The Good Old Days of Radio Show

By John TeftellerArts

The Good Old Days of Radio Show episodes

February 03 Episode #462: The Girl Called Echs Caper
John Tefteller and radio historian Dr. Joe Webb are back with another “lost and found” classic: a 1948 episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade. This one was missing for decades until it turned up on an Armed Forces Radio Service transcription disc, and it’s based on Dashiell Hammett’s short story The House in Turk Street. John and Dr. Webb dig into the behind-the-scenes history, from the show’s production quirks and cast lineup to Hammett’s rocky relationship with the people adapting his character.
SHOW NOTES
The Adventures of Sam Spade
1948-05-18 The Girl Called Echs
The lead actors: Howard Duff as Spade, Lurene Tuttle as Effie
Howard Duff had a long and successful, and sometimes rocky, radio, film, and television career. He was not an expected candidate to become Sam Spade. The then-wife of producer William Spier, Kay Thompson, suggested that he be given better consideration. Thompson was a musical coach at MGM and was an important behind-the-scenes influencer in encouraging stars to appear on Suspense. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Duff
Lurene Tuttle was one of the top radio actors of her time. She might be best known for playing Spade’s dizzy secretary, Effie, but she appeared in hundreds, if over a thousand, radio roles, often uncredited, in soaps, dramas, westerns, comedies, and other programs. Tuttle had a successful television career, often playing the busybody next-door neighbor, as well as many film roles.
The supporting cast of this episode:
Jeanette Nolan (Elvira Echs / Eliza), Jay Novello (Sgt. Benson), Lurene Tuttle (Old landlady), Sidney Miller (Doc) , Joe Kearns (Laundry Man / Warren Beeding), John McIntire (Monty), UNKNOWN (Eddy Echs)
The title Girl Called Echs is a lampoon of the popular espionage NBC radio series Man Called X. It was often comedic and generally unserious spy drama in spite of the many important and weighty post-WW2 topics at the core of its plotlines. The later popular NBC spy show Dangerous Assignment took things much more seriously. At about the 4:15 mark of this Spade episode, there is a Man Called X not-so-inside joke. Spade says “I am looking for a man called ‘Echs’ and I don’t mean Herbert Marshall.” The star of that series was Herbert Marshall, indeed, one of the favorite performers for the Suspense series during the time that Spade producer William Spier guided that series to its prominence. Even though Man Called X was an NBC series, numerous actors and writers for Suspense and Sam Spade appeared in that series in supporting roles. When the cast arrived for their rehearsal of this Spade script, they likely all got a good chuckle out of the references.
One of the in-joke reasons for chuckling at the title is that in the East and Central time zones NBC schedule, The Man Called X followed the Spade broadcasts! Many regular listeners of NBC and devotees of both series would have picked up on the joke. So much of the Spade series was tongue-in-cheek with many inside jokes that only the crew and actors detected them. This title and Duff's comment about Herbert Marshall at around the 4:00 minute mark was one that everyone could understand.
The plot is partially based on Dashiell Hammett’s short story The House on Turk Street. There is a reading of the original story at YouTube https://youtu.be/gtHskjWNXRo?si=uk8w-
Je8CTUnyqxA
Sam Spade profile and history at Thrilling Detective
https://thrillingdetective.com/2018/11/18/sam-spade/
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47 min
January 29 Episode 461: The Cobra King Strikes Back! Part 5
Our pulp escapade into the imagination of Carlton E. Morse continues today with chapter five of Adventures by Morse. Captain Friday and the rest of the expedition wake up as prisoners inside a forgotten Cambodian temple, hauled there by a roaming bandit caravan and at the mercy of the jungle. What follows is a run of vanishing companions, hidden trap doors, and underground passages crawling with things you definitely don’t want to meet in the dark.
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29 min
January 27 Episode 460: The Stan Freberg Show
Today we're following up on our commitment to finish the 15-episode run of The Stan Freberg Show. This episode is basically roasting its own cancellation. In the process, Freberg gives an early demonstration of what a brilliant mind he had for creative advertising with wonderfully ridiculous fake ads for “Instant Freberg.” They also do a hardboiled detective spoof called “Sam Spelade.” John wraps things up with a quick look at the bigger picture: the slow fade of network radio, and why Stan Freberg still matters as a legendary writer, performer, and comedy trailblazer.
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Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
32 min
January 22 Episode 459: The Cobra King Strikes Back! Part 4
On this episode of The Good Old Days of Radio Show, we plunge deeper into The Cobra King Strikes Back as our jungle adventure continues. After being ambushed at the ruins of Angkor Thom, the ancient walled city in Cambodia that once served as the heart of the Khmer Empire, the team finds itself swept away by a massive caravan into the remote wilderness. Held in stone chambers deep in the jungle, the group must battle fear, fatigue (even elephant-induced seasickness), and the unsettling sound of a spectral voice that seems to warn of imminent death.
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Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
28 min
January 20 Episode 458: Don't Touch That Dial, Part 2
We’re back with part two of John Tefteller’s conversation with Bob Lynes and Barbara Sunday, the dynamic duo behind the long-running Los Angeles radio show Don’t Touch That Dial. This time, they touch on the golden age of radio’s big revival during the ’70s through ’90s. Bobb and Barbara share stories from those early preservation days, the tricky business of royalties and archives, and what it was like to meet the original writers and performers from the 1930s to the 1950s. You’ll also hear a full episode from Richard Diamond, Private Detective and some great behind-the-scenes memories about legends like Bob Hope and Jack Benny’s writing team. It’s a fascinating, funny, and heartfelt tribute to the people who kept classic radio alive long after the microphones went cold.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
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Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
1 hr 32 min
January 15 Episode 457: The Cobra King Strikes Back! Part 3
It's part 3 of our 10-part adventure expedition today. Last time, the jungle made it clear that nowhere was safe, not even a locked hotel room. A deadly warning sends the group deeper into French Indochina, toward the towering ruins of Angkor Wat. An archaeologist vanishes, strange allies appear, and rumors of an emerald idol hint at forces powerful enough to ignite a rebellion.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
28 min
January 13 Episode 456: Don't Touch That Dial, Part 1
Today John Tefteller sits down with Bobb Lynes and Barbara Sunday, the hosts of the classic Los Angeles radio show Don’t Touch That Dial. They share stories from their decades in broadcasting and their work with SPERDVAC. Bob talks about growing up glued to the radio and how that passion led him to collect and share vintage programs, while Barbara recalls how she went from listener to co-host. You’ll also hear a clip from one of their original broadcasts and a full Tom Mix episode from VE Day, one of Bob’s all-time favorites.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
1 hr 16 min
January 08 Episode 455: The Cobra King Strikes Back! Part 2
Our 10-part Carlton E. Morse adventure radio serial continues. Last time, we left our heroes with an escaped prisoner, a vanished girl, and a death chant echoing through the ship. This week, The Cobra King Strikes Back dives even deeper into danger as Dr. Howard Carter and Captain Friday push into the jungles of Cambodia in search of a lost city. Hang on, these radio serials are a bit like salty potato chips: once you start, it's hard to stop.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
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29 min
January 06 Episode #454: The Yule Log Caper
Today’s episode digs into one of the most exciting parts of vintage radio: finding lost recordings. Host John Tefteller is joined by Dr. Joe Webb to talk about how shockingly few recordings from radio’s golden age still exist. But every once in a while, a rare survivor turns up, like today’s episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade from 1947, “The Yule Log Caper,” found on an Armed Forces Radio Service transcription disc. They talk about why AFRS versions were so important in preserving history, share a few fun behind-the-scenes stories, and highlight standout moments like Hans Conried’s scene-stealing performance.
SHOW NOTES
The Adventures of Sam Spade
1947-05-11 The Yule Log Caper
The lead actors: Howard Duff as Spade, Lurene Tuttle as Effie
Howard Duff had a long and successful, and sometimes rocky, radio, film, and television career. He was not an expected candidate to become Sam Spade. The then-wife of producer William Spier, Kay Thompson, suggested that he be given better consideration. Thompson was a musical coach at MGM and was an important behind-the-scenes influencer in encouraging stars to appear on Suspense. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Duff
Lurene Tuttle was one of the top radio actors of her time. She might be best known for playing Spade’s dizzy secretary, Effie, but she appeared in hundreds, if over a thousand, radio roles, often uncredited, in soaps, dramas, westerns, comedies, and other programs. Tuttle had a successful television career, often playing the busybody next-door neighbor, as well as many film roles.
The supporting cast:
Hans Conried (Tauchnetz) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Conried
Conried was one of radio’s finest, most versatile, and most reliable actors. Baby boomers may remember him best as “Uncle Tonouse” from television’s Danny Thomas Show / Make Room for Daddy. An example of Conried’s skill can be understood when there was a sound effects problem in a Suspense production. It was in the middle of his lines when a prop gun
did not fire and he had to buy time for the sound effects artist to retrieve and fire the backup gun. Details are at https://archive.org/details/TSP470227
John McIntire (Carmichael)
Jack Moyles (Clausen)
Lurene Tuttle (Old lady)
Hugh Thomas? (Merwyn Trelease)
Charlotte Lawrence (Mrs. Clausen)
Classic radio researcher Karl Schadow notes that the character named “Al McAvity” is an inside joke about Tom McAvity. He was broadcasting executive who was with both NBC and CBS and various ad agencies.
(Karl Schadow was profiled by the Library of Congress blog in 2018
https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/05/inquiring-minds-bringing-radios-golden-age-back-to-life/ )
Sam Spade profile and history at Thrilling Detective
https://thrillingdetective.com/2018/11/18/sam-spade/
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
54 min
January 01 Episode 453: The Cobra King Strikes Back! Part 1
Happy 2026 from The Good Old Days of Radio Show! Today we are launching a 10-week 1944 pure pulp adventure serial The Cobra King Strikes Back, created by master of the cliffhanger, Carlton E. Morse. Set against the exotic backdrop of a voyage to Cambodia, the story brings together two very different missions aboard the same steamship. An archaeological expedition led by Dr. Carter is hunting for a legendary lost city, while Captain Friday and Skip Turner are escorting a chained and extremely dangerous prisoner, international mastermind Fen Lo. Things unravel fast when Fen Lo somehow slips his shackles without a sound. Almost at the same moment, Celia Carter, the archaeologist’s daughter, vanishes into the shadows of the ship. Suspicion, fear, and rising panic spread through the passengers as it becomes clear that something far more sinister is at work.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
30 min

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Legendary radio collector John Tefteller presents the best of mystery, comedy, horror, and adventure stories, produced by the greatest writers, directors, composers, and stars.