Showing results by author "Hollywood 360" in All Categories

Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion. It aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962 and is considered by many to be the best mystery drama series of the golden age. Often referred to as "Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills", it focused on suspenseful thrillers starring the biggest names in Hollywood.

This collection contains twelve of the greatest comedy shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio. You'll hear Ozzie and Harriet Nelson in The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll as Amos 'n' Andy, Robert Young in Father Knows Best, Jim and Marian Jordan as Fibber McGee and Molly, William Bendix as Chester A. Riley in The Life of Riley, Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband, and more.

Radio Westerns were strictly for kids until 1952, when Gunsmoke hit the radio airwaves. The stories were grim, the deaths brutal, and life on the plains was harsh. Radio audiences had never heard anything like Gunsmoke, and they made it the number one Western on the radio. It soon made a successful transition to television, becoming the longest-running dramatic series in television history.

Join Carl Amari and Lisa Wolf as they present trivia contests, games, showbiz news, movie reviews, celebrity interviews and classic radio shows!

This Is Your FBI, as the title suggests, was a crime drama that featured true cases from the FBI and was told from an agent's viewpoint. The show's producer and director, Jerry Devine, had once worked for the FBI, so having him for the show would allow each story to be told in the best way possible. J. Edgar Hoover, who was the chief of the FBI at the time, gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air", and gave Devine access to the FBI files for the stories used in the show.

Michael Shayne, "the reckless, redheaded Irishman", was a popular hard-boiled detective created by crime novelist Brett Halliday. In the novels, Michael Shayne settled in Miami just after WWII, making crime pay by fighting it with a license and an attitude. Like Mike Hammer and Philip Marlowe, Shayne was a loner. The backstory on Mike is that he was happily married, but it hit him hard when his wife was tragically murdered. Grief stricken, Shayne loses himself in his work as a private eye, prowling the dark streets of the city.

The Whistler was one of radio's top mystery programs, airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with, "I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll made their radio debut January 12, 1926, as the comedic, blackface characters Sam 'n' Henry. On March 19, 1928, they introduced Amos 'n' Andy, which went on to become one of the most popular and longest-running programs in radio history. During the height of the show's popularity, almost the entire country listened to the 15-minute adventures of Amos and Andy that aired Monday through Friday.

This collection spotlights the iconic Orson Welles in nine of his works from the golden age of radio. These radio dramas, airing from 1938 through 1951, are among his very best and can be enjoyed for years to come. Armed with the nickname the "Boy Genius", Orson Welles graduated from the New York stage to expand his creative talents in the radio industry, hoping to use the audio medium to promote his stage ventures.

Here are 12 episodes from the greatest Western shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio! You'll hear William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke; John Dehner as the man called Paladin in Have Gun - Will Travel; Alan Ladd in a Western tale well calculated to keep you in suspense; John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Gregory Peck reprising their film roles in Fort Apache, Destry Rides Again, and Yellow Sky; plus other great Western radio episodes, including four episodes of the high-adventure series Escape.

Pat Novak, for Hire began in 1946 as a regional radio show produced at KGO in San Francisco and starred Jack Webb in the title role, with scripts by Webb's friend Richard L. Breen. When Webb moved to Los Angeles in 1947, Ben Morris replaced Webb as Novak. In a later network version, Jack Webb resumed the role along with Breen as scriptwriter. Pat Novak, for Hire lasted until 1949, when Jack Webb turned his attention to the series that would make him a star, Dragnet.

"Wherever there is mystery, adventure, intrigue, in all the strange and dangerous places in the world, there you will find the man called X!" Debonair British actor Herbert Marshall stars as FBI secret agent Ken Thurston, "the man who crosses the ocean as readily as you and I cross town; he is the man who fights today's war in his unique fashion, so that tomorrow's peace will make the world a neighborhood for all of us." Leon Belasco plays Mr. X's comedic sidekick, Pagan Zeldchmidt, who always turns up in remote parts of the world.

Frontier Gentleman was a radio western series aimed at adults that aired on CBS radio for one season in 1958. It starred radio veteran John Dehner as J. B. Kendall, a reporter for the London Times. The series followed the adventures of the freelance journalist as he roamed the western United States in search of stories for his newspaper. Kendall often crossed paths with well-known historical figures, such as Jesse James, Calamity Jane, and Wild Bill Hickok.

The Whistler was one of radio's top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with, "I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men andwomen who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."

Duffy's Tavern, first heard in 1940, was co-created and written by Ed Gardner, who played Archie, the manager of Duffy's Tavern, which was a flea-infested dive in New York City. Archie's abuse of the English language quickly became a favorite feature of the show. Regulars on the show included Duffy's man-hungry daughter Miss Duffy; Clifton Finnegan, the classic village idiot, played by Charlie Cantor; Eddie the waiter, played by Eddie Green; and Clancy the cop, played by Alan Reed. Duffy himself was never heard on the show.

Although "Ol' Blue Eyes" would conquer records, film, and television, it was radio that first made Frank Sinatra a star. Spanning the years 1943 to 1954, this collection showcases Sinatra from such shows as Suspense, The Frank Sinatra Show, The Jack Benny Program, The Burns and Allen Show, and more. Included is the final episode of Sinatra's action/detective series, Rocky Fortune, a low-budget radio series that he decided not to continue after winning his Academy Award.

Sam Spade was a hard-boiled detective with cold detachment, a keen eye for detail, and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. The character of Sam Spade was created by writer Dashiell Hammett in 1930 for his crime story The Maltese Falcon, and for most people, the character is closely associated with actor Humphrey Bogart, who played Sam Spade in the third and most famous film version of the story. In 1946, William Spier, one of radio's top producers, brought Sam Spade to the airwaves.

Created by author Jack Boyle, Boston Blackie was a master safecracker and hardened criminal who served time in a California prison. Rehabilitated, he decided to use his knowledge of the underworld to fight crime as an amateur detective. Known as "an enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend", Boston Blackie's exploits were adapted to film, radio, and television.

This collection contains 12 episodes from the greatest science fiction shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio, including a two-part Suspense episode starring Orson Welles, written by Curt Siodmak, author of The Wolf Man, one of Universal Pictures' biggest hits. Other classics include stories by H. G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, Frederick Pohl, and Murray Leinster on Dimension X, Escape, and X Minus One.

Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC Radio in 1949, starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film Murder, My Sweet and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on the radio. Diamond was a lighthearted, New York - based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionaire girlfriend, Helen Asher.