Classic Radio Collection
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audiobook
(8)
Pat Novak, for Hire, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Jack Webb, Ben Morris
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 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).
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The Cisco Kid, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Jack Mather, Harry Lang
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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).
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The Lineup, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Bill Johnstone
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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).
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Duffy's Tavern, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Ed Gardner
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 co-created 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.
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This Is Your FBI, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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."
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Mr. District Attorney, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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."
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Murder at Midnight, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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.'
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The Mercury Theatre on the Air, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 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.
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Box 13, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Alan Ladd
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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. Silvia Picker played Holiday's scatter-brained 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 Letter, Insurance Fraud, Blackmail Is Murder, Actor's Alibi, Extra, Extra, Shanghaied, Short Assignment, Double Mothers, Book of Poems, The Great Torino, Suicide or Murder, Triple Cross.
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The Black Museum, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Orson Welles
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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. Includes episodes "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".
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Jeff Regan, Investigator, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Jack Webb, Frank Graham
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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. The series ended when Webb left the show in December 1948, 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).
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The Man Called X, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Herbert Marshall, Leon Belasco
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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)
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The Lives of Harry Lime, a.k.a. The Third Man, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Orson Welles
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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).
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The Hall of Fantasy, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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.'
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The Damon Runyon Theatre, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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"
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The CBS Radio Workshop, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
The CBS Radio Workshop regularly featured the works of the world's greatest writers, including Ray Bradbury, Archibald MacLeish, William Saroyan, Lord Dunsany, and Ambrose Bierce, among others. The radio series aired from January 27, 1956, through September 22, 1957, and was a revival of the prestigious Columbia Workshop from the 1930s and 1940s.Creator William Froug launched the series with this powerhouse two-part adaptation of Brave New World and booked author Aldous Huxley to narrate his famous novel. The Columbia Workshop radio drama was innovative in giving authors, directors, sound engineers, and composers many opportunities to experiment with the use of sound as a device for enhancing narrative. Columbia Workshop received a 1946 Peabody Award for Outstanding Entertainment in Drama. This eclectic collection of The CBS Radio Workshop shows includes the following episodes: "The Storm" by George Stuart, starring William Conrad, 2/10/56; "Season of Disbelief" and "Hail and Farewell" by Ray Bradbury, starring John Dehner, 2/17/56; "An Interview with William Shakespeare," starring Hans Conried, 2/24/56; "Voice of the City," starring Clifton Fadiman, 3/2/56; "Report on ESP" by Leonard St. Clair, starring John McIntire, 3/9/56; "Cops and Robbers" by Stanley Niss, starring Larry Haines, 3/16/56; "The Legend of Jimmy Blue-Eyes," starring William Conrad, 3/23/56; "The Ex-Urbanites," starring Eric Sevareid, 3/30/56; "Speaking of Cinderella; or, If the Shoe Fits," starring Vincent Price, 4/6/56; "Jacob's Hands" by Aldous Huxley, starring Hans Conried, 4/13/56; "Portrait of a Tycoon," starring Martin Weldon, 4/20/56; and "The Record Collectors" by William Woodson, starring John Dehner, 4/27/56.
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Rogue's Gallery, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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)
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The Aldrich Family, Volume 1
by Clifford Goldsmith
read by Bobby Ellis
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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).
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Frontier Gentleman, Volume 1
by Antony Ellis
read by John Dehner
Part 1 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 Antony 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).
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The Great Gildersleeve, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 2 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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"
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The New Adventures of Michael Shayne, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Jeff Chandler
Part 2 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 (opposite Lucille Ball) on the radio comedy series My Favorite Husband 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.'
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Classic Radio's Greatest Mystery Shows, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Basil Rathbone, Humphrey Bogart
Part 2 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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).
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Dimension X, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 2 of the Classic Radio Collection series
'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 Benét, 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).
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Classic Radio's Greatest Science Fiction Shows, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 2 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 (18 May 1944)
Suspense. "Donovan's Brain, Part 2" by Curt Siodmak (25 May 1944)
The Sealed Book. "Beware of Tomorrow" by Robert Arthur and David Kogan (29 Jul 1945)
Escape. "Dream of Armageddon" by H. G. Wells (5 Sep 1948)
Mysterious Traveler. "The Big Brain" by Robert Arthur and David Kogan (14 Mar 1950)
Dimension X. "The Roads Must Roll" by Robert Heinlein (1 Sep 1950)
Theatre Royal. "The Country of the Blind" by H. G. Wells (2 Jan 1954)
Exploring Tomorrow. "First Contact" by Murray Leinster (15 Jan 1958)
X Minus One. "Requiem" by Robert Heinlein (27 Oct 1955)
X Minus One. "Tunnel under the World" by Frederick Pohl (14 Mar 1956)
CBS Radio Workshop. "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (25 May 1956)
CBS Radio Workshop. "A Pride of Carrots, or Venus Well Served" by Robert Nathan (14 Sep 1956)
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The Lux Radio Theatre, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Cecil B. Demille
Part 2 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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
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Classic Radio's Greatest Westerns, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by John Wayne, Alan Ladd
Part 2 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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).
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Box 13, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Alan Ladd, Sylvia Picker
Part 2 of the Classic Radio Collection series
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).
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Classic Radio's Greatest Comedy Shows, Volume 3
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 3 of the Classic Radio Collection series
The golden age of radio had incredible comedy shows that kept Americans in stitches for decades. Families gathered around their living room radios to be entertained by the greatest names in Hollywood each and every day. This collection includes Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Eve Arden as Connie Brooks on Our Miss Brooks, Jim & Marian Jordan in Fibber McGee & Molly, William Bendix as Chester A. Riley on The Life of Riley, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Fred Allen, Bing Crosby, Groucho Marx, Ann Sothern as Maisie, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll in Amos 'n' Andy and many more!
Contents:
The Abbott & Costello Show, "Costello in a School Play" (16 Nov 1944)
The Adventures of Maisie, "Killer Diller" (4 Oct 1951)
The Aldrich Family, "Mary's Marriage" (7 Oct 1948)
The Amos 'n' Andy Show, "The Rare Nickel" (16 Jan 1949)
The Burns & Allen Show, with guest Robert Montgomery (7 Apr 1949)
Duffy's Tavern, with guest Chester Morris (11 May 1949)
Father Knows Best, "Aunt Martha Visits" (26 Apr 1951)
The Fred Allen Show, with guest Bing Crosby (23 May 1948)
Fibber McGee & Molly, "Otis Cadwallader is in Town" (6 Oct 1942)
The Great Gildersleeve, "Women's Club Speaker" (17 Jan 1943)
The Jack Benny Program, "On Train to Hollywood" (25 Jan 1948)
The Life of Riley, "Riley, the Cop" (11 Oct 1947)
The Milton Berle Show, "A Salute to Income Tax" (9 Mar 1948)
My Friend Irma, "Seeing a Ghost" (16 Jun 1953)
Our Miss Brooks, "Driving to Football Game" (31 Oct 1948)
You Bet Your Life, "Secret Word: Paper" (3 Mar 1954)
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Classic Radio's Greatest Westerns, Volume 3
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 3 of the Classic Radio Collection series
The golden age of radio had incredible Western shows that kept Americans glued to their sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear Western heroes catch the bad guys and save ladies in distress. This collection includes Gregory Peck in an hour-long episode of The Gunfighter on the Screen Director's Playhouse; James Stewart as Brit Ponset, a.k.a. "the Six-Shooter"; William Holden in The Virginian on General Electric Theater; William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy; William Conrad as US Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke; John Dehner as the man called "Paladin"; Joel McCrea as Ranger Jace Pearson on a true-crime case on Tales of the Texas Rangers; and many more!
Contents:
The Cisco Kid, "Boomerang Vengeance" (1953)
Dr. Sixgun, "Pop Wheddon" (9 Sep 1954)
Fort Laramie, "The Payroll" (16 Sep 1956)
Frontier Gentleman, "Justice of the Peace" (13 Jul 1958)
Frontier Town, "Her Name is Bourbon Kate" (2 Jan 1953)
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch, "Pat Buttram, Private Eye" (1940s)
General Electric Theater, "The Virginian" (13 Aug 1953)
Gunsmoke, "Young Love" (29 Jan 1955)
Have Gun-Will Travel, "Landfall" (15 Nov 1959)
Hopalong Cassidy, "Buckshot Badmen" (25 Nov 1950)
Luke Slaughter of Tombstone, "Big Business" (8 Jun 1958)
Red Ryder, "The Rodeo" (9 Apr 1942)
The Roy Rogers Show, "Gang of Counterfeiters" (9 Nov 1951)
The Six-Shooter, "Blood Relatives" (27 May 1954)
Tales of the Texas Rangers, "Travesty" (15 Jun 1952)
Wild Bill Hickok, "Gunsmoke and Violet" (20 Feb 1952)
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Classic Radio's Greatest Shows, Volume 3
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part 3 of the Classic Radio Collection series
This collection contains sixteen of the greatest shows ever broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio-including episodes of The Jack Benny Program, The Abbott & Costello Show, Burns & Allen, Gunsmoke, The Amos 'n' Andy Show, Philip Marlowe, Gang Busters, Suspense, X Minus One, Our Miss Brooks, Sherlock Holmes and many others. Relive the best radio shows from yesterday and the legendary stars that made them amazing in this incredible collection.
Contents:
The Abbott & Costello Show, "Costello the Cowboy" (22 Mar 1945)
The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, "Heir for G String" (24 Aug 1951)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, "Adventure of the Veiled Lodger" (20 Jun 1948)
The Amos 'n' Andy Show, "East Alaskan Cannery Stock" (9 Jan 1949)
Burns & Allen, "Easter Outfit" and "Broke Uncle Hubert" (20 Apr 1943)
Escape, "Shark Bait," (14 Jul 1950)
Fibber McGee & Molly, "Back from Vacation-Lost Camera" (29 Sep 1942)
Gangbusters, "The Case of the Greedy Gunman" (27 Apr 1948)
The Great Gildersleeve, "Gildy Writes to Servicemen for Marjorie" (29 Mar 1942)
Gunsmoke, "Sins of Our Fathers" (22 Jan 1955)
The Jack Benny Program, "In Denver for March of Dimes" (18 Jan 1948)
Our Miss Brooks, "Birthday Bite, Surprise Party" (24 Oct 1948)
Richard Diamond, Private Detective, "The Private Eye Test" (19 Mar 1950)
Suspense, "Murder Through the Looking Glass" (17 Mar 1949)
The Whistler, "The Cistern" (10 Dec 1945)
X Minus One, "A Logic Named Joe" (28 Dec 1955)
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Classic Radio's Greatest Comedy Shows, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 CorrellDuffy's Tavern, "Guest: Marie 'The Body' MacDonald," starring Ed GardnerThe Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show, "Guest: Martha Ray," starring Edgar BergenFibber McGee and Molly, "Too Much Energy," starring Jim and Marian JordanThe Fred Allen Show, "Guest: Carmen Miranda," starring Fred Allen and Portland HoffaThe Great Gildersleeve, "An Old College Chum Visits," starring Harold PearyThe Life of Riley, "Win a Buick Contest," starring William BendixLife with Luigi, "Getting Rid of His Cough," starring J. Carrol NaishThe Lum and Abner Show, "Bulldogging Lum," starring Chester Lauck and Norris GoffMy Favorite Husband, "George Attends a Teenage Dance," starring Lucille Ball and Richard DenningOur Miss Brooks, "No Uniforms for Opening Day," starring Even Arden
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Classic Radio's Greatest Science Fiction Shows, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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.
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Nostalgia Radio's All-Time Favorites, Volume 3
by CBS Radio
read by Full Cast
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
Enjoy sixteen of the greatest programs from radio's golden age and the Hollywood celebrities that starred in them.
Nostalgia radio had incredible comedy, mystery, detective, western, sci-fi, and musical and drama shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear their favorite Hollywood stars in fully-dramatized broadcasts that entertained millions. In this collection of sixteen episodes, you'll hear The Jack Benny Program with Jack and all his gang, Suspense with Margaret O'Brien, The Charlie McCarthy Show with Edgar Bergan and Orson Welles, The Bickersons with Lew Parker and Frances Langford, The Great Gildersleeve with Willard Waterman, Dragnet with Jack Webb, and many more!
Dark Fantasy 2/6/42 "The Sea Phantom" w/ Ben Morris, The Charlie McCarthy Show 11/5/44 w/ guests Orson Welles and John Roberts Powers, The Judy Canova Show 9/22/45 "Horseback Riding and Picnic Supper Party" w/ Judy Canova, The Molle' Mystery Theater 3/29/46 "The Creeper" w/ Bernard Lenrow, The Philco Radio Time 1/29/47 w/ Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, You Are There 8/25/47 "The Last Day of Pompeii" w/ John Daley, The Adv. of Sam Spade, Detective 9/26/48 "The Dick Foley Caper" w/ Howard Duff, Suspense 11/25/48 "The Screaming Woman" w/ Margaret O'Brien, Screen Director's Playhouse 6/5/49 "The Killers" w/ Burt Lancaster, The Jack Benny Program 2/26/50 "Sketch: The Fiddler" w/ Jack Benny, Life With Luigi 5/2/50 "Sootho's Cough Syrup Guarantee" w/ J. Carrol Naish, The Line-Up 7/27/50 "The Paradise Murder Case", The Phil Harris & Alice Faye Show 11/12/50 "Phil Has a Nightmare" w/ Phil Harris & Alice Faye, The Bickersons 5/10/51 "The Gooseby Vacation" w/ Lew Parker and Frances Langford, The Great Gildersleeve 11/7/51 "Building a House" w/ Willard Waterman, and Dragnet 9/1/53 "The Big Bop" w/ Jack Webb.
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Classic Radio's Greatest Christmas Shows, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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.
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The New Adventures of Michael Shayne, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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"
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Casey, Crime Photographer, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 Café, 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," "A Bright New Star," and "The Chivalerous Gunman."
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The Lux Radio Theatre, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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
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The Life of Riley, Volume 1
by William Bendix
read by William Bendix
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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".
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Classic Radio's Greatest Shows, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
This collection contains twelve of the greatest radio shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio! You'll hear Freeman Gosden and Charlezas Correll as Amos and Andy, Howard Duff as Detective Sam Spade, Tom Conway as the immortal Sherlock Holmes, Jim and Marian Jordon 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.
audiobook
(7)
Classic Radio's Greatest Shows, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 MohrThe Amos 'n' Andy Show, "Kingfish's Brother-in-Law Visits," starring Freeman Gosden and Charles CorrellDragnet, "The Big Test," starring Jack WebbFibber McGee and Molly, "Merchant Marines," starring Jim and Marian JordanGunsmoke "The Overland Express" starring William ConradHave Gun–Will Travel, "The Silver Queen," starring John DehnerThe Life of Riley, "Thanksgiving with the Gillises," starring William BendixOur Miss Brooks, "The Auction Mix-Up," starring Eve ArdenSuspense, "My Wife, Geraldine," starring Edward G. RobinsonThe Whistler, "Package for Emily," starring Bill FormanX Minus One, "Nightfall," by Isaac Asimov and starring Bob HastingsYours Truly, Johnny Dollar, "Rasmussen Matter," starring Bob Bailey
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(14)
Gunsmoke, Volume 3
by Black Eye Entertainment
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
"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 aimed at kids until 1952 when Gunsmoke hit the radio airwaves. Produced for adult listeners, 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 #1 Western on radio. It soon made a successful transition to television, becoming the longest-running dramatic series in TV history. Join William Conrad (U.S. 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."
9/24/55 - Indian White
10/1/55 - The Barton Boy
10/23/55 - Brush at ElKader
11/6/55 - Second Choice
12/11/55 - Land Deal
12/18/55 - Scared Kid
2/26/56 - Who Lives by the Sword
3/4/56 - The Hunter
3/11/56 - Bringing Down Father
3/18/56 - The Man Who Would Be Marshal
4/22/56 - Indian Crazy
4/29/56 - Doc's Reward
5/6/56 - The Photographer
5/13/56 - Cows and Cribs
5/20/56 - Buffalo Man
5/27/56 - Man Hunter
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The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Tom Conway, Nigel Bruce
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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. "
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My Favorite Husband, Volume 2
by Hollywood 360
read by Lucille Ball, Richard Denning
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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."
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(24)
Dimension X, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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
audiobook
(12)
Gunsmoke, Volume 2
by Various Authors
read by Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
"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.
audiobook
(28)
Gunsmoke, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by William Conrad, Various Readers
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
"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.
audiobook
(6)
My Friend Irma, Volume 1
by Various Authors
read by Marie Wilson, Cathy A. Lewis
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 films, television, and even a comic strip.
Episodes include:
"Reward"
"Eyes Have It"
"Dancing Fools"
"Double Surprise"
"Professor's Concerto"
"It's All Relative"
"Fortunes Raised"
"Doubles Troubles"
"Buy or Sell"
"Election Connection"
"Dinner Date"
"Manhattan Magazine"
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The Jack Benny Program, Volume 1
by Hollywood 360
read by Jack Benny, Full Cast
Part of the Classic Radio Collection series
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 its 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"