Afternoon Radio Theater: Tales Of The Texas Rangers - Open and Shut (September 23, 1950)

Tales of the Texas Rangers, a western adventure old-time radio drama, premiered on July 8, 1950, on the US NBC radio network and remained on the air through September 14, 1952. Movie star Joel McCrea starred as Texas Ranger Jayce Pearson, who used the latest scientific techniques to identify the criminals and his faithful horse, Charcoal (or "Charky," as Jayce would sometimes refer to him), to track them down. The shows were reenactments of actual Texas Ranger cases. 

Afternoon Radio Theater: The Adventures of Frank Race - "The Darling Debutante" (May 8, 1949)

The Adventures of Frank Race was an American radio adventure serial syndicated by Bruce Eells Productions. The 30-minute program's first East Coast broadcast was 1949, and the show ran 43 episodes. Because it was syndicated, it aired on different stations on different days. For instance, in New York City, the first episode ran on WINS on April 9, 1949. The series was broadcast on the West Coast from 1951-52. Frank Race mainly investigated international insurance scams around the globe in various exotic locations, making him something of a cross between James Bond and Johnny Dollar. After Tom Collins played the title role for the first 22 episodes, Paul Dubov took over the lead role. Tony Barnett portrayed Race's sidekick, Mark Donovan. Other actors included Jack Kruschen, Wilms Herbert, Lillian Buyeff and Harry Lang. The series was written and directed by Joel Murcott and Buckley Angel. Ivan Ditmars provided the background organ music

Opening... 
one-minute organ theme and then the following from announcer Art Gilmore:Many things were changed during the war; the face of the earth was altered and the people of the Earth changed. Before the war, Frank Race was an attorney, but he traded his law books for the cloak and dagger of the OSS. When it was over, his former life was over, too... adventure had become his business! 

Afternoon Radio Theater: Jack Benny Program - The "I Can't Stand Jack Benny" Contest Ends (Dec 30, 1945)

Afternoon Radio Theater: Family Theater - J. Smith And Family - w/Bing Crosby and Irene Dunne (Feb 27, 1947)

Family Theater was a dramatic anthology radio show which aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System in the United States from February 13, 1947 to September 11, 1957. The show was produced by Family Theater Productions, a film and radio studio extension of the Family Rosary Crusade founded by the Holy Cross Priest, Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, as a way to promote family prayer. The motto of the these Holy Cross Family Ministries is, The family that prays together, stays together. The program had no commercial sponsor, yet Father Peyton, CSC arranged for many of Hollywood's stars in film and radio at the time to appear. In its ten-year run, well-known actors and actresses, including James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Irene Dunne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Shirley Temple, Raymond Burr, Jane Wyatt, Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Gene Kelly, Kate Smith, William Shatner and Chuck Connors, appeared as announcers, narrators or stars. A total of 540 episodes were produced. The program featured not only religious stories but half-hour adaptations of literary works such as A Tale of Two Cities, Moby-Dick and Don Quixote.

Afternoon Radio Theater: Old Gold Comedy Theater - "Take A Letter Darling" w/Susan Hayward (Dec 3, 1944)

The Old Gold Comedy Theater was an NBC anthology series that aired for the single 1944-1945 season. It was hosted by comedy star Harold Lloyd, of silent film fame, and featuring some of the biggest names from film and radio. The series was intended as a lighter version of The Lux Radio Theater, featuring half hour shows that were cut-down versions of successful comedy films from the time period. Despite Mr. Lloyd's best efforts, the presence of big-name movie and radio stars and the selection of successful films for scripting, the series did not last, perhaps due to the half-hour format. However, in today's time period they are quiet entertaining. It was also known as, The Old Gold Comedy Theater, Harold Lloyd Comedy Theater and The Comedy Theater

Afternoon Radio Theater: "In Name Only" - Cary Grant and Carol Lombard (1939)

Afternoon Radio Theater: "Portrait of a Killer" (Dec 1, 1975)

Afternoon Radio Theater: Suspense - "The Cellar Door" (Jan 24, 1956)

Afternoon Radio Theater: The Mysterious Traveler - "No One On the Line" (Sep 10, 1944)

Afternoon Radio Theater: Archie Andrews - "Sunburned" (July 13, 1949)

Afternoon Radio Theater: Michael Shayne - "The Hate That Killed" (June 4, 1949)

Afternoon Radio Theater: The Fat Man - "The Nightmare Murders" (Jan17, 1951)

The Fat Man, a popular radio show during the 1940s and early 1950s was a detective drama based on characters by Dashiell Hammett. It starred J. Scott Smart in the title role, as a detective who started out anonymous but rapidly acquired the name 'Brad Runyon'.

Broadcast from the studios of WJZ in Newark, New Jersey, the series premiered on the ABC Radio Network on Monday, January 21, 1946, at 8:30pm, as part of a block of four new programs (I Deal in Crime, Forever Tops, and Jimmy Gleason's Diner). Based on Dashiell Hammett's fiction, The Fat Man was further developed by producer, E.J. ("Mannie") Rosenberg. The program was directed by Clark Andrews, creator of Big Town, and Charles Powers. The main writer was Richard Ellington, with other scripts by Robert Sloane and Lawrence Klee.

Afternoon Radio Theater: Bergen and McCarthy - Father's Day W/Judy Garland (June 21, 1942)

Afternoon Radio Theater: Richard Diamond, Private Detective - The Van Dyke Seance Case (September 10, 1949)

Afternoon Radio Theater: Fort Apache - John Wayne (Aug 8, 1949)

John Wayne died 35 yrs ago today at the age of  72.

Afternoon Radio Theater: Lights Out - "It Happened" (May 11, 1938)

Lights Out debuted in 1934 and was radio's premier horror series created by writer/director Wyllis Cooper, who later scripted Boris Karloff's 1939 classic Son of Frankenstein. Wyllis Cooper was a innovative radio writer and worked on other notable shows such as The Empire Builders, Quiet Please, Campbell's Playhouse, The Army Hour, and Whitehall 1212. Lights Out truly set the bar high for other radio dramas in the 1930's due to its gore and strangeness. It was one of the first old time radio shows that developed the medium of radio with distinct sound effects and dramas intended to be heard. 


Adhesive tape, stuck together and pulled apart, simulated the sound of a man's or woman's skin being ripped off. Pulling the leg off a frozen chicken gave the illusion of an arm being torn out of its socket. A raw egg dropped on a plate stood in for an eye being gouged; poured corn syrup for flowing blood; cleavered cabbages and cantalopes for beheadings; snapped pencils and spareribs for broken fingers and bones. The sound of a hand crushed? A lemon, laid on an anvil, smashed with a hammer. 


Cooper was succeeded by Arch Oboler, one of radio's greatest dramatic talents. Oboler had scripted the Mae West's infamous "Garden of Eden" sketch and brought a new level of psychological horror to radio in scripts like "Cat Wife," "Sub-Basement," and "Chicken Heart." Though most famous for his film roles, Karloff was an accomplished radio performer who hosted his own series Boris Karloff's Treasure Chest and narrated Radio Reader's Digest broadcasts during the final two decades of his life.

Afternoon Radio Theater: Dragnet - The Garbage Chute Murder (Dec 15, 1949)

Putting the blog to bed. Good night: That's What I Like About The South

Afternoon Radio Theater: Jack Benny w/guest Oscar Levant (Jan 17, 1943)

This episode mostly revolves around Jack's upcoming appearance at Carnegie Hall with various other musical luminaries. Pianist and wiseacre Oscar Levant shows up to add to the musical pedigree, and the show then segues into a parody of Levant's regular radio gig, Information Please. Flamboyant man-child Joe Besser also makes one of his occasional appearances.

Afternoon Radio Theater: The Bob Hope Show - Guest/Judy Garland (March 7, 1939)