Showing results by author "Original Radio Broadcasts" in All Categories

Lum and Abner aspire to open a moving picture theater in Pine Ridge. In order to make their dream a reality, they'll need to find an appropriate building in town, a piano (and someone to play it), plus a projector (and someone to operate it). Will the boys manage to pull this project together? Will they find the money for the startup costs? And will Squire Skimp find a way to horn in on their new business? Come on down to the Jot 'Em Down Store and find out!

Next stop: Summerfield! Join Fibber McGee's battling next-door neighbor as he sets out on a brand new life in this collection of early episodes of The Great Gildersleeve! Gildy's new family fast becomes the most important part of his life - and this bombastic bachelor quickly develops a strong sense of heart.

With a crash and and a thump and a tumble and a bang, open up the closet door for another hilarious visit with Fibber McGee and Molly! Head down to Wistful Vista with Jim and Marian Jordan for 20 zany radio comedy classics! Bill Thompson is heard as The Old Timer and Wallace Wimple, with Gale Gordon as Mayor LaTrivia and Foggy Williams, Arthur Q. Bryan as Doc Gamble, and Harlow Wilcox announcing in these entertaining episodes from 1948.

Saboteurs and spies! Con artists, kidnappers, and interstate felons galore! They're all fair game for Special Agent Jim Taylor, steely-eyed G-Man in This Is Your FBI! Produced with the full cooperation of Director J. Edgar Hoover himself, here are 16 radio dramas of crime and scientific investigation drawn from actual case files! Firm-jawed, firm-voiced Stacy Harris stars as Taylor, cracking down on swindlers and bunco artists, bank robbers and blackmailers, safe crackers, extortionists, and double-crossers with an air of quiet authority.

An orange glow peeks through the window on a crisp October night. Is it a jack-o'-lantern? Or, is it the radio dial? It's both! This collection of radio's happiest Halloween moments is replete with good old-fashioned haunted houses, costume parties, cemeteries, tricks and treats. Have fun with favorites like Jack Benny, Hal Peary, William Bendix, Ozzie and Harriet, Lucille Ball, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and Boris Karloff. This wholesome, family-oriented on-air All Hallows' Eve comedy celebration includes 12 digitally restored and remastered episodes.

Cases of safe-cracking, gambling, kidnapping, car theft, and murder - police across the nation are tracking small-time crooks and big-time trouble. This landmark series of Philips H. Lord, arguably responsible for the entire idea of reality-based police dramas, featured true stories that played like fiction. A novel idea for the time, and one that is still powerful today. After the story was told, and the crooks were apprehended, listeners heard bulletin style updates of other criminals at large and helped bring hundreds of them to justice.

Racketeers and robbers, crap-shooters and kidnappers, hit men and hard cases - watch out! Joe Friday's on the job, and he isn't here to fool around! Join Jack Webb for 20 gritty true-life tales of urban crime from the files of the Los Angeles Police Department. Ben Alexander, Martin Milner, Jack Kruschen, Virginia Gregg, June Whitley, Stacy Harris, and more co-star as the city's cops, concerned citizens, and cold criminals.

Mask in place, cloak flowing, gas gun at the ready - radio's pulpiest crime-fighter prowls the streets of a corrupt American city as The Green Hornet! Hop aboard the sleek, supercharged vehicle known as The Black Beauty with wealthy young publisher Britt Reid and his faithful valet Kato for 20 thrilling tales of urban crime! Jack McCarthy stars as Britt Reid, the mysterious vigilante, skulking in the night - raining sudden vengeance down on unwitting evildoers before vanishing back into the mists of his secret identity.

Actor and singer Dick Powell, after many musicals for the Warner Brothers and Fox studios, embarked on a new career as a hard-boiled tough guy. Powell got the opportunity to further flex his new tough-guy muscles in the medium of radio, starring in the role of investigator Richard Rogue in the crime drama Rogue’s Gallery. In this collection, Powell portrays Rogue with a charming lack of care and refusal to take things too seriously, all while delivering solid entertainment for detective and crime drama fans.

In 1940, America was still staggering its way out of the Great Depression, and war clouds were rolling in from Europe. The upcoming Presidential campaign spotlight turned to perhaps the unlikeliest, but certainly the most entertaining, candidate of all - Gracie Allen. Politics was perfect for Gracie's particular brand of logical illogic. Join the hilarity, and the throngs of supporters, as George Burns, Gracie, and their entire cast embark on a whistle-stop tour all the way to the Surprise Party's national convention in Omaha, Nebraska.

Tough, yet compassionate - and a first-class detective besides - that's Boston Blackie. The infamous safe cracker turned private eye will lead you through 16 hard-hitting crime classics from 1947-48! Richard Kollmar stars as Blackie, with Lesley Woods as Mary Wesley, and Maurice Tarplin as Inspector Faraday. The race is on for our hero to capture the killers, recover the diamonds, and clear his own name!

When Phillips H. Lord created his long running Gang Busters radio series in January of 1936, crime was rampant and criminals (both actual and fictional) were being glamorized in movies and newspapers. In response, Lord brought the public this police procedural series, dramatizing stories of real cops who kept real counterfeiters, safe crackers, and killers off the streets - and even broadcasting alerts for criminals known to be at large.

The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show was one of radio’s brightest lights; a hilarious situation comedy featuring a friendly sardonic and sarcastic edge that set it apart from its contemporaries. Featuring Phil Harris, fresh off plying his comedic and musical talents on The Jack Benny Program, and his movie star wife Alice Faye. The show also starred Elliott Lewis as the remarkable Frankie Remley - one of radio’s most unforgettable characters - a humorously irresponsible con-artist with an endless thirst for the good stuff.

William Bendix stars as Chester A. Riley in producer Irving Brecher's outstanding radio comedy series The Life of Riley. Co-starring with Bendix is Paula Winslowe as Riley's long-suffering wife, Peg, and John Brown performing in two roles, that of Riley's pal Gillis and, most memorably, as the hilarious "friendly undertaker" Digger O'Dell. This collection features 16 classic radio episodes, including rare and previously unavailable selections, all digitally remastered and restored for your listening enjoyment.

Mr. and Mrs. Piper are at it again - navigating the ebb and flow of postwar suburbia in The Couple Next Door. The head of the household takes up a new hobby, navigates changes at work, and faces a few domestic dilemmas - all while his lovely wife stands by...and stands her ground! Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce star in 32 consecutive episodes from 1959, featuring Margaret Hamilton as Aunt Effie!

In October 1964, as the "British Invasion" of pop music came into its own, Playboy Magazine assigned Jean Shepherd to travel with, and interview, the Beatles on their tour of the United Kingdom. Shepherd also took advantage of his assignment to further travel the UK on his own, exploring from Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands to London with a portable recorder to record material for use on his own syndicated radio program. The result is a fascinating audio documentary of the UK at a distinct point in time, with Shepherd offering commentary and musings uniquely his own on the popular culture and mores of the day.

Our Duffy's Tavern: Volume One is the very first in our Archives collection. Once again these fantastic episodes from the 1951 season are available - along with a bonus track: the series' 1940 audition performance on Forecast. Come on back to the place where "the elite meet to eat", and visit with Archie and the gang. There is never a dull moment at the tavern on New York's 3rd Avenue.

He's a specialist in insurance fraud and the finer points of human nature. He's insouciant, cynical, and glib...but honest when it counts. Wherever he goes, there's intrigue, excitement, and mystery! He's the Man with the Action Packed Expense Account: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

From start to finish, Dragnet brings you a real-life police drama of unprecedented realism. When the series hit the air in 1949, there was nothing else like it, anywhere. In this collection, Jack Webb and Barton Yarborough star in 20 broadcasts from the earliest months of radio's landmark police procedural.

Life goes on for The Couple Next Door - they are preparing for a family wedding, taking a trip, and planning the construction of a brand new house. Mr. and Mrs. Piper always manage to find a way to get things done, no matter what unpredictable obstacles pop up along the way. Here are 32 episodes of realistic scenarios tinged with a real sense of humor. This classic daytime radio favorite was created and written by Peg Lynch, who stars in these programs, along with Alan Bunce and Margaret Hamilton.