Missing Episodes of the Whistler

One thing that I wish the OTR community was better at celebrating is circulating news when missing episodes of popular shows are discovered. I've been online for almost 30 years and the amount of OTR that's freely circulating today is much greater than when I used a dial-up modem to download shows; episodes that were confidently listed as "lost" have been found and circulating for many years. And whenever that happens, I think we OTR fans should get the word out to each other, because there is no single comprehensive authority on what's out there.

To that end, as a huge fan of the Whistler I was very pleased to notice at the fan page the Whistler Files that no less than 3 previously-lost episodes of the Whistler have been found and released by fans this year - "The Havana Lee," "No Questions Asked" and "The Croupier's Wife." There are links on the Files' main page to where you can find those episodes. If you, like me, want to hear every episode of the Whistler, well, happily there are a few more out there now.

Radio Recap: The Damon Runyon Theatre

The Damon Runyon Theatre was a half-hour syndicated program from 1949-1950 which adapted stories from the works of author Damon Runyon (who had died in 1946). It was produced by Mayfair, Alan Ladd's production company (although Ladd never appeared on the show). Mayfair also made Ladd's Box 13. It was directed by Richard Sanville of Box 13, Escape and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

John Brown served as the program's narrator, Broadway; Broadway wasn't the narrator in all of the Runyon stories when they were first printed, but it didn't seem to take much effort to simply have Broadway encounter the protagonist of another story then listen as they narrated their tale to him. The stories always had a humorous edge, especially while Broadway was narrating with his Runyon patter (such as the phrase "more than somewhat"). Most of the stories were about big city living and the various classes of criminals but the series also adapted Runyon's World War II stories. Some tales were simply funny, some were heartwarming, some were true hardboiled crime thrillers and a few were tearjerkers.

Other familiar voices in the terrific cast included Jack Webb, William Conrad, Hans Conreid, Gerald Mohr, Ed Begley, Willard Waterman, Frank Lovejoy, Alan Reed, Jeff Chandler, Joseph Kearns, Sara Berner and Sheldon Leonard.

I rather agree with John Dunning's view in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio: "In an era when radio emphasis was on Hollywood stars in film adaptations, The Damon Runyon Theater,/B> was like a cool breeze." This program was my introduction to Damon Runyon's writing and I certainly enjoyed delving into Runyon's fiction. Runyon is mostly remembered today for the Guys and Dolls musical that was inspired by his work but those who know his stories like them a lot; having read the short story collection of Guys and Dolls I'm immensely grateful to The Damon Runyon Theatre for exposing me to his writing.

My favourite episode is "Tobias the Terrible" but I also give high marks to "Little Miss Marker," "The Lemon Drop Kid," "For a Pal," "Butch Minds the Baby," "That Ever-Lovin' Wife of Hymie's," "Dark Dolores" and "Dream Street Rose." (Note that one story they didn't adapt to The Damon Runyon Theatre is "Three Wise Guys," which was instead adapted on the Whistler, complete with John Brown!).

You can hear the Old-Time Radio Researchers' collection of all 52 episodes of The Damon Runyon Theatre at this link on the Internet Archive.

New Video: The Angola Mural Projects

Here's a video of my wife and I introducing the murals we created in Angola:

Radio Recap: Our Miss Brooks

Our Miss Brooks was an extremely successful old-time radio situation comedy that lasted well into the latter days of scripted radio drama, lasting on CBS from July 19, 1948 til June 30, 1957 (I strongly suspect the last season was repeat broadcasts). It started out with Palmolive Soap and Lustre Creme Shampoo as its sponsors. It was produced by Larry Berns and directed and written by Al Lewis.

The show starred Eve Arden as Connie Brooks, the English teacher at Madison High School. The show emphasized how difficult it was to make ends meet on a teacher's salary. She forever hoped to be promoted to head of the English department, but the goal was always just out of reach; she also hoped for Mr. Boynton to marry her, only to be disappointed.

Gale Gordon was Osgood Conklin, the principal of Madison. Gordon, of course, could be terrifically bombastic when his characters would explode in anger, and he seemed to know that Conklin's anger was at its funniest when set to a slow burn. There was a particular knack he had to deliver increasingly histrionic dialogue until suddenly halting and, switching to a calm, mellow voice, would ask Miss Brooks to verify whatever the episode's misunderstanding had been, then hit his top.

Jeff Chandler was Philip Boynton, the bashful biology teacher; Chandler was a legitimate Hollywood heart throb and a radio tough guy who'd played the hardboiled Michael Shayne. His performance as the stammering, awkward Mr. Boynton was a departure for him and really showed off his range.

Richard Crenna was Walter Denton, a helpful student with a piercing nasal voice; Walter thought of himself as a loquacious and erudite young scholar but he would frequently mangle his English, much to Connie's annoyance; he also had a habit of eating up Mrs. Davis' food. Walter would drive Connie to Madison each morning and frequently he would be the one to bring up the episode's particular problem.

Jane Morgan was Margaret Davis, Connie's scatterbrained landlady; she frequently would begin stories about her absent-minded sister Angela, only to forget her own anecdote mid-story.

Gloria McMillan was Harriet Conklin, the principal's daughter and girlfriend to Walter; she was simply a nice girl, but would sometimes unwittingly exacerbate the episode's problem, especially if she thought she was "helping" Miss Brooks.

Other recurring characters included Stretch Snodgrass (Leonard Smith), Madison's star basketball player but also the dimmest character in the school; Miss Enright (Mary Jane Croft), Connie's rival English teacher both for the position as head of the English department and in dating Mr. Boynton; Jacque Monet (Gerald Mohr), the school's French teacher; custodian Mr. Jensen (Bob Jellison), who took his grammar very seriously (such as objecting to the phrase "pick up" when the object in question is above Connie's head); Mrs. Conklin (Virginia Gordon) occasionally appeared; and Mr. Stone (Joseph Kearns), the school's superintendant, who seemed to visit Madison only when things were especially chaotic. There was an appreciable amount of lore as well, such as Madison's rivalry with Clay City High, as their principal Jason Brill was a rival to Mr. Conklin who would sometimes try to lure Madison's faculty to his school; Jason Brill did appear in a few episodes (played by Frank Nelson in one) but he was usually more spoken of than he was present.

CBS ran three auditions before finally launching the series. The 1st audition starred Shirley Booth as the series had originally been intended as a vehicle for her, but she fell out with the producers; the 2nd audition (which we don't have) starred Joan Blondell; finally, Eve Arden was cast in the 3rd audition. The first actual episode was also drawn from the same script as the audition scripts. Beyond the change in lead the role, there are interesting differences between the 3 versions we have of the first script. In the 1st audition, Mr. Conklin was the new President of the school board, rather than the principal. In the 3rd audition, Mr. Conklin was the new principal (but played by Joe Forte) and Jeff Chandler and Richard Crenna took over the roles of Mr. Boynton and Walter Denton; Gale Gordon didn't become Osgood Conklin until the 2nd broadcast episode (which is also when Gloria McMillan debuted as Harriet). It's also interesting that in all the version of the audition script, Walter's mother is set up as an important character on the school board, but she was mostly out-of-focus in the series proper.

I found it interesting that early on, it's established Mrs. Davis went to school with Mr. Conklin; I'd noticed that he always referred to her as "Margaret," but she was portrayed as being much older than he was; anyway, it's only in those early episodes that their past is mentioned. It's also interesting that early on, Mr. Stone was introduced as a former wartime comrade of Mr. Conklin's. Although Mr. Conklin's status as a veteran remained an important part of his character (his style of calling out "dismissed!" at Miss Brooks, for instance), he and Mr. Stone's character bond seemed to disappear and Mr. Stone seemed forever suspicious of Conklin, rather than the guardedly favourable impression he had of Conklin early on.

The series was set around the school, but seldom depicted scenes in the classroom. Usually, scenes were set at Mrs. Davis' home, in Mr. Conklin's office, in Mr. Boynton's biology lab or in the school cafeteria. The series' economy of locations is unusual for a radio series and suggests that from early on, Larry Berns and Al Lewis were thinking how they might adapt their stories to television; the TV series ran from 1952-1956, then ended with a theatrical Our Miss Brooks in which Connie finally got engaged to Mr. Boynton.

Our Miss Brooks let Eve Arden demonstrate she was an extremely capable lead performer, when for most of her career she'd been someone's sidekick (as on the Danny Kaye Show, for instance). Much like Marie Wilson on My Friend Irma, Eve Arden was known, but not a star; Our Miss Brooks became the work she remains best-known for.

The biggest change the show endured during its run was the loss of Jeff Chandler, who was replaced with Robert Rockwell in 1953. Rockwell likewise portrayed Mr. Boynton on the TV series. In fact, the TV version did an excellent job of retaining the radio cast: Eve Arden, the indispensable Gale Gordon, Richard Crenna, Gloria McMillan, Jane Morgan, Joseph Kearns, Virginia Gordon, Mary Jane Croft, even Leonard Smith - all appeared on the small screen.

The Old-Time Radio Researchers have a YouTube playlist with 188 videos (the first 4 are biographies of the cast):

Lubango Vlog: Full CEML Succession Video

I finally had time to upload the full 90+ minute version of my Uncle Steve's succession ceremony at CEML from last month:

Radio Recap: Stars Over Hollywood

Stars Over Hollywood was a half-hour Saturday daytime program heard on CBS from May 31, 1941 to September 25, 1954. It featured stories from all sorts of different genres, most of them radio originals; the attraction was that it featured a big-name Hollywood stars in the lead roles; stars like Vincent Price, Jessica Tandy, William Demarest, David Niven, Ronald Reagan, Lionel Barrymore, Angela Lansbury and Edmund Gwenn. Art Ballinger was the program's host and it was sponsored by Carnation Milk for most of its run.

Paul Pierce (Wild Bill Hickok) was the show's initial producer-director; Hans Conreid directed and acted in many episodes. Ivan Ditmars (of The Adventures of Frank Race, The Diary of Fate, Escape, Frontier Town, The Whistler) supplied music. Apparently a young Rod Serling wrote for this series, but it appears none of his episodes have survived.

According to John Dunning in On the Air, Stars Over Hollywood challenged presumptions in radio that Saturday daytime could draw in listeners; apparently the success of this series caused the networks to start investing money on more daytime Saturday programming than they had previously.

Most of the stories were original scripts, although they did run adaptations of "A Christmas Carol" twice (with Edmund Gwenn as Scrooge). Although the stories featured a host of different genres from comedy to crime, because it was aimed at the housewife demographic it mostly centered itself on relationships - so, romantic dramas or romantic comedies. The two best romantic comedies I've heard are "The Perfect Mate" (December 1, 1951) with a computer matchmaking service.

The best episode of the series by far is also the earliest surviving recording- "Southern Hospitality" (April 18, 1942), with Phil Harris as himself (or, rather, Phil Harris as the person he portrayed on the Jack Benny Program). It concerned Phil being mistaken for a wealthy heir in North Carolina. What helps the episode stand out (besides Phil's vivacious personality) is that his sidekick in the story was Elliott Lewis, several years before he became his sidekick on the Phil Harris/Alice Faye Show!

There are 84 episodes of Stars Over Hollywood in the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Library.

25 Years of the Marvel Appendix!

The Marvel Appendix website is celebrating 25 years since its launch! As one of the site's first contributors I created hundreds of new profiles to celebrate the anniversary. They'll be slowly released all through September and I won't post about all of them here, but here's which profiles of mine are available today:

Alpha-Tron (Hydra weapon)

Boswell Boliver (time traveler)

Bull Barton (Kid Colt foe)

Crusher (wrestler, sparred against Captain America)

Deacon (Captain America foe)

The Desert Hawk (Sgt. Fury ally)

John (robot, sci-fi character)

John Warden (S.H.I.E.L.D. psychic)

Josh Kittling (Spider-Man ally)

Manuel (Captain Savage ally)

Marion (Iron Man love interest)

Molecular Condenser (Stilt-Man weapon)

Molecule Ray (The Leader's weapon)

Sen-Yu (Dr. Strange ally, fellow mystic)

Sidney Blake (sci-fi character)

Sonic Shark (anti-Silver Surfer weapon)

Zantor (Atlantean villain)

Radio Recap: Daredevils of Hollywood

"From Hollywood, the motion picture capital of the world, we bring you the thrilling, true life experiences of those men behind the scenes, those daring unsung heroes whose breathtaking adventures on the screen have thrilled millions, whose daily jobs bring them face-to-face with death, those men who comprise the strangest fraternity on earth, the suicide squad, the movie stuntmen, the Daredevils of Hollywood!"

Daredevils of Hollywood was a 15-minute syndicated program that ran from April 25 to July 22, 1938. The series celebrated the profession of Hollywood stuntmen, with each episode focussing on a particular stuntman.

The show would open with a dramatic performance of a stunt, then switch to an interview between Kurt Foreman and the stuntman. The only one of the stuntmen featured on the show who's known today is Yakima Canutt, but the other stuntmen featured were Bob Rose, Cliff Lyons, Ione Reed, Slim Talbot, Matt Gillman, Bob Clark, Frank McGrath, Kansas Mooring, Cecil Kellogg, Eileen Goodwin, Ken Cooper Frank Clark and Gordon Carvette.

I wonder, though, whether the actual stuntmen were being interviewed on the show-- listening carefully to Yakima Canutt, I'd swear that was radio veteran Lou Merrill.

To me, the most interesting tidbit from these programs was during Foreman's interview with Cliff Lyons:

Lyons: "...A few extras will do easy things such as falling down stairs or rolling down a cliff; we call those 'bumps' men.
Foreman: "Tell me, Cliff, what's the difference between a stuntman and a 'bumps' man?"
Lyons: "Well, when a 'bumps' man makes a mistake, he breaks an arm or a leg, but when a stuntman misses, it's curtains."

Frank Nelson narrated most of the events in the dramatic portions; other familiar voices included Hanley Stafford and Joseph Kearns.

The problem with the series for me is that the radio techniques were still a little too primitive; usually, in the opening re-enactment, when the stuntman's life inevitably ends up in danger, it turns into a series of people yelling and trying to describe what's happening. It doesn't make for good radio.

It's also a little irritating that at each episode's halfway mark, the stuntman will start to describe an anecdote, then get cut-off by Foreman, who promises they'll continue the anecdote after the commercial break. It was a deliberate creative choice to lure listeners into sticking around for the rest of the anecdote, but the interruption is always unwelcome.

The Old-Time Radio Researchers have a YouTube playlist of all 26 episodes of Daredevils of Hollywood.

Jack Kirby’s birthday on the Marvel Appendix!

It's the anniversary of Jack Kirby's birth and I celebrated by writing these profiles about some of his creations for the Marvel Appendix!

Number One (Secret Empire leader)

Agent C (Hydra operative)

Bazooka Drill (S.H.I.E.L.D. device)

John Bronson (agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Senator Dudley (S.H.I.E.L.D. Executive Council)

Hover-Limousine (Hydra vehicle)

Metronome Unit (S.H.I.E.L.D. devices)

Morpheus Grenade (S.H.I.E.L.D. weapon)

N.A.P. (S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle)

Porsche 904 (the original S.H.I.E.L.D. flying car)

S.H.I.E.L.D. Marine Division (sea-based S.H.I.E.L.D. squad)

Swamp Buggy (S.H.I.E.L.D. swamp vehicle)

Hydra Undersea Assault Force (Hydra frogman team)

Avengers Helicopter (Avengers aircraft)

Ben Clark (Korean War hero)

Delta Missile (King Arrkam's weapon)

Dreadnought Air-Yacht (Maximus' flagship)

Sea Sled (Inhumans vehicle)

Escape Sub (A.I.M. vehicle)

Hammer Hogan (Rawhide Kid foe)

Magneto's Giant Magnet (I can't wait to tell all my friends; they don't have a magnet this big)

X-Men Jetcopter (X-Men's aircraft)

M'Wabu (Wakandan servant)

The Phantom Whose Touch Means Death (Balder foe; have I mentioned his touch means death?)

Rhamu Rondi (Vision/Aarkus foe)

Shock-Roller (Avengers workout device)

Glenn Stuart (college football star, romance hero)

General von Ritzik (Howling Commandos foe)

X-13 (giant robot)

X-34 (intergalactic starship)

X-35 (X-Model robot)

X-29 (X-Model robot)

X-3 (X-Model robot)

Zarin (Polar Eternals)

Lifters (Makkari's device)

General Greshkov (Eternals character, Celestials foe)

Energy Bomb (Deviant anti-Celestial weapon)

The Delphan Brothers (Eternals, brawlers)

Brain-Mines (Deviant device/weapon)

Mr. Bradford (U.S. government, Eternals ally)

Air Shuttle (Deviant vehicle)

Aginar (Polar Eternal)

Lubango Vlog v.4.6: A Toast to Lubango!

As another visit to Angola winds down, my wife and I toast Lubango in our accustomed fashion.

Lubango Vlog v.4.5: Canadians Still Trying Junk Food in Angola

Yes, it's another vlog about tasting junk food. Join us for a bite!

Radio Recap: The Skippy Hollywood Theatre/Your Movietown Radio Theater

The series known as both The Skippy Hollywood Theatre and Your Movietown Radio Theater was a syndicated program heard from 1941-1949 through Ziv syndication; it then ran on CBS from December 1, 1949 to September 21, 1950. The series offered a variety of familiar names from Hollywood in the starring role of a half-hour drama. I've found that OTR collectors have put episodes from either show title into each other's collections; so be it.

Music was by Del Castillo (Escape) and it was produced, directed and hosted by Les Mitchel, who produced a similar-sounding program I've yet to listen to called The Theatre of Famous Radio Players.

The majority of the stories heard on the program were original dramas, which means if you haven't heard this show before, you'll find plenty of unfamiliar tales. One of the few adaptations I've heard is "Rappaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The stories are a mixed bag; for example, the episode "Sound of Her Voice" is a comedic supernatural story that riffs on Robert Louis Stevenson's "the Magic Bottle," in which a man obtains a genie but the story's primarily about how annoying the voice of the man's wife is. It's not successful as a comedy. Otherwise, I didn't find this series very remarkable.

The series did have a lot of light, comedic fare. Two that I enjoyed was the romantic comedy "Girl in the Galaxy" with a lovestruck astronomer and "A Book on Rock Gardening," a screwball comedy about children who give their father a thoughtless gift that consumes his life.

There are 42 episodes in the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Library collection of The Skippy Hollywood Theatre and 66 episodes of Your Movietown Radio Theater - there's duplication between the two series and at least one misfiled episode from another series.

Blogging from Angola

Just a reminder that my wife and I also blog about our experiences in Angola on our website; at our blog you can learn about the murals we're designing, the inventory we're taking and other observations about Angola. Check it out!

New Vlog: More of Tasting Junk Food in Angola!

The right day for a junk food tasting video is everyday!

Radio Recap: Presenting Charles Boyer

"That is Michel: Adventurer, bon vivant, connoisseur of words, wine and women! Our Michel is a familiar sight on the boulevards of Paris and the rumor is that he was born wearing a top hat, white tie, and tail! Michel, in the person of Mr. Charles Boyer, is perhaps the most fascinating barnacle ever to fasten on the ship of Parisian society. There he sits, in the Tour de Jean; impeccable and impecunious, telling his story to his author friend, Bart Conway."

Presenting Charles Boyer was a summer show on NBC from July 4-September 12, 1950. It was a summer replacement for Fibber McGee and Molly and starred, of course, Charles Boyer, the famous romantic lead. Boyer's career was in a bit of a slump, but his name was so well-known that it's no wonder the show was named for him.

As outlined in the intro, above, Boyer portrayed Michel, a penniless Frenchman whose life was full of romance and adventure. To make a buck, he'd tell his stories to Bart Conway (Hanley Stafford).

For a 1950s NBC dramatic program, it thankfully has its own unique musical score (primarily using the accordion).

Presenting Charles Boyer is fine for what it is - Michel is basically the same as Harry Lime in the Lives of Harry Lime, so fans of one show will almost certainly like the other.

There are 18 episodes of Presenting Charles Boyer (2 of them are auditions) in the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Library.

New vlog: CEML Succession

On August 7, my Uncle Steve stepped down as director of medical seevices at CEML in favour of Dr. Sam Fabiano. I was there with my wife and we recorded most of the 2-hour service. I've made this video of highlights; it's all in Portuguese.

Lubango Vlog v:4:2: Canadians Try Junk Food in Angola

Since 2021, I've been making videos about junk food in Angola. I'm not done yet!

Radio Recap: Unit 99

"The job of a police officer is your protection; the cases you hear on this radio program are real cases; the police are real, the victims and the criminals are real; we are glad to provide Unit 99 and Sergeant Meredith so that you will hear how the police of a great city work night and day for your protection! Make no mistake about it, there are no actors on these tapes they are real from beginning to end; now to Unit 99 and Sergeant Meredith:"

Unit 99 was a latter-day old-time radio show, heard over ABC from June 2, 1956 to October 3, 1957. It doesn't seem to have been well-researched - at some stages it was a half-hour show, at others 15 minutes.

Unit 99 appears to be ABC's attempt to follow CBS' series Night Watch; like that series, it follows a policeman in his patrol car as he responds to various incidents. However, while Night Watch was mediated by reporter Donn Reed, Unit 99 used just policeman Sgt. Don Meredith to address the audience - so sometimes he's being followed by a microphone, at other times he speaking something very rehearsed.

It lacks the visceral impact Night Watch had at it's best because people sound a little too polished - my guess is that they were told to repeat something they'd said before when the microphone was brought up (Night Watch would censor profanity; it's not clear to me that anyone on Unit 99 even used profanity). There are also instances where the police are way too patronizing to the people they encounter, such as when they meet a man who was attacked but doesn't want to press charges, causing them to pressure him into reconsidering. It's inferior to Night Watch but okay if listening to a police ride-along is your idea of entertainment.

There are 177 episodes of Unit 99 in the Old-Time Radio Researchers' Library.

New Essay: West Wing in a Kitty Suit: Politics in Christopher Priest’s Black Panther

My latest essay on Christopher Priest's Black Panther is up at Sequart: "West Wing in a Kitty Suit"! In this essay I discuss how Priest used politics in his stories.

Radio Recap: The Grantland Rice Story

The Grantland Rice Story was a 15-minute syndicated program released from September 17, 1955 to September 8, 1956. It was based on the writings of Grantland Rice, a famous sports reporter who had died just before the series was made. In the show, Jimmy Powers would read from Rice's autobiography The Tumult and the Shouting (1945), giving the series a feel similar to that of a book-on-tape. Some episodes feature interviews between Powers and other sports writers who knew Rice, and with some of the sports figures whom Rice wrote about.

I found this a surprisingly interesting program; Rice met a lot of famous athletes in his time and there are lively anecdotes about some; it's also a look into a bygone age, something Powers remarked at the opening of the series as sports journalism in newspapers had already been greatly transformed due to television broadcasting. It also looks at sports which were not widely-known at the time, such as Rice's writing on the golf craze (I noted this phenomenon when I reviewed Judge magazine).

You can hear the Old Time Radio Researchers' collection of The Grantland Rice Story through the playlist below: