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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. Known as Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills it focused on suspenseful stories starring the biggest names in Hollywood. Early in the run, the episodes were hosted by the “Man in Black” who, from an omniscient perch, narrated stories of people thrown into dangerous or bizarre situations with plots that, at the very end, usually had an unseen twist or two.

The Screen Director’s Playhouse came to NBC in 1949 and became one of the top drama anthologies featuring Hollywood actors reprising their screen roles a la Lux Radio Theater. The primary focus of the program was the original movie’s director, who not only served as a guest host but also participated in an interview towards the end of the broadcast. Unlike Lux, which featured Cecil B. DeMille as a regular host, The Screen Director’s Playhouse had a different director every week. Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, and Lewis Milestone were among those appearing.

Created by Blake Edwards (of Pink Panther fame), 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 radio. Richard Diamond was a light-hearted New York-based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionairess girlfriend, Helen Asher (played by Virginia Gregg). It’s theme, “Leave it to Love,” was whistled by Powell at the top of each episode.

The Cisco Kid was a popular film, radio, television, and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his short story “The Caballero’s Way,” published in 1907 in the collection Heart of the West. The Cisco Kid came to radio October 2, 1942, with Jackson Beck in the title role and Louis Sorin as Pancho. With Vicki Vola and Bryna Raeburn in supporting roles and Michael Rye announcing, this series continued on Mutual until 1945.

In 1935, the DuPont Company chose to enhance its image by dramatizing great events in American history to an audience of millions each week on The Cavalcade of America. “Cavalcade” is a term used to describe pioneers who shaped the way America operates today. DuPont’s motto, “maker of better things for better living through chemistry,” was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.

On March 19, 1928, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll 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 its popularity, almost the entire country listened to the 15-minute, Monday-through-Friday adventures of Amos ‘n’ Andy. Department stores piped in the broadcasts so shoppers wouldn’t miss an episode, and movie theaters scheduled their features to end just prior to the start of Amos ‘n’ Andy so they too could pipe it in.

In 1949, NBC brought mustachioed Irish-American actor Brian Donlevy to the radio microphones as international troubleshooter Steve Mitchell in the spy series Dangerous Assignment. Mitchell worked for an unnamed US government intelligence agency whose boss, The Commissioner, dispatched him to world trouble spots. Mitchell’s assignment was to solve problems in record time and in accordance with US interests.

Whitehall 1212 was the famous telephone number for Scotland Yard - the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Force - and also an exciting true crime drama from the golden age of radio! Whitehall 1212 was a crime drama that aired on NBC from 1951 until 1952. It was hosted by Chief Superintendent John Davidson, curator of the Black Museum, Scotland Yard’s repository of death. Similar to The Black Museum, starring Orson Welles, Whitehall 1212 dramatized true-crime cases solved by Scotland Yard.

Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you...Escape! Escape, designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure! Escape was radio’s leading anthology series of mystery and high-adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 until September 25, 1954. Many story premises, both originals and adaptations, involved a protagonist in dire life-or-death straits.

From the pens of the world’s best-known and respected supernatural fiction authors comes The Weird Circle - tales of mystery, suspense, horror, and the macabre! Now, enjoy sixteen of the greatest mysteries of all time! The Weird Circle was an anthology of classic thrillers from the pens of the world’s best-known and respected fiction authors of the 19th century. The focus was horror and suspense stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Mary Shelley (among others), with the occasional drama by Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, and George Eliot.

Father Knows Best was a situation comedy built around the Anderson family and life on Maple Street in the fictitious Midwestern town of Springfield. Robert Young starred as Jim Anderson, head of the household, husband of Margaret, and an insurance man by occupation. The couple had three children. The weekly radio script, although played for laughs, offered words of wisdom and “recipes for domestic happiness” that American families could identify with. Jim’s understanding wife Margaret was the picture of domesticity as mother to Betty (aged 18), Bud (16), and Kathy (10).

Information Please was a quiz show that aired on NBC radio from 1938 until 1951. Moderated by Clifton Fadiman, the show featured a panel of experts who would attempt to answer questions mailed in by audience members. Panel regulars included writer-actor-pianist Oscar Levant and newspaper columnists and renowned intellectuals Franklin P. Adams and John Kieran. Often, there was a fourth "guest" panelist, usually either a celebrity, politician, or writer. Guest panelists included Fred Allen, Boris Karloff, Rex Stout, Deems Taylor, Jackie Robinson, Orson Welles, and Basil Rathbone.

The Whistler was one of radio's top mystery programs, airing from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955. Airing on CBS radio and sponsored by the Signal Oil Company, the Whistler (played by Joseph Kearns, Gale Gordon, and Bill Forman) was an ominous narrator who knew the killer's every move even before they did. The Whistler often commented directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective. One of the show's trademarks was the ironic twist endings that helped serve as a payoff for the listener.

Convinced they could build on the success of the already released motion-picture series, MGM Studios hired Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore to reprise their screen roles as Dr. James Kildare and Dr. Leonard Gillespie in a syndicated radio series. Kildare was the compassionate, caring physician at Blair General Hospital, New York City; Gillespie a crusty, lovable diagnostician. Kildare reminded listeners each week in the opening signature.

Created by author Jack Boyle, Boston Blackie was a reformed jewel thief and safecracker, constantly suspected of crimes he did not commit and forced to play the role of detective to clear his name. His girlfriend, Mary Wesley, assisted Blackie from time to time, as did his pal Shorty. Forced to defend himself against the accusations of New York Police Inspector Faraday, Blackie always managed to stay one step ahead of the cops in solving a crime.

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. Welles followed the edict that most stage actors applied - he played roles in hundreds of radio dramas produced by advertising agencies and the radio networks. After creating a minor panic in the minds of radio listeners with his 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast, Welles attracted the attention of a movie studio.

As Lucy Ricardo, Lucille Ball brought a tomboy’s enthusiasm and a scatterbrained quality to the long-running I Love Lucy (1951-61) television program. She was the wacky wife making life difficult for her loving but perpetually irritated husband, Ricky Ricardo (played by Ball’s real-life husband, Desi Arnaz). Long before I Love Lucy, Ball worked her way up Hollywood’s ladder with appearances in films and in many radio shows, including dramatic roles where she could really show her acting chops.

For over half a century, Jack Benny was one of the great comics of stage, screen, radio, and television. On his long-running radio and television programs, Benny was depicted as a miser who hoarded every penny he made. Year after year he denied he was older than 39 while honing his persona of a vain and devious penny-pincher in stark contrast to the warm and generous human being he was in real life. Benny knew he could be funny by following one simple rule: let others deliver the punch lines.

The golden age of radio had incredible detective shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear their favorite detective find out "who done it?" From 1949 until 1962, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was one of the most popular detective shows on the air. Dollar was an insurance investigator who received a cut of the money he saved his agency for proving an insurance claim was not on the level. His insurance cases usually led to murder and a beautiful woman.

The golden age of radio had incredible mystery shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear their favorite Hollywood stars in spine-chilling radio mystery and horror. In this collection of 16 episodes, you'll hear several episodes of Suspense starring Joseph Cotten, Hume Cronyn, Lili Palmer, and Mark Stevens; Escape starring William Conrad; The Whistler starring Cathy and Elliott Lewis; Crime Classics starring Lou Merrill; Academy Award Theatre; The Sealed Book; and many more!