The Last Radio Drama 1962


(5 stars; 1 reviews)

The Last Radio Drama 1962 Art Chimes  All Things Considered 30 September 2002 Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. September 23, 1962. CBS net. "The Deadly Crystal Matter". Sustaining. Mrs. Weatherwell's jewels have been stolen; they were worth $300,000! Johnny nearly has a traffic accident with a beautiful woman, then sits next to her on an airplane, then meets her at Mrs. Weatherwell's house when she returns the missing jewels! The final public service announcement and system cue have been deleted. Carl Frank, Sam Grey, Rennie Santoni, Walter Otto (sound patterns), Art Hannes (announcer), Fred Hendrickson (producer, director), Olive Deering, Elspeth Eric, Casey Allen, Dean Carlson, Mandel Kramer, Ethel Huber (music supervisor), Larry Solow (technical supervisor), Jack Johnstone (writer). 24:10.   Suspense. September 30, 1962. CBS net. "Devilstone". Parliament Cigarettes. An Irishman goes to investigate his haunted house, with unexpected results. The last show of the series, one of the last two shows of, "The Golden Age of Radio.". Christopher Carey, Neil Fitzgerald, Jonathan Bundy (writer), Fred Hendrickson (producer, director), Gilbert Mack, Walter Greaza, Reynold Osborne, Bright Milano, Ethel Huber (music supervisor), Walter Otto (sound patterns), Fred Cusick (technical director), Bernie Seabrooks (associate director), Stuart Metz (announcer), Mike Wallace (commercial spokesman). 24:33.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.

Reviews

When the music was over... the late great media of the mind


(5 stars)

I chanced upon this fine little page of homage, being a thanks and "Hatlo Tip of the Hat" to OTR, Old Time Radio, or better known as Network Radio Broadcasting. TV was becoming KIng of the Airwaves, and the radio, the wonderful medium of the mind that told stories and shared entertainment with only sound, was somehow doomed. This fine little page gives us the NPR Homage via a writer/reporter named Art Chimes, presented by (Sounds Like) Robert Seigel...and then, the last two episodes that actually ended Network Radio Drama. Of course, AM and FM radio continued, but the idea of doing drama on radio was over for entire networks such as NBC, CBS, Mutual, and independent stations that produced shows that were picked up by the national networks. See: https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Suspense_Singles_By_Year_1962 SO, I was 15 when I may have, or might not have, heard these last radio shows. I know I loved both Suspense and YTJD, and Have Gun Will Travel, and Gunsmoke when I was a kid in America. Here's the last of the vanishing drama on radio. Except for the final curtain of: https://archive.org/details/cbs_radio_mystery_theater Just be reassured, that here on Internet Archive there's literally hundreds of hours of radio for you to enjoy, from not only the USA, but all over the world. I must offer, for those who want to know more, the best book on the medium of Old Time Radio, the book ON THE AIR, The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Rado, by John Dunning. I have my beautiful Oxford University Press copy of 1998, and you can perhaps find that too, but in case you don't, note: https://archive.org/details/onairencyclop00dunn

Last Radio Dramas?!!


(0 stars)

NOPE. YOU ARE WRONG. 1] Check out the 1964 - 1965 ABC Network programme "Theater Five". Not only are these top drawer scripts, but the finest radio actors of the era were used. Theater Five had high budget and production values. The Theater Five Project is a new work that has been posted on The Archive.org site. Many missing programmes are now available and many of the poor audio quality programmes have been re-mastered for better audio. ALSO 2] What about The CBS Mystery Theater?! The only problem here is that CBS has never released the original master tapes. Still we have most of the shows as air-checks, or taped off the air. —Over 1400 shows were made —every week night!! The finest radio actors were used, —many of them from from the late 1940s - 1960s. E.g., Mandell Kramer, Elspith Eric, Eliot Reed, E.G. Marshall, Jack and Tammy Grimes, Jackson Beck, Mason Adams, Robert Dryden, —and this is just off the top of my tiny pointed head! All I can say is, "CBS, RELEASE THE ORIGINAL TAPES!!" 3] THE BBC has NEVER abandoned radio drama, and, to this minute, is still producing the finest radio drama in the world using the finest actors and finest scripts. All you have to do is search under "BBC Radio Drama" or go to the BBC radio web site. TRY the link https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/category/drama?sort=popular In England, The BBC (TV and radio) are still maintained via a public tax. That the BBC freely releases their radio dramas to the world represents a largess that is unprecedented —Thank you BBC!

You may find this link of interest


(0 stars)

This post has a podcast about September 30, 1962 and radio drama thereafter https://archive.org/details/1962-09-30 There are also other resources about what led up to that day. One of the "last gasps" before CBS Radio Mystery Theater came to the air was ABC's Theater Five. The audio of the series has gotten a significant upgrade and has been part of a larger project to "re-discover" the series. https://archive.org/details/T5project

Thank you!


(0 stars)

Good memories for me too!