"The Big Broadcast" Live Sunday 3/28 7-11pm est

"The Big Broadcast is a Sunday night tradition for families throughout the WAMU listening area. Each week, Big Broadcast host Ed Walker offers listeners priceless recordings of popular radio programs from the '30s, '40s and '50s. Priceless, especially, for a man whose first sentence as a child was, 'Turn the radio on.' "

Happy Sunday Night. Classic Radio Time.

07:00p Johnny Dollar
11/02/56 Silver Queen Matter Pt. 5 (Sus,) (CBS) (14:38)
07:15p Vic & Sade
01/02/40 Painted Portrait of the Big Dipper (Crisco) (12:50)
07:30p Dragnet
08/24/52 #262 Big Shock (NBC) (24:14)
08:00p Gunsmoke
07/31/60 #434 Stage Smash (CBS) (22:38)
08:30p Abbott & Costello
04/17/47 Who's On First (NBC) (24:04)
09:00p Fred Allen
04/14/46 The Brooklyn Pinafore w/Leo Durocher (United) (24:28)
09:30p Our Miss Brooks
03/26/50 Openning Baseball Game (Colgate) (CBS) (29:30)
10:00p Boston Blackie
04/16/46 #53 Baseball Play Murder (Ziv Syndication) (26:05)
10:30p Welcome Back Baseball
04/15/50 w/Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour (Wheaties) (NBC) (29:45)

Looks like a good lineup, Vision. Play ball !

March 28, 2010 (WARNING: Contains Spoilers)

07:00 p.m. Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
11/02/56 Silver Queen Matter Pt. 5 (Sus,) (CBS) (14:38) Bob Bailey, Paula Winslowe (Twila James), Virginia Gregg (Mavis Gail), Vic Perrin (Vic Carson), Paul Dubov (Sergeant McKay), Frank Gerstle (Frank Jessup), John Dehner (Milo Martin), Lawrence Dobkin, Chester Stratton ; Writer - Adrian Gendot ; Producer/Director - Jack Johnstone ; Musical Supervisor - Amerigo Marino ; Announcer - Roy Rowan ; Expense Account Total = $436.25 ; "A body suddenly rises from the grave to take the spotlight from a Hollywood star." Vic Carson, State Unity Life, Hartford, calls Johnny about the murder of 56 year old Penny Arcade owner Bernard "Barney" Slade at the Ocean Park Amusement Zone in California. The beneficiary of his $25,000 insurance policy is former silent movie star Mavis Gail. Dollar travels to Ocean Park, California, and the Fun Zone. He talks to a blonde female employee at the change desk, Twila James, and then confers with Sergeant McKay who is at Slade's living quarters. This is where the murder was committed. Photos of Mavis Gail on the wall have been marked with a large red question mark. Some clean spots on the wall define where other pictures have been removed. McKay is looking for an acquaintance of Slade's named "The Preacher". Mavis Gail told McKay that she never heard of Slade. Dollar goes to Slade's funeral in Venice. The funeral parlor manager, Mort, says that Mavis Gail has not appeared, and he has never heard of The Preacher. However, Mavis shows up in her big, blue Cadillac from her Bellaire home. Upon reaching the casket she faints. When she revives she identifies Slade as her husband, Tom Sanford, a small time actor who was murdered 27 years ago with a shotgun blast on a hunting trip with four men in the Sierras. Sergeant McKay returns Johnny's call, at which time he learns about Tom Sanford. At the mortuary, Dollar is approached by Frank Jessup, from the ball throwing Mermaid booth at the pier. He says that Twila has worked for Barney for about five years. From McKay, Johnny learns that the marriage was tempestuous. Dollar wonders why Tom planted his identification on the man that tried to kill him and then assumed another identity. Short, round Milo Martin, an actor's agent on the Sunset Strip, was one of the men on the hunting trip. Johnny tracks him down to a location shoot for a cowboy movie. He says that Mavis was in love Tom. He says that others on the hunting trip were silent film director Jarvis Pocket, actor George Shelton, and cameraman Francis Trevellion. Back at his hotel, McKay calls Dollar to say that a witness has identified Mavis as having been hanging around the Penny Arcade two nights before the Slade murder. Vic Carson phones Johnny, who fills the insurance man in on the progress. Johnny heads for the Penny Arcade and talks to Twila and Frank Jessup again. He then tries to tracks down handyman and former actor George Shelton, beginning at a bar. A bartender reveals that Shelton had a busted romance with an actress named Josephine Hinch. He also provides Shelton's address in Glendale. The bartender then talks a little bit about "The Preacher". For a fin, $5, he reveals that "The Preacher" is Jarvis Pocket, and that George Shelton is dead. Dollar tracks down "The Preacher" at a mission conducting a skid-row service. Brother Pocket tells Dollar that he saw Tom struggling with the would-be killer, and the accidental death from a gun shot full to the face. Tom decided to play dead and disappear. The identity of the killer was known only to Tom and Jarvis. Dollar adds that another person who knew the killer would be the person that hired him. The murderer was Joe Fallon, who at one time was Mavis Gail's personal chauffeur. At Barney Slade's residence with Brother Pocket, Dollar receives a call from Sergeant McKay. Johnny tells McKay to come over. They discuss the pictures on the wall which Pocket says are action scenes from movies in which Mavis, Tom and George Shelton starred. Why are some missing? Why the red question marks on Mavis? Headquarters calls. Mavis Gail is at Francis Trevellion's place on the beach and wants to talk to the police. She says she received a phone call to go to the Penny Arcade to meet an old friend that she could help. She met no one there. In response to a question, Mavis admits that Tom had her fire Joe Fallon. She says that she doesn't know if Joe loved her. The Fallon name caused a stir from Trevellion. He says that 24 hours ago some one called and mentioned Fallon's name to him. After leaving, Dollar asks who found the body. McKay says it was Twila James. Dollar wonders if someone other than the killer wrote the red question marks. Johnny goes off by himself to Venice, and hears a shot and a man collapse. It is Jarvis Pocket. Johnny chases after the shooter, but loses him in the dark. Dollar stops by a canal. He then hears footsteps behind him, but too late. He gets knocked out with a blow on the head and pushed into the canal.
Milo Martin calls Johnny to commiserate about the death of Pocket. He has also received a phone call from an associate of Joe Fallon. Dollar figures it is a blackmail racket. McKay shows up with the information that the bullet that killed Pocket came from the same gun as the one that killed Slade. They figure that someone hired Fallon to kill Tom - but who? Dollar goes to Barney Slade's funeral. While there, he talks to Frank Jessup. Afterwards, he goes to Barney's apartment. He accidentally knocks over a medicine bottle. Twila comes in via a back door. She says that Barney got sick while playing cards over at Trevellion's. He was treated by Doc Ferris, and tended to by Frank Jessup. After talking to Ferris, Dollar goes to Jessup's residence. A woman tells Johnny that Frank went for a walk. Dollar follows him and sees him pick up a package thrown out of a big Cadillac. It is payoff. Jessup figures that he learned about Slade when the latter was delirious. Milo Martin shows up. He is the one who attempted to have Tom knocked off in an unsuccessful attempt to make time with Mavis. Jessup was blackmailing Milo. Jessup makes a break for it. Martin pumps two shots in his back, giving Dollar a chance to jump him. Jessup had killed Slade and Pocket. (Last of the Johnny Dollar 5-part series.)
7:15 p.m. Vic & Sade
1/2/40 "Painted Portrait of the Big Dipper" (12:50) Art Van Harvey (Victor Gook), Bernadine Flynn (Sade Gook), Billy Idelson (Russell "Rush" Gook) ; Writer/Creator - Paul Rhymer ; Announcer - Ralph Edwards ; Sponsor - Crisco ; A heavy hammer has fallen on the head of Smelly Clark. Vic's lodge has offered him the chance to have his portrait painted...for $50!
7:30 p.m. Dragnet
8/24/54 "Big Shock" (NBC) (24:14) Program# 262 Jack Webb (Joe Friday), Ben Alexander (Frank Smith) ; Announcer - George Fenneman ; Writer - John Robinson ; A "tunnel burglar" is digging through a sewer line and into a bank vault.
8:00 p.m. Gunsmoke
7/31/60 "Stage Smash" (CBS) (22:38) Program #434 William Conrad (Matt Dillon), Parley Baer (Chester Proudfoot), Howard McNear (Doc Adams), Georgia Ellis (Kitty Russell), John Dehner, Barney Phillips, Vic Perrin, James Nusser, Richard "Dick" Beals ; Director - Norman Macdonnell ; Writer - Marian Clark; Editorial Supervision - John Meston ; Music Composed and Conducted - Rex Koury ; Announcer - George Walsh ; Pitchman - Edgar Bergen ; Sponsor - General Motors Guardian Maintainence Serive ; After Marshal Matt Dillon arrests killer Cleary Small, Cleary insists his brother Nort will find a way to free him. Sure enough, Nort approaches Matt wth a proposition. Being a gambling man, Nort wants to play poker for Cleary's release. Matt reacts by throwing Nort out. Undaunted, Nort's play comes a few days later when he causes the wreck of the stagecoach on which Kitty is a passenger. He kidnaps the seriously injured Kitty from the scene of the wreck, which is strewn with dead bodies. Next, Nort contacts Matt with a new proposition. He will trade Miss Kitty for his brother.
8:30 p.m. Abbott & Costello
4/17/47 "Who's On First" (NBC) (24:04) Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marilyn Maxwell, John Brown, Elvia Allman ; Announcer - Michael Roy ; Music - Skinnay Ennis and His Orchestra, Will Osborne and His Orchestra ; Producer/Director - Nat Wolff ; Sound Effects - Bert Cordon ; Engineer - John Pawlick ; Sponsor - Camels & Prince Albert Pipe Tobacco ; The opening routine is about girls. Costello is going to play baseball with the New York Yankees. This leads to the famous, "Who's On First" routine.
9:00 p.m. Fred Allen
4/14/46 "The Brooklyn Pinafore" (NBC net origination, United Network rebroadcast) (24:28) Leo Durocher, Fred Allen (given name:John Florence Sullivan), Portland Hoffa, Kenny Delmar (Senator Beauregard Claghorn), Parker Fennelly (Titus Moody), Minerva Pious (Mrs. Pansy Nussbaum), Alan Reed (Falstaff Openshaw), The DeMarco Sisters, Hi Lo Jack and The Dame, Al Goodman and his Orchestra ; Announcer - Kenny Delmar ; Sponsor - Ford Dealers of America, Bluebonnet Margarine, Tenderleaf Tea ; Allen's Alley Question: "What is your reaction to New York's new drive on gamblers and gambling?" Guest Leo Durocher joins Fred in a repeat performance of, "The Brooklyn Pinafore."
9:30 p.m. Our Miss Brooks
3/26/50 "Opening Baseball Game" (CBS) (29:30) Eve Arden (Connie Brooks), Jane Morgan (Mrs. Margaret Davis), Gloria McMillan (Harriet Conklin), Gale Gordon (Osgood Conklin), Jeff Chandler (Mr. Boynton), Richard Crenna (Walter Denton), Frank Nelson ; Writer/Director - Al Lewis ; Producer - Larry Berns ; Announcer - Bob LeMond ; Music - Wilbur Hatch, under the direction of Maurice Carlton ; Pitchman - Verne Smith ; Sponsor - Colgate Dental Creme economy size for 59¢, Lustre Creme Shampoo ; The Madison High Athletic Fund is so depleted that there's no money for the school baseball team.
10:00 p.m. Boston Blackie
4/16/46 #53 Baseball Play Murder (Ziv Syndication) (26:05) Program #53. Richard Kollmar (Boston Blackie), Maurice Tarplin, Jan Miner, Clem McCarthy ; ABC net origination, Ziv syndication ; Murder takes place at the baseball game. Clem McCarthy is heard as the announcer broadcasting the game.
10:30 p.m. Welcome Back Baseball
4/15/50 Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Ralph Kiner ; Announcer - Ken Carpenter ; Music - John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra ; Producers/Transcribers - Murdo McKenzie & Bill Morrow ;NBC ; Sponsor - Wheaties ; The second annual program celebrating the start of the baseball season. The first tune is, "Take Me Out To The Ball Game." The program was broadcast shortly after Bing had his appendix removed. Bing (part owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates) and Bob (part owner of the Cleveland Indians) briefly sing the famous Wheaties jingle. Baseball isn't mentioned until over eighteen minutes into the show; there's more Bing and Bob than baseball. A duet sung to the tune, "Have I Told You That I Love You" turns into a Wheaties commercial! Ralph Kiner (Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder and reigning home run king with 54) makes a pretty good straightman. The system cue (station identification) has been deleted.

I’ve gotten spoiled for Johnny Dollar by XM playing all five chapters of a story in succession. But, a Gunsmoke, Dragnet plus Blackie makes for a good lineup tonight.

Good to see you. Lookin’ forward to it.

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Johnny Dollar is my favorite action show on the radio.

Vic & Sade is different, but I like it.

Well said. Me too.

Gave the mailman a carton of cigarettes. Love it.

I have to agree about Johnny Dollar. Bobson Blackie is a close second and I like Nero Wolfe quite well. It took a little getting used to Sidney Greenstreet’s voice; as it does not exactly match the image I have of Wolfe from reading the books.

I've read a couple of Nero Wolfe books, but being familiar with the radio show first (and having seen Greenstreet in the movies) he was my image when I read the books.

I also like Gerald Mohr as Philip Marlowe.

I've actually read all the Mike Shayne detective books. That was a trip. The early ones were pretty good I thought, later becoming formulaic (and Davis Dresser, a.k.a Brett Halladay, actually franchised out his pen name for other authors to write Mike Shayne novels toward the end of the run). Jeff Chandler played Shayne on a radio series, and a few episodes are available in circulation.

As far as I know Johnny Dollar was limited to radio only. No books, movies or TV that of which I am aware. There was one reference to JD in the Marilyn Monroe movie, the Seven Year Itch, "His name's not Kruhulik. He's a private eye named Johnny Dollar."

Evening, Vision.

Evening Viking.

Niping into bourbon tonight as I've got tomorrow off.

Ah, nice. Cheers, from a card-carrying Maker's Mark ambassador. Keeping the adult beverage intake down on this end tonight - stress finally got the better of me, and I may have a bona-fide hole burned in my plumbing. Can't even hold down water since yesterday.

Wow, sorry to here that. Best of luck.