Category Archives: Serial
The Magic Island: Engaging Children’s Adventure Show
Magic Island is a deceptively simple program. Supposedly it targeted the juvenile radio market. The 12 minute episodes are written in a somewhat spare fashion, and feature no music and simple sound effects. This leaves all of the storytelling to … Continue reading
Adventure Abounds in I Love a Mystery
Created by Carlton E. Morse, I Love a Mystery brought a new brand of action-adventure heroes into the homes of World War II era listeners. Debuting on January 16, 1939, on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) West Coast stations, the … Continue reading
Code-o-graphs Ready! It’s Time for Captain Midnight
In 1938, Captain Midnight debuted to a limited Midwest audience. Created by Wilfred G. Moore and Robert M. Burn, the show was initially sponsored by the Skelly Oil Company. The products featured by the sponsor forced the series to focus on … Continue reading
The Shadow of Fu Manchu
A gong sounds and Gerald Mohr ominously intones “The Shadow…of Fooo ManChoo.” There is a long period of eerie organ music at the beginning and end of each episode; this is because the show was recorded for Syndication. The long … Continue reading
The Hummert Radio Factory
Half of all the advertising revenue generated by daytime programming in the 30s and 40s came from programs created by Anne and Frank Hummert. Anne’s father believed that it was a waste of money to educate a girl, so she … Continue reading
December 1932 Welcomes Charlie Chan Radio Series
The astute Chinese-American detective, Charlie Chan first hit the airwaves on the NBC Blue Network in 1932. Charlie Chan was the creation of Earl Derr Biggers, who based the Chan character on a real Chinese-American police detective in Honolulu. The … Continue reading
Mary Noble Backstage Wife moves from Mutual to NBC 3-30-1936
Today in 1936, the soap-opera serial Mary Noble, Backstage Wife made a move across the dial and switched networks (from the Mutual Broadcasting System to NBC.) The soap opera continued to air for the next 23 years. Please enjoy this … Continue reading