This April 1, 1943, segment of Kraft Music Hall pairs Bing Crosby with a rising comedy talent who would one day become one of television’s most iconic stars—Lucille Ball. At this point in her career, Ball was a hardworking film and radio actress, known for her quick wit and growing comedic presence.

In this sketch, she plays a regal “Queen Lucille” in a playful routine filled with wordplay, royal suitors, and plenty of laughs. Lucille Ball’s radio appearances like this one helped showcase her timing and charm long before I Love Lucy made her a household name. These performances built the foundation for her future reign as the “queen of comedy.”

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Aired: 1956–57 (Episode 42 of Greatest Sports Thrills)

On this episode of Greatest Sports Thrills, listeners are treated to the story of Frank Gifford, the versatile halfback of the New York Giants, who helped lead his team to the 1956 NFL Championship. Narrated by Harry Wismer, the program explores Gifford’s rise from USC standout to one of the most celebrated players of his era. Gifford himself shares the moments he considers his greatest sports thrills, from college glory to his years in the NFL spotlight.

 The series, originally produced as a U.S. Air Force recruiting program, combined profiles of athletic legends with messages of service and opportunity. This episode captures both the excitement of mid-century professional football and the personality of one of the sport’s enduring figures.

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Learn More

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Frank Gifford– Career highlights and legacy.
• NFL.com: Remembering Frank Gifford – A look back at his impact on the game.
• ESPN Classic: Frank Gifford Biography – From his USC days to broadcasting fame.
• Monday Night Football and Frank Gifford – His long second career as a broadcaster.

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On this episode of Front Page Drama, drawn from the files of The American Weekly, a reporter sets out to interview a man who has just turned one hundred years old. What begins as a standard feature story soon takes an unexpected turn when the centenarian makes a startling declaration about his future. The encounter sets off a chain of events that reverberate far beyond the man’s modest home.

First broadcast on August 28, 1948, this program was the 801st episode of Front Page Drama. Produced to promote The American Weekly, the series dramatized stories ranging from the sensational to the heartfelt, reflecting both the anxieties and aspirations of postwar America. Subscribe to the Old Time Radio Snack Wagon at https://www.snackwagon.net Learn More

• The American Weekly: A Brief History (American Heritage) – How the Sunday supplement shaped public tastes.
• Hearst’s American Weekly Magazine – Publisher background and cultural role.
• Collecting The American Weekly – A look at its artwork, stories, and legacy.

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On this episode of Old Time Radio Snack Wagon, we feature an installment of Behind the Story narrated by Marvin Miller: The Crypt of Civilization. This fascinating program, originally broadcast by the Armed Forces Radio Service, explores one of the most ambitious time capsule projects in history.

Conceived in 1936 by Dr. Thornwell Jacobs, president of Oglethorpe University, the “Crypt of Civilization” was designed to preserve a record of human culture and knowledge for 6,000 years. Sealed in 1939, the crypt holds microfilm books, recordings, everyday artifacts, and even devices meant to help future civilizations understand English. This episode dives into the origins, challenges, and aspirations of the project, raising timeless questions about what we choose to preserve and how we imagine the distant future. 

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Relevant Links

• Oglethorpe University: The Crypt of Civilization – official background on the project.
• Smithsonian Magazine: The World’s First Time Capsule – an in-depth look at the crypt’s history and significance.
• New Georgia Encyclopedia: Crypt of Civilization – historical context and details of what was included

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On this special episode of The Old Time Radio Snack Wagon, we're ringing in Public Domain Day (and New Year's too) and for once we're not bringing you old time radio. We've got our virtual record play out and are ready to ring in the New Year with some tracks from '23 (1923 that is) that've entered the public domaikn.

Among the '78 RPM recordings you'll hear:

Paul Whiteman's Orchestra brings us., "March of the Wooden Soldiers."

Then, next up 1923's biggest earworm, "Yes, we have no Bananas!" from Billy Jones.

Then, Radio Hall of Famer Eddie Cantor offers his response to the hit, ""I've Got the Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues."


Then we wrap up with composition from another Radio Hall of Famer, Jimmy Durante with, "I Ain't Never Had Nobody Crazy Over Me"

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This week, we take a look at soldiers far from home and how the Armed Forces Radio Services brought them a taste of home with the help of local radio stations.

While the popular World War I refrain, "How are you going to keep them back on the farm when they've seen Paree." While there was truth in this song, American servicemen and servicewomen often longed for home. Wayback Home was a daily fifteen minute series that featured listener requests answered by hometown radio stations.

The December 22, 1953 episode of Way Back Home featured a gospel acapella song, hog calling, and a country music performance by a forgotten radio band.

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Today, we feature a segment from The Big Show on November 12, 1950.

Groucho Marx hosts a version of his classic game show You Bet Your Life with some unusual couples. First up is Baby Snooks (Fanny Brice) and Daddy (Hanley Stafford), then Tallulah Bankhead and Meredith Willson.

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This episode we feature a story from he greatest radio storyteller of the 20th Century.

John Nesbitt tells the story of La Libre Belgique, a Belgian underground newspaper that published the truth about the German occupation during World War I at a stunningly high cost and how the paper is printing again in opposition to Nazi Germany.

The story was told on the July 21, 1942 episode of the Johnson Wax Summer program.

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What would you do if a stranger showed up at your house saying some friends of yours had told her to look you up for a place to stay? And if you were inclined to show her a bit of hospitality, what would you do when she called her giant husband to come inside.

This was the basis of a stunt on a post-war episode of People Are Funny. And we'll find out in today's excerpt from that program hosted by Art Linkletter.

This comes from an Armed Forces Radio Services rebroadcast and I'm unable to ascertain the exact air date.

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look at the early days of the comedy feud between legendary comedian, actor, and juggler W.C. Fields and the up-and-coming young ventriloquist's dummy, Charlie McCarthy (attached to Edgar Bergen.)

We start out with the first verbal barbs between Fields and McCarthy on May 1, 1937 and then on June 27, 1937, Fields has to talk his way out of a $12 million defamation lawsuit by Charlie McCarthy in response to Fields' barbs in the previous seven weeks.

Don Ameche also appears.


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