Join host  John Lovering for another two hours of classic old time radio… designed to entertain and educate!  Sit back, relax and enjoy some of the best radio had to offer  from the 1940′s - 1960′s.   During the “Golden Age of Radio,” the radio was king.  Millions upon millions of Americans gathered around their radios to listen to thousands of broadcasts designed to entertain, inform, and enrich the lives of their listeners.  Radio did more to bring America together during the Great Depression and World War II than any other medium.

 More information about tonight’s show, including photos?  Visit:  http://heirloomradio.com/audio_theatre_page.htm    Comments?  Questions?  Show Requests?  - email: jlovering@wscafm.org

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

This evening you will hear The Most Dangerous Game, an episode of Escape from October 1, 1947.  Then Quiet Please with narrator and actor, Ernest Chappell…from November 21st, 1948 in One for the Book.   Next The CBS Workshop (AKA Columbia Workshop) from May 26, 1957 features I Have Three Heads, a very unique and creative production about a talking tape recorder… really! 

Finally you will hear episode #4 of Hans Holbin’s Doll Factory from June 15, 1940 on The Adventures of Superman starring Clayton “Bud” Collyer.

GO HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PHOTOS REGARDING TONIGHT’S FEATURED SHOWS: http://heirloomradio.com/audio_theatre_page.htm

Join host John Lovering (photo above) for two hours of classic old time radio programming…. part of the over 3000 shows in his collection…. that are not only entertaining, but educational as these programs give listeners  insite into the American culture at the time these programs were produced.

Comments?  Questions?  Requests for Shows?  Interested in our Audio Theatre group? - email: jlovering@wscafm.org

Locally at 106.1 FM or Streaming online at www.wscafm.org and click on “Listen Now” at the top of the page.

Join Audio Theatre host,  John Lovering (photo)  as he introduces you to some of the best programming heard by millions of  listeners  during the “Golden Age of Radio”… when radio was THE source of entertainment, news, culture, and a nice piece of furniture as well, in just about every home in the United States.  Consider Portsmouth Community Radio Audio Theatre as an educational experience in the history of American culture or, if you are old enough to remember, a memory-jogger of times long ago past.  

No matter why you listen, you will find it relaxing and enjoyable to let your imagination paint the picture of the character and events that come into your home or car  through your speaker.

Tonight Bob Hope will host Command Performance from 1943 with special guests: Betty Hutton, Judy Garland, Lana Turner, and Jimmy Durante.  Then Orson Welles will be Danny Kaye’s guest on Danny’s show from March of 1946.  Orson Welles on a comedy variety show?  You bet… and he is very funny!  Next, Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake star as Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead in Blondie Goes on a Circus Outing from October 1948.  A little out there by today’s standards… but quite funny, you know, like the “funny papers.”  Finally The Adventures of Superman with Part III of  The Hans Holbin’s Doll Factory Adventure from June of 1940.

It’s a great lineup.  Consider this your invitation to be part of the audience, and bring a friend.   Listen locally at 106.1 fm or streaming online at www.wscafm.org and click on “Listen Now” at the top of the page.

Comments? Questions? Requests?:  Email  jlovering@wscafm.org    For more information and photos on Audio Theatre and tonight’s and future shows visit: http://heirloomradio.com/audio_theatre_page.htm

Join host, John Lovering, for two hours of listening enjoyment from radio programming of the past.  Tonight I will feature Crime Classics - If a Body Needs a Body, Just Call Burke and Hare” - 12/2/1953.

Next,  Commander Buzz Corey and Cadet Happy in Space Patrol - The Sleepwalker - 1/10/1953.

Following our Sci-Fi adventure I will play Jack Webb starring in a show that was the precursor to his signature program, Dragnet, entitled  Jeff Regan, Private Investigator - The Man Who Liked Mountains 8/7/1948.

Finally, Clayton “Bud” Collyer stars as Clark Kent and Superman in The Adventures of Superman - Part II of the Hans Holbin’s Doll Factory adventure - June 1940.

Comments?  Questions?  Requests?  Email: jlovering@wscafm.org

More information about tonight’s show including photos?:   http://heirloomradio.com/audio_theatre_page.htm#WSCA-LP_Audio_Theatre_

Join host John Lovering for a relaxing two hours of classic old time radio programming combined with anecdotal information about the stars, directors, writers, and sponsors… and maybe a couple of surprises tossed in for good measure.   Tonight we are featuring two classic detective shows, a down home American folk show, and a juvenile adventure series… bring back some memories or experience audio theatre from the Golden Age of Radio for the first time, but tune in and bring a friend!

More details and photos available on tonight’s show here: http://heirloomradio.com/audio_theatre_page.htm

Listen locally at 106.1 FM or streaming live online at www.wscafm.org and click on “Listen Now” at top of page.

Comments, requests, information about our Audio Theatre Players…  email: jlovering@wscafm.org

Join Portsmouth Community Radio!   Become a member!   www.wscafm.org and click on “Join Online”

CBS Radio’s acclaimed series that took listeners back to historic events.  Using popular news commentators, historic events were recreated as if the listener was teleported back in time and the event is being reported as if it were taking place in the present.

Tonight’s show is a compilation show featuring excerpts from some of the most famous events in history as “reported” on CBS radio and “You Are There!”.   Entertaining AND Educational   Original  Air Date: 11/6/47

Elliot Lewis is the host and narrator of this excellent series that brought the listeners back to some of the most famous crimes ever committed.  The scripts were well-researched and historically accurate in every way.  The sound effects and music reflect the period in which the crime of the evening took place.

Tonight’s Show: The Killing Story of William Corder and the Farmer’s Daughter”
Original Air Date:  11/25/53

A spin-off from the Jack Benny Program, this sitcom starring bandleader Phil Harris and his  movie star songstress wife, Alice Faye and  featuring Elliot Lewis as Frankie Remley will have you laughing out loud.   Show title: “ Health Food Diet”   Original Air Date: 11/21/48

Clayton “Bud” Collyer stars as the man of steel AND Clark Kent in this 1940 series of The Adventures of Superman. Tonight hear Episode 4 of 6 with the title  ”Airplane Disaster”    Original Air Date: 5/1/40  Remaining episodes will be aired next week.

SPECIAL ADVANCED NOTICE:  August 23rd - Our very own WSCA Audio Theatre Players will star in a revival of a Suspense tale known as I Saw Myself Running. This mesmerizing story concerns the blurring of the boundary between a recurring nightmare and reality… and features Kim Sedlock, Sofia Piel,  and Mike Nelson (photo l-r).  The program was directed and edited by John Lovering. Don’t miss this one… it is something really good on radio!

Many radio shows were directed at our armed forces overseas during World War II.  “Mail Call” was one of them where men and women serving in the military could request particular stars to appear on the show.  Jack Benny’s long time announcer, Don Wilson (photo) , is the host of “Mail Call,” and in this show from 1943, his guests include: Lucille Ball, Laurel and Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, and the Williams Brothers (one of them whose name is ‘Andy’).

Jimmy Stewart (photo)  stars in “The Six Shooter.”  This very classy western, with an incredible actor, is one of the best western series heard on radio.  It was only on the air from 1953 to 54, but in the 50 plus episodes, listeners found a goldmine of excellent scripts, acting, music, and sound effects.  What makes  the series unique is that Jimmy Stewart’s character, Britt Ponsett, tells the audience what he is thinking and how he is feeling about events as they take place in the story… sort of a personal narration, done in a quiet, almost whispering voice.  It is very effective and was a very unique technique at the time.  Tonight’s episode is entitled “Thicker Than Water,” and was originally aired on March 14, 1954.

Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart are together again in a syndicated radio series entitled “Bold Venture.”   Seventy-eight episodes were produced from 1951-52 and most are preserved today.  The is a series of adventure, intrigue, mystery and romance set in the sultry city of Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean.  Bogart plays Slate Shannon and Bacall is Sailor Duval, with Jester Hairston playing King Moses.   Slate owns a run down hotel and bar in Havanah that attracts thugs and murderers like a magnet.  Duval, is Shannon’s sidekick and possibly his “love interest”… but that is a bit unclear… the story centers on the events that these two get themselves involved in and how they get out of the situations once they are in them.   Tonight’s episode is entitled “Tommy Haven.”

Clayton “Bud” Collyer returns as Clark Kent AND Superman in “The Adventures of Superman,” the CONCLUSION  of “The Donellis Protection Racket” from April 26, 1940.

Join host, John Lovering, for two hours of classic old time “Audio Theatre” programming from 6 to 8 pm.  Listen locally at 106.1 FM or streaming online at www.wscafm.org
Click on the “Listen Now” button at the top of the page.

Requests or comments: jlovering@wscafm.org    More info about Audio Theatre: www.heirloomradio.com

Tonight on Audio Theatre is “Groucho Night!”   Groucho Marx is either a guest or the host of our three featured shows.  First hear Radio Almanac with host Orson Welles from January 26, 1944 with his guest, Groucho Marx.  It may surprise you to hear Orson Welles, a classically trained actor, doing comedy routines with vaudevillian Groucho Marx, but he does,  and together they pull it off quite well.

Then Groucho is Dinah Shore’s guest on Birds Eye Open House from April 19, 1945.  This show was a great vehicle for Dinah Shore as she had a very easy going and friendly personality on the radio.  Listeners loved her.  In addition she was a musical singing sensation AND she could act as well.  So not only did Dinah sing, she acted in skits with her guests, and most of them were comedians.  Tonight’s  show is no exception as Groucho Marx is the guest star.  Now it turns out that Dinah is not the host for tonight’s show.  Her father had become very ill and she took the night off from the program to be with him.  Subbing for Dinah tonigt is the talented songstress Ginny Simms.

Finally, Groucho is the host of GI Journal from March 9, 1945.  His guest is Lucille Ball and the two of them together are hilarious in several skits.  GI Journal was broadcast via shortwave radio to our Armed Forces overseas during World War II and featured popular stars of film, stage, and radio. Due to the fact that this series was aired via shortwave, the average U.S. listener did not hear them, though many radios at the time did have shortwave band capability.

So it is One, Two, Three Groucho Marx appearances tonight on Audio Theatre.

Finally, Clayton “Bud” Collyer stars in Part 4 of the 6 part Donellis Protection Racket on The Adventures of Superman. Collyer was originally cast in the role of Clark Kent and Superman because he was very good at changing the tone and cadence of his voice as he switched characters.  This program was originally aired on April 21, 1940 and was from the most popular juvenile adventure radio program ever aired!  Look, up in the sky… and you know the rest….

Live locally at 106.1 FM or streaming online at www.wscafm.org and click ont the “Listen Now” button at the top of the page.

Requests or comments?  email: jlovering@wscafm.org More info about Audio Theatre or our Audio Theatre Players Troupe?  www.heirloomradio.com

This evening we will start off with a George Burns and Gracie Allen (photo)  Show from April 3, 1947 entitled “Easter Hat War Counsel”  Gracie and her friends hold a meeting to try to figure out a way to get their husbands to buy all of them new Easter hats for the upcoming Easter Parade.  You can bet if Gracie is behind any plan, it has got to be a bit on the wacky side!

Adelaid Fitz-Allen stars as the “Old Witch” in this horror thriller that ran from 1931 to 1938! Writer-director-actor, Alonzo Deen Cole produced about 350 scripts, but only about 35 recordings remain today.  Cole starred in many of the productions, which were very popular and quite scary at the time they were aired.

Keep in mind that radios in the home had only been available for about 10 years when this series began, so the medium was still experimenting and gathering larger and larger audiences.

This program also spanned the Great Depression, during which radio sales actually went up… Americans had little money to do much else than stay at home and listen to this new thing called “radio.”  Of course that is assuming that they had a home, which many people lost.

Tonight hear “The Bronze Venus” from July 2, 1931… and you will be amazed at the quality of the recording and the story in general considering what you will be listening to is 80 years old… but still 24 years younger than the “Old Nancy,” the Salem witch who narrates the tale. Oh, she brings her cat along as well… his name is “Satan.”

Groucho Marx stars in Blue Ribbon Town with his special guest, Charles Laughton.  This show was originally aired on January 8, 1944 and features Groucho as a resident of the make-believe American small town named after the show’s sponsor… Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.  Tonight, Groucho has an auto accident and crashes into a light pole.  He then seeks the help of Charles Laughton.

This series did not last too long as many critics felt that Groucho was using too many of his old vaudeville routines… and they were becoming a bit stale.  In addition, it is thought that most of his vaudeville act had visual humor, which was difficult to put across to a “listening” audience.  Of course, Groucho eventually found his signature program in the popular quiz show You Bet Your Life.

The above said, this show is still an interesting piece of Groucho’s early years in radio, when he was still trying to find his “radio legs” so-to-speak.

The Adventures of Superman returns once again as this ongoing serial presents Part 3 of 6 of The Donellis Protection Racket starring Clayton “Bud” Collyer as Clark Kent AND the mighty “Man of Steel”.. this show originally aired on April 19, 1940… and the series was the most popular juvenile adventure series on radio at the time…  Look, up in the sky… it’s a … well, you know how it goes by now, right?

Join host, John Lovering for two hours of classic old time radio programming…. he loves to share his passion and knowledge of this big chunk of the American culture…. Tuesday 6 to 8 pm at 106.1 locally and www.wscafm.org and click on “Listen Now” at the top of the page to tune in on the Internet.

Requests or questions: jlovering@wscafm.org More about old time radio and Audio Theatre Players ?  www.heirloomradio.com

Join host  John Lovering for a two hour journey back to the Golden Age of Radio.  Tonight you will hear COMMAND PERFORMANCE with MC Bob Hope and his special guests Lena Horne and Joan Blondell.  This show, originally broadcast on January 23, 1943 over the Armed Forces Radio Service was designed to answer the requests sent in from our men and women serving overseas during World War II.  They could request the stars they wanted to hear on Command Performance… they could “command” the performers who would be on the program.  All the stars, the studios, technicians, and equipment were donated for these broadcasts, no money was spent for this program,  which the general American public did not hear.  These shows are great comedy-variety shows starring the most popular radio, film, and stage personalities of the 1940′s. 

Next up is The Jack Benny Program from Mary 17, 1940.  Of course in every episode of the Jack Benny’s (photo)  series we get the entire ensemble cast including: Eddie “Rochester” Anderson,  Mary Livingston, Don Wilson, Dennis Day,  and bandleader Phil Harris.  Many times Mel Blanc and Frank Nelson were also heard.  Tonight’s very special guest is a 25 year old Orson Welles, who since his broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 and his work on the Mercury Theatre on the Air, had become an extremely popular guest on radio shows of the 1940s.  Interestingly, Orson Welles, known for his Shakespearean acting and radio adaptations of some of the greatest novels ever written, was also at home being in a comedy skit.  Listen in and find out how good he really was as he and the Benny cast go toe to toe.  Lot’s of fun to hear.

Next up, Mr. Vincent Price (photo) stars as the debonaire detective, Simon Templar in a series known as The Saint.  Tonight’s episode is from June 11, 1950 and is entitled “The Sinister Sneeze.”   This series ran from 1947 to 51 and though there were several “Simon Templars,”  Price is by far the best remembered of them all.  It is sort of funny to note that Simon Templar, as a detective, was far from being a “Saint.”  In fact, he often used illegal tactics to catch criminals… that is what made the show so different and entertaining.  Listeners wondered what Templar would do to solve THIS problem!   Listen in and find out how he solves the case of “The Sinister Sneeze,” and be prepared to laugh and enjoy this well written and acted detective comedy-drama.

Once again, Clayton “Bud” Collyer returns as Clark Kent AND Superman in the 1940′s  The Adventures of Superman.   Tonight it is Part 2 of 6 of “The Donellis Protection Racket”  Superman and Lois Lane of the
Daily Planet Newspaper team up to break up another major crime syndicate operation.   Look!  Up in the sky!  Its a bird!  It’s a…. well, you know the rest, and hear “the rest” tonight on Portsmouth Community Radio’s Audio Theatre.

Questions - Comments - Show requests -  jlovering@wscafm.org      More Audio Theatre information and information about our Audio Theatre Players at www.heirloomradio.com

Join host , John Lovering for two hours of classic radio programming from the 1940′s…. great then… and now!

First, Alan Ladd (photo above)  stars as Dan Holliday, a newspaper reporter who is an aspiring author.  He gets his story ideas by putting an ad in the paper that he works for…”Will Go Anywhere and Do Anything… Write Box 13.”  Now an ad like that is bound to bring out a few people who could be considered a little dangerous… and that is exactly what happens. 

The premise of Box 13  is  novel  and each episode is action-packed with lots of twist and turns.   Combined with excellent acting and musical score this program,  heard from from 1947 to 48,  produced  52 popular episodes.  Tonight you will hear “Blackmail is Murder” from 1947… a syndicated program.

Next, it is Lew Ayers (photo above - left)  and Lionel Barrymore (photo above - right) starring in The Story of  Dr. Kildare, an episode entitled “Dr. Robert Lane” from February 15, 1940.  This was a syndicated series that was based on the movie version of Dr. Kildare.  Each week the story focuses on a different case … with young Dr. James Kildare (Lew Ayers), fresh from a country practice now in the big city,  most of the time at odds with the veteran and crusty Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore).  The stories are interesting and well acted… but though this is listed as a “drama”… there is a good deal of humor in the script as well.   This radio show was the precursor to the 1960′s television series starring Richard Chamberlain as Dr. Kildare.  Fun to listen to and will bring back some memories from those of you who remember the actors or the radio-tv series.

Jeff Chandler stars at Michael Shayne, a New Orleans PI in this highly electric series entitled The Adventures of Michael Shayne.  Tonight’s episode is entitled “The Case of the Blood-Stained Pearls”  and was originally aired in 1948 when the Mutual Broadcasting Network produced this syndicated series.  Each program starts out with an action scene, usually involving gunfire or mayhem of some kind with Michael Shayne up to his neck in a whole lot of trouble.   Listeners spend the rest of the half-hour trying to figure out how Shayne is going to get out of the situation he finds himself in and solve the crime!  It is a fun show to listen to, especially if one compares it to the general type of detective and storylines from the genre of the time.  This was a very different program…very creative.

Superman (Clayton Bud Collyer)  is here again..  with Part 1 of a New Adventures of Superman entitled “The Donellis Protection Racket”… will our red-caped superhero be able to beat the well-organized crime syndicate?  Anyone want to bet?   These 12 minute episodes were heard five days a week and were on the air from 1940 to 1951.  This juvenile adventure series became number one after being on the air for only a few weeks…. kids… and many of their parents loved this show, which always left you hanging until the next episode!  Good listening… just plain escapeism fun… and a bit of a laugh as well as you hear how Superman describes every detail of what he is doing or about to do… he has to … this is radio!

Tune in locally at 106.1 fm or streaming online at www.wscafm.org and click on “Listen Now” at the top of the page.

Want more information about Audio Theatre or our Audio Theatre Players troupe?  Goto  www.heirloomradio.com and follow the Audio Theatre links.  Questions, comments, or show requests - email jlovering@wscafm.org .  Thanks for listening.

Policer reporter Don Reed rides with the Culver City, CA.  Night Watch  patrol  in this June 18, 1954 broadcast of the precursor to televisions “Cops”  show.  Tonight’s featured real case is entitled “Kenny Narco and the Headplate.”  The cases are real… no script… no sound effects… no background music.  What you hear is what happened as Don Reed recorded the audio using a battery powered reel tape recorder and a microphone hidden in a police flashlight.  Always a fun show to hear… and it seems to point out that not much changes in terms of the crimes and the criminals, even after 56 years!

George Burns and Gracie Allen star in a wonderfully comedic show from February 8, 1950. .. The Maxwell House Coffee Burns and Allen Show.  Tonight “Gracie’s Dented Fender. “  No one played malapropisms better than Gracie Allen, but in real life she was a brilliant comedian.  George fully admitted that without her, he would have never made it in Hollywood.   These shows are still funny today and always a joy to hear once again.

Gerald Mohr stars in The Adventures of Phillip Marlowe… a wildly popular detective-mystery series from the 1940′s.  Tonight’s episode is entitled “Where There’s A Will” and was originally broadcast on October 17th, 1948.  The scripts are crisply written, superbly acted and the plots are always interesting.  This show is an excellent example of a genre that was extremely popular on radio throughout the Golden Age from 1935 to 1956.  Listen in and find out why the show was enjoyed by millions of listeners.

Tonight Clayton “Bud” Collyer returns as Clark Kent and Superman in the conclusion of the six-part adventure known as “The Emerald of the Incas” from April 12, 1940 on the most popular juvenile adventures series ever heard on radio, The Adventures of Superman.   You don’t have to look up in the sky… just tune to 106.1 FM locally or streaming online at www.wscafm.org and click on “listen now” at the top of the page.

Join host, John Lovering for two hours of classic old time radio… and exercise your imagination at the same time!

More information on Audio Theatre can be found at www.heirloomradio.com .   Interested in joining our Audio Theatre Players?  Send email to jlovering@wscafm.org  and receive our information.  It is fun… and no experience necessary… just a desire to act on the radio!