RadioClassics
Classic Radio Shows
Channel 148
Channel 148
Channel 148
Channel 148
Timeless stories & laughs from the past for today: Superman, Dragnet, Gunsmoke, Suspense, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball
Now Playing
Shows, Schedules & Info Now Playing
The Whistler
The Whistler whistled its way onto the airwaves beginning May 16, 1942 and its eerie 13-note theme set the tone for West Coast radio mystery for the next decade. "I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
The Whistler
The Whistler whistled its way onto the airwaves beginning May 16, 1942 and its eerie 13-note theme set the tone for West Coast radio mystery for the next decade. "I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
The Whistler
The Whistler whistled its way onto the airwaves beginning May 16, 1942 and its eerie 13-note theme set the tone for West Coast radio mystery for the next decade. "I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
Hawk Larabee
This Western adventures series told the tales of Hawk Larabee, a do-gooder cowboy in 1840s Texas. It aired for two seasons on CBS, first known as "Hawk Durango" for six weeks. Elliot Lewis and Barton Yarborough repeatedly switched roles between the lead and his sidekick, which troubled the series in its attempt to be the first Western show for an adult audience. Gunsmoke would pick up the torch a few years later.
Tue
2 pm
Thu
2 am
Tue
2 pm
Thu
2 am
Gunsmoke
Radio’s greatest adult western told the story of Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal, "the first man they look for and the last they want to meet." Gunsmoke grew out of a request from CBS founder William Paley for a "Philip Marlowe in the Old West," and featured grimly realistic stories set in the vicinity of Dodge City, the "Gommorrah of the West," with William Conrad as Dillon.
Mon
3 am
Wed
6 am
Thu
5 pm
Fri
12 am
Mon
3 am
Wed
6 am
Thu
5 pm
Fri
12 am
Frontier Gentleman
This excellent Western series, created by Antony Ellis, aired for several months on CBS in 1958. John Dehner starred as British reporter J.B. Kendall, who travelled the Wild West in search of stories of adventure. Versatile radio stars like Virginia Gregg, Jospeh Kearns, Stacy Harris and more were featured throughout.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar told the story of the freelance insurance investigator with the "action-packed expense account." Radio’s last great detective series, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ended its run September 30, 1962 during the final week of network radio drama.
Mon
4 am
Fri
11 pm
Sat
4 pm
Mon
4 am
Fri
11 pm
Sat
4 pm
X Minus One
X-Minus One premiered on April 24, 195 and was a revival of Dimension X, NBC's earlier science fiction anthology series. X-Minus One ran until January 9, 1958 and was rerun during the 1970s as part of NBC's Omnibus series.
Thu
3 pm, 9 pm
Sat
11 am, 1 pm
Thu
3 pm, 9 pm
Sat
11 am, 1 pm
Martin & Lewis Show
Comedy/variety show starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Fred Allen Show
John Steinbeck recognized Fred Allen as "unquestionably the best humorist of our time, a brilliant critic of manners and morals." Following in the footsteps of Will Rogers, Fred reintroduced topical political humour to radio. Fred introduced his classic "Allen’s Alley" segment December 13, 1942.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Tales of the Texas Rangers
Tales of the Texas Rangers was broadcast over NBC from July 8 1950 through September 14, 1952 and was later revived on television. Western film star Joel McCrea portrayed Ranger Jace Pearson in NBC's Tales of the Texas Rangers.
Mon
11 pm
Thu
11 pm
Fri
5 pm
Mon
11 pm
Thu
11 pm
Fri
5 pm
This Is Your F.B.I
This Is Your F.B.I. came to the Blue Network on April 6, 1945, created, produced and directed by Jerry Devine, a former child actor. Like Philips H. Lord before him, Devine got special permission from bureau head J. Edgar Hoover to dramatize older cases using fictitious names and locales. Frank Lovejoy was the program's first narrator, followed by Dean Carlton and later William Woodson.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
When Radio Was
Radio Spirits' nationally syndicated radio program hosted by old-time radio expert Greg Bell
Mon - Fri
12 pm
Sat
8 am
Mon - Fri
12 pm
Sat
8 am
Night Beat
Frank Lovejoy is heard as Randy "Lucky" Stone, a hardboiled reporter who covers the "nightbeat" for the Chicago Star. Randy Stone wandered the back alleys and bars of Chicago, searching for both crime and human-interest stories. Nightbeat premiered on February 6, 1950 and ran until September 25, 1952.
Tue
1 am
Thu
11 am
Tue
1 am
Thu
11 am
The Whistler
The Whistler whistled its way onto the airwaves beginning May 16, 1942 and its eerie 13-note theme set the tone for West Coast radio mystery for the next decade. "I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
Suspense
Suspense debuted on June 17, 1942 as a sustaining summer replacement, returned that fall and continued in the CBS lineup September 30, 1962. "Radio's outstanding theatre of thrills" is recognized as one of the finest dramatic series in the history of broadcasting.
Sun
8 pm
Tue
6 am
Wed - Thu
4 am
Wed
2 pm, 3 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm
Sun
8 pm
Tue
6 am
Wed - Thu
4 am
Wed
2 pm, 3 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm
Big Town
Edward G. Robinson starred as crusading newspaper editor Steve Wilson from October 19, 1937 through July 2, 1942. The Hollywood great was glad to play an idealistic role in contrast to his many film gangster portrayals. Big Town at its peak was radio’s highest-rated drama and was only eclipsed by The Jack Benny Program in ratings. The series was cancelled when Edward G. Robinson quit in 1942 but was resurrected the following year with Edward Pawley (and later Walter Greaza) as Wilson and Fran Carlon as Lorelei. The revived Big Town aired from October 5, 1943 through June 25, 1952.
Sun
9 pm
Tue
8 am
Thu
12 am
Sat
6 pm
Sun
9 pm
Tue
8 am
Thu
12 am
Sat
6 pm
Lux Radio Theatre
The Lux Radio Theatre was one of radio's most popular series attracting Hollywood's top stars and boasting a lavish budget. The Lux Radio Theatre began in 1934 featuring dramas from Broadway, but there was not enough material to support the show. In an attempt to reverse the slipping ratings, the show was moved to Hollywood in 1936, where there was plenty of material and talent.
Sun
10 pm
Mon
8 pm
Tue
4 am
Wed
10 am
Thu
6 pm
Sat
4 am
Sun
10 pm
Mon
8 pm
Tue
4 am
Wed
10 am
Thu
6 pm
Sat
4 am
Dennis Day Show
Born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty in an Irish family in the Bronx, Dennis Day first became known for his tenor voice as a replacement singer on Jack Benny's radio show on October 8, 1939. Benny and Day would remain friends and colleagues the rest of their lives. "A Day In The Life Of Dennis Day" aired on NBC from 1946-1951, while Day also regularly appeared on Benny's show singing, telling jokes, and performing impressions.
Sun
11 pm
Sun
11 pm
Michael Shayne
Detective Michael Shayne was created by Davis Dresser (writing under the pen name Brett Halliday). "Dividend of Death," the first of more than 60 novels featuring the Miami-based private detective was published in 1939. The adventures of the "reckless red-headed Irishman," played by Wally Maher, came to radio October 16, 1944 and aired for 3 years.
Mon
12 am
Wed
8 pm
Sat
6 am
Mon
12 am
Wed
8 pm
Sat
6 am
Dr. Kildare
This medical drama was based on films by the same name. Lews Ayes as Dr. Kildare and Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie face everything from pushy administrators to personal drama and ethical crises in the halls of Blair General Hospital in New York City.
Mon
1 am
Wed
9 pm
Sat
7 am
Mon
1 am
Wed
9 pm
Sat
7 am
Adventures of Harry Nile
This series is one of a few modern series featured by Radio Classics. A creation of writer Jim French, Harry Nile first came to radio in 1976 and continued to be adapted into the late '90s as part of the "Imagination Theatre" productions. Harry Nile, a former Chicago cop turned private detective, was played by Phil Harper for more than 20 years.
Mon
1 am
Wed
9 pm
Sat
7 am
Mon
1 am
Wed
9 pm
Sat
7 am
Dragnet
Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent... One of the most popular police dramas in the history of broadcasting, Dragnet aired on NBC Radio from June 10, 1949 through February 7, 1957 and on television from 1952-59 and 1967-72. Dragnet introduced a new era of documentary-style realism.
Mon
2 am
Wed
3 am
Thu
4 pm
Fri
11 am
Mon
2 am
Wed
3 am
Thu
4 pm
Fri
11 am
Escape - Radio Classics
Radio's greatest series of high adventure debuted over the CBS network on July 7,1947. Escape's protagonists faced life-and-death situations each week, as the show careened from classic adventure to Western drama to science fiction. The program was broadcast as a sustainer (unsponsored) series during most of its seven-year run.
Mon
3 am, 8 am
Wed
10 pm
Thu
5 pm
Sat
2 am
Mon
3 am, 8 am
Wed
10 pm
Thu
5 pm
Sat
2 am
Mon
5 am
Thu
9 am
Sat
5 pm
Mon
5 am
Thu
9 am
Sat
5 pm
American Portraits
This series explores the lives and stories behind American historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson and more.
Mon
6 am
Fri
8 pm
Mon
6 am
Fri
8 pm
FBI in Peace and War
This is Your FBI was created by director-producer Jerry Devine, who began his radio career as a comedy writer for personalities like Kate Smith and Tommy Riggs before turning to radio dramas like Mr. District Attorney. Devine was given carte blanche by J. Edgar to access closed case files from the Bureau as material for This is Your FBI’s scripts. In return Hoover used the show as both publicity and a recruiting tool for future Feds (he raved about the show as “the finest dramatic program on the air”). Using the Hoover-approved material gave FBI a true air of authenticity, though each weekly broadcast had that now-familiar disclaimer: “All names used are fictitious and any similarity thereof to the names of persons or places, living or dead, is accidental.” (Author Jim Cox, in his book Radio Crime Fighters, mused in his write-up on FBI: “Some listeners must have pondered that for a while—‘So did these events happen or not?’”)
Mon
7 am
Fri
9 pm
Mon
7 am
Fri
9 pm
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel
The Bill Stern Sports Newsreel aired for nearly two decades: from December 5, 1937 through June 22, 1956. Stern began his career in vaudeville and worked for several years as assistant stage manager of New York’s famed Roxy Theatre and Radio City Music Hall before moving into network broadcasting in 1934.
Mon
7 am
Fri
9 pm
Mon
7 am
Fri
9 pm
Mon
9 am
Wed
11 pm
Sat
3 am
Mon
9 am
Wed
11 pm
Sat
3 am
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet debuted over the Detroit station on January 31, 1936. The Green Hornet was well-served by his valet Kato and a supercharged roadster, the Black Beauty. Al Hodge portrayed The Green Hornet during the series' first seven seasons, followed by Donovan Faust, Robert Hall and Jack McCarthy. The show ran on radio through December 5, 1952.
Mon
10 am
Wed
6 pm
Sat
12 am
Mon
10 am
Wed
6 pm
Sat
12 am
CBS Radio Workshop
The CBS Radio Workshop aired from January 27, 1956 through September 22, 1957 and was a revival of the prestigious Columbia Workshop from the 1930s and 1940s. The CBS Workshop regularly featured the works of the world’s greatest writers. including Ray Bradbury, Archibald MacLeish, William Saroyan, Lord Dunsany and Ambrose Bierce.
Mon
11 am
Tue
1 am, 1 pm
Wed
7 pm
Thu
3 pm
Fri
7 am
Mon
11 am
Tue
1 am, 1 pm
Wed
7 pm
Thu
3 pm
Fri
7 am
The Saint
Leslie Charteris' famous character first came to radio on January 6, 1945 with Edgar Barrier heard as the debonair Simon Templar. The "Robin Hood of modern crime" returned to the airwaves on July 9, 1947 with Vincent Price in the title role in a short-lived CBS summer series. Price returned to the role in 1949 over Mutual and became radio's most remembered Simon Templar.
Mon
1 pm
Thu
1 pm
Mon
1 pm
Thu
1 pm
Mystery In The Air
This 1947 NBC crime series dramatized literary mysteries and suspenseful classics, starring Peter Lorre. Mystery in the Air was a summer replacement series for Abbott & Costello. Lorre was often supported by Hollywood greats like Agnes Moorehead and Peggy Webber. NBC aired a similar series with by same name in 1945.
Mon
2 pm
Wed - Thu
4 am
Sat
2 pm
Mon
2 pm
Wed - Thu
4 am
Sat
2 pm
The Abbott and Costello Show
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made their radio debut on CBS’ The Kate Smith Show as replacements for Hollywood-bound Henny Youngman. The former burlesque comics reintroduced and preserved the classic comedy sketches of vaudeville in their films and radio and television series. The Abbott and Costello Show debuted as a 1940 summer replacement for Fred Allen and later aired from October 8, 1942 through June 29, 1949.
Mon
3 pm
Wed - Thu
5 am
Sat
3 pm
Mon
3 pm
Wed - Thu
5 am
Sat
3 pm
Mon
3 pm
Wed - Thu
5 am
Sat
3 pm
Mon
3 pm
Wed - Thu
5 am
Sat
3 pm
The Black Museum
This crime drama was first produced by the BBC in 1951, and aired in the US the following year. Narrator Orson Welles told tales of this "mausoleum of murder," with ordinary objects and the murder mysteries behind them.
Mon
4 pm
Wed
8 am
Sat
8 pm
Mon
4 pm
Wed
8 am
Sat
8 pm
Sherlock Holmes
Based on the popular characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes began on coast-to-coast CBS radio in 1930. By the late 1930s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes had moved to the Mutual Broadcasting Network and the series was forced to rely on invented new adventures, having run out of Doyle stories to adapt.
Mon
5 pm
Wed
9 am, 2 pm
Fri
2 am
Sat
9 pm
Mon
5 pm
Wed
9 am, 2 pm
Fri
2 am
Sat
9 pm
The Third Man
The Third Man was an adventure series starring Orson Welles as Harry Lime, the character created by author Graham Greene. It first aired on the BBC in 1951 and was then syndicated for American radio in 1952.
Mon
5 pm
Wed
9 am
Sat
9 pm
Mon
5 pm
Wed
9 am
Sat
9 pm
Broadway is My Beat
Broadway Is My Beat debuted over CBS on February 27, 1949 and continued through August 1, 1954. Anthony Ross starred as Clover during the first two seasons, with Thor taking over the role on July 3, 1950. Homicide detective Clover pounded the Broadway beat for five years in one of radio's last great detective series.
Mon
6 pm
Wed
1 pm
Thu
6 am
Sat
9 am, 10 pm
Mon
6 pm
Wed
1 pm
Thu
6 am
Sat
9 am, 10 pm
Fort Laramie
Specially transcribed tales of the dark and tragic ground of the wild frontier. The saga of fighting men who rode the rim of empire and the dramatic story of Lee Quince, Captain of Cavalry. Premiering in January 1956, Raymond Burr starred as Captain Quince-a soldier who followed orders and a leader who lived by his own rules of fairness and honesty.
Mon
7 pm
Wed - Thu
7 am
Fri
1 am
Sat
11 pm
Mon
7 pm
Wed - Thu
7 am
Fri
1 am
Sat
11 pm
Mon
7 pm
Thu
7 am
Sat
11 pm
Mon
7 pm
Thu
7 am
Sat
11 pm
Cloak & Dagger
These tense half-hour plotlines revolved around the wartime activities of the U.S. government's Office of Strategic Services. Stories were based on true adventure tales by Corey Ford and Alastair MacBain. It ran on NBC for about 6 months from May - October 1950.
Mon
9 pm
Wed
11 am
Sat
5 am
Mon
9 pm
Wed
11 am
Sat
5 am
Strange Dr. Weird
This supernatural fantasy series aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System from 1944-1945. The 15-minute show can be considered a lite version of "Mysterious Traveller," as it also starred Maurice Tarplin and shared a writer.
Mon
9 pm
Wed
11 am
Sat
5 am
Mon
9 pm
Wed
11 am
Sat
5 am
Mystery Is My Hobby
Glen Langan starred as the lead character Barton Drake in this detective series that aired on Mutual Radio from 1947 to 1948. Drake is an author and amateur crime solver fascinated by the minds of criminals. This series is full of good ole "whodunnit" storylines.
Mon
11 pm
Thu
11 pm
Fri
5 pm
Mon
11 pm
Thu
11 pm
Fri
5 pm
Halls Of Ivy
Ronald Colman and wife Benita Hume were popularly known as Jack Benny's ever-patient, next-door neighbors. However, in January 1950, they left to start their own show. Ronald played William Todhunter Hall, president of Ivy College in the "town of Ivy, USA." Benita was wife Vicky, the former Victoria Cromwell of the English theatre. The stylish college president was brought down to earth by the lively former actress who happily refered to him as "Toddy-dear." Together, the Halls handled the students as well as the stodgy Board of Directors with a "modern" flair.
Tue
12 am
Thu
10 am
Tue
12 am
Thu
10 am
Jack Benny Program
For more than 20 years, Jack Benny reigned as the king of radio comedy. His show ran on nearly every network from 1932 to the mid 1950s. How he turned a miserable, self-absorbed cheapskate into a beloved icon ranks among the great achievements in entertainment history. Benny revolutionized the way humour was played on radio by introducing the situation comedy and by giving most of the best lines to his supporting cast.
Tue
12 am, 4 am, 4 am, 4 pm
Fri
6 am
Tue
12 am, 4 am, 4 am, 4 pm
Fri
6 am
Superman
Superman debuted in 1938 in the first issue of Action Comics and quickly took America by storm. The Man of Steel rocketed from comic books into newspapers, film, and radio. Actor Bud Collyer flew "up, up and away" in a syndicated series that debuted February 12, 1940 and soared into his long-running Mutual daily serial on August 31, 1942. Much of Superman’s legendary mythology originated not in his four-colour adventures but on his famous radio series. The Daily Planet newspaper was introduced on the radio program, and the Man of Steel first encountered Batman, Robin and kryptonite on the air. Superman flew off the radio airwaves on March 1, 1951 but landed in a successful syndicated television series the following year.
Tue
2 am
Thu
8 pm
Sat
10 am
Tue
2 am
Thu
8 pm
Sat
10 am
Bob Hope Show
Bob Hope was born in England in 1903 and immigrated to the U.S. four years later. After an early career in vaudeville and musical revues, Hope made his radio debut on Rudy Vallee’s Fleischmann Hour in 1933 and joined the cast of James Melton’s Intimate Revue in 1935. After introducing his "Thanks for the Memory" theme song in Paramount’s The Big Broadcast of 1938, Hope returned to radio as star of NBC’s The Pepsodent Show beginning September 27, 1938.
Tue
5 am
Thu
7 pm
Tue
5 am
Thu
7 pm
Baby Snooks
Baby Snooks was born at a Detroit party when Fanny Brice, then performing burlesque, sang "Poor Pauline" in a little-girl voice, and was revived for her first radio broadcasts in the '30s. Frank Morgan and Alan Reed served as Snooks’ foils on early broadcasts before Hanley Stafford became radio’s longest-running "Daddy." The Baby Snooks Show aired from September 17, 1944 through May 29, 1951, with Stafford delivering a moving eulogy on the final show following Brice’s death from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Tue
5 am
Thu
7 pm
Tue
5 am
Thu
7 pm
The Whisperer
As a summer replacement series on NBC, this show only broadcast a handful of episodes from July to September 1951. The title character, also known as Phillip Gault, could speak only in whispers following a football injury. He's cast out of society and joins an underground crime syndicate - but after having miracle surgery that restores his voice, he becomes a double agent in hopes of destroying the syndicate from the inside. Carleton G. Young played the protagonist, alongside Betty Moran who played Gault's girlfriend and the only other person who knows about his double identity.
Tue
7 am
Tue
7 am
Our Miss Brooks
Eve Arden portrays Miss Connie Brooks, an overworked and underpaid teacher of 10th grade English at Madison High School. Our Miss Brooks called her radio classroom to order beginning July 19, 1948. The final bell rang for Our Miss Brooks on July 7, 1957.
Tue
9 am
Thu
1 am
Sat
7 pm
Tue
9 am
Thu
1 am
Sat
7 pm
Fibber McGee & Molly
The husband-and-wife vaudeville team of Jim and Marian Jordan began their radio careers in Peoria on a bet from Jim’s brother. The Jordans were heard as The O’Henry Twins and The Air Scouts before Don Quinn created Smackout in 1931. Quinn revamped the show as Fibber McGee and Molly in 1935 when Johnson’s Wax signed on as sponsor.
Tue
9 am, 11 pm
Thu
1 am
Fri - Sat
7 pm
Tue
9 am, 11 pm
Thu
1 am
Fri - Sat
7 pm
Let George Do It
Let George Do It, stars Bob Bailey, who plays George Valentine who was a detective whose cases came from the newspaper.
Tue
10 am
Fri
10 pm
Tue
10 am
Fri
10 pm
The Falcon
Michael Waring was a freelance detective who was also known as the Falcon. Waring's detective techniques were a cross between Ellery Queen and Richard Diamond. He had a certain eye for detail but was frequently on the outs with the police.
Tue
1 pm
Fri
1 pm
Tue
1 pm
Fri
1 pm
The Chase
This NBC thriller ran for about a year from the spring of 1952 to the summer of 1953. Each unique story entails suspense, action and, of course, a protagonist on the run. The series often featured guest stars who were announcers or actors for other suspenseful series, and many of the scripts were also used in other dramas like The Clock and Inner Sanctum Mysteries.
Tue
1 pm, 8 pm
Thu
2 pm
Fri
1 pm
Sat
12 pm
Tue
1 pm, 8 pm
Thu
2 pm
Fri
1 pm
Sat
12 pm
Have Gun, Will Travel
Have Gun, Will Travel debuted on television on September 14, 1957 and moved to radio November 23, 1958. The program was an oddity, a western that began on television and moved to radio, featuring an ethical anti-hero whose mysterious origins were left untold until the fifth and final TV season.
Tue
2 pm
Thu
2 am
Tue
2 pm
Thu
2 am
Adventures of Sam Spade
Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade walked out of the pages of Black Mask and into his own CBS radio series of July 12, 1946. Howard Duff starred as the hardboiled detective for the first three seasons. Lurene Tuttle was Sam's secretary Effie Perrine and Jerry Hausner was his lawyer Sid Weiss. CBS dropped the series in 1950 when Hammett ran afoul of Congress' Un-American Activities investigators, but the show was quickly revived by NBC.
Tue
3 pm
Thu
3 am
Tue
3 pm
Thu
3 am
Pat Novak for Hire
Pat Novak for Hire was broadcast from San Francisco and debuted in 1946 as an ABC Sunday night West Coast series. Ben Murphy starred as the hard-boiled Novak during the West Coast run, but Jack Webb made the role his own when series was revived on February 13, 1949 over the entire ABC national network.
Tue
3 pm
Thu
3 am
Tue
3 pm
Thu
3 am
Charlie McCarthy Show
Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen developed his Charlie McCarthy character in high school. Bergen performed with the newsboy dummy while attending Northwestern University and eventually left college to tour vaudeville. With the decline of vaudeville during the Great Depression, Bergen moved into night spots like New York’s trendy Rainbow Room but feared his friend wouldn’t be appreciated by high society. So he gave Charlie a monocle and top hat and a "man about town" was born. Following a three-month guest stint on Rudy Vallee’s show, Edgar Bergen was signed as headliner of The Chase and Sanborn Hour. The series premiered May 9, 1937 and ended the next three seasons as radio’s top-rated series.
Tue
4 pm
Fri
6 am
Tue
4 pm
Fri
6 am
Jeff Regan, Investigator
This crime noir series featured Jack Webb as Jeff Regan, a private eye who always had a bone to pick with his boss. Frank Graham took over in the second and last season, as Webb moved on to star in and produce Dragnet.
Tue
5 pm
Fri
7 am
Tue
5 pm
Fri
7 am
Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy's millions of fans got a New Year's Day present in 1950 when William Boyd brought the famous Bar-20 Ranch onto the Mutual radio range. In 1950, Clarence Mulford's classic cowboy was heard on 152 radio stations, seen on 63 television outlets and appeared as a comic strip in 155 newspapers.
Tue
6 pm
Fri
4 am
Tue
6 pm
Fri
4 am
The Cisco Kid
The Cisco Kid rode onto the Mutual airwaves on October 2, 1942, in a series that starred the versatile Jackson Beck. Cisco and his partner Pancho rode off the Mutual trail on December 14, 1945, but the characters returned to the airwaves two years later in a new version that was broadcast over the Don Lee Pacific Coast Network. Jack Mather and Harry Lang (later replaced by Mel Blanc) portrayed Cisco and Pancho in the later series, which ran for a decade.
Tue
6 pm
Fri
4 am
Tue
6 pm
Fri
4 am
Life With Luigi
Longtime Hollywood character actor J. Carrol Naish became a radio star in his own right after nearly two decades toiling in the background in such films as Beau Geste, House of Frankenstein and the Batman movie serial. The native New Yorker of Irish descent finally won fame as "the little Italian immigrant" who each week wrote of his American adventures to his mama in Italy. Life with Luigi aired from September 21, 1948 through March 3, 1953 on radio, and the radio cast briefly did double duty in a short-lived 1952 television version.
Tue
7 pm
Fri
5 am
Tue
7 pm
Fri
5 am
Life of Riley
The Life of Riley featured the comic misadventures of riveter Chester A. Riley. Riley was a devoted family man with a talent for flying off the handle and a penchant for being worse. Movie star William Bendix played the title role of the lovable hardhat throughout the series.
Tue
7 pm
Fri
5 am
Tue
7 pm
Fri
5 am
Cavalcade of America
The Cavalcade of America was a historical dramatic anthology and aired from 1935 to 1953. Patriotic in nature, this series was created in part to improve the name of sponsor DuPont Chemical, which received backlash for profiting enormously from War World I. The show's themes were never voilent, but rather idealistic. Stories included the voyage of the Mayflower, the first telegraph, and Eli Whitney's cotton gin.
Tue
10 pm
Fri
6 pm
Tue
10 pm
Fri
6 pm
The Bickersons
Don Ameche and Frances Langford first portrayed The Bickersons as a skit on The Charlie McCarthy Show and moved into their own NBC series on September 8, 1946. John and Blanche Bickerson fought about anything and everything, especially Blanche's ne'er-do-well brother Amos, played by Danny Thomas. Many of the finest Bickersons skits revolved around the conflicts brought on by John’s narcolepsy and Blanche’s insomnia. The Bickersons initially ran for only two seasons, although the show was revived in 1951 as a summer series starring Lew Parker and Frances Langford.
Tue
11 pm
Fri
7 pm
Tue
11 pm
Fri
7 pm
Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum's sinister host welcomed listeners "through the squeaking door to another night of horror." The show’s "squeaking door" was one of radio’s most-remembered openings and was inspired by the creaking hinges on a sound effects door at the radio studio.
Wed
12 am
Fri
2 pm
Wed
12 am
Fri
2 pm
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Richard Diamond, Private Detective premiered over the NBC network on April 24, 1949 and ran through 1952 starring Dick Powell as "radio's singing detective." Powell had first achieved movie stardom as a baby-faced crooner, and later matured to hardboiled roles, including Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe in the 1944 film Murder My Sweet.
Wed
2 am
Fri
10 am
Wed
2 am
Fri
10 am
Police Headquarters
This police procedural series was syndicated on NBC stations in 1932. It features quarter-hour stories typically based on true crimes.
Wed
3 am
Fri
11 am
Wed
3 am
Fri
11 am
Frontier Town
This western adventure serial was syndicated in 1949 by Bruce Eells Productions. Chad Remmington is a crimefighting attorney, played first by Jeff Chandler and then Reed Hadley, in the small town of Dos Rios. Cherokee O'Bannon, Remington's sidekick, was played by Wade Crosby.
Wed
6 am
Fri
12 am
Wed
6 am
Fri
12 am
Romance of the Ranchos
This historical drama told tales of early Southern California in "the days of the dons". Stories were based on records from Title Insurance, the show's sponsor. History was made as land changed hands and purposes, causing listeners to think twice about the stories behind their own West Coast land the in mid-1940s.
Wed
7 am
Fri
1 am
Wed
7 am
Fri
1 am
Dangerous Assignment
Dangerous Assignment premiered over the NBC airwaves on February 6, 1950 and starred Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell, globe-trotting government troubleshooter. Dangerous Assignment was later revived as a 1953 syndicated series starring Lloyd Burrell.
Wed
1 pm
Sat
9 am
Wed
1 pm
Sat
9 am
Burns & Allen Show
George and Gracie first performed on air over the BBC while touring England after an NBC executive rejected their act insisting that "Gracie’s voice is unfit for radio." Burns and Allen won a regular spot on The Robert Burns Panatella Program February 22, 1932 and moved into the top spot when Guy Lombardo left the series. The Burns and Allen Show aired through May 17, 1950 on radio and for another decade on television. Jack Benny and George Burns were best friends in real life and often were guests on each other’s programs.
Wed
4 pm
Fri
8 am
Wed
4 pm
Fri
8 am
Phil Harris & Alice Faye Show
The Phil Harris & Alice Faye Show grew out of the popular Fitch Bandwagon series. Phil Harris played himself, continuing the egotistical, smart-alec characterization he had perfected during his years as Jack Bennys' bandleader. Alice Faye, Phil's movie star wife, recreated her real-life role as a film star turn devoted housewife.
Wed
4 pm
Fri
8 am
Wed
4 pm
Fri
8 am
Great Gildersleeve
The Great Gildersleeve featured one of radio’s greatest casts of comedic players. The Great Gildersleeve aired until March 21, 1957, with Willard Waterman taking over the title role for the final seven radio season and three television seasons.
Wed
5 pm
Fri
9 am
Wed
5 pm
Fri
9 am
Meet Mister McNutley
This CBS sitcom starred Ray Milland as Ray McNutley, a "dreamy" English professor at the all-girl school Lynnhaven College. The show also aired concurrently on television with most of the same cast members.
Wed
5 pm
Fri
9 am
Wed
5 pm
Fri
9 am
Phil Harris & Alice Faye Show
The Phil Harris & Alice Faye Show grew out of the popular Fitch Bandwagon series. Phil Harris played himself, continuing the egotistical, smart-alec characterization he had perfected during his years as Jack Bennys' bandleader. Alice Faye, Phil's movie star wife, recreated her real-life role as a film star turn devoted housewife.
Wed
4 pm
Fri
8 am
Wed
4 pm
Fri
8 am
Hawk Larabee
This Western adventures series told the tales of Hawk Larabee, a do-gooder cowboy in 1840s Texas. It aired for two seasons on CBS, first known as "Hawk Durango" for six weeks. Elliot Lewis and Barton Yarborough repeatedly switched roles between the lead and his sidekick, which troubled the series in its attempt to be the first Western show for an adult audience. Gunsmoke would pick up the torch a few years later.
Tue
2 pm
Thu
2 am
Tue
2 pm
Thu
2 am
Gunsmoke
Radio’s greatest adult western told the story of Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal, "the first man they look for and the last they want to meet." Gunsmoke grew out of a request from CBS founder William Paley for a "Philip Marlowe in the Old West," and featured grimly realistic stories set in the vicinity of Dodge City, the "Gommorrah of the West," with William Conrad as Dillon.
Mon
3 am
Wed
6 am
Thu
5 pm
Fri
12 am
Mon
3 am
Wed
6 am
Thu
5 pm
Fri
12 am
Frontier Gentleman
This excellent Western series, created by Antony Ellis, aired for several months on CBS in 1958. John Dehner starred as British reporter J.B. Kendall, who travelled the Wild West in search of stories of adventure. Versatile radio stars like Virginia Gregg, Jospeh Kearns, Stacy Harris and more were featured throughout.
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Sorry, no schedule data available.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar told the story of the freelance insurance investigator with the "action-packed expense account." Radio’s last great detective series, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ended its run September 30, 1962 during the final week of network radio drama.
Mon
4 am
Fri
11 pm
Sat
4 pm
Mon
4 am
Fri
11 pm
Sat
4 pm
X Minus One
X-Minus One premiered on April 24, 195 and was a revival of Dimension X, NBC's earlier science fiction anthology series. X-Minus One ran until January 9, 1958 and was rerun during the 1970s as part of NBC's Omnibus series.
Thu
3 pm, 9 pm
Sat
11 am, 1 pm
Thu
3 pm, 9 pm
Sat
11 am, 1 pm
Martin & Lewis Show
Comedy/variety show starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
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Sorry, no schedule data available.
Fred Allen Show
John Steinbeck recognized Fred Allen as "unquestionably the best humorist of our time, a brilliant critic of manners and morals." Following in the footsteps of Will Rogers, Fred reintroduced topical political humour to radio. Fred introduced his classic "Allen’s Alley" segment December 13, 1942.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Tales of the Texas Rangers
Tales of the Texas Rangers was broadcast over NBC from July 8 1950 through September 14, 1952 and was later revived on television. Western film star Joel McCrea portrayed Ranger Jace Pearson in NBC's Tales of the Texas Rangers.
Mon
11 pm
Thu
11 pm
Fri
5 pm
Mon
11 pm
Thu
11 pm
Fri
5 pm
This Is Your F.B.I
This Is Your F.B.I. came to the Blue Network on April 6, 1945, created, produced and directed by Jerry Devine, a former child actor. Like Philips H. Lord before him, Devine got special permission from bureau head J. Edgar Hoover to dramatize older cases using fictitious names and locales. Frank Lovejoy was the program's first narrator, followed by Dean Carlton and later William Woodson.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
Sorry, no schedule data available.
When Radio Was
Radio Spirits' nationally syndicated radio program hosted by old-time radio expert Greg Bell
Mon - Fri
12 pm
Sat
8 am
Mon - Fri
12 pm
Sat
8 am
Night Beat
Frank Lovejoy is heard as Randy "Lucky" Stone, a hardboiled reporter who covers the "nightbeat" for the Chicago Star. Randy Stone wandered the back alleys and bars of Chicago, searching for both crime and human-interest stories. Nightbeat premiered on February 6, 1950 and ran until September 25, 1952.
Tue
1 am
Thu
11 am
Tue
1 am
Thu
11 am
The Whistler
The Whistler whistled its way onto the airwaves beginning May 16, 1942 and its eerie 13-note theme set the tone for West Coast radio mystery for the next decade. "I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
Sun
7 pm
Mon
1 pm
Wed
1 am
Thu
1 pm
Fri
3 pm
Suspense
Suspense debuted on June 17, 1942 as a sustaining summer replacement, returned that fall and continued in the CBS lineup September 30, 1962. "Radio's outstanding theatre of thrills" is recognized as one of the finest dramatic series in the history of broadcasting.
Sun
8 pm
Tue
6 am
Wed - Thu
4 am
Wed
2 pm, 3 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm
Sun
8 pm
Tue
6 am
Wed - Thu
4 am
Wed
2 pm, 3 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm
Big Town
Edward G. Robinson starred as crusading newspaper editor Steve Wilson from October 19, 1937 through July 2, 1942. The Hollywood great was glad to play an idealistic role in contrast to his many film gangster portrayals. Big Town at its peak was radio’s highest-rated drama and was only eclipsed by The Jack Benny Program in ratings. The series was cancelled when Edward G. Robinson quit in 1942 but was resurrected the following year with Edward Pawley (and later Walter Greaza) as Wilson and Fran Carlon as Lorelei. The revived Big Town aired from October 5, 1943 through June 25, 1952.
Sun
9 pm
Tue
8 am
Thu
12 am
Sat
6 pm
Sun
9 pm
Tue
8 am
Thu
12 am
Sat
6 pm
Lux Radio Theatre
The Lux Radio Theatre was one of radio's most popular series attracting Hollywood's top stars and boasting a lavish budget. The Lux Radio Theatre began in 1934 featuring dramas from Broadway, but there was not enough material to support the show. In an attempt to reverse the slipping ratings, the show was moved to Hollywood in 1936, where there was plenty of material and talent.
Sun
10 pm
Mon
8 pm
Tue
4 am
Wed
10 am
Thu
6 pm
Sat
4 am
Sun
10 pm
Mon
8 pm
Tue
4 am
Wed
10 am
Thu
6 pm
Sat
4 am
Dennis Day Show
Born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty in an Irish family in the Bronx, Dennis Day first became known for his tenor voice as a replacement singer on Jack Benny's radio show on October 8, 1939. Benny and Day would remain friends and colleagues the rest of their lives. "A Day In The Life Of Dennis Day" aired on NBC from 1946-1951, while Day also regularly appeared on Benny's show singing, telling jokes, and performing impressions.
Sun
11 pm
Sun
11 pm
Michael Shayne
Detective Michael Shayne was created by Davis Dresser (writing under the pen name Brett Halliday). "Dividend of Death," the first of more than 60 novels featuring the Miami-based private detective was published in 1939. The adventures of the "reckless red-headed Irishman," played by Wally Maher, came to radio October 16, 1944 and aired for 3 years.
Mon
12 am
Wed
8 pm
Sat
6 am
Mon
12 am
Wed
8 pm
Sat
6 am
Dr. Kildare
This medical drama was based on films by the same name. Lews Ayes as Dr. Kildare and Lionel Barrymore as Dr. Gillespie face everything from pushy administrators to personal drama and ethical crises in the halls of Blair General Hospital in New York City.
Mon
1 am
Wed
9 pm
Sat
7 am
Mon
1 am
Wed
9 pm
Sat
7 am
Adventures of Harry Nile
This series is one of a few modern series featured by Radio Classics. A creation of writer Jim French, Harry Nile first came to radio in 1976 and continued to be adapted into the late '90s as part of the "Imagination Theatre" productions. Harry Nile, a former Chicago cop turned private detective, was played by Phil Harper for more than 20 years.
Mon
1 am
Wed
9 pm
Sat
7 am
Mon
1 am
Wed
9 pm
Sat
7 am
Dragnet
Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent... One of the most popular police dramas in the history of broadcasting, Dragnet aired on NBC Radio from June 10, 1949 through February 7, 1957 and on television from 1952-59 and 1967-72. Dragnet introduced a new era of documentary-style realism.
Mon
2 am
Wed
3 am
Thu
4 pm
Fri
11 am
Mon
2 am
Wed
3 am
Thu
4 pm
Fri
11 am
Escape - Radio Classics
Radio's greatest series of high adventure debuted over the CBS network on July 7,1947. Escape's protagonists faced life-and-death situations each week, as the show careened from classic adventure to Western drama to science fiction. The program was broadcast as a sustainer (unsponsored) series during most of its seven-year run.
Mon
3 am, 8 am
Wed
10 pm
Thu
5 pm
Sat
2 am
Mon
3 am, 8 am
Wed
10 pm
Thu
5 pm
Sat
2 am
Mon
5 am
Thu
9 am
Sat
5 pm
Mon
5 am
Thu
9 am
Sat
5 pm
American Portraits
This series explores the lives and stories behind American historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson and more.
Mon
6 am
Fri
8 pm
Mon
6 am
Fri
8 pm
FBI in Peace and War
This is Your FBI was created by director-producer Jerry Devine, who began his radio career as a comedy writer for personalities like Kate Smith and Tommy Riggs before turning to radio dramas like Mr. District Attorney. Devine was given carte blanche by J. Edgar to access closed case files from the Bureau as material for This is Your FBI’s scripts. In return Hoover used the show as both publicity and a recruiting tool for future Feds (he raved about the show as “the finest dramatic program on the air”). Using the Hoover-approved material gave FBI a true air of authenticity, though each weekly broadcast had that now-familiar disclaimer: “All names used are fictitious and any similarity thereof to the names of persons or places, living or dead, is accidental.” (Author Jim Cox, in his book Radio Crime Fighters, mused in his write-up on FBI: “Some listeners must have pondered that for a while—‘So did these events happen or not?’”)
Mon
7 am
Fri
9 pm
Mon
7 am
Fri
9 pm
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel
The Bill Stern Sports Newsreel aired for nearly two decades: from December 5, 1937 through June 22, 1956. Stern began his career in vaudeville and worked for several years as assistant stage manager of New York’s famed Roxy Theatre and Radio City Music Hall before moving into network broadcasting in 1934.
Mon
7 am
Fri
9 pm
Mon
7 am
Fri
9 pm
Mon
9 am
Wed
11 pm
Sat
3 am
Mon
9 am
Wed
11 pm
Sat
3 am
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet debuted over the Detroit station on January 31, 1936. The Green Hornet was well-served by his valet Kato and a supercharged roadster, the Black Beauty. Al Hodge portrayed The Green Hornet during the series' first seven seasons, followed by Donovan Faust, Robert Hall and Jack McCarthy. The show ran on radio through December 5, 1952.
Mon
10 am
Wed
6 pm
Sat
12 am
Mon
10 am
Wed
6 pm
Sat
12 am
CBS Radio Workshop
The CBS Radio Workshop aired from January 27, 1956 through September 22, 1957 and was a revival of the prestigious Columbia Workshop from the 1930s and 1940s. The CBS Workshop regularly featured the works of the world’s greatest writers. including Ray Bradbury, Archibald MacLeish, William Saroyan, Lord Dunsany and Ambrose Bierce.
Mon
11 am
Tue
1 am, 1 pm
Wed
7 pm
Thu
3 pm
Fri
7 am
Mon
11 am
Tue
1 am, 1 pm
Wed
7 pm
Thu
3 pm
Fri
7 am
The Saint
Leslie Charteris' famous character first came to radio on January 6, 1945 with Edgar Barrier heard as the debonair Simon Templar. The "Robin Hood of modern crime" returned to the airwaves on July 9, 1947 with Vincent Price in the title role in a short-lived CBS summer series. Price returned to the role in 1949 over Mutual and became radio's most remembered Simon Templar.
Mon
1 pm
Thu
1 pm
Mon
1 pm
Thu
1 pm
Mystery In The Air
This 1947 NBC crime series dramatized literary mysteries and suspenseful classics, starring Peter Lorre. Mystery in the Air was a summer replacement series for Abbott & Costello. Lorre was often supported by Hollywood greats like Agnes Moorehead and Peggy Webber. NBC aired a similar series with by same name in 1945.
Mon
2 pm
Wed - Thu
4 am
Sat
2 pm
Mon
2 pm
Wed - Thu
4 am
Sat
2 pm
The Abbott and Costello Show
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made their radio debut on CBS’ The Kate Smith Show as replacements for Hollywood-bound Henny Youngman. The former burlesque comics reintroduced and preserved the classic comedy sketches of vaudeville in their films and radio and television series. The Abbott and Costello Show debuted as a 1940 summer replacement for Fred Allen and later aired from October 8, 1942 through June 29, 1949.
Mon
3 pm
Wed - Thu
5 am
Sat
3 pm
Mon
3 pm
Wed - Thu
5 am
Sat
3 pm
Mon
3 pm
Wed - Thu
5 am
Sat
3 pm
Mon
3 pm
Wed - Thu
5 am
Sat
3 pm
The Black Museum
This crime drama was first produced by the BBC in 1951, and aired in the US the following year. Narrator Orson Welles told tales of this "mausoleum of murder," with ordinary objects and the murder mysteries behind them.
Mon
4 pm
Wed
8 am
Sat
8 pm
Mon
4 pm
Wed
8 am
Sat
8 pm
Sherlock Holmes
Based on the popular characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes began on coast-to-coast CBS radio in 1930. By the late 1930s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes had moved to the Mutual Broadcasting Network and the series was forced to rely on invented new adventures, having run out of Doyle stories to adapt.
Mon
5 pm
Wed
9 am, 2 pm
Fri
2 am
Sat
9 pm
Mon
5 pm
Wed
9 am, 2 pm
Fri
2 am
Sat
9 pm
The Third Man
The Third Man was an adventure series starring Orson Welles as Harry Lime, the character created by author Graham Greene. It first aired on the BBC in 1951 and was then syndicated for American radio in 1952.
Mon
5 pm
Wed
9 am
Sat
9 pm
Mon
5 pm
Wed
9 am
Sat
9 pm
Broadway is My Beat
Broadway Is My Beat debuted over CBS on February 27, 1949 and continued through August 1, 1954. Anthony Ross starred as Clover during the first two seasons, with Thor taking over the role on July 3, 1950. Homicide detective Clover pounded the Broadway beat for five years in one of radio's last great detective series.
Mon
6 pm
Wed
1 pm
Thu
6 am
Sat
9 am, 10 pm
Mon
6 pm
Wed
1 pm
Thu
6 am
Sat
9 am, 10 pm
Fort Laramie
Specially transcribed tales of the dark and tragic ground of the wild frontier. The saga of fighting men who rode the rim of empire and the dramatic story of Lee Quince, Captain of Cavalry. Premiering in January 1956, Raymond Burr starred as Captain Quince-a soldier who followed orders and a leader who lived by his own rules of fairness and honesty.
Mon
7 pm
Wed - Thu
7 am
Fri
1 am
Sat
11 pm
Mon
7 pm
Wed - Thu
7 am
Fri
1 am
Sat
11 pm
Mon
7 pm
Thu
7 am
Sat
11 pm
Mon
7 pm
Thu
7 am
Sat
11 pm
Cloak & Dagger
These tense half-hour plotlines revolved around the wartime activities of the U.S. government's Office of Strategic Services. Stories were based on true adventure tales by Corey Ford and Alastair MacBain. It ran on NBC for about 6 months from May - October 1950.
Mon
9 pm
Wed
11 am
Sat
5 am
Mon
9 pm
Wed
11 am
Sat
5 am
Strange Dr. Weird
This supernatural fantasy series aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System from 1944-1945. The 15-minute show can be considered a lite version of "Mysterious Traveller," as it also starred Maurice Tarplin and shared a writer.
Mon
9 pm
Wed
11 am
Sat
5 am
Mon
9 pm
Wed
11 am
Sat
5 am
Mystery Is My Hobby
Glen Langan starred as the lead character Barton Drake in this detective series that aired on Mutual Radio from 1947 to 1948. Drake is an author and amateur crime solver fascinated by the minds of criminals. This series is full of good ole "whodunnit" storylines.
Mon
11 pm
Thu
11 pm
Fri
5 pm
Mon
11 pm
Thu
11 pm
Fri
5 pm
Halls Of Ivy
Ronald Colman and wife Benita Hume were popularly known as Jack Benny's ever-patient, next-door neighbors. However, in January 1950, they left to start their own show. Ronald played William Todhunter Hall, president of Ivy College in the "town of Ivy, USA." Benita was wife Vicky, the former Victoria Cromwell of the English theatre. The stylish college president was brought down to earth by the lively former actress who happily refered to him as "Toddy-dear." Together, the Halls handled the students as well as the stodgy Board of Directors with a "modern" flair.
Tue
12 am
Thu
10 am
Tue
12 am
Thu
10 am
Jack Benny Program
For more than 20 years, Jack Benny reigned as the king of radio comedy. His show ran on nearly every network from 1932 to the mid 1950s. How he turned a miserable, self-absorbed cheapskate into a beloved icon ranks among the great achievements in entertainment history. Benny revolutionized the way humour was played on radio by introducing the situation comedy and by giving most of the best lines to his supporting cast.
Tue
12 am, 4 am, 4 am, 4 pm
Fri
6 am
Tue
12 am, 4 am, 4 am, 4 pm
Fri
6 am
Superman
Superman debuted in 1938 in the first issue of Action Comics and quickly took America by storm. The Man of Steel rocketed from comic books into newspapers, film, and radio. Actor Bud Collyer flew "up, up and away" in a syndicated series that debuted February 12, 1940 and soared into his long-running Mutual daily serial on August 31, 1942. Much of Superman’s legendary mythology originated not in his four-colour adventures but on his famous radio series. The Daily Planet newspaper was introduced on the radio program, and the Man of Steel first encountered Batman, Robin and kryptonite on the air. Superman flew off the radio airwaves on March 1, 1951 but landed in a successful syndicated television series the following year.
Tue
2 am
Thu
8 pm
Sat
10 am
Tue
2 am
Thu
8 pm
Sat
10 am
Bob Hope Show
Bob Hope was born in England in 1903 and immigrated to the U.S. four years later. After an early career in vaudeville and musical revues, Hope made his radio debut on Rudy Vallee’s Fleischmann Hour in 1933 and joined the cast of James Melton’s Intimate Revue in 1935. After introducing his "Thanks for the Memory" theme song in Paramount’s The Big Broadcast of 1938, Hope returned to radio as star of NBC’s The Pepsodent Show beginning September 27, 1938.
Tue
5 am
Thu
7 pm
Tue
5 am
Thu
7 pm
Baby Snooks
Baby Snooks was born at a Detroit party when Fanny Brice, then performing burlesque, sang "Poor Pauline" in a little-girl voice, and was revived for her first radio broadcasts in the '30s. Frank Morgan and Alan Reed served as Snooks’ foils on early broadcasts before Hanley Stafford became radio’s longest-running "Daddy." The Baby Snooks Show aired from September 17, 1944 through May 29, 1951, with Stafford delivering a moving eulogy on the final show following Brice’s death from a cerebral hemorrhage.
Tue
5 am
Thu
7 pm
Tue
5 am
Thu
7 pm
The Whisperer
As a summer replacement series on NBC, this show only broadcast a handful of episodes from July to September 1951. The title character, also known as Phillip Gault, could speak only in whispers following a football injury. He's cast out of society and joins an underground crime syndicate - but after having miracle surgery that restores his voice, he becomes a double agent in hopes of destroying the syndicate from the inside. Carleton G. Young played the protagonist, alongside Betty Moran who played Gault's girlfriend and the only other person who knows about his double identity.
Tue
7 am
Tue
7 am
Our Miss Brooks
Eve Arden portrays Miss Connie Brooks, an overworked and underpaid teacher of 10th grade English at Madison High School. Our Miss Brooks called her radio classroom to order beginning July 19, 1948. The final bell rang for Our Miss Brooks on July 7, 1957.
Tue
9 am
Thu
1 am
Sat
7 pm
Tue
9 am
Thu
1 am
Sat
7 pm
Fibber McGee & Molly
The husband-and-wife vaudeville team of Jim and Marian Jordan began their radio careers in Peoria on a bet from Jim’s brother. The Jordans were heard as The O’Henry Twins and The Air Scouts before Don Quinn created Smackout in 1931. Quinn revamped the show as Fibber McGee and Molly in 1935 when Johnson’s Wax signed on as sponsor.
Tue
9 am, 11 pm
Thu
1 am
Fri - Sat
7 pm
Tue
9 am, 11 pm
Thu
1 am
Fri - Sat
7 pm
Let George Do It
Let George Do It, stars Bob Bailey, who plays George Valentine who was a detective whose cases came from the newspaper.
Tue
10 am
Fri
10 pm
Tue
10 am
Fri
10 pm
The Falcon
Michael Waring was a freelance detective who was also known as the Falcon. Waring's detective techniques were a cross between Ellery Queen and Richard Diamond. He had a certain eye for detail but was frequently on the outs with the police.
Tue
1 pm
Fri
1 pm
Tue
1 pm
Fri
1 pm
The Chase
This NBC thriller ran for about a year from the spring of 1952 to the summer of 1953. Each unique story entails suspense, action and, of course, a protagonist on the run. The series often featured guest stars who were announcers or actors for other suspenseful series, and many of the scripts were also used in other dramas like The Clock and Inner Sanctum Mysteries.
Tue
1 pm, 8 pm
Thu
2 pm
Fri
1 pm
Sat
12 pm
Tue
1 pm, 8 pm
Thu
2 pm
Fri
1 pm
Sat
12 pm
Have Gun, Will Travel
Have Gun, Will Travel debuted on television on September 14, 1957 and moved to radio November 23, 1958. The program was an oddity, a western that began on television and moved to radio, featuring an ethical anti-hero whose mysterious origins were left untold until the fifth and final TV season.
Tue
2 pm
Thu
2 am
Tue
2 pm
Thu
2 am
Adventures of Sam Spade
Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade walked out of the pages of Black Mask and into his own CBS radio series of July 12, 1946. Howard Duff starred as the hardboiled detective for the first three seasons. Lurene Tuttle was Sam's secretary Effie Perrine and Jerry Hausner was his lawyer Sid Weiss. CBS dropped the series in 1950 when Hammett ran afoul of Congress' Un-American Activities investigators, but the show was quickly revived by NBC.
Tue
3 pm
Thu
3 am
Tue
3 pm
Thu
3 am
Pat Novak for Hire
Pat Novak for Hire was broadcast from San Francisco and debuted in 1946 as an ABC Sunday night West Coast series. Ben Murphy starred as the hard-boiled Novak during the West Coast run, but Jack Webb made the role his own when series was revived on February 13, 1949 over the entire ABC national network.
Tue
3 pm
Thu
3 am
Tue
3 pm
Thu
3 am
Charlie McCarthy Show
Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen developed his Charlie McCarthy character in high school. Bergen performed with the newsboy dummy while attending Northwestern University and eventually left college to tour vaudeville. With the decline of vaudeville during the Great Depression, Bergen moved into night spots like New York’s trendy Rainbow Room but feared his friend wouldn’t be appreciated by high society. So he gave Charlie a monocle and top hat and a "man about town" was born. Following a three-month guest stint on Rudy Vallee’s show, Edgar Bergen was signed as headliner of The Chase and Sanborn Hour. The series premiered May 9, 1937 and ended the next three seasons as radio’s top-rated series.
Tue
4 pm
Fri
6 am
Tue
4 pm
Fri
6 am
Jeff Regan, Investigator
This crime noir series featured Jack Webb as Jeff Regan, a private eye who always had a bone to pick with his boss. Frank Graham took over in the second and last season, as Webb moved on to star in and produce Dragnet.
Tue
5 pm
Fri
7 am
Tue
5 pm
Fri
7 am
Hopalong Cassidy
Hopalong Cassidy's millions of fans got a New Year's Day present in 1950 when William Boyd brought the famous Bar-20 Ranch onto the Mutual radio range. In 1950, Clarence Mulford's classic cowboy was heard on 152 radio stations, seen on 63 television outlets and appeared as a comic strip in 155 newspapers.
Tue
6 pm
Fri
4 am
Tue
6 pm
Fri
4 am
The Cisco Kid
The Cisco Kid rode onto the Mutual airwaves on October 2, 1942, in a series that starred the versatile Jackson Beck. Cisco and his partner Pancho rode off the Mutual trail on December 14, 1945, but the characters returned to the airwaves two years later in a new version that was broadcast over the Don Lee Pacific Coast Network. Jack Mather and Harry Lang (later replaced by Mel Blanc) portrayed Cisco and Pancho in the later series, which ran for a decade.
Tue
6 pm
Fri
4 am
Tue
6 pm
Fri
4 am
Life With Luigi
Longtime Hollywood character actor J. Carrol Naish became a radio star in his own right after nearly two decades toiling in the background in such films as Beau Geste, House of Frankenstein and the Batman movie serial. The native New Yorker of Irish descent finally won fame as "the little Italian immigrant" who each week wrote of his American adventures to his mama in Italy. Life with Luigi aired from September 21, 1948 through March 3, 1953 on radio, and the radio cast briefly did double duty in a short-lived 1952 television version.
Tue
7 pm
Fri
5 am
Tue
7 pm
Fri
5 am
Life of Riley
The Life of Riley featured the comic misadventures of riveter Chester A. Riley. Riley was a devoted family man with a talent for flying off the handle and a penchant for being worse. Movie star William Bendix played the title role of the lovable hardhat throughout the series.
Tue
7 pm
Fri
5 am
Tue
7 pm
Fri
5 am
Cavalcade of America
The Cavalcade of America was a historical dramatic anthology and aired from 1935 to 1953. Patriotic in nature, this series was created in part to improve the name of sponsor DuPont Chemical, which received backlash for profiting enormously from War World I. The show's themes were never voilent, but rather idealistic. Stories included the voyage of the Mayflower, the first telegraph, and Eli Whitney's cotton gin.
Tue
10 pm
Fri
6 pm
Tue
10 pm
Fri
6 pm
The Bickersons
Don Ameche and Frances Langford first portrayed The Bickersons as a skit on The Charlie McCarthy Show and moved into their own NBC series on September 8, 1946. John and Blanche Bickerson fought about anything and everything, especially Blanche's ne'er-do-well brother Amos, played by Danny Thomas. Many of the finest Bickersons skits revolved around the conflicts brought on by John’s narcolepsy and Blanche’s insomnia. The Bickersons initially ran for only two seasons, although the show was revived in 1951 as a summer series starring Lew Parker and Frances Langford.
Tue
11 pm
Fri
7 pm
Tue
11 pm
Fri
7 pm
Inner Sanctum Mysteries
Inner Sanctum's sinister host welcomed listeners "through the squeaking door to another night of horror." The show’s "squeaking door" was one of radio’s most-remembered openings and was inspired by the creaking hinges on a sound effects door at the radio studio.
Wed
12 am
Fri
2 pm
Wed
12 am
Fri
2 pm
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Richard Diamond, Private Detective premiered over the NBC network on April 24, 1949 and ran through 1952 starring Dick Powell as "radio's singing detective." Powell had first achieved movie stardom as a baby-faced crooner, and later matured to hardboiled roles, including Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe in the 1944 film Murder My Sweet.
Wed
2 am
Fri
10 am
Wed
2 am
Fri
10 am
Police Headquarters
This police procedural series was syndicated on NBC stations in 1932. It features quarter-hour stories typically based on true crimes.
Wed
3 am
Fri
11 am
Wed
3 am
Fri
11 am
Frontier Town
This western adventure serial was syndicated in 1949 by Bruce Eells Productions. Chad Remmington is a crimefighting attorney, played first by Jeff Chandler and then Reed Hadley, in the small town of Dos Rios. Cherokee O'Bannon, Remington's sidekick, was played by Wade Crosby.
Wed
6 am
Fri
12 am
Wed
6 am
Fri
12 am
Romance of the Ranchos
This historical drama told tales of early Southern California in "the days of the dons". Stories were based on records from Title Insurance, the show's sponsor. History was made as land changed hands and purposes, causing listeners to think twice about the stories behind their own West Coast land the in mid-1940s.
Wed
7 am
Fri
1 am
Wed
7 am
Fri
1 am
Dangerous Assignment
Dangerous Assignment premiered over the NBC airwaves on February 6, 1950 and starred Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell, globe-trotting government troubleshooter. Dangerous Assignment was later revived as a 1953 syndicated series starring Lloyd Burrell.
Wed
1 pm
Sat
9 am
Wed
1 pm
Sat
9 am
Burns & Allen Show
George and Gracie first performed on air over the BBC while touring England after an NBC executive rejected their act insisting that "Gracie’s voice is unfit for radio." Burns and Allen won a regular spot on The Robert Burns Panatella Program February 22, 1932 and moved into the top spot when Guy Lombardo left the series. The Burns and Allen Show aired through May 17, 1950 on radio and for another decade on television. Jack Benny and George Burns were best friends in real life and often were guests on each other’s programs.
Wed
4 pm
Fri
8 am
Wed
4 pm
Fri
8 am
Great Gildersleeve
The Great Gildersleeve featured one of radio’s greatest casts of comedic players. The Great Gildersleeve aired until March 21, 1957, with Willard Waterman taking over the title role for the final seven radio season and three television seasons.
Wed
5 pm
Fri
9 am
Wed
5 pm
Fri
9 am
Meet Mister McNutley
This CBS sitcom starred Ray Milland as Ray McNutley, a "dreamy" English professor at the all-girl school Lynnhaven College. The show also aired concurrently on television with most of the same cast members.
Wed
5 pm
Fri
9 am
Wed
5 pm
Fri
9 am
Sunday
- Sunday
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
7 pm
The Whistler
The Whistler whistled its way onto the airwaves beginning May 16, 1942 and its eerie 13-note theme set the tone for West Coast radio mystery for the next decade. "I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."
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" .__('Sorry, program information is not available for the selected service.', 'siriusxm')."
7 pm
The Whistler
The Whistler whistled its way onto the airwaves beginning May 16, 1942 and its eerie 13-note theme set the tone for West Coast radio mystery for the next decade. "I am the Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."
8 pm
Suspense
Suspense debuted on June 17, 1942 as a sustaining summer replacement, returned that fall and continued in the CBS lineup September 30, 1962. "Radio's outstanding theatre of thrills" is recognized as one of the finest dramatic series in the history of broadcasting.
8 pm
Suspense
Suspense debuted on June 17, 1942 as a sustaining summer replacement, returned that fall and continued in the CBS lineup September 30, 1962. "Radio's outstanding theatre of thrills" is recognized as one of the finest dramatic series in the history of broadcasting.
9 pm
Big Town
Edward G. Robinson starred as crusading newspaper editor Steve Wilson from October 19, 1937 through July 2, 1942. The Hollywood great was glad to play an idealistic role in contrast to his many film gangster portrayals. Big Town at its peak was radio’s highest-rated drama and was only eclipsed by The Jack Benny Program in ratings. The series was cancelled when Edward G. Robinson quit in 1942 but was resurrected the following year with Edward Pawley (and later Walter Greaza) as Wilson and Fran Carlon as Lorelei. The revived Big Town aired from October 5, 1943 through June 25, 1952.
9 pm
Big Town
Edward G. Robinson starred as crusading newspaper editor Steve Wilson from October 19, 1937 through July 2, 1942. The Hollywood great was glad to play an idealistic role in contrast to his many film gangster portrayals. Big Town at its peak was radio’s highest-rated drama and was only eclipsed by The Jack Benny Program in ratings. The series was cancelled when Edward G. Robinson quit in 1942 but was resurrected the following year with Edward Pawley (and later Walter Greaza) as Wilson and Fran Carlon as Lorelei. The revived Big Town aired from October 5, 1943 through June 25, 1952.
10 pm
Lux Radio Theatre
The Lux Radio Theatre was one of radio's most popular series attracting Hollywood's top stars and boasting a lavish budget. The Lux Radio Theatre began in 1934 featuring dramas from Broadway, but there was not enough material to support the show. In an attempt to reverse the slipping ratings, the show was moved to Hollywood in 1936, where there was plenty of material and talent.
10 pm
Lux Radio Theatre
The Lux Radio Theatre was one of radio's most popular series attracting Hollywood's top stars and boasting a lavish budget. The Lux Radio Theatre began in 1934 featuring dramas from Broadway, but there was not enough material to support the show. In an attempt to reverse the slipping ratings, the show was moved to Hollywood in 1936, where there was plenty of material and talent.
11 pm
Milton Berle Show
Milton Berle Show
11 pm
Milton Berle Show
Milton Berle Show
11 pm
Dennis Day Show
Born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty in an Irish family in the Bronx, Dennis Day first became known for his tenor voice as a replacement singer on Jack Benny's radio show on October 8, 1939. Benny and Day would remain friends and colleagues the rest of their lives. "A Day In The Life Of Dennis Day" aired on NBC from 1946-1951, while Day also regularly appeared on Benny's show singing, telling jokes, and performing impressions.
11 pm
Dennis Day Show
Born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty in an Irish family in the Bronx, Dennis Day first became known for his tenor voice as a replacement singer on Jack Benny's radio show on October 8, 1939. Benny and Day would remain friends and colleagues the rest of their lives. "A Day In The Life Of Dennis Day" aired on NBC from 1946-1951, while Day also regularly appeared on Benny's show singing, telling jokes, and performing impressions.
12 am
Michael Shayne
Detective Michael Shayne was created by Davis Dresser (writing under the pen name Brett Halliday). "Dividend of Death," the first of more than 60 novels featuring the Miami-based private detective was published in 1939. The adventures of the "reckless red-headed Irishman," played by Wally Maher, came to radio October 16, 1944 and aired for 3 years.
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" .__('Sorry, program information is not available for the selected service.', 'siriusxm')."
12 am
Michael Shayne
Detective Michael Shayne was created by Davis Dresser (writing under the pen name Brett Halliday). "Dividend of Death," the first of more than 60 novels featuring the Miami-based private detective was published in 1939. The adventures of the "reckless red-headed Irishman," played by Wally Maher, came to radio October 16, 1944 and aired for 3 years.