Classic Radio Theater with Wyatt Cox

Westerns and Crime on a FridayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then, The Shadow starring Orson Welles and Margot Stevenson, originally broadcast April 24, 1938, 88 years ago, The Power of the Mind.  A famous psychiatrist, kidnapped aboard a foreign freighter, uses telepathy to call the Shadow to the rescue. Followed by Have Gun Will Travel starring John Dehner,  originally broadcast April 24, 1960, 66 years ago,  Irish Luck.  Paladin makes friends with an Irishman named O'Bannon on St. Patrick's Day. Shortly thereafter, O'Bannon finds himself on trial for a robbery and murder. Paladi...

Crime on a ThursdayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, I Was a Communist for the FBI starring Dana Andrews, originally broadcast April 23, 1953, 73 years ago, I Walk Alone.   The Party tries to trap Matt Cvetic through his mother.Followed by Calling All Cars, originally broadcast April 23, 1935, 91 years ago, The Wholesale Murder.  Three young men steal a car in San Francisco. They have shot and killed three men.Then Boston Blackie starring Dick Kollmar, originally broadcast April 23, 1946, 80 years ago, The Stolen Car Ring.  Phi...

Variety on a WednesdayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then, Amos ‘n’ Andy, originally broadcast April 22, 1951, 75 years ago, Sapphire in Chicago. While Sapphire is away, the Kingfish is determined to be pleasant to his mother-in-law. His efforts led Mama and him to a courtroom!Followed by The Big Show starring Tallulah Bankhead,  originally broadcast April 22, 1951, 75 years ago.  Tallulah and Joan Davis compare ailments. Dennis King, Martin Blaine and Horace Braham do a scene from "The Devil's Disciple," by George Bernard Shaw. Judy Holiday recalls an early romance. Judy an...

Comedy on a TuesdayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, Maxwell House Coffee Time starring George Burns and Gracie Allen, originally broadcast April 21, 1949, 77 years ago, S’ Wonderful?.   Are George Burns and Ida Cantor going to poison guest Eddie Cantor?Followed by The Great Gildersleeve starring Harold Peary, originally broadcast April 21, 1946, 80 years ago, The Trolley Car House.   A streetcar has been moved onto a vacant lot. Mr. Bullard and Gildersleeve are organizing a petition against it.Then The Jimmy Durante Show, originally broadcast Apri...

Westerns and Crime on a MondayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then, Luke Slaughter of Tombstone starring Sam Buffington, originally broadcast April 20, 1958, 68 years ago, The Henry Fell Story.  Henry Fell, a dude from back East, has come to Luke's ranch to paint portraits of the Apaches. Followed by Frontier Gentleman starring John Dehner, originally broadcast on April 20, 1958, 68 years ago: Aces and Eights.  A story about Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok. Why "Aces and Eights" is known as "The Dead Man's Hand."  Then, The New Ad...

Crime on a SundayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, Big Town starring Edward Pauley, originally broadcast April 19, 1949, 77 years ago, the Case of the Iron Fist.   Anton Broder, the editor of a small foreign language weekly in Big Town, is beaten and his paper wrecked by the evil forces from his home country.Followed by Nick Carter Master Detective starring Lon Clark, originally broadcast April 19, 1944, 82 years ago, Kidnap for Sale.  A dead man says, "The same thing will happen to you."Then Dragnet st...

(This didn't go out as scheduled.  Weird.  Here it is!)Crime on a SaturdayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then, The Lives of Harry Lime starring Orson Welles, originally broadcast April 18, 1952, 74 years ago, The Painted Smile.  Harry attends a performance of a Sicilian circus as the guest of one of the clowns. The clown has a very beautiful wife!Followed by The Adventures of Red Ryder starring Reed Hadley,  originally broadcast April 18, 1942, 84 years ago, Scarbone Clauson.  The bank in Devil's Hole has been robbed once again...

ariety on a FridayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, The Lux Radio Theater, originally broadcast April 17, 1939, 87 years ago, Bullets or Ballots starring Edward G Robinson,  Mary Astor, and Humphrey Bogart.  Robinson starred in the original 1936 film with Humphrey Bogart.  Robinson plays a police detective who infiltrates a crime gang. Followed by Gunsmoke starring William Conrad, originally broadcast April 17, 1954, 72 years ago, What the Whiskey Drummer Said.  Wilbur Hawkins tells Marshal Dillon about a plot against his life. When Dillon pretends to be dead, two different people brag...

Crime on a ThursdayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then, Boston Blackie starring Dick Kollmar, originally broadcast April 16, 1946, 80 years ago, The Baseball Player Murder.  Murder takes place at the baseball game. Clem McCarthy is heard as the announcer broadcasting the game.Followed by Let George Do It starring Bob Bailey and Virginia Gregg,  originally broadcast April 16, 1951, 75 years ago, The Noose Hangs High. The Binks brothers are two recluses who start seeing the shadow of a noose! It's all a matter of emeralds!  Then, Calling All C...

Variety on a WednesdayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, The Big Show starring Tallulah Bankhead, originally broadcast April 15, 1951, 75 years ago.  Jack Carson gives Tallulah a singing lesson. Olivia de Havilland and Evelyn Vardin do a scene from "Romeo and Juliet." Martha Raye does a baseball skit. Eddie Cantor appears as "Maxie the Taxi," a Brooklyn cab driver he made famous with a series of skits on television. Baseball player Tommy Hendrick gives Tallulah some of the fine points of the game. Phil Foster remembers life in old Brooklyn. Tallulah r...

Comedy on a TuesdayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then, The Jimmy Durante Show, originally broadcast April 14, 1948, 78 years ago.  After a speech from President Truman, Jimmy proclaims the President the best guest star he’s had all season. Guest Victor Moore returns and he and Jimmy investigate the housing shortage. Followed by Screen Directors Playhouse,  originally broadcast April 14, 1950, 76 years ago, It Happens Every Spring starring Ray Milland in his original screen role.   An adaptation of the 1949 science-fiction baseball comedy about a college professor who becomes a star pitcher...

Crime on a MondayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, Suspense, originally broadcast April 13, 1944, 82 years ago, The Marvelous Barastro starring Orson Welles.   Orson doing his usual magnificent job playing two roles in two different Italian dialects!  A Russian magician traveling across Europe meets a blind woman who asks for her palm to be read.Followed by Casey Crime Photographer starring Staats Cotsworth, originally broadcast April 13, 1950, 76 years ago, The Disappearance of Mr. Dizzel.  A rare book dealer is kidnapped, but Casey "smokes" him out into the open. <br...

Drama  on a SundayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then,  Escape, originally broadcast April 12, 1953, 73 years ago, Classified Secret starring Parley Baer.   Spies on a cross-country bus...and counterspies along for the ride. Followed by Dragnet starring Jack Webb,  originally broadcast April 12, 1953, 73 years ago, The Big Compulsion.   A lunatic has been making false police calls and has caused a serious accident.   Then, Big Town starring Edward Pauley, originally broadcast April 12, 1949, 77 years ago, The Case of the Lonely Heart Club Expose. Aunt Agatha Adams disappears after join...

Comedy on a SaturdayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, The Martin and Lewis Show, originally broadcast April 11, 1952, 74 years ago, with guest Virginia Mayo.  Jerry appeals for funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.  A take off of “A Streetcar Named Desire”.  Followed by The Great Gildersleeve starring Willard Waterman, originally broadcast April 11, 1951, 75 years ago, Kids Want to Leave.   Gildersleeve suspects that Marjorie (Mary Lee Robb) and Bronco (Dick Crenna) are living with him just to keep him from being lonely.Then, The Burns and Alle...

Drama and Westerns on a FridayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then, The Lux Radio Theater, originally broadcast April 10, 1939, 87 years ago, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer starring Errol Flynn, Brian Aherne, and Jackie Cooper..  The adaptation of the 1935 movie that starred Gary Cooper, about Her Majesty's Lancers in Northwest India, battling rebellious tribesmen. A story about the traditions of the regiment and its sense of honor!Followed by Gunsmoke starring William Conrad,  originally broadcast April 10, 1954, 72 years ago, Greater Love. Two gunmen are wounded while holding up the...

Comedy on a ThursdayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, Phil Harris and Alice Faye,  originally broadcast April 9, 1950, 76 years ago, The Easter Bunny.  Phil sees a six-foot Easter Bunny...two of them in fact! The play "Harvey" has closed two months before this program. Followed by My Favorite Husband starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denning, originally broadcast April 9, 1950, 76 years ago, Hobbies.   Liz and Iris try "jealousy" and golf to try to get their husbands to pay more attention to them. Will it be golf, stamps, or wive...

Comedy on a WednesdayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then, the Great Gildersleeve starring Harold Peary, originally broadcast April 8, 1945, 81 years ago, Leroy’s Pet Pig.  Gildersleeve is forced to get rid of Leroy's pet pig. Followed by Amos ‘n’ Andy,  originally broadcast April 8, 1947, 79 years ago, Finding a Roomer.  The Stevens' rent their spare room to a boarder and get more than they bargained for.  Then, My Favorite Husband starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denning, originally broadcast April 8, 1949, 77 years ago, Gum Machine.   Liz is determined to...

Comedy on a TuesdayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, Abbott and Costello,  originally broadcast April 7, 1949, 77 years ago,  Another Sam Shovel Mystery.  Costello remembers his first girlfriend. Abbott invites Costello to his birthday party. Sam Shovel solves, "The Case Of The Thief Who Stole The Hamburgers From The Lunchroom," or, "He was a short-order crook."Followed by Amos ‘n’ Andy, originally broadcast April 7, 1944, 82 years ago, Dating Club Disaster.   Andy plans to join the "Harlem Get-Acquainted Club," which seems to leads to the end of the marriage of Sapph...

Crime on a MondayFirst,  a look at this day in History.Then, Dragnet starring Jack Webb, originally broadcast April 6, 1954, 72 years ago, The Big Saw.  A pair of bank robbers are identified by one of the customers in the bank. The trail leads to a car rental agency.Followed by Crime and Peter Chambers starring Dane Clark,  originally broadcast April 6, 1954, 72 years ago, Bruce Burke Murder Frame-Up.  Bruce Burke has sent beautiful Elsa Corey to kill Peter Chambers. Bruce is a millionaire who owns a nightclub called, "The Flame." He also happ...

Drama on a SundayFirst, a look at the events of the day.Then, Suspense,  originally broadcast April 5, 1951, 75 years ago,  Murder in G-Flat starring Jack Benny.  The first of four appearances that Jack Benny made on Suspense.  A meek piano tuner's bag of tools is switched in the subway with a bag containing $25,000.Followed by Suspense,  originally broadcast April 5, 1955, 71 years ago, Zero Hour, narrated by John Dehner.  The classic Ray Bradbury tale about Drill and the game of Invasion. Then, Screen Guild Theater, originally broadcast April 5, 1943, 83 years a...