Showing results by author "Radio Shows of the Past!" in All Categories

The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (Russian: Архипелаг ГУЛАГ, romanized: Arkhipelag GULAG) is a three-volume non-fiction series written between 1958 and 1968 by Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Soviet dissident. It was first published in 1973 by the Parisian publisher YMCA-Press, and it was translated into English and French the following year. It explores a vision of life in what is often known as the Gulag, the Soviet labour camp system. Solzhenitsyn constructed his highly detailed narrative from various sources including reports, interviews...

The Twilight Zone is a nationally syndicated radio drama series featuring radio play adaptations of the classic 1959–1964 television series The Twilight Zone. The series was produced for the British digital radio station BBC Radio 4 Extra airing for 176 episodes between October 2002 and 2012. In the United States, it aired on nearly 200 radio stations including WCCO, KSL, KOA, WIND, XM Satellite Radio channel 163 and Sirius XM Book Radio.Most of the stations aired two episodes each week, usually on the weekends and many times back to back.Many of the stories are based on Rod Serling's ...

Originally broadcast as Detective: Stories of Crime and Detection in London, this BBC radio drama ran for four series between 1980 and 1985. Written by the award-winning creator of Z Cars and Softly Softly, Robert Barr, it comprised 39 thrilling stories set in London’s criminal underworld, all of which are collected here. DS Dave Brook is a long-serving, ducking-and-diving police officer who takes armed robberies and violent crime in his stride. But then he is teamed up with young 'grammar school boy' DC Blair Maxton from sleepy Epsom. How will Max cope with the mean streets of his new patch...

Ray Bradbury’s stories lend themselves well to radio, so it’s no surprise that there have been so many adaptations over the years — some adapted by Bradbury himself. Radio also played a pivotal role in Bradbury’s development as a writer early in his career.

The Saint began its life on radio in January 1945. Most old time radio reference books list the initial broadcast date as January 6, 1945, probably because that was when the program aired in the Eastern United States. In an initial story about The Saint, however, Billboard reported, "Series tees-off over NBC January 4 on 7 Western stations, with a repeat skedded for Saturday to hit 15 Midwestern and Eastern stations at 7:30 p.m. EWT." That Saturday was January 6. The article noted the involvement of the character's creator, saying: "All scripting will be under the supervision of ...

Dad and Dave from Snake Gully was an Australian radio drama series based on the On Our Selection stories of Steele Rudd. The series is more often referred to simply as Dad and Dave. The theme tune was "The Road to Gundagai". The standard accent used by actors and announcers in Australian broadcasting at the time was typically "Southern English", an upper class British version that emulated the BBC. The actual Australian accent was however acceptable only in low comedy productions as in this series "Dad and Dave from Snake Gully."This famous Australian radio drama series can still be ...

The English-language propaganda radio programme Germany Calling was broadcast to audiences in the United Kingdom on the medium wave station Reichssender Hamburg and by shortwave to the United States. The programme began on 18 September 1939 and continued until 30 April 1945, when the British Army overran Hamburg. The next scheduled broadcast was made by Horst Pinschewer (also known as Geoffrey Perry), a German-Jewish refugee serving in the British Army who announced the British takeover. Pinschewer was later responsible for the capture of William Joyce.Through such broadcasts, the ...

Suspense is a radio drama series broadcast on CBS Radio from 1940 through 1962. One of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on suspense thriller-type scripts, usually featuring leading Hollywood actors of the era. Approximately 945 episodes were broadcast during its long run, and more than 900 still exist.Suspense went through several major phases, characterized by different hosts, sponsors, and director/producers.Formula plot devices were followed for all but a handful of episodes: the protagonist was ...

Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories was a 15-minute radio drama that aired January 18, 1937, to November 16, 1956, on CBS, sponsored by Spry shortening. The program was heard weekdays at 11:45 a.m. until 1946, when it moved to 12:15 p.m.Unlike most continuing soap operas, on Monday of each week a new, self-contained storyline was begun, one which would then reach its conclusion on Friday. A review in the trade publication Radio Daily noted that the program's "dramatic playlets with popular appeal plots hold good human interest." Aunt Jenny (Edith Spencer, Agnes Young) offered cooking tips ...

In 1936, major World War 2 news included Hitler's remilitarization of the Rhineland, a blatant violation of the Treaty of Versailles, marking a significant escalation of German aggression, alongside Mussolini's conquest of Ethiopia and the growing alliance between Germany and Italy, forming the "Rome-Berlin Axis" which further destabilized international relations; additionally, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany, solidifying a bloc against the Soviet Union. Key events of 1936: March 1936:German troops occupy the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone under the Treaty of Versailles....

Radio historian John Dunning described this season of The Avenger as "a poor man's version of The Shadow." Jim Brandon (alter ego of The Avenger) was a biochemist who invented a Telepathic Indicator and a Secret Diffusion Capsule, both of which helped him fight crime.Jim Cox, in his book Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age, noted characteristics that The Avenger shared with The Shadow: having "a drop-dead gorgeous subordinate, Fern Collier, who alone knew his true identity"; being hidden by "a black light of invisibility"; and having the ability to interpret "...

A radio dramatization of the original Star Wars film trilogy was produced in 1981, 1983, and 1996. The first two radio series, based on Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, were produced and broadcast by National Public Radio (NPR) as part of NPR Playhouse. A dramatization of Return of the Jedi was produced by most of the same team and it was also broadcast on NPR.The radio serials were made with the full cooperation of George Lucas, who, in exchange for a dollar each, sold the rights to KUSC-FM, the public radio affiliate at his alma mater, the University of Southern ...

The CBS Radio Workshop was an experimental dramatic radio anthology series that aired on CBS from January 27, 1956, until September 22, 1957. Subtitled “radio’s distinguished series to man’s imagination,” it was a revival of the earlier Columbia Experimental Laboratory (1931), Columbia Experimental Dramatic Laboratory (1932) and Columbia Workshop broadcasts by CBS from 1936 to 1943. The CBS Radio Workshop was one of American network radio's last attempts to hold on to, and perhaps recapture, some of the demographics they had lost to television in the post-World War II era.The ...

Little Orphan Annie was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on August 5, 1924, in the New York Daily News.The plot followed the wide-ranging adventures of Annie, her dog Sandy and her benefactor Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks. Secondary characters include Punjab, the Asp and Mr. Am. The strip attracted adult readers with political commentary that targeted (among other things) organized labor, the New Deal and communism.Following...

There was a radio show called Thriller Playhouse that featured classic thrillers. There was also an American radio and TV series called Starring Boris Karloff that was similar to Thriller. ExplanationThriller PlayhouseA radio program that featured classic thrillers, including Murder in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe Starring Boris KarloffAn American radio and TV anthology series that aired on ABC in 1949 The show featured Boris Karloff as the host and occasional star The series adapted short stories of mystery and suspense

Olmsted's appearances during the era of live television began in 1950 with The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre and Lights Out, followed by Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1951). The Philco Television Playhouse (1951–52), Kraft Television Theatre (1951–52), Tales of Tomorrow (1952), Hallmark Hall of Fame (1952), Goodyear Television Playhouse (1953), Robert Montgomery Presents (1953–54), Studio One (1954–55), The Phil Silvers Show (1955-59) and NBC Sunday Showcase (1959).Nelson Olmsted narrated and acted in over 150 episodes of the Ohio Story television series. Image ...

Under Arrest was a fictional radio drama about crime and detection that aired in the 1940s. It was a summer replacement series for The Shadow in 1946 and 1947. What was it about?Under Arrest was a modern drama set in 1948. It starred Craig McDonnell as Police Captain John Drake. When did it air?Under Arrest aired in the 1940s, a year before the more well-known radio show Dragnet. Who starred in it?Under Arrest starred Craig McDonnell as Police Captain John Drake.

1951 Private Detective stories starring British Actor Rex Harrison as Rex Saunders, a gentleman detective.

Nelson Olmsted was one of the last great radio horror performers. Born Leroy Nelson Olmsted, Jr. on January 28, 1914 in Minnesota, he was raised in Texas, where he became an announcer for local radio stations. For the album notes on his Sleep No More album, he offered a bit of biography:“By the time I moved to WBAP in Ft. Worth... the announcer's life seemed endlessly sterile.What to do about it? Dramatic shows cost money and there were no budgets. The cheapest drama for radio I could think of was good literature, read aloud. Especially the work of that great dramatist who never wrote a play...

True Detective Mysteries radio series was based on the "True Detective magazine. Later it was sponsored by Listerine and Oh Henry Candy, but kept the same name. Each week the show presented the "case history of an actual crime. Many were told from the criminal's point of view.