Showing results for "Vol. 1" in Entertainment & Performing Arts

The award-winning and critically acclaimed Wireless Theatre Company strives to keep radio theater alive and well. From the hilarious to the terrifying, this diverse collection features 10 Wireless Theatre productions in a single volume.

Benny’s radio and television shows entertained audiences for more than three decades and is generally regarded as the high-water mark in twentieth century American comedy.

Whitehall 1212 was the famous telephone number for Scotland Yard - the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Force - and also an exciting true crime drama from the golden age of radio! Whitehall 1212 was a crime drama that aired on NBC from 1951 until 1952. It was hosted by Chief Superintendent John Davidson, curator of the Black Museum, Scotland Yard’s repository of death. Similar to The Black Museum, starring Orson Welles, Whitehall 1212 dramatized true-crime cases solved by Scotland Yard.

Much like The Lux Radio Theater, The Screen Guild Players presented radio dramatizations of popular movies of the era, usually with the original film stars at the microphone. Condensing a full-length film story into a twenty-two-minute radio play presented considerable challenges to the writers (in 1950-51, the series was expanded to a full hour). Broadcast from 1939 until 1952 for sponsors Gulf Oil, Lady Esther Cosmetics, and Camel Cigarettes, nearly every major Hollywood star made an appearance, including Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, and more.

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were a comedy duo seen in movies, on TV, and heard on radio. Their comedy routine “Who’s on First?” helped make them a national sensation. The duo started in Vaudeville, and by the fall of 1942, Abbott and Costello had their own weekly radio program and topped the popularity polls of Radio Daily and Radio Guide. The Abbott and Costello Show ran for seven years until the summer of 1949. Enjoy 16 of the best comedy broadcasts of Abbott and Costello.

Award-winning journalist Jenniffer Weigel interviews people who have discovered their “superpowers.” From bestselling authors like Caroline Myss and Pat Longo to a variety of “psychic-mediums,” these conversations cover all the different ways people filter energy and information to better understand their own intuition.

Groucho Marx is your quizmaster and host to one of the funniest and most popular quiz shows from radio and television, You Bet Your Life! Enjoy 16 fun-filled comedy episodes from the long-running radio series! Created by John Guedel, You Bet Your Life was one of the best-loved quiz shows to air on both radio and television. It was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. It debuted on radio in 1947 and lasted until 1960. For much of this time it was also seen on television.

Ozzie Nelson was Red Skelton's bandleader on the popular radio series The Red Skelton Show. Ozzie's wife, Harriet Hilliard, was Skelton's singer. When Skelton was drafted in March 1944, Ozzie was prompted to create his own family sitcom radio series. The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet launched on CBS radio on October 8, 1944 and made a midseason switch to NBC in 1949. It starred Ozzie as the head of the Nelson household, which included his wife, Harriet, and their two boys, David and Ricky.

My Favorite Husband hit the CBS Radio airwaves in 1948, starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denningas Liz and George Cugat - who later became Liz and George Cooper when confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change. Set in the fictitious town of Sheridan Falls, the show follows the happily married couple, residents of 321 Bundy Drive, through mischief and various predicaments, from faked illnesses to trouble with exes.

This collection contains 12 of the greatest Christmas radio shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio!

An unreleased live performance recorded in ’91 before what Hicks dubbed “the worst audience I’ve ever faced.” He whips out every trick in the book to win them over. The show is magic.

Humphrey Bogart began his screen career mostly playing gangsters due to his resemblance to John Dillinger. Bogart’s breakthrough from supporting roles to A-list stardom came with his performances in High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon. In between film work, he enjoyed appearing on radio, often with his wife, Lauren Bacall. Here are 14 examples of his radio work spanning 1943 until 1952.

Down Your Way was one of the most popular programmes on radio and spanned six decades. Every week the presenter would visit towns and villages throughout the UK, discovering fascinating people and places. Brian Johnston presented the series for fifteen years and 733 programmes. For this...

William Shakespeare (April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616) is often hailed as the greatest playwright in history. His works span a wide array of genres—tragedy, comedy, romance, and more—ensuring that there’s a resonant monologue in each play. Whether conveying profound lessons, showcasing Shakespeares brilliance, or evoking humor and sorrow, each monologue has the power to touch hearts in unique ways. Some listeners may find themselves so inspired by a particular piece that they feel compelled to perform it. In this collection, we present the first fifteen captivating monologues. (Summary ...

Produced in New York, Murder at Midnight came to ABC Radio in September of 1946 and featured horror stories with supernatural twists. Raymond Morgan, a former Long Island minister who had left the cloth for the excitement of radio, was the foreboding host who each week uttered the lines, "Midnight, the witching hour, when the night is darkest, our fears the strongest, and our strength at its lowest ebb. Midnight, when the graves gape open and death strikes."

Here are 12 adventure-packed episodes of the radio drama Rocky Fortune. This 1953 radio adventure series stars Frank Sinatra as Rocco Fortunato, aka Rocky Fortune, a footloose and fancy-free young man of several talents. In constant need of employment, Rocky accepts odd jobs from the Gridley Employment Agency - jobs that typically lead him into situations where he tracks down criminals and ends up rescuing people in trouble - especially women. The job done, Rocky ultimately needs to find more work.

The Screen Director’s Playhouse came to NBC in 1949 and became one of the top drama anthologies featuring Hollywood actors reprising their screen roles a la Lux Radio Theater. The primary focus of the program was the original movie’s director, who not only served as a guest host but also participated in an interview towards the end of the broadcast. Unlike Lux, which featured Cecil B. DeMille as a regular host, The Screen Director’s Playhouse had a different director every week. Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, and Lewis Milestone were among those appearing.

This Christmas comedy collection contains six classic radio programs from the '30s, '40s, and '50s.

The best comedy-novelty band of all time was at its peak when The Spike Jones Show (officially The Spotlight Revue, better known as The Coke Show) debuted on CBS, Friday, October 3, 1947. The show premiered in San Francisco where Spike and his City Slickers’ wacky Musical Depreciation Revue was holding forth at the Curran Theatre. The guest list here includes musical humorist Victor Borge (savaging “Clair de Lune” on the premiere), Tex Williams (doing his signature “Smoke Smoke Smoke”), Mel Torme and Frankie Laine.

"Jeeves Takes Charge": In which the incomparable silly-ass Bertie Wooster makes the acquaintance of the world's foremost gentleman's personal gentleman, Jeeves. Together, they are thrust into a dashed tricky situation concerning Uncle Willoughby's memoirs. "Extricating Young Gussie": On the instructions of his fearsome Aunt Agatha, Bertie is packed off to New York, ordered to prevent his cousin Gussie Mannering-Phipps from going into vaudeville.