and Burns and Allen were headliners in vaudeville, radio, and television for almost half a century. George was in show biz for over 93 years!


Their radio program was one of the top-rated shows for many years. This episode, Sweeping Into Office, was originally broadcast live from the San Francisco World's Fair on May 29, 1940.


Listen and enjoy, at http://radiofun.info