Tonight we begin with two back to back episodes of the best Western ever heard on radio… Gunsmoke, starring William Conrad (above photo) .  First up will be a June 23rd, 1957 episode called “Home Surgery.”   Next, from July 7th, 1957, “Word of Honor.”

Gunsmoke, created by Norman MacDonnell prided itself in crisp, well-written scripts, authentic sound effects, outstanding music, and of course incredible acting.   Parley Baer  is “Chester,”  Georgia Ellis plays “Miss Kitty,”  and Howard McNear is “Doc.”  The setting is Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870′s.  

Gunsmoke was heard on radio form 1952 to 1961 producing 413 episodes.   The TV version ran from 1955 to 1975 with 635 episodes, the longest running television series to date.  There is a reason this program was so popular…listen in and find out why!

Jack Mather as "The Cisco Kid"

Next,  in tonight’s episode,  Jack Mather stars as The Cisco Kid and Harry Lang plays his sidekick Pancho.  The series, called a “juvenile Western adventure series” ran from 1942 to 1956 with over 600 radio episodes aired.  Other actors played Cisco and Pancho at different times, but Mather and Lang were the longest running stars of the series.

Tonight’s show is entitled “The Divining Rod of Michael O’Flaherty” and was originally broadcast on the Mutual Network in March of 1955.

It’s a fun show, combining action, adventure, romance, and humor.  This program had many toy spinoffs including lunch boxes, toy gun and holster sets, collecting cards, and more!   Many of these items are worth quite a bit of money in today’s market.  Check your attics… there may be a goldmine of  ”Cisco” memorabilia up there!

Jack Webb stars in the precursor to Dragnet, as he plays a private detective… a private eye… for a business man known as Anthony Lyons (played by Marvin Miller).   Jack Webb’s character is called Jeff Regan and he calls himself the “Lyon’s Eye” on Jeff Regan, Investigator.

In this series, if you listen to Webb’s delivery of lines, the cadence, the monotone… you can almost hear Sgt. Friday from Dragnet.  It is as if he was trying to develop the character that would eventually be his signature character in radio and television.

Tonight’s episode is entitled “The Lady with the Golden Hair” and is from July 31st, 1948.   This show is very well written and acted and features a veteran ensemble cast.  It is well worth hearing again or for the first time!

Join host, John Lovering , for a couple of hours of classic old time radio programming tonight and every Tuesday from 6 to 8 pm.

You can listen locally at 106.1 fm or streaming live online at www.wscafm.org and click on “Listen Now” at the top of the page.

For more information about Audio Theatre and our Audio Theatre Players: www.heirloomradio.com