The Good Old Days of Radio Show

This is the final week on our series Comedians on Suspense. The stars are bandleader Phil Harris and his real-life wife, glamour movie star Alice Faye, appearing here in an episode of their sitcom from April 22, 1951. The storyline centers on a farcical attempt by Phil to write a serious drama, ultimately a parody of the series “Suspense.” Harris and Faye would appear as guest stars on “Suspense” two weeks later, which we will hear on Thursday.

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Today we are bringing you another unlikely comedian in a Suspense episode. This one comes late in the Suspense series, and it features the young comedian/writer/voice talent Stan Freberg in a dramatic role, a surprising departure from his usual work. Host John Tefteller and guest Dr. Joe Webb discuss Freberg's diverse talents and his unexpected appearance in this thriller, about a man who gets murdered with a telephone!

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We are listening to episode thirteen of the Stan Freberg Show today from 1957. If you listen to this podcast regularly, you will know Stan Freberg is one of John’s favorite comedians, and when we found out Freberg was a guest star on the thriller series, Suspense, we had to do it. In this episode of his comedy show, they do a horror movie parody about a teenage werewolf who transforms into an advertising executive, and a humorous, ultimately abandoned, panel discussion on the circus. The broadcast also includes the announcement of the show's impending cancellation.

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It’s Thursday again, and in this series that means we are focusing on the Suspense radio program episode "Murder in G Flat" which was the first of four Jack Benny appearances on the series. Researcher Dr. Joe Webb is with us again to dive into the background of this episode, highlighting Benny's unusual serious role as a piano tuner who finds stolen money, and tells us how Benny came to star in the show as well as the episode's ending, which was a humorous addition by producer Elliot Lewis fitting Benny's comedic persona.

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We’re featuring this week probably the most popular comedian on this podcast, the great Jack Benny. Jack was a guest star on the thriller series “Suspense” on four separate occasions. On Thursday we will be listening to Jack Benny’s first appearance on Suspense, but today we are listening to a Benny show from 1952. In this one, they are roasting “Suspense.”

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On Tuesday we heard “America’s Favorite Young Married Couple,” Ozzie and Harriet in their popular radio sitcom, that would go on to even greater success on television.  Today we hear them in one of their appearances on the thriller series “Suspense.” The episode tells a story about the couple unexpectedly buying a trunk at auction for a mere three dollars, only to discover that a mysterious man desperately wants the trunk back, leading to, well… suspense. Dr. Joe Webb is here to discuss this show’s significance and also provides background information on the story's origins and the show Suspense.

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This week on Comedians on Suspense, we are featuring the comedy couple, Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard, in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." Ozzie expresses his preference for routine, particularly his breakfast of boiled eggs, while Harriet contemplates shaking things up, even considering a new haircut. This light sitcom came about in the late ‘40s, though Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard had been in show business since the early days of radio.

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Today comedian Red Skelton is the unlikely star on the thriller series, Suspense, with an episode called  "The Search for Isabel." It’s the unusual story of a lonely man who becomes obsessed with a woman he's never met through wrong number phone calls, culminating in a surprising crime revelation. Dr. Joe Webb is here again bringing his vast research on Suspense to introduce the episode, and we explore the behind-the-scenes context of the production, including network philosophies and publicity tactics.

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This week we are featuring comedian Red Skelton. Yes, Red Skelton was a guest star on the thriller series, Suspense. And it’s a great episode! You can hear that on our Thursday episode, but today we are leading the way with the "Raleigh Cigarette Program" from March 19, 1946, featuring comedian Red Skelton. This one is all about cars: Willie Lump Lump obtains a driver's license, and Junior (“The Mean Widdle Mean Kid”) joins the "junior police."

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It’s Fibber McGee and Molly week on the show. But this time rather than their well-known cozy comedy format, the beloved radio couple appears here in a dramatic episode of Suspense titled "Backseat Driver." Suspense had become known for recruiting comedians, and popular radio comedians in particular, offering them a chance to step out of their rigid stereotypes and do something different. Joining us once again for this series is Dr. Joe Webb, who provides background on the episode involving an average small-town couple facing an armed killer.

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