Boxcars711 Old Time Radio

Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio. He suggested to Gosden and Correll that they adapt The Gumps to radio. They instead proposed a series about "a couple of colored ch

Arch Oboler's Plays was a radio drama series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939 to March 23, 1940 and revived five years later on Mutual for a sustaining summer run from April 5, 1945 to October 11, 1945. Leading film actors were heard on this series, including Gloria Blondell, Eddie Cantor, James Cagney, Ronald Colman, Joan Crawford, Greer Garson, Edmund Gwenn, Van Heflin, Katharine Hepburn, Elsa Lanchester, Peter Lorre, Frank Lovejoy, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Paul Muni, Alla Nazimova, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Page, Gale Sondergaard, Franchot Tone and George Zucco.

Strike It Rich - The show made it's debut on CBS radio in 1947. Strike it rich was on CBS's primetime schedule July 4, 1951 through January 12, 1955. There were two attempts to revive the show, with Bert Parks as host in 1973 and Tom Kelly as host in 1978. Neither revival was successful. A syndicated game show of the same name with host Joe Garagiola was aired 1986-1987, but it had a different format. Known as "The quiz show with a heart" and the contestants who appeared on the show were people in need of money or down on their luck. A player was given $30 and bet part of his or her bank on the ability to answer four general knowledge questions. If unable to answer the questions correctly, the contestant could turn to the "heart line" where viewers would call in and donate money or merchandise. When needy families desparate to become contestants began arriving in New York on one-way tickets, the city's Welfare Department labeled the game show "a national disgrace."

Richard Diamond, Private Detective was a radio show starring Dick Powell which aired from 1949 to 1953, first on NBC, then ABC and finally on CBS. The title character was a rather light-hearted detective who often ended the episodes singing to his girlfriend, Helen. The television series was produced by Powell's company, Four Star Television, and that series ran for 3 years from 1957 to 1960. On TV, David Janssen played the hard boiled private eye and his secretary renamed “Sam”, was only ever shown on camera from the waist down, most assurardidly to display her beautiful legs. It was later leared that  the legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore. Original music by Frank DeVol  and pete rugolo  and later by richard shores.  Good scripts,  a solid cast and Powell’s exceptional talent made a good time 30 minute program that was quite popular during that Golden Age of Radio. So Let’s sit back now, relax and enjoy this truly otr radio classic.,…, Dick powell  as Richard Diamond.., Private Detective.THIS EPISODE:March 2

Life with Luigi was a radio comedy-drama series which began September 21, 1948 on CBS. The story concerned Italian immigrant Luigi Basco, and his experiences as an immigrant in Chicago. Many of the shows take place at the US citizenship classes that Luigi attends with other immigrants from different countries, as well as trying to fend off the repeated advances of the morbidly-obese daughter of his landlord/sponsor. Luigi was played by J. Carrol Naish, an Irish-American. Naish continued in the role on the short-lived television version in 1952, and was later replaced by Vito Scotti. With a working title of The Little Immigrant, Life with Luigi was created by Cy Howard, who earlier had created the hit radio comedy, My Friend Irma. The show was often seen as the Italian counterpart to the radio show The Goldbergs, which chronicled the experience of Jewish immigrants in New York.THIS EPISODE:CBS network. Sustaining. Not auditioned. Luigi wants a driver's license. J. Carrol Naish, Alan Reed, Cy Howard (creator, p

Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator is one of the few detective radio series that had separate versions of it broadcast from both coasts. Even the spelling changed over the years. It was first "Barry Crane" and then "Barrie Craig". NBC produced it in New York from 1951 to 1954 and then moved it to Hollywood where it aired from 1954 to 1955. It attracted only occasional sponsors so it was usually a sustainer.William Gargan, who also played the better known television (and radio) detective Martin Kane, was the voice of New York eye BARRY CRAIG while Ralph Bell portrayed his associate, Lt. Travis Rogers. Craig's office was on Madison Avenue and his adventures were fairly standard PI fare. He worked alone, solved cases efficiently, and feared no man. As the promos went, he was "your man when you can't go to the cops. Confidentiality a speciality."Like Sam Spade, Craig narrated his stories, in addition to being the leading character in this 30 minute show. Nearly sixty episodes are in trading circulation today.

Blair of the Mounties is the story of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police -- a fictional series based on the work of the Northwest Mounted Police before the World War I. It was a fifteen minute weekly serial heard every Monday for 36 weeks beginning January 31st, 1938 and running through the 3rd of October of 1938. It may have been on the air as early as 1935, although there’s no actual proof of this. Little is known of the series other than it followed the exploits of Sgt. Blair of the Northwest Mounted Police. and probably was the inspiration for Trendell, Campbell and Muir's Challenge of the Yukon. The series was written by Colonel Rhys Davies, who also played the Colonel Blair in the series. Jack Abbot played the Constable. Jack French, one of OTR’s best researchers says this about the series: “Blair is not restricted to Canada, as other Mounties, as we find him, in a few cases, in Great Britain, solving cases. Overall the series is amateurishly written, with the actor playing Blair coming accros as a bit

The Zero Hour, a.k.a. the Hollywood Radio Theater The series was syndicated by Mutual and the programs were allowed to be aired when convenient.  Therefore, broadcast dates vary around the country. Broadcast dates start on the premier date and continue until completion without break. Host was Rod Serling. The Cast included Edgar Bergen, Richard Crenna, Howard Duff, John Dehner, Lurene Tuttle, George Maharis, Susan Oliver, Joseph Campanella, John Astin, Patty Duke. The Music Theme played by Ferreane and Teicher. The Producer  was J.M. Kholos and the Director was Elliott Lewis. Broadcast history was September 10th - December 7th, 1973 and April 29th - July 26th 1974.

Meet Miss. Sherlock - During World War II no more women sleuths arrived on the scene but 1946 was a banner year when three new ones debuted on network radio. One was as much comedienne as crime solver, Meet Miss Sherlock. This was a CBS summer sustainer that recounted the adventures of Jane Sherlock, a scatterbrained amateur detective, and her boyfriend, Peter Blossom, a civil attorney who occasionally fainted. There were two separate versions of this show; the first ran from July 3, 1946 to September 26, 1946 while the second one ran from Sept 28, 1947 to Oct 26, 1947. Both series were produced and directed by David Vaile, with scripts by E. Jack Neuman and Don Thompson. The announcer was Murray Wagner and the live orchestra was headed by Milton Charles. Sondra Gair had the title lead in the 1946 version, Captain Dingle of the NYPD was a youthful Bill Conrad and Joe Petruzzi played Peter Blossom. When the series resumed in the fall of 1947, Betty Moran did the first epiosde but her voice was not “dithery” en

Your's Truly Johnny Dollar - For over twelve years, from 1949 through 1962 (including a one year hiatus in 1954-1955), this series recounted the cases "the man with the action-packed expense account, America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar". Johnny was an accomplished 'padder' of his expense account. The name of the show derives from the fact that he closed each show by totaling his expense account, and signing it "End of report... Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar". Terry Salomonson in his authoritative "A Radio Broadcast Log of the Drama Program Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar", notes that the original working title was "Yours Truly, Lloyd London". Salomonson writes "Lloyd London was scratched out of the body of (the Dick Powell) audition script and Johnny Dollar was written in. Thus the show was re-titled on this script and the main character was renamed. Why this was done was unclear – possibly to prevent a legal run-in with Lloyd’s of London Insurance Company." Although based in Hartford,

The Man Called X - Sponsored by Frigidaire and later General Motors, this spy series starred Herbert Marshall as Ken Thurston, Intelligence Agent. Marshall, British by birth, starred in films with many of the greatest, especially Detreich in Blonde Venus, Bette Davis in The Virgin Queen, Vincent Price in The Fly, and a great cast in The Razor's Edge, where he portrayed W. Somerset Maugham.THIS EPIOSDE:May 25, 1951. Syndicated. Commercials deleted. An associate of Ken Thurston's is in Hong Kong, trying to stop a scheme to smuggle pharmaceuticals into Red China. Van Heflin substitutes for Herbert Marshall. Van Heflin, Leon Belasco. 25:28.

Have Gun Will Travel was a popular American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was the #4 show in the Nielsen ratings in its first year, and #3 for the next three years.[citation needed] It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted on November 23, 1958. The show followed the adventures of Paladin, a gentleman-turned-gunfighter played by John Dehner on radio, who preferred to settle problems without violence, yet, when forced to fight, excelled. Paladin lived in the Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, where he dressed in semi-formal wear, ate gourmet food, and attended opera. In fact, many who initially met him mistook him for a dandy from the East. When working, he dressed in black, used calling cards and wore a holster which carried characteristic chess knight emblems, and carried a derringer under his belt. The knight symbol is of course in reference to his name — possibly a nickname or working name — and his occupation

The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (1939-1953), is remembered first and foremost for its unforgettable introduction: awkward teen Henry's mother calling, "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!" A top-ten ratings hit within two years of its birth (in 1941, the showm carried a 33.4 Crossley rating, landing it solidly alongside Jack Benny and Bob Hope), the show is considered a prototype for teen-oriented situation comedies to follow on radio and television and is a favourite if dated find for old-time radio collectors today. The Aldrich Family as a separate radio show was born as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O---which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time. The Aldriches ran in that slot from October 10, 1939 until May 28, 1940, moving to Thursdays, from July 4, 1940 until July 20, 1944. After a

Inner Sanctum Mysteries was a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941 to October 5, 1952. Created by Himan Brown, the anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense. The tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler. A total of 526 episodes are known to have been produced. The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing himself as, "Your host, Raymond," in a mocking sardonic voice. A spooky melodramatic organ score punctuated Raymond's many morbid jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant dreaaaaammmmssss!" His tongue-in-cheek style and ghoulish relish of his own tales became the standard for many such horror narrators to follow, from fellow radio hosts like Ernest Chappell (on Cooper's later series, Quiet, Please) and Maurice Tarplin (on The Mysterious Traveler) to EC Comics' Crypt-Keeper in various incarnations of Tales from the Crypt. In interviews, EC publisher Bill G

Box 13 - The premise of the program was that Dan Holiday was an author who wrote mystery novels. To get ideas for his novels he placed an advertisement in a newspaper saying "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything, Box 13." The ads always brought fun adventures of all kinds: from racketeer's victim to psychotic killer looking for fun. Most of the episodes were based on Dan Holiday replying to a letter he received at Box 13. He would generally solve a mystery in the process, and return to his office in time to enjoy a hearty laugh at the expense of Suzy, his amusingly stupid secretary. He would certainly not meet the strictest requirements for private eyes (not licensed, collected no fees from clients), but the definition should stretch to sneak him in under the rope. It was heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System as well as being syndicated. The series was produced by Mayfair Productions. Box 13, starring Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Sylvia Picker played Suzy, Dan Holiday's secretary and Edmond MacDon

Manhattan Playhouse - The show lasted for four episodes and was broadcast on the Mutual Network on Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. in the New York City area. Two episodes of the show were also syndicated to the Los Angeles market in January 1949. The dates of the original broadcasts were 48/12/04, 48/12/11, 48/12/18, and 49/01/08. A television anthology series under the same name would later air from April to November 1951 on the NYC television station WABD (DuMont Television Network). In addition, another television series with the same name aired two episodes in September and October 1953 on the same station.THIS EPISODE:January 8, 1949. Mutual network. "The Perfect Secretary". Sustaining. A comedy about a young executive who always falls in love with his secretary. Paul Ford, Leonard T. Holton (writer), Peggy French, John Harvey, Wynn Wright (director), Jerry Hausner, Robert Monroe (composer), Sylvan Levin (conductor), Jack O'Reily (announcer). 29:30.

The Adventures Of Superman - This juvenile adventure series was first broadcast on Mutual in 1940 with Clayton (Bud) Collyer starring as Superman/Clark Kent. It first began as a fifteen-minute show but later, in 1949, it moved to ABC as a thirty-minute Saturday show with Michael Fitzmaurice as Superman. At the end of its thirteen-year run it had totalled over 1600 episodes. The opening for the show was one of radio’s best, setting the stage for those flights into fantasy with a cascade of voices, narration and sound effects. “Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!” “Look! Up in the sky!” “It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” “It’s Superman!TODAY'S SHOW: Hans Holbin's Doll Factory (3 Episodes-Complete)

The Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.THIS EPISODE:March 27, 1950. CBS network. "The Man Who Came To Dinner". Sponsored by: Lux. Not auditioned. Clifton Webb, Lucille Ball, Betty Lou Gerson, Steve Dunne, William Johnstone, Nelson Welch, Jay Novello, Eleanor Audley, Arthur Q. Bryan, Margaret Brayton, Lois Corbett, Ruth Perrott, Walter Craig, Rhoda Williams, George Neise, Herb Butterfield, Edward Marr, Julius Epstein (screenwriter), Phil

The Sealed Book starred Philip Clarke as the keeper of the book, a croaking, cackling hermit, with knowledge of the black arts, who in each show unlocked the great padlock that kept the sealed book safe from prying eyes. There was a spook story each week with tales of secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages. This MUTUAL network entry in the horror and mystery genre was far from the best remembered, such as Suspense, Quiet Please, and Inner Sanctum. The Sealed Book begins with a classic intro, in which when gonged, we are escorted by the tuxedoed announcer with unseen organist as the keeper of the book opens the ponderous, albeit squeaky door "to the secret vault wherein is kept the great sealed book, in which is recorded all the secrets and mysteries of mankind through the ages, Here are tales of every kind, tales of murder, of madness, of dark deeds strange and terrible beyond all belief." First broadcast date march 18th 1945. Last broadcast date september 9th 1945. Narrated by Philip Clarke and wr

The Molle Mystery Theater - Although Molle Mystery Theatre was initially sponsored by Molle Shaving Cream, other sponsors (such as Bayer Aspirin, Ironized Yeast, Phillips Milk of Magnesia) also sponsored the program. Sometimes, when it was not sponsored by Molle, the program was called "Mystery Theater". The show was first heard on NBC, on 9/7/43. Time slot was originally Sunday nights at 9:00 PM, but was later moved to Tuesday at 9:00 PM, and Friday at 10:00 PM. In 1948, the show moved to CBS (Tues, 8:00 PM), and in 1951, it moved to ABC, where it was called "Mark Sabre", and heard on Wednesdays at either 8:00 PM or 9:30 PM. The shows were tight and tension filled, with a fine orchestra score and solid production values. Classic tales from well-known authors, as well as modern unknowns were presented, and the endings were often twists or shockers.THIS EPISODE:November 29, 1946. NBC network. "Radio Patrol". Sponsored by: Molle, Double Dandereen. A man found dying on the docks confesses to a radio patrolman th