William Conrad

William Conrad (Louisville, September 27, 1920) was an American film and radio actor.

He began working in radio in the late 1930s in California; later, he served as a pilot in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he continued working as a radio actor, a profession for which he was particularly well-suited thanks to his deep, resonant voice. His role as Marshal Matt Dillon in the Western radio drama Gunsmoke (1952–61) is particularly noteworthy. Other radio productions he worked on include Escape, Suspense and The Damon Runyon Theater. He appeared in the episode "Spokes" of The High Chaparral as 'China' Pierce (Francisco Rizzo 2/20/17).

He also worked in film, though only sporadically, with notable titles including The Killers (1946), alongside Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner, Body and Soul (1947), Joan of Arc (1948) with Ingrid Bergman, and The Naked Jungle (1954), with Charlton Heston.

However, he is probably best remembered for his television work. He debuted in the medium in the 1960s. He appeared in series such as The Man and the Challenge and Target: The Corruptors! (1962) and was the narrator for the famous series The Fugitive (1963-1967). His most popular role was probably that of the obese detective who gave his name to the series Cannon, which aired on CBS between 1971 and 1976. He later starred in the series Nero Wolfe (1981) and Jake and the Fatman (1987–1992), with Joe Penny.

Radio career: 

Gunsmoke: He portrayed Matt Dillon in 480 episodes, becoming a voice synonymous with the West, though he didn't transition to television because he didn't physically fit the role. 

Escape and Suspense: He was a regular on these suspense programs, often narrating or portraying villains and heroes. In one episode of Suspense ("The Wax Works"), he played all the roles. 

Work Volume: It is estimated that he appeared on more than 7,500 radio programs. 
Style: Conrad used his baritone voice to create characters with great authority and nuance, beginning his career as an announcer, writer, and director at KMPC Los Angeles. 

Legacy: He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.

He died of heart failure on February 11, 1994, at the age of 73.

Barbara Stanwyck

During its peak, Lux Radio Theatre offered hour-long radio adaptations of popular films, featuring performances by the original Hollywood stars. This initiative began in October 1934 at Radio City Music Hall, initially focusing on recreations of plays until its move to Hollywood in June 1936. Notably, Cecil B. DeMille joined as the host, helping to draw big names to the program, which quickly outperformed competitors like Orson Welles's Screen Guild Theatre. The series featured prominent stars such as Jean Harlow, Al Jolson, and Joan Crawford, with Barbara Stanwyck making a record 23 appearances from 1936 to 1955. Stanwyck’s efficiency and calmness under the show’s demanding schedule, alongside her cooperative nature, earned her praise from DeMille and made her a standout contributor to the series.

Barbara Stanwyck began her career as a dancer and actress on Broadway, gaining significant acclaim during her performances at the Music Box Theatre, where she excelled in front of a large audience. Unlike many film actors unfamiliar with stage performances, who often required additional direction, Stanwyck was able to ad-lib with proficiency while maintaining a strong commitment to memorizing her lines well ahead of time. Her distinctive reign as a prominent figure in radio was largely attributed to her remarkable voice, described by Richard Chamberlain as “like a million-dollar case of laryngitis.”

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Stanwyck was a heavy smoker, a habit that undoubtedly influenced the richness and rapid pace of her voice. Well before Hollywood was graced with the likes of Lauren Bacall, Stanwyck's unique vocal qualities had already established her as a potent force in the film industry. Renowned director Frank Capra was profoundly moved upon viewing her screen test for "Ladies of Leisure." He remarked on the emotional sincerity he witnessed, stating that "never had I seen or heard such emotional sincerity." Stanwyck's representation of femininity was unapologetic and commanding, characteristics that resonated in her performances.

During World War II, her compelling voice became particularly well-suited for roles depicting strong women navigating challenges on the home front. Notably, she portrayed a determined eldest sister taking charge while her father was away in “The Gay Sisters” and a war-widowed wife exploring new love in “My Reputation.” The war period saw a surge in radio audience numbers, partly due to gasoline rationing which made traveling to movie theaters less feasible. The 1940s featured a plethora of psychological dramas centered on troubled veterans, and advertising on radio, such as Lux Soap commercials, sought to engage housewives, reminding them to conserve cooking fat. Stanwyck's genuine delivery extended even to her endorsements, exemplified by a Lux ad in August 1936 where she advised listeners on beauty cures with a sincere recommendation for their product, emphasizing the benefits of soap, water, and sunshine.

Barbara Stanwyck's voice has profoundly shaped her on-screen presence, imbued with a deep melancholic quality that resonates through her roles. As articulated by critic James Harvey, the huskiness of her voice evokes a sense of tears that, while firmly managed, are nonetheless fully expressed. This emotional undertow is evident in her transition between characters, where she modulates her vocal expression based on the demands of the role. In the Lux broadcast of "Stella Dallas" (October 1937), Stanwyck begins with a delicate, shy croon while attempting to engage her on-screen love interest, shifting to a more edgy Brooklyn tone when discussing motherhood, ultimately conveying a powerful, restrained sorrow during dramatic moments concerning divorce and the loss of her daughter.

In "The Lady Eve" (March 1942), Stanwyck showcases an array of vocal flirtation techniques as her character Jean moves from brash commentary to seductive nuances, embodying both confidence and vulnerability in her delivery. Her versatile vocal qualities, even when veering into farcical territory while impersonating Lady Eve, retain the signature Stanwyck huskiness that captivates audiences. This distinctive voice reaches its zenith in "Double Indemnity" (October 1950), where her femme fatale character draws in Walter Neff with a slow, alluring charm, exemplified by her seemingly casual offer of iced tea. Yet, the underlying tension of her performance culminates in a dramatic twist, showcasing not just her vocal range but the impactful storytelling that transitions seamlessly from film to radio.

Stanwyck's influence marks a significant shift in the portrayal of women in film noir, contributing to a preference for lower-pitched, more complex female characters over the higher-pitched, more conventional representations of earlier eras. Despite the decline of Lux Radio Theatre with the advent of television, Stanwyck's compelling voice and the emotional depth it carries have left a lasting legacy in popular culture.

Stanwyck died on January 20, 1990, at the age of 82, from congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

Dangerous Assignment

Dangerous Assignment is a radio and television drama featuring Brian Donlevy, originally aired by NBC from 1949 to 1953. The show portrays U.S. special agent Steve Mitchell, whose adventures take him to exotic locations around the globe, driven by international intrigue and the pursuit of secrets. Each episode begins with a teaser, followed by a briefing in "The Commissioner's" office, the head of a U.S. State Department agency designed to manage international crises that threaten U.S. interests. 

Mitchell, typically assuming the foreign correspondent for an undisclosed publication, navigates treachery and violence, culminating in a resolved plot by the end of each episode. The series was also adapted into a television format from 1951 to 1952 and a separate Australian radio series aired from 1954 to 1956, remaking the American scripts.

Dangerous Assignment originated as a radio series on the NBC network in the summer of 1949, created as a replacement series. Star Brian Donlevy played both the lead role and the narrator, enhancing the show's immediate suspense. Herb Butterfield featured as "The Commissioner," and various notable guest stars participated, including William Conrad and Raymond Burr. The inaugural series comprised seven episodes aired on Saturdays from July 9 to August 20, 1949, with a character named 'Ruthie,' the Commissioner's secretary, indicating romantic undertones with the protagonist, Steve Mitchell.

The series enjoyed popularity, leading to a syndicated version in Australia in 1954, which reinterpreted scripts from the American series with local actors. Although well-received during its summer broadcast, NBC couldn't include it in the Fall 1949 schedule. It reappeared on February 6, 1950, in various time slots until concluding on July 8, 1953. Among its sponsors were the Ford Motor Company and RCA Victor, but for much of its run, the show was primarily supported by NBC promotions.

In total, the American radio series produced at least 160 episodes from 1950 to 1953, characterized by standardized episode titles that began with action verbs, reflecting the nature of assignments. Parallelly, efforts began for an Australian adaptation, which aired 52 episodes from 1954 to 1956, featuring Lloyd Burrell as Steve Mitchell.

A syndicated television series named Dangerous Assignment aired in the US, primarily on NBC, during the 1951–52 television season. Created by Donlevy, who also starred as Steve Mitchell, the series transitioned from a radio show to television without initial network investment, leading Donlevy to finance thirty-nine episodes himself. These episodes were sold directly to individual stations in First-Run Syndication with varying prices based on demographic factors. The series featured Herb Butterfield as "The Commissioner” and was scripted mostly by Robert Ryf. Notable guest stars included Hugh Beaumont, Paul Frees, Elena Verdugo, and others, many of whom portrayed diverse characters across different episodes.

Frances Helen Allison

Frances Helen Allison was born on November 20, 1907, she was a prominent American television and radio comedienne, personality, and singer, renowned for her leading role in the NBC-TV puppet show Kukla, Fran and Ollie, which aired from 1947 to 1957 and saw occasional returns until the mid-1980s. Additionally, she co-hosted The CBS Children's Film Festival from 1967 to 1977, showcasing international children's films. Born in La Porte City, Iowa, to Jesse Louis and Anna M. "Nan" Allison, she experienced early family challenges, including her father's stroke and a subsequent move to live with her grandparents. 

A 1927 graduate of Coe College and member of Alpha Gamma Delta, she initially worked as a fourth-grade teacher in Iowa before embarking on a broadcasting career at WMT in Cedar Rapids. In 1934, she gained recognition as one of the sectional winners in the Hollywood Hotel radio contest. After relocating to Chicago in 1937, she joined NBC Radio as a staff singer and personality, making her network debut in the WJZ-NBC club matinee. Allison became a staple performer on The Breakfast Club for 25 years, portraying the character "Aunt Fanny,” a gossipy spinster, and also appeared on the ABC-TV series Ozark Jubilee in the late 1950s. Throughout her career, she contributed significantly to the entertainment industry, shaping children's programming and radio entertainment.

In 1947, Burr Tillstrom was approached by the director of WBKB-TV in Chicago to create a puppet show for children, leading to the collaboration with Allison, whom he had met during a WWII bond tour. The show, featuring Tillstrom's creations Kukla and Ollie and starring comedienne Fran Allison, was unique for its unscripted ad-lib format and aired from October 13, 1947, to August 30, 1957.

Allison's television career expanded post-Kukla, Fran and Ollie with her own The Fran Allison Show and appearances in various televised musical specials. She recorded music for the RCA Victor label, achieving two minor pop hits, including "Peter Cottontail" and "Too Young."

Her accolades include an Emmy nomination in 1950 and two Chicago Emmy awards in 1959, along with an honorary doctorate from Iowa Wesleyan University in 1967. Allison was married to music publisher Archie Levington until his death in 1978 and was active in mental health advocacy.

She served on the board of Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters and spent her later years in Van Nuys, California, until her death on June 13, 1989, from myelodysplasia. Allison was buried in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, survived by her brother, James "Lynn" Allison, a saxophonist.

Franklin Pierce Adams

Franklin Pierce Adams (1881–1960), known as F.P.A., was a prominent American columnist celebrated for his humor and wit. He gained fame through his newspaper column "The Conning Tower" and as a panelist on the radio program, Information Please. Born in Chicago to German Jewish immigrants, Adams initially trained in insurance and graduated from Armour Scientific Academy. His journalism career began in 1903 with the Chicago Daily Journal, followed by a role at the New York Evening Mail, where he created his popular humor column and wrote the well-known poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon."

In 1914, he brought his column to the New-York Tribune, where it was renamed "The Conning Tower," recognized for its sharp verbal wit. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army’s military intelligence and contributed to the Stars and Stripes. After the war, he returned to the Tribune and later worked for the New York World until 1931, before rejoining the Tribune, now the New York Herald Tribune, until 1937. His career concluded with a tenure at the New York Evening Post that ended in September 1941. Adams was also a member of the Algonquin Round Table, contributing significantly to American literary and comedic culture during the 1920s and 30s.

During its publication history, "The Conning Tower" showcased contributions from notable writers such as Robert Benchley, Edna Ferber, Moss Hart, George S. Kaufman, Edna St. Vincent Millay, John O'Hara, Dorothy Parker, and Deems Taylor. Notably, having work featured in this column could significantly benefit a writer's career; both Dorothy Parker and James Thurber experienced career-defining success as a result. Parker humorously noted that the column "raised me from a couplet" and dedicated her poetry book, Not So Deep as a Well, to its editor, containing several poems initially published in "The Conning Tower."

The editor, Adams, is recognized for coining the term "aptronym," referring to last names that aptly describe one’s profession, with "aptonym" as a variant spelling. His reputation for a meticulous attention to grammar earned him the moniker "the comma-hunter of Park Row," a location known for housing numerous newspaper offices.

Besides his literary contributions, Adams was passionate about tennis, remaining an active member of the University Heights Tennis Club, which organized an annual open singles tournament. He reached the third round in tournaments during 1914 and 1919 and served as a line judge at the U.S. National Championships (US Open) in 1922 and again in 1924 during semifinal matches featuring prominent players such as Bill Johnston, Vincent Richards, and Bill Tilden.

Franklin P. Adams served as a panelist on the radio show Information Please (1938–48), where he was recognized for his expertise in poetry, old barroom songs, and Gilbert and Sullivan, often humorously referring to the duo as Sullivan and Gilbert. A notable aspect of his participation included a running joke where he would attribute unknown quotations to Shakespeare, showcasing his wit during the show. During his audition, Adams humorously responded to a question about The Merchant of Venice by identifying Antonio instead of the more commonly cited Shylock. The established Shakespeare expert on the panel was John Kieran, who could quote Shakespeare extensively. Beyond his radio work, Adams was also a translator of Horace and collaborated with O. Henry on the musical comedy Lo. 

After his death in Manhattan, he was cremated, and his ashes were interred at Ferncliff Cemetery without a marker.

Classic Old Time Radio: New site

Classic Old Time Radio has a new website on which you can hear the station from today. Click here or on the logo and you will access it.

 

Thanks for being a loyal listener! 😀😀

 

 

Goodman Ace

Goodman and Jane Ace

Goodman Ace was born on January 15, he was a prominent American humorist, radio writer, comedian, television writer, and magazine columnist. Known for his low-key, literate sense of humor and sharp commentary on societal trends, Ace became a highly sought-after writer throughout the 1930s to the 1960s. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Latvian Jewish immigrants Harry Aiskowitz and Anna Katzen. Ace developed an interest in writing early on, editing his high school newspaper and adopting the pen name Asa Goodman. His early jobs included working as a roller skating messenger while he studied journalism at Kansas City Polytechnic Institute, where he also wrote a column titled "The Dyspeptic" for the school paper. After his father passed away, Ace supported his family by working various jobs before finally becoming a reporter and columnist for the Kansas City Journal-Post. His personal life included a significant relationship with his high school sweetheart, Jane Epstein; they attended an Al Jolson concert on their first date, facilitated by Ace’s press pass, and were married six months later in 1922.

In 1930, Goodman Ace began working at radio station KMBC, initially reading Sunday comics and later hosting "Ace Goes to the Movies." The idea originated from an editor seeking to boost the newspaper's circulation by having Ace, already covering local theater, read comics. He suggested a film review show to earn extra income. An unexpected airtime gap led to an impromptu chat with his wife Jane about a bridge game, resulting in a new domestic comedy show, "Easy Aces." It evolved from focused bridge humor to broader comedic situations involving Jane's malapropisms. Running from 1930 to 1945, "Easy Aces" became a beloved yet understated success in radio for its witty conversational style and literary quality. While never a ratings giant, it maintained a loyal following among radio insiders and adapted to film with the release of "Dumb Luck" in 1935. Ace also contributed to other shows and served on the "Committee of 25" during WWII, influencing music selections for the War Department's songbook series.

In 1945, Ace began writing for The Danny Kaye Show after previously filling in for Kaye during his performances for troops. He resigned when the show moved to Hollywood. Ace assessed his scripts based on the number of cigars he smoked while writing, with fewer cigars indicating better prospects for the show. After a legal incident in 1940 regarding character names, he decided to have performers use their real names. In 1948, he created a new version of the show called mr. ace and JANE, which lasted only one season. Despite a pilot featuring Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams being discussed in 1956, it is unclear if it was produced. The Aces returned to radio with NBC's Monitor and participated in commercials, including those for NBC's Startime. Ace was also humorously misquoted in 1951 regarding the play I Am a Camera.

Ace critiqued television in a 1953 letter to Groucho Marx, calling it a "clever contraction" of "Terrible Vaudeville," yet he was open to experimentation. Alongside Jane Ace, he adapted their radio show Easy Aces for television in December 1949, airing on the DuMont network until mid-June 1950. Despite retaining their witty dynamic from radio, the show failed to attract a comparable audience and effectively ended the Aces' careers in performance. Subsequently, Jane Ace largely retired, while Goodman shifted to writing. Ace also created a notable radio show, CBS Was There, which blended absurdity with historical re-creations narrated by CBS News reporters. However, he struggled for recognition, as credit went to CBS executive Desmond Taylor, despite the show's lasting impact, particularly on television with memorable introductions narrated by Walter Cronkite.

Goodman Ace passed away in March 1982, eight years after his wife, and they are both interred at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Raytown, a suburb of Kansas City. Highlighting Ace's views on comedy, obituarist David Bird of The New York Times reported that Ace believed success in comedy relied on collaboration between writer and performer, not solely on individual talent. This notion was illustrated by an anecdote where, in response to a relative's desperate request for money, Ace humorously suggested a lower amount along with a more dangerous plan. After being dismissed from his role as head of CBS's comedy workshop in the late 1940s, Ace responded to a sympathetic vice president's remark about the network's lack of comedy understanding with his own witticism, indicating that such understanding was already presumed. In a playful nod to an epitaph poll by Saturday Review, he quipped that he would not want to be dug up just for such recognition, though it is noted that Easy Aces was later inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1990, despite Ace's self-deprecating suggestion being overlooked.