Category Archives: Old Time Radio
AFRTS: Armed Forces Network Radio
The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS, also going by the brand AFN, Armed Forces Network) operate one of the largest Satellite Television and Radio systems in the world. The service was and is considered vital to the morale … Continue reading
Arch Oboler’s Sounds
It we consider radio drama as an art form, three great names stand out as masters; Orson Welles, Norman Corwin, and Arch Oboler. Of the three, Arch Oboler could almost be counted as a forgotten or over-looked genius. Oboler was … Continue reading
Halloween the Whole Year ‘Round: Himan Brown and the Horror Host
Himan Brown was one of radios foremost pioneers and an advocate for the medium long after the commercial sponsors had given up on radio drama. His name is attached to an impressive number of OTR programs in all genres, but … Continue reading
Science Fiction from the Mutual Network
The Mutual Network was in many ways the “little brother” of the Big Four radio networks. However being small lead to the need to be innovative on many occasions. One example is the world of adult Science Fiction. The anthology … Continue reading
Ann Blyth in Old Time Radio
As inspirational as it is to learn about Stars who continue to work and entertain well into their advanced years, sometimes it is even more gratifying when we hear about someone who is willing, even anxious to leave the Hollywood … Continue reading
Best of X Minus One Sci Fi Episodes
Just as with the Horror Genre, Radio is a superior medium for Science Fiction than TV or Movies. It is not a medium for the lazy Sci Fi fan: the producer couldn’t call in the CGI (computer generated image) team … Continue reading
Fred Allen and his Friendly Feud with Jack Benny
It is impossible to chronicle the birth of the Fred Allen-Jack Benny feud without going into the life and background of Fred Allen. At the age of fourteen, Fred Allen opened a book that would forever change the course of … Continue reading
Charlie and His Orchestra: Nazi Jazz Music from WWII
The highly feared Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels was one of the most intelligent and best educated of the Nazi elite. He completed his PhD at the University of Heidelberg, writing his thesis on 19th century Romantic drama. Goebbels was … Continue reading
Espionage in Old Time Radio
Hardboiled Detectives and Spies are some of the most appealing of characters from the Golden Age of Radio (1920’s – 1959). Of course they have a lot in common, but they are, or should be, fundamentally different types of individuals. … Continue reading
Cuckoo for the KUKU Hour
The KUKU Hour premiered January 1, 1930 on the NBC Blue Network. In 1929, while writing for NBC, Raymond Knight was approached by Bertha Brainard. Brainard, a programming executive for NBC and radio pioneer in her own right was looking … Continue reading