Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was such a popular character on Fibber McGee and Molly that he got his own spin-off show in 1941... and it ran until 1956. However, the original Gildersleeve was Harold Peary... but in 1950 he refused to sign his renewal because he wanted more money. NBC fired him and hired Willard Waterman (photo), who not only looked like Hal Peary, he sounded like him as well. Waterman held the position until the show ended in 1956 and went on to play the role in television as well. Shirley Mitchell (photo) Walter Tetley, Lillian Randolph, Louise Erickson, Hans Conried, Arthur Q. Bryant, and others made up a talented cast. In this Valentine's day show story, Gildersleeve sets up dates with TWO women to the Mayor's Valentines Day Party... trouble is that they both think they are the only date going with Gildersleeve... and the trouble begins! Excellent sitcom!

Hail .. Hail The gang's all here! Richard Crenna, Eve Arden, Jeff Chandler, Gale Gordon, Jane Morgan, Gloria McMillan, and Leonard Smith... also known as Denton, Connie Brooks, Mr. Boynton, Mr. Conklin, Mrs. Davis, Harriet Conklin, and Stretch Snodgrass... and they are all involved with Madison High School. Connie has a crush on Mr. Boynton and Valentine's Day is an excellent opportunity for her to let him know how she feels... in fact she needs to because he has NO CLUE! Very funny sitcom. On radio from 1948-1957 and several years on television with only Jeff Chandler not continuing his role as Mr. Boynton.

An excellent, albeit relatively short-lived, half-hour sustained (no sponsor.. network picked up the tab) series of mystery and suspense stories starring Ernest Chapelle as our narrator and often the actor. Written by Wyllis Cooper who also penned "Lights Out" series... these stories today are considered among the most creative and unique of all radio mystery-suspense programs. Here is the Valentine's Day show from Feb. 13, 1949. Audio is not top quality, very few of the remaining episodes are, it is still intelligible. This story "Valentine" is about the love between two historical figures... after and before death!

Elliot Lewis stars as Thomas Hyland, the narrator, who presents some of the worst crimes in history as they are re-enacted on this popular CBS radio series from the mid 1950's. The stories were based on authentic records such as newspapers, police reports and court documents. Meticulous attention was paid to dialects, music, and sound effects to make the story as realistic as possible... but Hyland adds a bit of dry humor to the tale as well. Superbly done and one of several Crime Classics episodes posted on Heirloom Radio and Itunes. This episode is "The Axe and the Droot Family and How They Fared" from August 10, 1953. Visit us at www.facebook.com/heirloomradio. Also available on Itunes Podcast under Heirloom Radio.

Another episode of this amazingly well done series recreating the stories of some of the most known crimes in history... Starring Elliot Lewis as the amazing narrator, Thomas Hyland. He leads listeners through the event with just the right amount of seriousness and the occasional dry humor. This is one of several Crime Classic episode here on Heirloom Radio on Soundcloud.com. It is entitled The Bloody Bloody Banks of Fall River and was originally broadcast on Sept. 30, 1953. This is the story of Lizzy Borden. Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/heirloomradio You can also listen on Itunes here:https://exit.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fheirloom-radio%2Fid1301435472%3Fmt%3D2

A compilation of 3 (12 min each) tracks from the Palladium Radio Production of "The Planet Man' - 78 Episodes created in early 1950's, only 76 have been found. Episodes 1 and 4 missing, so in this first posting you will find Epi 2, 3, and 5. Epi 2: Let's Orbit the Moon; Epi 3: Dantro Explains the Use of the Cosmic Communicator; Epi 5: Marston of Mars is Planning an Attack on Earth. Juvenile Sci-Fi in manner of Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. Many think it was aired 1952-53 in syndication. Lots of fun to listen to.. like TV Batman series. "Golly-gee-willikers" tale of Dantro, an Intergalactic Troubleshooter who works for The League of Planets... the law enforcement body for peace and justice in the celestial world." Thanks to Old Time Radio Researchers organization as the resource for this series. (www.otrr.org). This can also be heard on Itunes. I will post more of the series in sequence. Enjoy. Find us at www.facebook.com/heirloomradio

Jean Hersholt was perfectly cast in the medical soap opera series that ran on CBS radio from Nov. 7, 1937 to Jan. 6, 1954. A 17 year run on any form of mass media is quite a remarkable tribute to the quality of the plots, actors, and production values. Hersholt played Dr. Paul Christian, an obstetrician (based on Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe who delivered and cared for the Dionne Quintuplets). He was a Midwestern country doctor. His nurse was Judy Price (played by Rosemary DeCamp, Lurene Tuttle and others). He was a kind an gentle doctor who made house calls and cared for the whole person... physical and emotional. He had a good sense of humor, common sense, and good medical training. He often helped patients and their families with personal problems. This was a popular show. Sponsor was Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. One other note... the show solicited scripts from listeners and chose one script to perform every year with a prize of $2000 awarded to the writer and several $500 prizes to runner ups. Some of the winners were Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) and Earl Hamner, Jr. (The Waltons). Hersholt was so strongly identified with this role that he often received mail asking for medical advice. This track features a Valentines Day theme... My True Valentine.

Martha Wilkerson (AKA GI Jill) hosted two shows on the Armed Forces Radio Service. One was "G.I. Jive" and the other was "Jill's All-Time Jukebox". The shows ran concurrently and were extremely popular during WW II and after. Martha was a DJ and each week mixed records of some of the top favorite hits of the military and civilian audiences. In this 1945 show you will hear Tommy Dorsey, King Cole Trio, The US Navy Band (playing "On the Sunny Side of the Street" - excellent!), Will Bradly, Russ Columbo , and Glenn Miller Orchestra with "Volga Boatman"

Here is a story, with sound effects and about sound effects... from Robert Mott's book "Radio Sound Effects" - Who Did It and How, in the Era of Live Broadcasting - On his first job as a Sound Effects Tech, his job was simply to pull the trigger of two guns and fire them on cue... but things did not always go the way one planned or wished. A great true tale story from Robert Mott's career...

My third track from "The Railroad Hour" here on Soundcloud.com.

The Railroad Hour was a radio series of musical dramas and comedies broadcast from 1948 to 1954. Sponsored by the Association of American Railroads, the series condensed musicals and operettas to shorter lengths, concentrating on those written before 1943. Earliest versions of the series ran 45 minutes, but cost cutting led to a 30 minute "Hour"... it never ran for 60 minutes. Singer-actor Gordon MacRae starred. He began at just 27 years of age. Marvin Miller was the announcer. Warren Barker, at the age of 24, was appointed chief arranger for The Railroad Hour, a position he held for six years. The show's musical director was Carmen Dragon. With its theme song, "I've Been Working on the Railroad", the series began on ABC but on April 25, 1949, it moved to NBC for a run until June 21, 1954. On both networks it aired Monday evenings at 8 pm. This track features the radio musical adaptation of Rogers-Hammerstein's "State Fair" Notable Songs: It Might As Well Be Spring, That's For Me, Our State Fair. Lucille Norman co-stars (Photo with Gordon MacRae)