The actor who would be celebrating his ninety-sixth birthday today is indisputably best remembered for two iconic television series—Perry Mason (1957-66) and Ironside (1967-75).  But, old-time radio fans know that Raymond Burr was a rather accomplished radio performer as well…and classic movie buffs fondly recall Mr. Burr as one of the silver screen’s most memorable […]

Seventy-one years ago on this date, radio’s best-known omniscient narrator took the first of what would be many strolls by night…and by the time that final curtain was brought down on The Whistler on September 22, 1955, it would be no small exaggeration to say that he was pretty much exhausted after all that walking.   Okay…I’m […]

The actor fondly remembered by old-time radio fans as the reporter who covered the “night beat” for the fictional Chicago Star was born 101 years ago today.  OTR devotees take pride in being able to identify certain voices while listening to broadcasts from long ago…and Frank Lovejoy had one that was unmistakable.  From his earliest […]

Eighty-two years ago on this date, the world’s greatest detective made his debut over the airwaves…and let’s make one thing clear—it’s the world’s greatest consulting detective, in case you were expecting to hear about Sam Spade. Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary literary sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, saw the last of his adventures published in 1927…and three years […]

Two of the entries in Columbia’s Whistler franchise (based on the popular CBS Radio West Coast mystery program) rarely turn up in the rotation when the film series is shown on Turner Classic Movies.  This is a shame, because the first of these—1944’s The Mark of the Whistler—comes close to rivaling the debut movie, The […]

On a night that’s raining felines and canines, Theodore “Ted” Nichols (Michael Duane) and his French fiancée Alice Dupres Barkley (Lenore Aubert) reach the home of the justice of the peace who’s going to join them in holy matrimony…even though they have only known each other for a couple of weeks.  The justice’s wife (Sarah Padden) […]

In the sixth entry of Columbia’s popular Whistler film franchise—based on the CBS West Coast mystery program sponsored by Signal Oil—series star Richard Dix essays the role of Ralph Harrison, a talentless artist disdained by most of his friends.  He is invariably the life of the party, however, on account of the lavish get-togethers he often throws (as […]

Mysterious Intruder (1946), the fifth entry in Columbia Pictures’ highly successful Whistler franchise, would be the last film of that series directed by William Castle, who had kicked off the first of eight Whistler B-films with The Whistler (1944).  During his sojourn at the studio, Castle would alternate between Whistler movies and Crime Doctor vehicles, […]