Nelson Olmsted's Short Stories

Nelson Olmsted

(4.5 stars; 2 reviews)

Nelson Olmsted was one of the last great radio horror performers. Born Leroy Nelson Olmsted, Jr. on January 28, 1914 in Minnesota, he was raised in Texas, where he became an announcer for local radio stations. For the album notes on his Sleep No More album, he offered a bit of biography: “By the time I moved to WBAP in Ft. Worth... the announcer's life seemed endlessly sterile. What to do about it? Dramatic shows cost money and there were no budgets. The cheapest drama for radio I could think of was good literature, read aloud. Especially the work of that great dramatist who never wrote a play - Edgar Allan Poe. WBAP gave me some time with which to experiment. That was way back in 1939 - and it worked. By 1940 the storytelling show was on NBC for a 10 year run.” Olmsted's skill at narration, and in assuming the voices of each character as he told the tale, led to a variety of programs, such as Story for Today and World's Greatest Stories . Most actors, reading a Fitz-James O'Brien line like, "I felt two sinewy hands grasp me around the throat endeavoring to choke me," would not act it out. Olmsted did, his voice tightening up as if he actually did have two hands around his throat. In this regard, he was one of the last narrators showing the influence of old-time radio. Voice-over artists who often recorded for the burgeoning spoken arts labels-performers such as Alexander Scourby, Norman Rose and Martin Donegan - did not use the technique. - From Horror Stars on Radio by Ronald L. Smith I’ve managed to track down several episodes in good quality Mp3, but unfortunately most of  these files are low quality Mp3s, which I’ll replace if I find better versions.  I’ve also posted episodes of Olmsted’s other series The World’s Greatest Short Stories (1939) and Sleep No More (1956) . NELSON OLMSTED’S SHORT STORIES Fight for Sister Joe (by Richard Coleman) The Price of the Head (by John Russell) 47-08-06 Mrs Sabin (by Caroline Slade) 47-08-13 Souvenir (by Elsie Lee) 47-08-20 The Night (by Ray Bradbury) 47-09-25 The Car We Had To Push (by James Thurber) 47-10-14 Seed of Destruction (by Gerald Kersh) 47-xx-xx The Tarpon (by Cyril Hume) 48-07-16 Corporal Harding (by Richard Ely Danielson) 48-07-20 Farewell To A Friend (by Louis Bromfield) 48-07-22 God And A Rooster (by H. Gordon Green) 48-07-24 A Shepherd and a Shepherdess (by Elizabeth Goudge) 48-12-03 The Outcasts (by B. J. Chute) 47-xx-xx Nelson Olmsted's KMBC Audition STORY FOR TONIGHT 47-06-27 Miracle Man (by J. Roger Weitzel) 47-07-06 The Escape of Mr. Trimm (by Irvin S. Cobb) 47-07-27 The Soul Trapper (by James Francis Dwyer) NELSON OLMSTED’S PLAYHOUSE 46-07-25 Elementals (by Stephen Vincent Benet) 46-08-22 Mr. Arcularis (by Conrad Aiken)

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.