Jack Benny (Feb 14, 1894 – Dec 26, 1974) was an American comedian, vaudevillian, radio, television, and film actor. Widely recognized as one of the leading American entertainers of the 20th century, Benny played the role of the comic penny-pinching miser, insisting on remaining 39 years old on stage despite his actual age. Jack Benny […]
Back before we had screens to endlessly gaze into, people turned the lights off and gazed at the radio with their ears (and sometimes their eyes, too) with the same intensity. Radio can be more magical than any of the best special effects you've seen in movies because it doesn't do everything for you. With the visual component of the story taken out, one is left to fill in that blank with whatever wild fantasies they might come up with. Good writing, characters, acting and all-around storytelling can coax the mind into releasing it's impressions of reality and transport you to another time or place.
The Six Shooter
The good voice of James Stewart starred in this folksy western adventure series from NBC. Stewart played Brit Ponset who is described like this in the series: “The man in the saddle is angular and long-legged: his skin is sun dyed brown. The gun in his holster is gray steel and rainbow mother-of-pearl. People call them […]
Foundation Trilogy
The Foundation Trilogy is an epic science fiction series written over a span of forty-four years by Isaac Asimov. It consists of seven volumes that are closely linked to each other, although they can be read separately. The series is highly acclaimed, winning the one-time Hugo Award for “Best All-Time Series” in 1966. The premise […]
Lights Out
Created by Wyllis Cooper and then eventually taken over by Arch Oboler, versions of Lights Out aired on different networks, at various times, from January 3, 1934 to the summer of 1947 and the series eventually made the transition to television. Lights Out was one of the earliest radio horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner […]
Tales of the Texas Rangers
Tales of the Texas Rangers is a western themed adventure show that started in 1950 on NBC and ran through late 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, to track them down. The shows were reenactments […]
Obsession
Obsession’s first episode aired on October 9, 1950 on WBBM, Chicago as a filler until January 15, 1951, when Obsession earned its own time slot. The program lasted only seventeen months. Its final broadcast aired May 12, 1952. The program starred many radio greats including Vincent Price, Ruth Warrick, William Gargan, Miriam Hopkins, and Barton […]
Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator
Barrie Craig was “your man when you can’t go to the cops. Confidentiality a specialty.” This is another solid detective / crime radio series that ran from 1951 to 1955. Barrie and his associate Lt. Travis Rogers would solve crimes in New York City efficiently and fearlessly. Here is the source from Archive.org
Crime Classics
Crime Classics is a CBS radio show that got it’s start in 1953. It describes itself as “A series of true crime stories from the records and newspapers of every land, from every time. Your host each week, is Mr. Thomas Hyland — connoisseur of crime, student of violence, and teller of murders.” You can […]
Mysterious Traveler
Mysterious Traveler is, as you might expect, a mystery show from Mutual that started in 1943. It was very popular in it’s time, rivaling the CBS heavyweight Suspense. While it’s estimated about 400 episodes were produced, only around 70 of them are still available. This is a definite must-listen. You can can learn more about […]