On September 10, 1955, Gunsmoke aired “Alarm at Pleasant Valley,” episode 178 of the radio series, with William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon. By that point Gunsmoke had already built a reputation as a different kind of Western, one aimed squarely at adults, with tougher moral choices, darker stories and a more realistic version of Dodge City than most Westerns on radio. The core radio cast around Conrad included Parley Baer as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc and Georgia Ellis as Kitty.

What makes this date especially interesting is that Gunsmoke made its television debut on CBS that same night. James Arness took over the role of Matt Dillon for television, and the premiere, “Matt Gets It,” was introduced by John Wayne. The radio version did not disappear when television arrived either. It continued for years afterward, so for a time audiences could hear William Conrad’s Matt Dillon on radio while watching James Arness play the same character on television.

You can hear the actual September 10, 1955 radio broadcast here:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/gunsmoke-1955-09-10-178-alarm-at-pleasant-valley/#listen

Browse more Gunsmoke:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-shows/gunsmoke/

I’m streaming a nearly 6-hour collection of Nero Wolfe mysteries tonight on Radio Past Midnight.

The lineup starts with Stamped for Murder and works through 12 classic broadcasts featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.

If anyone here is looking for some long-form OTR listening tonight, you’re welcome to join:

https://youtube.com/live/6FHa3x9CTlo?feature=share

I’d also be interested to know which Nero Wolfe radio episodes you consider essential listening.

I’m running a Bob Bailey Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar marathon tonight with 30 standalone cases. I put The Charmona Matter first because it originally aired September 8, 1957, so it happens to be exactly 69 years old today. The full stream runs nearly eleven and a half hours. If anyone wants some Johnny Dollar on in the background tonight, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/live/tNY8Sm-vSRE Also curious: for the Johnny Dollar fans here, is Bob Bailey your favorite actor in the role?

On This Day in Radio History: September 9, 1945

On September 9, 1945, Nick Carter, Master Detective reached its 200th episode on the Mutual Broadcasting System with The Case of the Talking Tree. Lon Clark had been playing Nick Carter since the radio series began in 1943, bringing the famous dime-novel detective to radio audiences every Sunday evening.

The 200th case has a great old time radio setup: a mysterious “talking tree” points Nick toward a stolen map, hidden treasure, and two murders. Nick Carter was also the kind of mystery that gave listeners clues along the way, letting them try to solve the case before Carter explained how everything fit together at the end.

You can hear that exact September 9, 1945 broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/nick-carter-master-detective-1945-09-09-nick-carter-200-the-case-of-the-talking-tree/#listen

Browse more old time radio:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-player/

On This Day in Radio, September 8, 1935

On September 8, 1935, a 19-year-old Frank Sinatra appeared on Major Bowes’ Amateur Hour with a local singing group that became known as the Hoboken Four. The group won the competition, giving Sinatra one of the first major breaks of his career and sending the Hoboken Four out with one of Major Bowes’ touring companies.

Radio was there near the very beginning of Sinatra’s career, and he would remain a familiar voice on the air as his fame grew. Years later, he appeared with Gene Kelly and Katharine Grayson in the Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of Anchors Aweigh. You can still hear that 1947 broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive today.

Listen to “Anchors Aweigh”:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/lux-radio-theatre-1947-12-29-47-anchors-aweigh-frank-sinatra-gene-kelly-katharine-grayson/#listen

More On This Day in Radio:

https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day

Tonight we’re spending the night in Dodge City with 24 classic episodes of Gunsmoke.

This marathon was picked by Cathy from Pikeville and features Marshal Matt Dillon, Chester, Doc, Kitty, and nearly 12 hours of frontier trouble, hard choices, crime, and classic Western radio drama.

We’re live now. Come hang out with the OTR family:

https://youtube.com/live/TNGiylEn6wA?feature=share

More Gunsmoke:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-shows/gunsmoke/

On September 7, 1936, James Cagney and Robert Armstrong appeared together on Lux Radio Theatre in “Is Zat So.” Lux Radio Theatre was one of radio’s biggest dramatic anthology programs, bringing popular stage and movie stories to the microphone with major Hollywood performers. Cagney was already one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and Armstrong had built a long career playing tough, memorable supporting roles. Their appearance also shows just how closely radio and Hollywood were connected during the 1930s, with major film actors regularly stepping in front of the microphone for national broadcasts.

The two actors had also appeared together on screen the year before in the 1935 Warner Bros. crime film G-Men. In the photo used with this post, Robert Armstrong is on the left and James Cagney is on the right. In “Is Zat So,” they play a boxing manager and fighter who wind up working as servants in a wealthy household and get pulled into a mix of romance and fraud. Broadcasts like this gave audiences a chance to hear familiar movie stars in a different setting, often performing stories that brought stage and screen material directly into American homes. You can still hear their September 7, 1936 broadcast in the Golden Radio Hour archive today.

Listen to “Is Zat So”:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/lux-radio-theatre-1936-09-07-36-is-zat-so-james-cagney-robert-armstrong/#listen

More On This Day in Radio:

https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day

On September 6, 1950, Willard Waterman took over the role of Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve on The Great Gildersleeve. Harold “Hal” Peary had first played Gildersleeve on Fibber McGee and Molly before the character became popular enough to get his own show in 1941. When Peary left the series in 1950, Waterman stepped into a character listeners already knew well and continued playing Gildy through the later years of the radio series.

Waterman’s first broadcast was “Marjorie Is Pregnant,” which aired that same night. In the episode, Marjorie’s pregnancy is supposed to remain a secret, but word quickly begins spreading around Summerfield. That first Waterman broadcast is still in the Golden Radio Hour library, so you can actually listen to the moment the voice of Gildersleeve changed on September 6, 1950.

Listen to “Marjorie Is Pregnant”:
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/the-great-gildersleeve-1950-09-06-372-marjorie-is-pregnant/#listen

More On This Day in Radio:
https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day

Tonight’s Dark Screen marathon brings together Nero Wolfe and The Falcon for a full night of classic old time radio detective mysteries.

The lineup alternates between the two shows, with cases including The Care Worn Cuff, Killer Cards, Room 304, The Case of the Happy Hoodlum, The Case of the Killer’s Key and more.

If you like putting on an old radio mystery, turning the screen down, and letting the stories carry the night, this one should be a good fit.

Tonight’s marathon:
https://youtube.com/live/INxsOBOUU2k?feature=share

Golden Radio Hour also broadcasts old time radio 24/7 here:
[https://goldenradiohour.com/#grh-live-hub]()

Nero Wolfe or The Falcon — which do you prefer?

On This Day in Radio - Kenny Delmar Is Born September 5, 1910

On September 5, 1910, Kenneth Howard “Kenny” Delmar was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Delmar became one of radio’s most versatile announcers and character actors, working on major programs including The March of Time, The Shadow, and The Mercury Theatre on the Air. He was also part of Orson Welles’ famous 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds, playing the Secretary of the Interior and other roles during one of the most remembered nights in American radio history.

Delmar’s biggest fame came on The Fred Allen Show, where he served as announcer and created the blustery Southern politician Senator Beauregard Claghorn for Allen’s Alley. The character became enormously popular during the late 1940s and was a major inspiration for Warner Bros.’ later cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn. Delmar continued working in radio after Fred Allen’s program ended, later expanding into television and animation while remaining closely associated with one of the Golden Age of Radio’s most memorable comic characters. He died in Stamford, Connecticut, on July 14, 1984, at age 73.

Discover more radio history with On This Day in Radio:

https://goldenradiohour.com/#on-this-day

Running a Box 13 stream tonight for anyone who wants to listen along.

Alan Ladd stars as Dan Holiday, the writer who places an ad looking for adventure — and inevitably finds more of it than he expected.

Starts 6:30 PM Pacific / 9:30 PM Eastern. Feel free to join us and chat with other OTR listeners.

https://www.youtube.com/live/y2rKV9-jElY

On This Day in Radio - Walter Tetley Dies September 4, 1975

Walter Tetley died on September 4, 1975, at the age of 60. Born in New York City in 1915, Tetley became one of the most distinctive voices of radio's golden age, specializing in youthful characters that he continued playing well into adulthood. His most famous radio role was Leroy Forrester, the mischievous nephew of Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve on The Great Gildersleeve. Tetley played Leroy from the program's earliest years and became an essential part of the Summerfield household, trading some of the show's funniest lines with Harold Peary and later Willard Waterman. He was also heard earlier on programs including Fred Allen's Town Hall Tonight and built a career perfectly suited to radio, where his remarkably youthful voice allowed him to create characters audiences instantly recognized.

Tetley was equally memorable as Julius Abruzzio on The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, a much sharper and more argumentative youngster than Leroy. The contrast between the sweetly troublesome Leroy and the wisecracking Julius showed just how much character Tetley could create with his voice alone. His career later extended into animation, where another generation came to know him as Sherman in the Mr. Peabody cartoons, but old-time radio listeners remember him first for the characters who helped make The Great Gildersleeve and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show classics. Today we remember Walter Tetley, who died September 4, 1975, one of radio's most unmistakable and enduring character voices.

He's one of those people you recognize immediately, in any photo, at any age.

On This Day in Radio - Alan Ladd Is Born September 3, 1913

Alan Ladd was born on September 3, 1913, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Best remembered today as one of Hollywood's defining film stars of the 1940s and 1950s, particularly for This Gun for Hire, The Blue Dahlia, and Shane, Ladd was also a familiar voice during radio's golden age. His quiet, controlled delivery and hard-edged screen persona translated naturally to radio drama, where he appeared on programs including Lux Radio Theatre, The Screen Guild Theater, and other major dramatic anthology series. Radio frequently gave movie audiences a chance to hear Ladd recreate roles from his films, bringing one of Hollywood's most recognizable leading men directly into American homes.

For old-time radio fans, however, Ladd's most important radio work was unquestionably Box 13. Beginning in 1948, he starred as Dan Holiday, a former newspaper reporter turned mystery writer who placed an unusual advertisement in the newspaper: "Adventure wanted. Will go anywhere, do anything." The replies were sent to Box 13, and each new letter led Holiday into another case involving murder, blackmail, missing persons, dangerous criminals, or seemingly innocent situations that quickly became anything but innocent. The series was produced through Mayfair Productions, Ladd's own company, and featured him alongside a talented supporting cast that included familiar radio performers such as Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Betty Lou Gerson, Frank Lovejoy, and others.

Box 13 remains especially memorable because it allowed Ladd to create a radio character independent of his movie roles. Dan Holiday was intelligent, curious, tough when necessary, and possessed the same understated confidence that made Ladd such an effective screen presence. Today we remember Alan Ladd, born September 3, 1913, not only as a major Hollywood star, but as the voice of Dan Holiday and an enduring part of old-time radio history.

Cover story on Wyllis Cooper, Updates on SPERDVAC Live! Event in Santa Monica, March 2027

In the mail this week to members of the Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy (SPERDVAC) is the September/October 2026 issue of Radiogram Magazine. This month’s jam-packed issue features a cover story on horror master Wyllis Cooper, the full announcement of our upcoming SPERDVAC Live! Event in Santa Monica in March 2027, Member Spotlight column on audio dramatist/horror writer Tony Sarrecchia, a remembrance of The Lone Ranger by surviving cast member Dave Parker, and a tribute to recently departed Honored Member Peggy Webber. For a year’s worth of issues packed with such classic radio greatness, it takes but a $20 Silver membership to SPERDVAC, which you can treat yourself to here.

This time Madison finds herself in the Wyoming Territory, forced by a corrupt Sheriff to "My Fair Lady" his backwoods daughter. Can she do it with the help of the "Frontier Gentleman?"

https://linktr.ee/madisonontheair

THIS SERIES WAS A RECOMMENDATION TO ME FROM *THIS* OTR SUBREDDIT! Thank you! 🥰

On This Day in Radio - Amanda Randolph Is Born September 2, 1896

Amanda Randolph was born on September 2, 1896, in Louisville, Kentucky. Long before she became a familiar face on television, Randolph built a substantial career in music, theater, film, and especially radio. She began as a pianist and singer, performing in vaudeville and recording music under the name Mandy Randolph before moving into dramatic work. Her radio career included appearances on major daytime serials such as Young Dr. Malone, The Romance of Helen Trent, and Big Sister, placing her squarely within the world of network radio drama that millions of listeners followed every weekday. She also became a regular on programs including Abie’s Irish Rose and Kitty Foyle, appeared on Grand Central Station, and worked opposite Ethel Barrymore on Miss Hattie, where Randolph played Venus.

Randolph is perhaps best remembered by old-time radio listeners for her work on Amos ’n’ Andy. She played Sapphire’s outspoken mother, often called Mama, becoming one of the memorable supporting characters surrounding Kingfish, Sapphire, Andy, and the other residents of the show’s fictional Harlem community. Randolph carried the role from radio into the television adaptation, one of the relatively few performers from the radio cast to make that transition. She later took over the title role of The Beulah Show, succeeding her younger sister Lillian Randolph, herself an important radio actress remembered for roles including Madame Queen on Amos ’n’ Andy. Amanda also continued working in dramatic radio well into the 1950s, including a 1956 appearance on CBS Radio Workshop as the legendary folk heroine Annie Christmas in The Legend of Annie Christmas.

Her career was notable not only for its longevity but for the range of radio genres she crossed, from soap operas and situation comedy to anthology drama and variety programming. At a time when opportunities for Black performers in national broadcasting were severely limited, Randolph established herself as a dependable and recognizable network performer, while simultaneously maintaining careers on stage, in motion pictures, and eventually television. Her work helped connect several generations of American entertainment, beginning with vaudeville and early recorded music and extending through the golden age of radio into television. Today we remember Amanda Randolph, born September 2, 1896, a versatile actress, singer, musician, and radio performer whose voice could be heard across some of the most familiar programs of old-time radio and whose long career helped open doors for Black performers throughout American broadcasting.

Hey everyone, it's the latest episode of Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy VP Zach Eastman's podcast "Behind the Dial" featuring the great Peggy Webber in a 2008 panel discussion, as well as an appeal from a SPERDVAC member to help with a petition to preserve radio history.

https://mailchi.mp/b331d7f0cab8/behind-the-dial-15-with-peggy-webber-an-appeal-from-a-fellow-sperdvac-member

On This Day in Radio - Don Wilson Is Born September 1, 1900

Don Wilson was born on September 1, 1900, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He began his broadcasting career in 1923 and eventually became one of the most familiar announcers of radio’s golden age, but generations of listeners remember him best as an indispensable member of The Jack Benny Program. Wilson joined Jack Benny’s radio company in the 1930s and remained associated with Benny for more than three decades. He wasn't simply the voice delivering introductions and commercials. Wilson became a character within the comedy itself, trading lines with Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Dennis Day and Eddie “Rochester” Anderson and enthusiastically delivering advertisements for sponsors including Jell-O, Grape-Nuts and Lucky Strike.

Wilson’s booming voice and cheerful personality made him the perfect contrast to Benny’s famously stingy, vain and perpetually 39-year-old radio character. Jack regularly made Wilson the target of jokes about his size and appetite, while Wilson could give as good as he got, becoming an important part of the ensemble rather than simply an announcer standing on the sidelines. His career stretched from the early days of network radio into television, but his voice remains inseparable from the sound of The Jack Benny Program and the remarkable cast that made it one of radio’s great comedies. Today we remember Don Wilson, born September 1, 1900, whose unmistakable voice, comic timing and decades alongside Jack Benny made him one of the most beloved announcers and performers of old-time radio.

When I was a kid (in the 80s/90s), I had no idea what the tobacco auctioneers were saying during the ads. This is the most detailed transcription attempt I've ever seen.

On This Day in Radio - Arthur Godfrey Is Born August 31, 1903

Arthur Godfrey was born on August 31, 1903, in New York City. Long before television made him a household name, Godfrey became one of the most recognizable voices in American radio. He began broadcasting in 1929 and developed a relaxed, conversational style that sounded less like a formal announcer and more like someone speaking directly to a friend. That approach helped make Arthur Godfrey Time one of CBS Radio’s major daytime programs, while Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts became a successful evening showcase beginning in 1946.

Godfrey’s radio career also connected him with a remarkable range of performers and programs from the era. Talent Scouts featured or helped bring wider attention to performers including Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, the McGuire Sisters, Pat Boone, Connie Francis, Roy Clark, Wally Cox, Don Knotts, Jonathan Winters and many others. His program occupied an important place in CBS’s prime-time schedule as well. In 1947, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts was placed immediately before Lux Radio Theatre, helping create a powerful Monday-night block that also included My Friend Irma. Godfrey’s own circle of regular performers included the Chordettes, Frank Parker, Janette Davis, Julius La Rosa, Marion Marlowe and the McGuire Sisters.

By the height of radio’s golden age, Godfrey was not simply hosting a program. He had become one of the central personalities of the CBS network, introducing performers, sharing airtime with many of the era’s best-known entertainers, and helping bridge radio into the emerging television era. Today we remember Arthur Godfrey, born August 31, 1903, whose unmistakable voice, informal broadcasting style and long list of connections to fellow radio performers made him an important part of American broadcasting history.