On this 1953 production of the Oscar Hammerstein - Jerome Kern musical, Show Boat, that was introduced on Broadway in 1927... we have Gordon MacRae (host and star of The Railroad Hour) and Dorothy Kirsten and Lucille Norman costarring. When it comes to music on the Mississippi river, the Cotton Blossom Show Boat is the place to go. When musical main attraction Julie Lavern and her husband are suddenly forced to leave the show, Cotton Blossom owner, Andy Hawks' own daughter, Magnolia takes the center stage. She soon falls madly in love with a roguish gambler Gaylord Ravenal, and the two leave the Cotton Blossom on a honeymoon - entering into a tumultuous marriage. Some hit songs: Ol' Man River, Make Believe, Why Do I Love You? and Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man. The Railroad hour ran from Oct. 1948 until June of 1954. McCrae was only 27 at the start of the series. The show never ran for an "Hour"... it survived first as a 45 minute show, then, in order to save money, was cut to 30 minutes. Not much time for dialog, but a lot of good music. MacRae had an incredible voice. He eventually went on to star in several motion pictures... Oklahoma, Carousel, Tea for Two, Desert Song, Starlift, 3 Sailors and a Girl, West Point Story and more. Gordon MacRae passed away in 1986 at the age of 64 from oral cancer and pneumonia.

The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) took the recorded broadcasts of ABC's "Your Saturday Night Date with the Duke"... which ran 60 minutes and edited them into 30 minute shows to broadcast via shortwave to the servicemen and women serving overseas during WWII. They titled the shortwave broadcast " Date with the Duke". This is one of the AFRS broadcasts from the 400 Restaurant in NYC in April of 1945.

I was the creator, producer, and on-air host for Portsmouth Community Radio Audio Theatre from 2004 to 2016. During my 12 years I had a lot of fun putting together some comedy routines that are short... but meaningful... at least to me! :) Here is one routine based on the old Farm Reports that used to be done on the radio many years ago.... and in some parts of the country, are still done.

Our second track on Heirloom Radio of a Philip Marlowe episode starring Gerald Mohr (Photo).

Here's the background on the show: Airing first on NBC in June of 1947.... and then reappearing in Sept of 1948 on CBS, this detective drama series ran until 1951. The NBC series starred Van Heflin as Marlowe but the author of the novels on which the series was based, Raymond Chandler, did not like Heflin's portrayal of his hard-boiled detective, and simply removed himself from any part in the NBC production

When CBS hired Gerald Mohr in 1948 to play Marlowe, Chandler was much happier. He felt that Mohr's voice packed personality and represented the tough detective character of Phillip Marlowe much better than Van Heflin. I am sure that you will agree that Gerald Mohr's voice is quite extraordinary. Co-stars included Virginia Gregg, John Dehner, Parley Baer, Howard McNear, Jeff Corey, Gloria Blondell, Wilms Herbert and others that made up an extremely talented cast for this popular series.

The Black Mass was a horror-fantasy radio drama produced by Erik Bauersfeld, post-television era American radio dramatist. Series aired on KPFA Berkeley and KPFK Los Angeles from 1963-67. The show was credited as keeping radio drama alive in America in the 1960s. There were about 30 productions done. Excellent stories and superb production elements.... music, sound effects, acting.

Another episode of "The Black Mass" on Heirloom Radio. From January 29, 1964... "The Witch of the Willows - this is one of about 30 programs aired on Berkeley, CA KPFA and Los Angeles, CA KPFK radio. Produced by Erik Bauersfeld who is credited with keeping radio drama alive in America in the 1960's. These shows have excellent stories and production values including sound effects and music. A real treasure of post-television era radio.

From OTRR (Old Time Radio Researchers): The Crime Club aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System as a half-hour weekly radio series, beginning on December 2, 1946 and continuing until October 16, 1947, a run of 47 episodes.

Each installment was introduced by the series host, The Librarian, portrayed by Barry Thomson and Raymond Edward Johnson (who was perhaps better known as the host of Inner Sanctum Mysteries). The series featured murder and mystery dramas, some of which had already been published by the Doubleday Crime Club. A new Crime Club book was made available to the public each week and distributed though local newsstands and bookstores.

Each show in the series began the same way. The telephone rings and the Librarian answers "Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the Crime Club. I'm the Librarian. (name of the program)? Yes, we have that Crime Club story for you. Come right over. (The organist plays a creepy tune). The doorbell chimes. "Ah you're here. Good. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf." (The organist plays a scary chord). Here it is - (name of the program, the author and a very brief summary). "Let's look at it under the reading lamp." The Librarian begins reading the prologue for the tale, and another Crime Club offering begins.

The radio forerunner of TV's "Cops" - listeners got to ride along with the Culver City, CA police as they manned the NightWatch with reporter Donn Reed riding along with a hidden microphone.... reportedly in a large flashlight with a duffel bag that contained a battery operated tape recorder.

Reed rode along with police officers as they performed their jobs. Radio listeners of Nightwatch heard everything from sanitarium escapees to burglars to attempted murder. It was a slice-of-life that most people never heard before and were only too happy to listen to on the radio as long as it stayed on the radio.

Reed billed himself as a Police Recorder, providing Nightwatch narration in a low voice. He came up with idea by chance when he met a fellow handball player who was also a police officer with the Culver City department. In the course of the conversation, the officer invited Reed on a "ride along". Reed wasted no time in accepting the invitation and Nightwatch was born. After gaining permission to record from Police Chief W.N. Hidebrande, the networkpicked up the show and it was off.

Some of Nightwatch had some humor to them like the drunk woman beating a man with her shoe but most were tragic. When you listen to the show about the escaped mental patient, you can hear the pain in the husband's voice when he has to send his wife back to the sanitarium.

Ride along with Culver City police officers in the 1950s with Nightwatch!

The Whistler is an American radio mystery drama which ran from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955, on the west-coast regional CBS radio network. The show was also broadcast in Chicago and over Armed Forces Radio. On the west coast, it was sponsored by the Signal Oil Company: "That whistle is your signal for the Signal Oil program, The Whistler." A character known only as the Whistler was the host and narrator of the tales, which focused on crime and fate. He often commented directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the characters, guilty or innocent, from an omniscient perspective. The stories followed a formula in which a person's criminal acts were typically undone either by an overlooked but important detail or by the criminal's own stupidity. An ironic ending, often grim, was a key feature of each episode. But on rare occasions, such as "Christmas Bonus" broadcast on Christmas Day 1944, the plot's twist of fate caused the story to end happily for the protagonist. Bill Forman had the title role of the Whistler for the longest period of time. Others who portrayed the Whistler at various times were Gale Gordon, Joseph Kearns, Marvin Miller (announcer for The Whistler and The Bickersons and later the actor who portrayed Michael Anthony on TV's The Millionaire)

The Whistler is an American radio mystery drama which ran from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955, on the west-coast regional CBS radio network. The show was also broadcast in Chicago and over Armed Forces Radio. On the west coast, it was sponsored by the Signal Oil Company: "That whistle is your signal for the Signal Oil program, The Whistler." A character known only as the Whistler was the host and narrator of the tales, which focused on crime and fate. He often commented directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the characters, guilty or innocent, from an omniscient perspective. The stories followed a formula in which a person's criminal acts were typically undone either by an overlooked but important detail or by the criminal's own stupidity. An ironic ending, often grim, was a key feature of each episode. But on rare occasions, such as "Christmas Bonus" broadcast on Christmas Day 1944, the plot's twist of fate caused the story to end happily for the protagonist. Bill Forman had the title role of the Whistler for the longest period of time. Others who portrayed the Whistler at various times were Gale Gordon, Joseph Kearns, Marvin Miller (announcer for The Whistler and The Bickersons and later the actor who portrayed Michael Anthony on TV's The Millionaire)