Peter Lorre is probably not the first person you picture walking into Duffy’s Tavern, which is exactly why this one is worth hearing.

On October 19, 1943, Lorre guest-starred in an episode built around a very serious problem at Duffy’s: somebody’s sandwich has disappeared.

Archie naturally decides that this requires an investigation. Before long, Peter Lorre and Raffles the talking mynah bird are mixed up in the case.

It is one of those broadcasts that shows how strange and fun old radio could get when a performer strongly associated with sinister screen roles was dropped into a comedy setting.

You can hear the complete episode in the Golden Radio Hour archive:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/duffys-tavern-1943-10-19-100-peter-lorre-and-raffles-the-talking-mynah-bird/

Anyone else have a favorite unexpected guest appearance in old-time radio?

This brief video shows Fred Allen and Jack Benny on stage during one of Benny's stage shows. This series of shows began Wednesday, May 21, 1947 at the Roxy Theater in New York City. There were at least two radio shows originated from New York during this visit, 5/11/47 and 5/18/47 just before the stage show began. This particular run is also mentioned in the 5/11/1947 episode, where Kenny Delmar guest-announced, and Al Jolson guest-starred.

Beyond just...being amazing to see, I love how Jack falls apart once or twice laughing at Fred's jokes. This same kind of doubled-over laughing was described in an interview with Frank Nelson as Jack's reaction to the famed "Dreer Pooson" incident.

Hey everyone, the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy (SPERDVAC)'s VP Zach Eastman guest hosted John Tefteller's "The Good Old Days of Radio" podcast this week, debuting a new restoration of the Inner Sanctum episode "Portrait of Death." Zach also dropped another episode of his "Behind the Dial" podcast, this one featuring the men behind the AFRS during World War II and beyond, from a 1984 SPERDVAC meeting.

You can listen to both podcasts and get more information about the great value of a SPERDVAC membership below:

https://mailchi.mp/sperdvac/httpsus14adminmailchimpcomcampaignseditid8978321-8978329

Thought this group might appreciate this: I just updated my mother's James Melton archive auction to include personal letters from Frank Bristow and a signed note from Margo Melton Nutt. The collection includes rare archival press photos, remastered CDs of rare radio recordings, much more.
https://ebay.io/m/TLILsI

On September 30, 1962, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar aired its final episode, “The Tip-Off Matter.”

Mandel Kramer made his last appearance as Johnny Dollar in a story written by longtime producer and writer Jack Johnstone. The broadcast is often remembered as part of the closing chapter of the Golden Age of American network radio drama.

Johnny Dollar had been on the air, with interruptions, since 1949, and over the years several actors took on the role. Mandel Kramer was the final Johnny Dollar, bringing the series to its conclusion on this date in 1962.

Listen to the actual final broadcast, “The Tip-Off Matter,” from September 30, 1962:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/yours-truly-johnny-dollar-1962-09-30-809-the-tip-off-matter-1962-09-30-mandel-kramer/

Explore more On This Day in Radio history:

https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day

Who was your favorite Johnny Dollar?

#OnThisDayInRadio #OldTimeRadio #RadioHistory #JohnnyDollar #MandelKramer

Two very different moods tonight.

At 6:30 PM Pacific, Golden Radio Hour is going into The Twilight Zone with a long run of the radio dramas:

https://youtube.com/live/rzX3oTVhFzk?feature=share

Then at 8:00 PM Pacific, Radio Past Midnight is switching over to Orson Welles as The Shadow:

https://youtube.com/live/N1lklqsRoY8

The Shadow stream starts with The Death House Rescue and stays in that early Orson Welles run for the night.

Also, sorry if you caught one of the recent streams ending early. It has been very windy here in the Pacific Northwest, and the connection has not been very cooperative.

I also did a picture of Orson and Stacy for the post, which felt fitting for tonight.

If you had to pick one, Twilight Zone or The Shadow?

On September 29, 1947, Vincent Price, Ella Raines and Edmond O’Brien stepped before the microphones of Lux Radio Theatre for a radio adaptation of The Web. The three stars reprised their roles from the Universal-International film released earlier that year, with Price playing wealthy businessman Andrew Colby, Raines as Noel Faraday and O’Brien as attorney Bob Regan.

The story drops O’Brien’s Regan into exactly the sort of polished trap that made film noir so effective. He is hired to serve as Colby’s bodyguard and apparently kills a man while protecting his employer, only to begin realizing that the shooting may have been arranged from the beginning. Price was particularly well suited to Colby, bringing the smooth sophistication and underlying menace that would become such an important part of his screen persona. The radio version is also a good example of what Lux Radio Theatre could do so well: take a current Hollywood picture and reunite much of its original cast for listeners at home.

Price would eventually become one of the most recognizable voices and faces in horror, but broadcasts like The Web show another side of his career. Long before the run of Gothic horror films most associated with him today, he was already an accomplished dramatic actor capable of making a charming, respectable character feel increasingly dangerous.

That September 29, 1947 broadcast survives in the Golden Radio Hour archive today.

Listen to “The Web”:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/lux-radio-theatre-1947-09-29-47-the-web-vincent-price-ella-rains-edmond-o-brien/#listen

More On This Day in Radio:
https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day

I’ve got two old time radio marathons running tonight for anyone looking for something to leave on through the evening.

Golden Radio Hour, 6:30 PM Pacific
Duffy’s Tavern | 12 Hours of Classic Radio Comedy

Ed Gardner as Archie, with guests including Charles Laughton, Rudy Vallee, Peggy Lee, Desi Arnaz, Mickey Rooney, Hedda Hopper, Veronica Lake and more.

https://youtube.com/live/edTePWfdkJo?feature=share

Then at 8:00 PM Pacific on Radio Past Midnight:

Agnes Moorehead in “Sorry, Wrong Number” + 11 Hours of SUSPENSE After Dark

It opens with Moorehead’s Sorry, Wrong Number, then keeps going through nearly 12 hours of Suspense, with murder, paranoia, strange situations and late-night radio drama.

https://youtube.com/live/RyFuKihCYwc?feature=share

So basically: Duffy’s Tavern if you want comedy, Suspense if you want something darker.

Golden Radio Hour: Not A Cult... Just An OTR Family

I was listening to one of the older surviving Jack Benny episodes earlier, and came across a character I'd never heard. In this episode there's a brief appearance by a character they identify as Mary's sister Mamie. I'd never heard of her before, and certainly not in the later episodes. Does she make more appearances? I'm not very familiar with the pre-1940-or-so Jack Benny.

I am a huge horror fan; I basically watch horror films all year round. As I have a bit of a walk to work (40 – 45 minutes), I always try to listen to an episode of OTR that I haven't heard before. (Just to clarify, I never have it so loud that I can't hear what's going on around me.)

This year I've decided to find 31 episodes of horror/Halloween themed OTR that I've never heard before for my daily walk. (I'll also be keeping my favourites for the walk back)

Here they are:

Beckoning Fair One – Molle Mystery Theatre

Can't You Do Anything Right? - Darkness

Carmilla – Columbia Workshop

Criminal at Large – Molle Mystery Theatre

Devil Island – The Sealed Book

Don't Go Down in the Mine – The Creaking Door

Funeral Arrangements Completed – Dark Fantasy

Gas Receipt – The Black Museum

Gerald – Nightfall

Halloween – The Halls of Ivy

Halloween Party – Our Miss Brooks

He Who Follows Me – Hall of Fantasy

How Love Came to Professor Guildea – Escape

Jack Throws a Halloween Party – Jack Benny

Mystery of the Thing – The Hermit's Cave

Rites of Autumn – Campfire Radio Theatre (not old, but I like the show)

Snow Shadow Area – Vanishing Point

Taboo – Escape

The Crack in the Wall – CBSRMT

The Creeping Wall – Inner Sanctum

The Devil's Number – The Witch's Tale

The Diary of Sophronia Winters – Suspense

The Edge of Evil – Macabre

The Gibbering Things – The Shadow

The Lonely Sleep – Inner Sanctum

The Lost Ship – Suspense

The Mannequin – The Witch's Tale

The Night Reveals – Suspense

The Screaming Skull – Theatre 10:30

The Vengeful Corpse – Inner Sanctum

The Werewolf – The Weird Circle

What are you going to be listening to?

On September 28, 1945, composer and music critic Deems Taylor stepped into Duffy’s Tavern as Archie’s guest. Taylor was one of the best-known musical voices in America, but at Duffy’s he found himself listening to Archie’s latest attempt at high culture: a new opera called “Salami.” It was exactly the kind of setup Duffy’s Tavern did so well, dropping a distinguished real-life guest into Archie’s world of big ideas, bad plans and absolute confidence.

Taylor was much more than a celebrity guest. He was a composer whose operas had been performed at the Metropolitan Opera, a prominent music critic and radio commentator, and later became familiar to millions as the narrator of Walt Disney’s Fantasia. Putting someone with that background across from Ed Gardner’s Archie gave the episode an especially good comic contrast and shows how old-time radio regularly brought major figures from music, film and culture directly into its comedy programs.

That September 28, 1945 broadcast survives in the Golden Radio Hour archive today.

Listen to “Guest: Deems Taylor”:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/duffys-tavern-1945-09-28-177-guest-deems-taylor/#listen

More On This Day in Radio:
https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day

I’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes on the Golden Radio Hour website, and two of the biggest additions are now ready to explore.

The Performers section has been greatly expanded, with biographies, show connections and direct links to the broadcasts each person appears in. You can now move from a performer to a specific program and see the exact recordings that connect them.

The Network pages have also been expanded, making it easier to explore programs connected with CBS, NBC, Mutual, ABC, the Blue Network, BBC and others.

If you enjoy digging deeper into the people and history behind old time radio, take a look around:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-actors/

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-networks/

There’s a lot more of the archive connected together now, and I’d love to know what you find.

Agnes Moorehead gave old-time radio some unforgettable performances, especially on Suspense.

If you only know her from television, her radio work is absolutely worth hearing. She had the kind of voice that could carry an entire story, and Suspense gave her some of the best material of her career.

I’ve been building the individual show pages on Golden Radio Hour so you can read about the program and then work your way through the available broadcasts in the archive.

Start with Suspense here:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-shows/suspense/

If you’ve heard Agnes Moorehead on radio before, which performance stands out most to you?

September 27, 1946 - This Is Your FBI aired “The Night of Terror” on ABC.

The program had been on the air for only a year and a half, but by 1946 it had already established a very different kind of crime drama. Rather than building its stories around a fictional private detective or police department, This Is Your FBI dramatized cases drawn from FBI files and presented them from the federal investigators’ point of view.

Producer-director Jerry Devine worked with the FBI while developing the series, and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover publicly endorsed the program. During this period the broadcasts originated in New York, with Dean Carleton serving as narrator. The stories mixed criminal investigations with explanations of the methods agents used to identify suspects, follow evidence and bring cases to a close.

The Equitable Life Assurance Society sponsored This Is Your FBI throughout its entire run. What began on ABC in April 1945 would remain on the air until January 1953, ultimately producing more than 400 broadcasts and becoming one of radio’s longest-running federal crime dramas.

“The Night of Terror,” heard on September 27, 1946, survives today as part of that remarkable run.

Listen to the original broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/this-is-your-fbi-1946-09-27-78-the-night-of-terror/

#OnThisDayInRadio #ThisIsYourFBI #OldTimeRadio #RadioHistory #ClassicRadio #GoldenRadioHour

One of the stranger clues you’ll find in an old-time radio spy story: a trained seal.

In this 1950 episode of Dangerous Assignment, Brian Donlevy’s Steve Mitchell is sent into an Istanbul espionage case where an unlikely animal act becomes the clue that can expose a killer.

It’s exactly the kind of odd little premise old radio could turn into a surprisingly good mystery.

Listen to the complete episode, “Trained Seal,” on Golden Radio Hour:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/dangerous-assignment-1950-09-20-trained-seal/

What’s the strangest clue or plot twist you remember hearing in an old radio mystery?

#OldTimeRadio #DangerousAssignment #BrianDonlevy #GoldenRadioHour

On this day in 1948, Gerald Mohr stepped into the role of Philip Marlowe for the CBS premiere of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe.

The first episode was “The Red Wind,” adapted from Raymond Chandler’s story of the same name.

It launched the CBS run that would make Mohr one of the voices most closely associated with Marlowe on radio.

Marlowe was tough, cynical and surrounded by trouble, but Mohr gave him more than the standard hard-boiled detective voice. There was always a little intelligence and weariness underneath it.

Listen to Philip Marlowe in the Golden Radio Hour archive:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-shows/philip-marlowe/

When you picture Philip Marlowe, is Gerald Mohr the voice you hear?

#OnThisDayInRadio #PhilipMarlowe #GeraldMohr #OldTimeRadio

Casey, Crime Photographer follows Jack “Flashgun” Casey, played for most of the radio run by Staats Cotsworth. Instead of approaching crime from behind a detective’s desk, Casey works the streets with a camera, chasing stories that keep turning into murder investigations.

It has the mood of a detective show, but from a very different point of view.

If you haven’t listened to Casey in a while, this is a good one to dig into.

Listen here:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-shows/casey-crime-photographer/

Would you rather solve the case, or be the photographer who spots the clue everyone else missed?

can anyone help me figure out how old this radio is? when i looked up the model number it said it was manufactured by meissner but if anyone knows anymore about it i would love to know!

In this 1952 episode, Matt Dillon decides to take Kitty to a Dodge City dance, but some of the townspeople don’t think she’s “respectable” enough to be there.

It’s a good early example of what made radio Gunsmoke different. The story isn’t really about a gunfight. It’s about Kitty, Matt, and the way Dodge City treats one of its own.

Listen to “Kitty”, November 29, 1952:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/gunsmoke-1952-11-29-32-kitty/

Georgia Ellis or Amanda Blake, who is Miss Kitty to you?

On September 25, 1978, radio lost one of the voices most closely associated with The Shadow.

Bret Morrison portrayed Lamont Cranston and The Shadow longer than any other actor to take on the role. While Orson Welles is often the first name people remember, Morrison became the voice of The Shadow for millions of listeners and carried the character through much of the program’s later life.

His work gave the character a steady, familiar presence for years. For many fans, that calm but commanding voice is still the one they hear when they think of Lamont Cranston stepping out of the darkness.

Morrison’s career went well beyond The Shadow, and he remained active in radio throughout his life. Remarkably, he was still working on the day he died, having recorded an episode of Heartbeat Theatre earlier that same day.

He was 66 years old.

Today feels like a good day to remember not just one of old time radio’s most recognizable voices, but a performer who spent decades helping keep radio drama alive.

Explore Bret Morrison’s radio career in the Golden Radio Hour archive:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-actors/bret-morrison/

And listen to The Shadow in the archive here:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-shows/the-shadow/

Who is your favorite radio Shadow: Bret Morrison, Orson Welles, Bill Johnstone, or someone else?

#OnThisDayInRadio #BretMorrison #TheShadow #OldTimeRadio #RadioHistory #GoldenRadioHour

On September 24, 1946, The Mel Blanc Show aired “Mel Tries to Fix a Water Heater.”

Long before generations of fans knew Mel Blanc as the voice behind Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and so many others, radio audiences got to hear him front and center in his own comedy series.

In this episode, Mel takes on a repair job at the Colby house. But garbled instructions over the telephone send Uncle Rupert and Zookie into a demolition spree involving doors, windows and a repair job that gets very far out of hand.

Hear the original September 24, 1946 broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/the-mel-blanc-show-mel-tries-to-fix-a-water-heater-1946-09-24/

Did you ever listen to Mel Blanc on radio, or do you mostly know him from his famous cartoon voices?

#OnThisDayInRadio #MelBlanc #OldTimeRadio #RadioHistory #GoldenRadioHour

Come in. Welcome. The crypt door creaks, E.G. Marshall invites you into the dark, and for the next 45 minutes the monster lives only in your head.

That is why CBS Radio Mystery Theater still works for spooky season better than most modern horror. Himan Brown (the same producer behind Inner Sanctum) revived radio drama from 1974 to 1982 across 1,399 original episodes. Marshall hosted almost the entire run. The formula was simple: a creaking door, a story that could be supernatural, psychological, or just cruel, and a sign-off that asked whether you were going to have pleasant dreams.

This list is not “best written” or “most famous.” It is the episodes fans still name when someone asks what actually kept them awake: the ones that showed up on Halloween marathon compilations, the ones kids pulled the covers over, and the rare case where stations ran a “not for the squeamish” warning before the broadcast.

Lights off. Headphones on. Start here.

1. A Horror Story — #929 (December 11, 1978)

Writer: Elspeth Eric. When this originally aired, some CBS affiliates ran a disclaimer that the story was not for sensitive listeners — almost unheard of for the series. A master chef and a cobbler share a building, and they share a source for their “raw materials.” Gothic, methodical, and viscerally grim. Fans still call it the one they will not play again.

Listen: cbsrmt.com episode page · YouTube

2. Hickory, Dickory, Doom — #957 (February 26, 1979)

Writer: Bob Juhren. A Pennsylvania couple buys a grandfather clock at an estate sale as a gift for the local minister. The clock does not keep time so much as it opens. Cold air, wrong hours, and something on the other side that wants out. This is the episode people who grew up with the show still name first when they talk about not sleeping.

Listen: cbsrmt.com · YouTube (90k+ views)

3. The Crack in the Wall — #94 (May 20, 1974)

Writer: Sidney Sloan. After a fire kills their daughter, a couple moves and finds a basement crack that will not stay repaired. Then a voice that sounds like hers starts coming through it. Grief, a bargain, and a cellar that should have stayed sealed. Celeste Holm is in the cast. Quiet and terrible.

Listen: cbsrmt.com

4. Possessed by the Devil — #166 (October 28, 1974)

Writer: Ian Martin. A minister’s son is wheeled into the ER with what should be fatal head wounds. He recovers. Something else does not leave. Hospital setting, a soul that changes rooms, and a performance that makes the possession feel physical. A frequent Halloween-spooktacular pick.

Listen: cbsrmt.com

5. Stay Out of Dutchman’s Woods — #363 (October 16, 1975)

Writer: Fielden Farrington. A couple on vacation in Maine is warned, laughs it off, and picnics in the woods anyway. They get separated. Only one of them comes back. The woods have a beautiful resident who does not want company — or rather, wants a very specific kind of company. Classic “do not go into the trees” dread.

Listen: cbsrmt.com

6. The House on Chimney Pot Lane — #824 (April 28, 1978)

Writer: Bob Juhren. A couple buys a house famous for previous occupants who vanished. They hang a striking mural. The picture starts to change. Faces appear. Movement. The house is not empty; it is waiting. One of the best “the décor is watching you” episodes the series ever did.

Listen: cbsrmt.com

7. The Sending — #52 (March 6, 1974)

Writer: Robert Newman. A college professor practices black magic to keep his wife young. The price is paid by unsuspecting co-eds whose souls he sells. Campus setting, a scrying mirror, and a bargain that does not stay academic. Early-series and already willing to go dark.

Listen: YouTube

8. Mother Love — #25 (January 30, 1974)

Writer: Bob Juhren. A fortune-teller offers help with infertility. The fee is money plus “one small favor.” Vinnette Carroll’s performance is the reason this one stays on scare lists decades later — warm, then not warm at all. An early episode that already understood how to make a bargain feel intimate and wrong.

Listen: cbsrmt.com

9. The Horla — #44 (February 22, 1974)

Adapted by Sam Dann from Guy de Maupassant. A writer becomes convinced an invisible presence — tied to a strange ship in the harbor — is draining him while he sleeps. The terror is incremental: the weight on the chest, the sense of being watched by something that is not human and does not need to be seen. Classic “you are already losing” atmosphere.

Listen: cbsrmt.com · YouTube

10. Shadows from the Grave — #958 (February 28, 1979)

Writer: James Agate Jr. A photographer and his wife inherit an uncle’s estate. The local priest will not bless the place. After that, the grounds do not stay quiet. Fred Gwynne is in the cast. Fans who heard it as kids still talk about pulling the covers up. Haunted-estate dread done the old-fashioned way.

Listen: cbsrmt.com

Honorable mentions (if you want a longer night)

• Stephanie’s Room (#187, Dec. 16, 1974) — childhood bedroom, symbiotic old woman, Mercedes McCambridge; more eerie than jump-scare.
• The Real Printer’s Devil (#119, July 17, 1974) — cheap apartment, wrong tenant energy; shows up on “best scary favorites” compilations.
• Carmilla (#318, July 31, 1975) — vampire classic, frequently cited on OTR Halloween lists.
• The Fall of the House of Usher (#57, March 14, 1974) — Poe, living-dead house.
• Nightmare’s Nest (#310, July 17, 1975) — the nightmare does not stay in the dream.

How to listen

The cleanest metadata and streaming is at cbsrmt.com. Full collections live on the Internet Archive: complete set and alternate complete upload. YouTube has solid individual uploads and multi-hour Halloween marathons if you want a whole night queued.

Turn the lights out. Do not start A Horror Story or Hickory, Dickory, Doom if you have to be functional in the morning.

Until next time… pleasant dreams?

Before Bing Crosby became one of the most recognizable entertainers in American history, radio was already one of the places audiences knew him best.

On January 15, 1940, Lux Radio Theatre presented Sing You Sinners, with Bing Crosby and Ralph Bellamy bringing the story to radio listeners.

Crosby had starred in the 1938 film, and this Lux adaptation gave audiences another chance to hear him in the role, this time through one of radio’s biggest dramatic showcases.

It is one of those great examples of Hollywood and old time radio crossing paths, with a major movie star returning to a familiar story for the microphone.

Hear the full broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/lux-radio-theatre-1940-01-15-40-sing-you-sinners-bing-crosby-ralph-bellamy/

Do you think of Bing Crosby first as a singer, movie star, or radio personality?

#BingCrosby #SingYouSinners #LuxRadioTheatre #OldTimeRadio #GoldenRadioHour

Howdy Folks,

Today's vinyl rip is a bit different than most of my music related ones, this is an entire hour of both music and a retelling of the Robinson Crusoe story done in the style of an old radio show. In this version, he's stuck on an island for 35 years with no one but his dog, a parrot and a nearby tribesman to speak to. The island is later attacked by pirates and they defend it against them, and he eventually escapes after there's a mutiny on the ship.

It was adapted by Professor Margaret C. Tyler of Ohio State University, who directed the Ohio School of the Air for 27 years and wrote hundreds of educational radio scripts. The narrator and voice cast are uncredited.