Classic Radio Theater

Dragnet, “Big Confession,” aired on March 30, 1954.

Dragnet, “Big Mustache,” aired on March 23, 1954.

Dragnet, “Big Rod,” aired on March 3, 1954.Dragnet was created and produced by Jack Webb, who also starred as Sergeant Joe Friday. His goal was to create a show that was realistic, so he attended police academy classes and did ride-alongs with the Los Angeles Police Department as part of his research. The cases in the shows were based on actual cases handled by the LAPD. Dragnet was broadcast on NBC radio stations from 1949 to 1957. It overlapped with it’s TV version which ran from 1951 to 1959 in black and white, and was brought back to TV in color from 1967 to 1970.

Gunsmoke, “The Reed Survives,” aired on June 18, 1955.

Gunsmoke, “Trust,” aired on June 11, 1955.

Gunsmoke, “Cow Doctor,” aired on May 28, 1955. Gunsmoke, the story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man that moved with it, U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad.

The legendary W.C. Fields was born William Claude Dukenfield in Pennsylvania in 1880. He started his career as a juggler on the vaudeville circuit, then moved into comedy and acting. He is know for his distinctive speech patterns and for his character’s love of alcohol.Part 1: The Temperance LecturePart 2: The Day I Drank A Glass of WaterDoes his act still hold up?

Flip Wilson (1933-1998) was the first Black comedian to host a successful TV variety show, The Flip Wilson Show, which aired from 1970 to 1974. Flip was well known for playing the character of Geraldine in his act as well ask for numerous TV appearances from he 1960s through the 1980s. He continued to perform into the 1990s until he passed away from cancer in 1998.

Orson Welles’s “A Christmas Carol”Enjoy Orson Welles’s production of the beloved “A Christmas Carol,” which aired on Christmas Eve in 1939.

An Evening With Groucho Marx (Part 2 of 2)

An Evening With Groucho Marx (Part 1 of 2)Released in 1972, An Evening With Groucho Marx was recorded live at three venues, Carnegie Hall in New York City, C.Y. Stephens Auditorium at Iowa State University, and Masonic Auditorium in San Fransisco. Groucho is introduced by Dick Cavett and is accompanied on piano by Marvin Hamlisch.

The Life of Riley with William Bendix- “Thanksgiving with the Gillises,” aired on November 29, 1947.The Life of Riley was a radio sitcom that aired from 1944 to 1951. It was later developed into a movie and a TV series.

Gunsmoke, “The Liar From Blackhawk,” aired on May 21, 1955.

Gunsmoke, “Robber Bridegroom,” aired on May 14, 1955.

Gunsmoke, “Potato Road,” aired on May 7, 1955.The story of the violence that moved west with young America, and the story of a man that moved with it, U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad.

It’s time for our annual rebroadcast of Orson Welles’s “The War of the Worlds,” which aired on October 30, 1938. This legendary broadcast is one you don't want to miss! (Spoiler: It did not create the mass panic of legendary tales. Orson said it was fiction in the broadcast, and they even took commercial breaks.)

“House in Cypress Canyon,” starring Robert Taylor, from the radio series SUSPENSE. This episode is widely considered one of the most terrifying shows broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio. A couple moves into a new rental house, and finds blood running from beneath a closet door… This episode aired on December 5, 1946.

Lights Out was one of the earliest radio programs focusing on horror and the supernatural. It ran on several networks from 1934 to 1947 before making the transition to television. This episode, “Rocket From Manhattan,” was broadcast on September 20, 1945, and is set in the distant future year of… 2000!

Lights Out was one of the earliest radio programs focusing on horror and the supernatural. It ran on several networks from 1934 to 1947 before making the transition to television. This episode, “Oxychloride X,” was broadcast on January 26, 1938.