The Ravenna, Ohio native born on this date in 1912 had no way of knowing he would take on two acting jobs that would make him a hero to millions of kids glued to both radio and early TV screens.
“The story of your police force in action.”(Post)Joe Friday: Room 5. That was the title of the script for a proposed TV pilot, written by Herb Ellis and Jack Webb, as 1948 was marching to a close. If this treatment about a “private eye” had bee ...
Happy Birthday, Arthur Conan Doyle!(Post)As a medical student at the University of Edinburgh from 1876 through 1881, Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle—born in Edinburgh on this date in 1859—found himself fascinated by an instructor at that sch ...
Happy Birthday, Jan Miner!(Post)On radio, one of the rare daytime dramas to stand out from its weepy brethren and sistren was Hilltop House—a series that took place in an orphanage located in the fictional town of Glendale and s ...
Happy Birthday, Steve Dunne!(Post)Certified couch potatoes have seen today’s birthday boy guest star in a number of TV classics: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Batman, The Andy Griffith Show, The Brady Bunch…and so many more. Classic ...
That whistle is your signal for the anniversary…of The Whistler…(Post)On this date in 1942, radio’s best-known omniscient narrator took the first of what would be many strolls by night…and by the time that final curtain was brought down on The Whistler on September ...
Happy Birthday, Joe DeSantis!(Post)On this date in 1909 in New York City, Maria Paoli and Pasquale DeSantis welcomed Joseph Vito Marcello DeSantis into the world. The shorter version of that name is Joe DeSantis, a man who would be ...
Happy Birthday, Walter B. Gibson!(Post)When it came to pulp fiction, Street & Smith were among the leaders in that particular kingdom of the publishing world—the company churned out a large number of weekly magazines, comics and inexpe ...
The Strangest of Puzzles(Post)Walter Brown Gibson leaned back in his chair for a well-deserved stretch after spending a number of hours hunched over his trusty Corona typewriter. He had just put the finishing touches on his l ...
Review: Boston Blackie’s Rendezvous (1945)(Post)As he and his sidekick The Runt (George E. Stone) settle in for the night, Horatio “Boston Blackie” Black (Chester Morris) gets an unexpected visit from his wealthy friend Arthur Manleder (Harry H ...
Happy Birthday, Junius Matthews!(Post)Character actor Junius Conyers Matthews—born in Chicago, Illinois on this date in 1890—would achieve his show business immortality in the twilight of his career despite years of diligently working ...
Happy Birthday, Jay Jostyn!(Post)In 1975, actor Jay Jostyn related an amusing anecdote to author Chuck Schaden (Speaking of Radio) about an event held at New York’s famed Stork Club to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the popul ...