An interterview with Barry about Welles-era 'The Shadow'

The Shadow was an exciting show.  I've always enjoyed the Orson Welles - Agnes Moorehead teaming, the best.

I asked Barry ( Mr. Blog's Tepid Ride blog) back to talk about this era of the show and he came through with some terrific insight!

OTR BUFFET - Thanks Barry, for doing yet another interview with me. You are one of the few to do two interviews on the OTRr Buffet...

Barry - I'm very honored. There have been some very interesting and knowledgeable people interviewed here. I'm happy to be among them.
OTR BUFFET - You and I agreed in advance to talk about The Shadow and more generally, the Orson Welles years as the Shadow. Talk about how Welles carried out the characters of Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and how you feel it was different than the others who played the part.

Barry - Welles embodied the wealthy young man about town role better than anyone who came after. He had a patrician voice, slightly bored, and he simply sounded like the kind of disaffected playboy who would have traveled the world and studied strange secrets in the Orient. Bill Johnstone, who followed him, sounded more like the average man. Later Lamont Cranstons were sometimes henpecked by Margot. She'd drag Lamont to the opera or he'd follow her around on shopping trips, carrying her bags. Orson Welles' Lamont was too good for that.

His Lamont usually sounded like he knew more than he was telling. There was something in Orson's voice that simply sounded mysterious. And that carried over to the Shadow. A lot of the time the story would open and Lamont was already embroiled in the case, as in The Mine Hunters. Other times, like when a madman was disrupting shipping by torpedoing ships from a secret submarine (Death from the Deep) the authorities were powerless but The Shadow simply announced that he was on the job and went to work.

OTR BUFFET - I have only just come to the conclusion that listeners have taken for granted how lucky we were to have the Welles-Agnes Moorehead (as Margo Lane) team doing The Shadow in the late 1930's. If you think about what kind of careers both had and how noted each are for their acting abilities it's quite rare to have them teamed up in a production where we really got to hear them stretch themselves in something that wasn't serious acting. Can you talk about that team and the advantages they had working together as opposed to the other Cranston/Lane teams?

Barry - I think you have to appreciate Agnes Moorehead. She starred in one of the most famous OTR stories, Sorry, Wrong Number by Suspense. It was a one-woman tour de force. And while there were many talented actresses to play Margot Lane, Agnes Moorehead may have gone on to the most acclaim.

Orson Welles’ career is noted for the ownership he took over his roles and his productions, but The Shadow was just a job for him. He was such a busy man that often he'd rush into the studio a few minutes before the broadcast and the first time he'd see the script was when he was reading it. He had the great ability to scan only a couple of lines ahead on the page but still imbue the lines with the proper inflection, depth, and meaning. Playing opposite someone as talented as Agnes Moorehead must have made it that much easier for him.

It is no surprise that they both went on to the Mercury Theater on the Air. Orson assembled some great talent there, like Joseph Cotton, Hans Conreid, and Vincent Price, among others.

OTR BUFFET - Is there a favorite episode you have and why?

Barry - I have a few from Orson's era. They are all very different and each has a very unique feel.

Aboard The Steamship Amazon. The Shadow stops explosive smugglers aboard a luxury liner.

The White God. A madman enslaves the natives of a Pacific island and sets himself up as a god. He uses a giant magnet inside a volcano to cause airplanes to crash.

The Tenor with the Broken Voice. A crazed opera singer who lost his voice kills the singers who replaced him while they sing onstage.

Just by coincidence, these are all from the syndicated Goodrich-sponsored 1938 summer season. The Shadow would get involved in the commercials, intoning how Goodrich tires kept you from swerving off the road in bad weather. The Shadow almost never got involved in other commercials.

OTR BUFFET - There are many episodes in the series that are very hard to listen to because of horrible sound. Do you skip those or do you try and listen to them anyway?

Barry - It takes a lot to make me skip an episode of any show, but I'll put up with more for a show I really enjoy like The Shadow. I prefer it when OTR is not pristine. A little hiss and some crackle add to the enjoyment. In my mind, especially the farther back you go, a great many people heard OTR that way. The technology just wasn’t that good yet. It may or may not be true, but I feel it is more authentic that way. Perfectly crisp and clean OTR sounds too new for my taste. The only way I give up on an episode is if it is simply unlistenable.

OTR BUFFET - Can you think of any performances on radio, TV or film that seem to have been inspired by Welles' portrayal of the Cranston/The Shadow combo?

Barry - The Avenger was a very thinly disguised knock-off of The Shadow, virtually a copy. It only ran for 26 episodes. It wasn’t a bad show, but because it sounds so much like The Shadow it just comes across like a poor imitation.

The Green Hornet is similar to The Shadow in that Britt Reid was cut from the same cloth as Cranston, a kind of wealthy playboy. The only difference was that he had a job running a newspaper, but even so, he was the young, single, rich owner. Even Batman, with his dark cape and penchant for staying the shadows owes a debt here as well. There is an issue of Batman from the 1970’s (#253) when DC owned the rights to The Shadow where the two characters met. Batman and said that The Shadow was one of his inspirations to become a crime fighter. Batman comics from the 1970’s are very much like the mysterious Shadow of the Orson Welles era, very dark and mysterious, often with a gothic feel and a seemingly supernatural menace.

 

I'm sure there are a whole slew of slouch hat-wearing mystery men who owe something to The Shadow.

OTR BUFFET - How do you rank Welles and Moorehead as far as radio/film actors go?

Barry - I believe that one of the problems with actors today is that they didn't work in radio. Radio forces actors to emote and use their voices in ways that they don't need to in movies or television. I think that working in radio helps you understand acting differently. Of course that doesn't mean that radio actors make the best movie stars. Visually, there are tons of non-verbal acting dynamics to master as well. And of course in radio you get to hold the script while you work!

Take Agnes Moorehead in The Twilight Zone episode The Invaders. Now take everything I said about radio acting and forget it. She is entirely silent throughout the episode. Clearly she has mastered the art of acting from every angle.  People who only know her as Endora in Bewitched need to see her in The Magnificent Ambersons or Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte. She had four Oscar nominations in her career.

And as for Orson Welles, better people than I have written about his talent. Simply imagine Citizen Kane if Welles had stayed behind the camera and let someone else star.

 
OTR BUFFET - Why do you think the Shadow is so often categorized as "horror?" And what genre would you put it in? Superhero? Detective?

Barry - I tend to put it in horror too, but it is hard show to categorize because while it would often do straight detective stories with gangsters or bank robbers, try to imagine Sam Spade in The Curse of Shiva, or Phillip Marlowe freeing mind-controlled slaves. Johnny Dollar never fought werewolves.

Many horror writers worked on the show, like Alonzo Dean Cole of The Witch's Tale and Arch Obler. Sci-fi writer Alfred Bester wrote for The Shadow.

Superhero doesn't quite fit either, because that genre is, in my mind, defined by over-the-top do-gooders like Superman or Spider-Man. The Shadow is more of an old-fashioned mystery man, a guy who is relatively powerless and more likely to punch-out the bad guy than use X-ray vision, True, Lamont Cranston had mental powers, but as every show opening pointed out, we could have them too if we'd travel to the Orient and study under a mystic for a good part of our lives.

OTR BUFFET - Thanks again Barry for your time and knowledge spent in answering these for the OTRr Buffet!

Barry - Thanks for asking me! I enjoyed doing this and I hope the readers enjoy it too.

©Jimbo 2010/2011

An interview with Paul from the CBS Radio Mystery Theater website

The CBS Radio Mystery Theater came along during the 1970's revival of OTR and gained a lot of fans, many that are still listening to the show faithfully.

I recall vividly listening to the show late at night at 10, 11, 12 years old - and being frightened as I hid beneath the covers!

There is a very well-done website out there that explores the show and I am honored to have with me, Paul, the fellow that runs the site. After months of trying to track him down, I finally got a hold of him and here are the questions asked and answered:



OTR BUFFET: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me. I've actually been trying to get a hold of you for about six months but I simply could not find a way to reach you.

Paul: Thanks. I am glad we could connect and I am sure you know how hard it is to get a site like CBSRMT.com off the ground. CBSRMT.com is a website where visitors can listen to all 1,399 episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater old time radio free. Visitors can stream or download old radio shows in MP3 format or copy radio shows to CD. Visitors can listen their favorite Radio Mystery Theater shows and comment with other fans to talk about their favorite Radio Mystery programs (sort of like the comment system on your blog, Jimbo). The episodes are fully logged with broadcast & synopsis. The shows are fully searchable and you can there are short bios of each actor and writer and a list by adaptation.

OTR BUFFET: Between the 2 narrators/hosts, can you point out the strength of each and which one you liked more? Do you have the total of episode hosted by each?

Paul: Both are great CBS Radio Mystery Theater hosts and lend to the show's "Creepyness Factor" in their own way. The part is an out growth of "Raymond" from Inner Sanctum, but while Raymond's silliness added a Halloween fun flavor to the show, H.G. Marshall's seriousness used to make my hair stand on end when I was riding in the backseat of my parent's car. Tammy Grimes' feminine voice should be reassuring, but the fact that it really isn't I find to be even more frightening.

OTR BUFFET: What is your favorite genre of the anthology?

Paul: I'm not sure if Radio Mystery Theater is really a Genre, but I really love the Adaptations from Literature. The Dickens and Poe stories are great fun, but I think the Mark Twain week from January 1976 is about my favorite.

OTR BUFFET: When I think of the series there are 3 or 4 actors and a few actresses that come up quickly in my mind. Which actors and actors do you associate most closely with the series?

Paul: Mason Adams had such a great voice for Radio. But the ones that are the most fun for me to listen to are the people that I remember from TV and Movies, like Morgan Fairchild, Jack Grimes, Richard Crenna.

OTR BUFFET: Can you name a few really good episodes and why they stand out?

Paul: I get a big kick out of the Christmas Carol adaptations starring E.G. Marshall as Scrooge. But if I were going to burn just one or two CDs to take to the desert island with me, it would be filled with the First Week in January Theme shows, maybe they aren't as scary as some of the other episodes, but life on a deserted island is scary enough!

OTR BUFFET: I'll be honest with you. When I listen to CBSRMT then thing that makes the biggest impression on me are the horrible 1970's commercials. How do you feel about the commercials? Do you know of anyone editing those out and just leaving the play?

Paul: We'll have to agree to disagree- I love hearing how sleek and modern the new '74 Chevy's are, and the great deals on pocket calculators for only $60 at True Value Hardware Stores. But I do understand what you mean about commercials. A number of the episodes were retrieved from AFRTS, and they pulled the commercials before playing them for the Military.

OTR BUFFET: Other than Mercedes MacCambridge and Mason Adams, which other Old-time radio stars showed up now and again on the series?

Paul: The acting pool the Himan Brown drew from mostly came from two sources. One was CBS TV talent, especially daytime actors, I think because the 'Soaps were still being produced in New York. The other was Old time radio actors like Adams and MacCAmbridge, along with Agnes Moorehead, Jackson Beck, Staats Cosworth, Mandel Kramer and many others.

OTR BUFFET: What do you think the main difference is between CBSRMT and the shows from the Golden Age of Radio?

Paul: The quality of the production! Part of it is the progress in recording technology between '62 when Johnny Dollar's last broadcast ended Old Time Radio and '74 when CBSRMT got started. But I have a feeling that a lot of the difference is that Himan Brown was given a much larger budget to play with than anyone ever had to play with during "The Golden Age". Radio Drama is so much cheaper to produce than anything with pictures, it would be a lot of fun to see what a group of kids, say a High School Drama Club, could do with a good script and a laptop computer!

OTR BUFFET: Any idea who wrote the theme music to the show?

Paul: I believe it is an adaptation of a Twilight Zone theme written by Nathan van Cleeve. Hearing that big ol' bass is like getting to the head of the line to get on the roller-coaster; you know you are going to get the stuffing scared out of you and you just can't wait!

OTR BUFFET: Were most of the stories for the show written for the show or were they reworks of other scripts?

Paul: A number of the stories are adaptations from literature, but the scripts are all original. Himan Brown paid a flat $350 for each script, so I don't think that anyone got rich writing for CBSRMT. Reworking old scripts would have been hard to pull off- most older shows were a half hour format, so the stories were simple enough to fit. Stretching them to fit a full hour would have been difficult.

OTR BUFFET: With all of the old Time Classic radio we have available to us, why was The Mystery Theater so well received?

Paul: When CBSRMT was on the air it was the only game in town! Radio Drama had been declared Dead when Johnny Dollar went off the air in '62. Mutual had Zero Hour in '73, but even with Rod Serling, in my mind, it just wasn't as good a production as CBSRMT.

OTR BUFFET: How well did it hold up with regard to writing and acting values in comparison to older shows? If favorably, why did it do so well?

Paul: I think that the writing and acting of Radio Mystery Theater is equal to or better than some of the fare from older programs, but for the opposite reason. During the Golden Age of Radio, it was the primary source of income for the actors and writers, so they had to be good or learn to live on less groceries. The pay-scale for CBSRMT was much lower than what the same talent could make in Television, so I have the feeling that many of them worked on the show for the fun of it or as an "artistic challenge." Under these conditions a lot of people will do their best work for personal satisfaction.

OTR BUFFET: Why do you think CBSRMT succeeded when Theatre Five (1973) - which was 30 minutes shorter and seemed to not dwell so much on sci-fi or the supernatural, failed?

Paul: I have a feeling it was the time-slot. 5 pm Drive Time is a bread and butter for the local affiliates who's audience needed to be bombarded with music, DJ patter, and profitable local commercials. Later in the evening is a good time for kids who should be asleep to quietly pull the covers over their heads and tune in their AM portables for a good scare.

OTR BUFFET: Could a new show such as The CBS Mystery Theater even make it on the air today?

Paul: I think that there could be a market for a program like Mystery Theater, but unfortunately not on the air. Which is sad, because I love the technical simplicity of Radio Broadcasts in comparison with the Internet Infrastructure. But unless someone drops The Big One on the dozen or so Server Farms around the world that the Internet depends on, the 'Net will be the big kid on the block for a long time. Audio Drama have the potential to get big again for similar reasons that Radio Soap Operas got big in the 30's: it is cheap to produce very entertaining programs that can be enjoyed while multi-tasking, whether it is washing the dishes, mowing the lawn, commuting to work, working out, or hiding under the covers with a flashlight and an MP3 player getting scared before falling asleep.

OTR BUFFET: Thanks Paul for the time and the answers!

[Many thanks to friends Jon at OTRCat, Larry Gassman (Same Time, Same Station) and "Boston Blackie" for helping provide questions.]

©Jimbo 2010/2011

A few questions about Suspense (with Dr. Joe Webb)

Again, the OTR Buffet is happy to have the very keen insights of Dr. Joe Webb - giving his opinion of a few questions regarding the radio show, Suspense.  You might remember the nice interview he did with me earlier in the year on the subject of Casey, Crime Photographer.



OTR BUFFET: Dr. Joe, thanks for joining me again.  I appreciate your time.  What do you think the main difference is in the pre-1950's shows (produced/directed by William Spier and Anton M. Leader) and those after 1950 which were mostly led by producer and director Elliottt Lewis?

DR. JOE: My favorite is Anton M. Leader. His influence started during the hour-long run with “Beyond Reason” on February 21, 1948. The last show of that season was May 15, 1948. The show returned in its much better half-hour format on July 22, 1948, and he finished on June 30, 1949. This was the best run of Suspense, in my mind, often with fast-moving thrillers. I was not a fan of the Spier shows, but as I have studied a bit more about the series, you do have to respect what he was doing. It was at a higher level than was usual for radio in terms of the overall production values. The Elliott Lewis run (8/31/50 to 7/20/54) took more chances in terms of stories and casting. Getting comedians also increased interest in the show. Jack Benny in a dramatic role? No one would expect that, so it would get some attention. Lewis would also have actors known for singing careers, like Dick Haymes, or Ethel Merman or Rosemary Clooney. He'd also experiment with musical narration, in shows like “Tom Dooley” (3/30/53) or “The Wreck of the Old 97” (3/17/52) or “Frankie and Johnny” (5/5/52) with Dinah Shore.

The Elliott shows are very good, but they can be spotty because he was experimenting with the format so much. I think the Leader half hour shows are consistently better, but both Leader and Lewis are superior runs of the series. In some ways that time was big radio's last stand against the growing diversion of television. The show still had a good-sized budget and could have more lavish productions.

The other shows with Norman MacDonnell, Antony Ellis, and William Robson are better than most other radio of their time. What did surprise me, however, was the New York series, which started August 30, 1959. Collectors had generally felt that this part of the series was not up to the standards of the Hollywood run. I'm sure part of that feeling was because the recordings from this series were mainly home recordings so the sound that survives among collectors was not the best. Considering the budgetary restrictions they were working under, the New York run is better than its reputation. It had a lot of radio's best actors, few of whom had any remaining notoriety, in some very good productions. I urge collectors to give this part of the series new consideration.

OTR BUFFET:  Most people that have a smattering of OTR knowledge probably think of Agnes Moorehead when the topic of Suspense is brought up.  Would you agree with this and why?

DR. JOE: She wasn't called the “First Lady of Suspense” as a joke. The performance of “Sorry, Wrong Number” and her performace brought a lot of respect for the series and radio itself. Remember, radio was generally looked down upon. Theater, especially Broadway, was always held in high esteem, and movies were next, with radio dead last. Eventually, the only thing worse than being a radio actor was to be in early television. This is another example where we may not hold William Spier's work in as high regard since we can see the entire series from an historical vantage point, but at the time casting Moorehead, and having a script and a great performance like that was quite an achievement for that time.

OTR BUFFET:  I've listened to a lot of Suspense in the past couple of months (in the neighborhood of more than 200 episodes.)  I have listened to many others previously.  I recently wrote a series of posts here at the Buffet about my favorite Suspense episodes ( Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV.)  Would you care to comment on any of those episodes or mention a few of your favorites that I didn't list?

DR. JOE: Generally, the shows based on Cornell Woolrich stories are quite good. My favorite episode is “Three O'Clock” (3/10/49), but Woolrich had numerous shows adapted. There are some other great shows like “Dead Ernest” (8/8/46, 5/8/47, and 3/24/49), “The Crowd” (9/21/50, a Ray Bradbury story), “The Flame” (5/29/56) and “Fragile: Contents Death” (2/1/51 and 5/22/56).

OTR BUFFET; Which episode of Suspense do you think is the most unique or strangest episode that you've heard and why?

DR. JOE: “Allen in Wonderland” (10/27/52) with Cornell Wilde, but for an odd reason. The show takes place in New York City, and an unnamed cop plays a big role in the story. But anyone who knows OTR knows that when Larry Thor is cast as a policeman, that's no ordinary officer, that's Lt. Danny Clover from “Broadway's My Beat.” This little inside joke is a delight for fans of both series.



©Jimbo 2010/2011

The Amazing Agnes Moorehead

Cool photo dump

Mercedes McCambridge (1936)

Orson Welles on the right

J-J-Jimmy Stewart

Red!

Agnes Moorehead (1935)

1935

"Suspense" promos, early 1950's [#02]

"Suspense" promos, early 1950's [#01]

My interview with Jon at OTRCAT.com

Jon helps run the website and company known as OTRCAT. It is my please to have him join me today for an interview.
 


OTR Buffet: Jon, thanks for joining me. What can you tell us about OTRCAT?

Jon: Thanks for inviting me, Jimbo. After many years of listening and collecting old time radio shows, the OTRCAT.com (Old Time Radio Catalog) web site opened in 1999. We offer thousands of old time radio shows on MP3 and audio cd for just $5.00 per disk.

OTRCAT.com offers hundreds of show descriptions with images of the original actors and sponsors. We feature original compilations and thousands of free downloads on the OTRCAT.com website including an "Daily Download" section (which has broadcasts from the same date in history).

Proceeds from the OTRCAT.com website offset the price of machinery, supplies, and growing old time radio collection; every month OTRCAT also sends out free CDs of old time radio shows to various low-income retirement homes, centers for the blind, and American field troops based in Iraq and Afghanistan in hopes they will enjoy the nostalgia of these classic radio recordings.

OTR Buffet:  Do you do all the research over there yourself?  How do you go about researching a subject?

Jon: OTRCAT.com is a family-run business and represents over a decade work & thousands of hours of  researching and writing.  Many hard-print resources and logs available, but the Internet has made research and correspondence with collectors and contributors more convenient than ever.  Researching the individual series and writing about them has been a passion.  We’ve recently been working on old time radio articles including texts on Atomic Radio, Soap Operas, Espionage and Horror and Mystery shows.  We’ve also had guest authors write about Aimee Semple McPherson, Cathy Lewis, War of the Worlds, Kay Kyser, Hans Conried & Arch Oboler and others which I hope are a compelling and entertaining read.

OTR Buffet: Please tell me how you first got into old-time radio.   (I'd like to know some of your first memories of OTR and what were some of the shows you listened to.)

Jon: I missed hearing the golden age of radio when it was broadcast live, but I listened to some comedy and horror radio shows when I was a kid on cassette tapes and father's open-reel player.  While living in Los Angeles, I found myself addicted to old time radio during long commutes and subsequently spent a lot of time sitting in the driveway waiting for THE WHISTLER show to end when they broadcast the shows on AM in the evening.  With the advent of digital recording, being able to store and listen to the shows on demand is easier than ever.  One of the beautiful things about the MP3 format: you can have virtually an entire series stored on a single disk and can fast forward, rewind and resume listening to any episode at any point in time!

OTR Buffet:  When we chatted earlier, you mentioned you liked Dragnet.  Dragnet is a unique show with it's own style.  Can you talk about that style, tell us some fond Dragnet memories?

Jon: Jack Webb's Dragnet are some of my favorite old time radio detective shows.  My wife and I have listened to the series many times through.  His no nonsense questioning of suspects and witnesses are really entertaining (as are the stories – based on true life crime).  The stories are tastefully written and cover some fascinating crime history.  The suspects and witnesses are great memorable characters and the plots, delivery, one-liners and sound effects are all top-notch from the golden age of radio!

OTR Buffet:  I always thought it was kind of strange that Dragnet's Friday lived with his mom.  It's kind of strange, don't you think?

Jon: He's a man dedicated to his job, Jimbo!!  In Friday’s defense, there were several episodes where Joe Friday took out a "police woman" to prove he wasn't a Norman Bates-like character in his personal life.  I recall one where his mother was shocked that the police woman was "pretty."  Joe Friday living at home makes the fodder with his partner (Ben Romero) all the more entertaining; there are a lot of dry-wit skits where Romero bores Joe Friday with his inane troubles and arguments with his wife and mother in law.

OTR Buffet:  Another show you mentioned you liked a lot is You Bet Your Life.  That was indeed a great show and a classic.  Groucho is so very funny.   I think it's a shame that the teens today have no idea who Groucho is.  Even in this current wacky world of Lady Gaga and reality television, I think You Bet Your Life would still do well if they ran the reruns against other televison shows!  How do think Groucho's show would do if it currently ran on CBS on Friday nights at 9pm?

Jon: Every episode of Groucho Marx's YOU BET YOUR LIFE has some laugh out loud moments for me.  It's amazing some of the material passed censors--Groucho's wit always won out. Regarding competing on today's television: the duck that falls out of the ceiling is pretty compelling television!!  There was only one Groucho Marx, but I'm not sure if it would really appeal to a mass audience.  I think there will always be Marx-bros fans out there that will always enjoy Groucho's impromptu one liners although I'm not sure Television format added that much additional humor from the radio broadcasts (there wasn't much visual humor on the television episodes I recall.)  The Marx Bros films on the other hand had all kinds of great visual gags, but the time, budge and game-show format constraints made YOU BET YOUR LIFE just as entertaining as an audio radio broadcast as the video version.  If I recall correctly Groucho has editing control of the radio broadcasts before they were broadcast where he had them cut out dead air time and condense all the jokes – the end product is a great show that always makes me laugh.

OTR Buffet:  You also mentioned you enjoyed the show, Suspense.  I was fortunate enough to have Christine Miller do an interview with me a couple of months back, I hope you will read that on the Buffet.  I enjoy Suspense as well.  What are some of your favorite episodes of the show and why?

Jon: Indeed - I enjoyed your interview with Christine and share her love for Suspense.  Agnes Moorehead’s “Sorry Wrong Number” always comes to mind when I think of Suspense.  SUSPENSE is a top-notch series with broadcasts with top name actors of the era including Jimmy Stewart, Gene Kelly, Dane Clark, Cary Grant, and Jack Webb.  Episodes like “Donovan’s Brain”, “House in Cypress Canyon” , “The Hitchhiker”, Vincent Price in “Three Skeleton Key”, and “The Doom Machine” are some of my all-time favorites that come to mind.  The writing and performances are indeed “well calculated to keep you in Suspense!”

OTR Buffet:  Doing the OTRCAT you probably have come across some shows most of us have never heard of.  Can you recommend any "under-the-radar" shows that we have never heard before and if so, can you tell us something about them?

Jon: OTRCAT.com has a "rarities" section of the website with some of the lesser known shows.  Some of our original genre compilations of Rare Detectives & Rare Soap Operas are fun way to get a sampling of recordings that only have one or two episodes still in known existence.   Recordings like Singing Sam (“The Barbasol Man”) and others are a great listen.  Other rare recordings like "Lonesome Gal" of interest was a music program from the 40's created by Jean King who starts her program swooning " "Sweetie, no matter what anybody says, I love you more than anybody in the whole world."

OTR Buffet: You also mentioned to me that you like the show, X Minus One.  It's a show I have listened to but I haven't listened enough of it to really ask any questions with any kind of authority.  Tell me why you like the show and maybe a memorable episode or two.

Jon: The X MINUS ONE adapted short stories of sci-fi writers Ray Bradbury, Philip K Dick, Robert Heinlein and Frederik Pohl are outstanding.  Radio is the perfect medium for science fiction as everything in your mind's eye is more realistic than any film you may see.  I've always been a big fan of the sci-fi genre in general  and we wrote a short primer on Sci-Fi in old time radio. X MINUS ONE episodes like "The Martian Death March", "Cold Equations", "The Roads Must Roll", "Perigi's Wonderful Dolls" are all some of my all-time favorites that come to mind, but almost every episode in the series is outstanding and unique.  The sci-fi authors address problems of the 1950s era in a creative format which still are valid and immensely entertaining today.

©Jimbo 2010/2011

Moorehead, Jameson, Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Hilliard photo dump

Agnes Moorehead 1935

Random photo dump/March 27th