Radio Shows

 I love to listen to the old radio shows from the 1940s and on.  When I was growing up, one of the local radio stations, 1100 WBT, would play episodes from time to time and that is where I first really heard them.  I remember one Christmas that they played about 4 hours' worth of Christmas episodes.  One of the most touching things I heard was an episode of "Amos 'n' Andy" when Amos explains The Lord's Prayer to his daughter.  And one Halloween, they played an episode of Suspense with Agnes Moorehead.  She did a version of the story "Sorry, Wrong Number" and it scared the crap out of me. It's amazing what sitting in the dark and letting my imagination run wild can do!

I found a place online to listen to the old shows. It's a website called ABN Old-Time Radio Antioch.  I love this station.  They do their best to play shows that were aired on that specific day.  Sometimes that results in some interesting news stories because they had to break into the programming. Here are some of the shows that I love listening to.  Do you still listen?

1. The Man Called X

A radio espionage drama about an agent, Mr. X, who takes on cases set in exotic locations.

2. I Was a Communist for the FBI

Based on the memoirs of undercover agent, Matt Cvetic, this series covers Cvetic's infiltration of the Communist Party of the United States.

3. The Lives of Harry Lime

A prequal radio series to the film "The Third Man", this series follows the misadventures of con artist Harry Lime

4. The Life of Riley

A situation comedy about Chester A. Riley, a wing riveter at an aircraft plant and his family.

5. The Great Gildersleeve

A spin off of Fibber McGee and Molly, this show was centered around the pompous Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve and his balancing raising children, work and social life. 

6. Suspense

Subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills", this anthology series focused on suspense-thriller stories staring leading Hollywood stars

7. The Jack Benny Show

A comedy set in Hollywood about tight wad Jack Benny, his producer Don Wilson, his friend (and real life wife) Mary Livingston and his butler Rochester

8. Fibber McGee and Molly

The misadventures of a working-class couple and their neighbors and acquaintances in Wistful Vista

9. The Whistler

A mystery series that started each week with footsteps and the haunting whistling theme.

10. The Shadow

The adventures of Lamont Cranston and his companion Margo Lane. Cranston used his hypnotic powers to cloud men's minds so that they could not see him in order to solve crimes