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Death Valley Days was a long-running American radio and television anthology about true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. It was created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman and ran on radio until 1945. It ran from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television show. The 558 television stories, which had different actors, were introduced by a host. The longest-running was "The Old Ranger" from 1952-1965, played by Stanley Andrews. The hosts following were actors Ronald Reagan, Robert Taylor, John Payne, Dale Robertson and Merle Haggard. During his time as host, Reagan also frequently appeared in the program as a performer. It has been rerun under other names and with other hosts, since the hosting segment at the beginning and the end could be easily reshot with another performer with no effect on the story. Alternate hosts and titles have included Frontier Adventure (Dale Robertson), The Pioneers (Will Rogers, Jr.), Trails West (Ray Milland), Western Star Theatre (Rory Calhoun) and Call of the West (John Payne). The last title was also often applied to the series' memorable, haunting theme music.

Under the Death Valley Days title, the program was invariably sponsored by Pacific Coast Borax Company, which during the program's run changed its name to U.S. Borax Company following a merger. Advertisements for the company's best-known products, 20 Mule Team Borax, a laundry additive, and Boraxo, a powdered hand soap, were often done by the program's host. Death Valley was the scene of much of the company's borax mining operations. The "20-Mule Team Borax" consumer products division of U.S. Borax was eventually bought out by the Dial Corporation, which as of 2006 still manufactures and markets them. U.S. Borax continued to mine and refine the borates and maintained Dial as one of its customers. In 2006, Rio Tinto, the parent company of U.S. Borax. Inc., decided to merge USB with two of its other holdings, Dampier Salt and Luzenac Talc, to form Rio Tinto Minerals and has moved its corporate headquarters to Denver, Colorado.

Death Valley Days is, judging from sheer number of episodes broadcast, by far the most successful syndicated television Western, the most successful television Western ever in the half-hour format, and arguably the most successful syndication of any genre in the history of the U.S. television market (Baywatch had a larger international market among U.S.-produced syndicated programs.)

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The mysterious black rider who leaves his mark on all those who are bad in the world, Zorro zips about on his stallion slashing Zs about the countryside. Listen as "the champion of the poor and oppressed" slings his wild sword about galliantly. A show with a short run, only five programs are known to be in existance today. This short collection includes several of these rare and exciting episodes as well as the first show, which was broadcast on Preview Theater of the Air, a program "designed to introduce to the airwaves radio's outstanding hits of the future." Zorro rides again!

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The mysterious black rider who leaves his mark on all those who are bad in the world, Zorro zips about on his stallion slashing Zs about the countryside. Listen as "the champion of the poor and oppressed" slings his wild sword about galliantly. A show with a short run, only five programs are known to be in existance today. This short collection includes several of these rare and exciting episodes as well as the first show, which was broadcast on Preview Theater of the Air, a program "designed to introduce to the airwaves radio's outstanding hits of the future." Zorro rides again!

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Gunsmoke was a long-running American radio and television Western drama created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories took place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West.

The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961 and is commonly regarded as one of the finest radio dramas of all time. The television version ran from 1955 to 1975 and still holds the record for the longest-running U.S. prime time fictional television program.

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Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April 3, 1971), to write detective fiction. In a successful series of novels that covered forty-two years, Ellery Queen was not only the name of the author, but also that of the detective-hero of the stories. Movies, radio shows, and television shows have been based on their works. The two, particularly Dannay, were also responsible for co-founding and directing Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, generally considered as one of the most influential English crime fiction magazines of the last sixty-five years. They were also prominent historians in the field, editing numerous collections and anthologies of short stories such as The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes. Their 994-page anthology for The Modern Library, 101 Years' Entertainment, The Great Detective Stories, 1841-1941, was a landmark work that remained in print for many years.

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Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of newspaperman-turned-mystery novelist Dan Holliday, played by film star Alan Ladd. Created by Ladd's company, Mayfair Productions, Box 13 premiered August 22, 1948, on Mutual's New York flagship, WOR, and aired in syndication on the East Coast from August 22, 1948, to August 14. 1949. On the West Coast, Box 13 was heard from March 15, 1948 to March 7, 1949.

To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holliday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper where he formerly worked. "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- Box 13." The stories followed Holliday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.

Sylvia Picker appeared as Holliday's scatterbrained secretary, Suzy, while Edmund MacDonald played police Lt. Kling. Supporting cast members included Betty Lou Gerson, Frank Lovejoy, Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Luis Van Rooten and John Beal. Vern Carstensen, who directed Box 13 for producer Richard Sanville, was also the show's announcer.

Among the 52 episodes in the series were such mystery adventures as "The Sad Night," "Hot Box," "Last Will And Nursery Rhyme," "Hare And Hounds," "Hunt And Peck," "Death Is A Doll," "Tempest In a Casserole" and "Mexican Maze." The dramas featured music by Rudy Schrager. Russell Hughes, who had previously hired Ladd as a radio actor in 1935 at a $19 weekly salary, wrote the scripts, sometimes in collaboration with Ladd. The partners in Mayfair Productions were Ladd and Bernie Joslin, who had previously run the chain of Mayfair Restaurants.

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The most famous radio broadcast of all time is still considered to be "The War of the Worlds", by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater on the Air, October 30, 1938. Produced by John Houseman, it caused a near-panic, and lots and lots of press coverage. It also spurred legislation banning the "news" format from radio drama for years following. And although Orson Welles himself said they had no idea they were causing such an uproar, he actually knew it was happening and was thrilled with all the attention. The script, by the late Howard Koch (who also won an Academy Award for the screenplay of "Casablanca"), was actually titled "The Invasion From Mars", but was based on H.G. Wells' novella.

The story goes like this: That October evening most Americans tuned in to the "The Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy Show", which was the most popular radio show of the time. Twelve minutes into the show they went to their usual musical break. At that point many people changed the channel, and came upon reporter Carl Philips in the field near Grover's Mills, New Jersey. By the time the break came, with the announcement that this was just a play, most of them had already gone off screaming. The "War" became famous, and the Bergen-McCarthy Show opposite it seems to have vanished.

"The War of the Worlds" story itself has been performed on radio many times since 1938, in a variety of formats. Gordon Payton claims to have 25 different audio versions of the story. The NBC Network anthology series Dimension X and X Minus One each offered a few alien invasion stories. (See "The Embassy", "The Seventh Order", "The Last Martian", and "Zero Hour", for example.

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The African Queen is a story of survival and how two mismatched people pull together. These people, Charlie and Rose, learn to accommodate each other and function together to achieve a goal: Get a boat down a treacherous jungle river. They are civilians who are caught in enemy territory at the beginning of World War I. Rose is a crisp, prim, and proper minister’s sister. Charlie is a irreverent, unsophisticated somewhat crude mechanic.

On the surface level The African Queen is a love story of sorts and a tale of revenge. Rose wants to blow up a German gunboat down river because the Germans destroyed the mission and her brother died after being overwhelmed by the strain of the loss and the conditions of the jungle. Charlie just wants to get out of harms way but reluctantly goes along with her even though he thinks what she wants to do is "crazy" and believes it’s impossible to get a boat down the river. In the course of this venture they become closer and develop affection for each other as they respond to hardship and danger.

In watching The African Queen it is important to realize that blowing up the gunboat is a story gimmick. This gives Charlie and Rose a challenging goal and a reason to do something dangerous. It also heightens the tension between Rose and Charlie, creating a situation that helps us to realize something important about the character and qualities of these two and how they learn to tolerate and get along with each other. What makes The African Queen such an important and popular movie is its fundamental story: Two people, who are basically strangers, learn to function together and care for each other as they contend with very unpleasant realities during a difficult, unwanted ordeal.

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The Abbott and Costello Show was heard on radio throughout the 1940s. They began by hosting a summer replacement series for Fred Allen on NBC in 1940, then joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941. During the same period, two of their films, Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost, were adapted for radio and presented on Lux Radio Theater.

On October 8, 1942 they launched their weekly NBC show, sponsored by Camel cigarettes, moving five years later to ABC, the former NBC Blue Network,). The additional cast and crew on that series included Sid Fields as the Melonheads, Artie Auerbrook as Ketsel, regulars Elvira Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Lou Krogman, Pat McGeehan, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth and Benay Venuta. The featured vocalists were Amy Arnell, Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, Susan Miller, Marilyn Williams, the Delta Rhythm Boys and the Les Baxter Singers with the orchestras of Skinnay Ennis, Charles Hoff, Matty Matlock, Jack Meakin, Will Osborne, Freddie Rich, Leith Stevens and Peter van Streeden. Frank Bingman, Jim Doyle, Ken Niles and Michael Roy did the announcing, Writers included Howard Harris, Hal Fimberg, Don Prindle, Ed Cherokee, Len Stern, Martin Ragaway, Paul Conlan and Ed Forman and producer Martin Gosch. Sound effects were supplied by Floyd Caton. At ABC, they also hosted a 30-minute children's radio program, the The Abbott and Costello Children's Show), which aired Saturday mornings with vocalist Anna Mae Slaughter and announcer Johnny McGovern.