James Cagney: Song and Dance Man

Ruby Keeler, James Cagney, and Joan Blondell
in a promotional photo fro Footlight Parade.

It was 120 years ago today that James Cagney was born. Today Mr. Cagney still remains one of the best known actors of all time. Even people who have never seen his films know who he is. For better or worse, James Cagney also remains best known for the gangster movies he made. What most average people do not realise is that Mr. Cagney was also a song and dance man and thought of himself as such.

In fact, it would be as a song and dance man that James Cagney's career would begin. He learned to tap dance when he was only a boy. He made his Broadway debut in the musical Pitter Patter in 1920. In turn, this would launch Mr. Cagney on a ten year career in vaudeville. He would return to Broadway several times, including the musical Grand Street Follies. He also appeared on London's West End in the musical Broadway. While James Cagney had established himself in both vaudeville and Broadway as a song and dance man, it would not be one of his musicals that led him to a film career. In 1930 he appeared in the drama Penny Arcade alongside Joan Blondell, with whom he had earlier appeared on Broadway in Maggie the Magnificent. Despite largely negative reviews from critics, Al Jolsen bought the film rights for Penny Arcade for $20,000. Afterwards he sold the film rights to Warner Bros. on the condition that they retain James Cagney and Joan Blondell from the play. In adapting Penny Arcade as a film, they gave it a new name: Sinners' Holiday. It was released on October 11 1930.

In Sinners' Holiday James Cagney recreated his role in Penny Arcade as Harry Delano, a young man who becomes involved in bootlegging. As a result of the strength of his performance in Sinner's Holiday, James Cagney would find himself cast in another gangster movie, Doorway to Hell (1931). While James Cagney's next three films would be two comedies and a drama (in which he didn't play a gangster), he would find himself typecast as a gangster due to the phenomenal success of The Public Enemy (1931).  Curiously, Edward Woods had originally been cast as Tom Powers, while James Cagney played his best friend Matt. It was director William Wellman who switched the two roles, thinking Mr. Cagney would be better as Tom Powers. Regardless, over the next several years at Warner Bros. James Cagney would find himself consistently cast in gangster movies, crime movies, and dramas.

It would be in one of his gangster movies that James Cagney would first dance on screen. In Taxi! James Cagney played a young taxi cab driver named Matt Nolan. In one portion of the movie Matt takes part in a ballroom dance competition. His partner was his love interest, Sue, played by Loretta Young. His primary competition in the contest would be another song and dance man who had been typecast in gangster movies, George Raft (who goes uncredited in the movie). It was George Raft who won the contest.

That a lengthy ballroom dance contest should appear in a Warner Bros. crime drama probably did not surprise audiences in 1932. While Warner Bros. was well known for their gangster movies, they were also well known for their musicals. In the early Thirties the studio had seen success with such musicals as Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929) and 42nd Street (1933). At the same time that Warner Bros. was making musicals, James Cagney was anxious for a change of pace. It should come as no surprise, then, that song and dance man James Cagney actively fought to be cast in Warner Bros.' musical Footlight Parade (1933).

It was in 1933 that Warner Bros. had phenomenal success with two musicals featuring choreography by Busby Berkeley: 42nd Street and Gold Diggers of 1933. As soon as James Cagney learned that the studio was planning a follow-up to these two films, he campaigned to be cast in the film by reminding Warner Bros. he had started out as a song and dance man. Fortunately, Mr. Cagney was able to convince studio head Jack Warner to cast him in the film. It was then that Footlight Parade would be James Cagney's first movie musical.

In Footlight Parade James Cagney plays as a failing Broadway producer who takes to producing live musical prologues that would be performed before movies in cinemas. He would be reunited with Joan Blondell, with whom he had appeared on Broadway and in the films as Sinner's Holiday, The Public Enemy, and Blonde Crazy (1931). It would also re-team Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler, who had already made several films together. For the most part Footlight Parade plays out as a somewhat racy comedy, holding back the bulk of its musical numbers for the very end. The film's climax, featuring the song "Shanghai," proved once and for all James Cagney's credentials as a song and dance man.

Footlight Parade would prove to be one of Warner Bros.' big hits of 1933. Unfortunately, it did not mean that the studio would start casting James Cagney in musicals. His next film, The Mayor of Hell (1933), would see him playing the deputy commissioner of a reform school. Over the next few years James Cagney would appear in dramas and comedies, but no musicals. In fact, his next musical would be produced by a studio other than Warner Bros.

It was in 1935 that James Cagney broke ties with Warner Bros., even suing the studio for breach of contract. Once free of Warner Bros., Mr. Cagney signed with the newly formed Grand National Films. The first movie that he made for Grand National was Great Guy, another crime film. His next film for Grand National would be the musical Something to Sing About. Like Footlight Parade, Something to Sing About capitalised on James Cagney's talents as a song and dance man. It is James Cagney's dancing and singing that begin and end the film. The film also teamed him with two friends from vaudeville, Johnny Boyle and Harland Dixon, both of who had influenced Mr. Cagney's dance style. Something to Sing About also featured such luminaries as William Frawley, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, and Dwight Frye.

Although Something to Sing About would turn out to be a highly entertaining film, it is obvious that its budget was much lower than musicals produced by such major studios as Warner Bros. As Grand National Films was an independent, it also did not receive very good distribution. Ultimately, it would fail at the box office. Grand National Films would make six more movies before going bankrupt in 1939.

Following the failure of Something to Sing About and his lawsuit against Warner Bros. being decided in his favour, James Cagney returned to Warner Bros. with a much better contract. It was with his first film back at Warner Bros., Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), that he would receive his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. While Angles with Dirty Faces was a gangster film, James Cagney would find himself appearing in more of a variety of films than he had earlier at the studio. He appeared in Westerns (The Oklahoma Kid), comedies (The Strawberry Blonde), and war films (The Fighting 69th) in addition to gangster movies. Eventually he would appear in another musical. What is more, it was the most famous musical he ever made. It would also be the favourite of James Cagney's films that he made.

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) is a biographical musical about legendary composer and producer George M. Cohan. As shocking as it might seem today, there was a chance that it might never have been made. Earlier George M. Cohan had made an agreement with MGM for them to make a movie called The Four Cohans, based on the life of his family. It would have starred Mickey Rooney as Mr. Cohan. Fortunately, George M. Cohan had a falling out with MGM when they refused to give him final cut of the film. Samuel Goldwyn then wanted to make a George M. Cohan movie, with Fred Astaire as George M. Cohan. Mr. Astaire turned Mr. Goldwyn down, feeling that the role of Mr. Cohan was not right for him. Finally, Warner Bros. got the rights to produce a George M. Cohan movie. They promptly cast James Cagney in the lead role. George M. Cohan himself thoroughly approved of the casting.

James Cagney was more than ideal as George M. Cohan. Among the people who had taught Mr. Cagney how to dance was Johnny Boyle, who had appeared on Broadway in George M. Cohan's various productions and had even choreographed dances for Mr. Cohan's productions. For two months prior to shooting began, Johnny Boyle taught James Cagney and his sister Jeanne Cagney (who played George M. Cohan's sister Josie in the film) George M. Cohan's dance style. What is more, he taught James Cagney George M. Cohan's various mannerisms. By the time shooting began, James Cagney was more than ready to play Mr. Cohan.

Yankee Doodle Dandy proved to be a hit at the box office, and proved to be the second highest grossing film of 1942. It also received overwhelmingly good reviews. It also did well at the Academy Awards, winning the Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role for James Cagney; Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture; and Best Sound Recording. It was nominated for several more Academy Awards, among them Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Writing, Original Story.


Despite the success of Yankee Doodle Dandy and the variety of roles that James Cagney had played in the Forties, he was still largely identified with the crime genre in many people's minds. It would be in 1949 that White Heat would be released. The role of criminal Cody Jarrett would become one of James Cagney's best known roles. Fortunately for Mr. Cagney, his next movie would be another musical, The West Point Story (1950).

In The West Point Story James Cagney played an out of work Broadway director who is asked to produce the annual 100th Night Show (so called because it is the first of the last 100th days at the Academy) at West Point. Co-starring were Virginia Mayo, Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, and Gene Nelson. If Warner Bros. had been hoping for another Yankee Doodle Dandy, then they were going to be disappointed. While The West Point Story received positive reviews, it did not receive the acclaim of Yankee Doodle Dandy, nor did it perform as well at the box office.

James Cagney would have a cameo as himself in the musical Starlift (1951). He would make a more significant appearance in the comedy musical film The Seven Little Foys (1955). The Seven Little Foys starred Bob Hope as comedian Eddie Foy. Mr. Cagney reprised his role as George M. Cohan, who engages in a tap dance competition with Edddie Foy.

It would also be in 1955 that James Cagney would appear in the biographical film  Love Me or Leave Me (1955) starring Doris Day as singer Ruth Ettig. Love Me or Leave Me would be much heavier fare than Miss Day and Mr. Cagney's previous film together, The West Side Story. It was a dramatic, at times dark film. Although not generally considered a musical, it does feature several nightclub sequences in which Doris Day gets to sing. Playing gangster Martin Snyder, at no point does James Cagney get to sing. Regardless, Love Me or Leave Me did well at the box office and received positive reviews. It also won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story and was nominated for several other Oscars, including Best Actor in a Leading Role for James Cagney.

James Cagney's final musical would be Never Steal Anything Small (1959). The movie was based on an unproduced play, The Devil's Hornpipe by Maxwell Anderson and Rouben Mamoulian. Never Steal Anything Small centred around James Cagney as Jake MacIllaney, a gangster out to control a union and also starred Shirley Jones, Roger Smith, and Cara Williams. Unlike Love Me and Leave Me, James Cagney gets to sing and dance in the film, including a duet with Cara Williams, "I'm Sorry, I Want a Ferrari." Sadly, James Cagney's last musical would not be a success. Critics were underwhelmed by the movie, and it did not do particularly well at the box office.

Despite having been typecast in crime dramas, James Cagney always thought of himself as a song and dance man. In his autobiography, Cagney by Cagney, he writes, "Once a song and dance man, always a song and dance man." Sadly, Mr. Cagney was rarely given a chance to display his talents as a song and dance man on screen. In a career consisting of over sixty movies, he only starred in five musicals and had the opportunity to sing or dance in a few more. This is made all the sadder still by the fact that James Cagney was very talented as a song and dance man. It is with very good reason that he won an Oscar for Yankee Doodle Dandy.  It is also with very good reason that Footlight Parade and Yankee Doodle Dandy are counted among the greatest movies ever made. I do not think it is far-fetched to say that if Warner Bros. had not typecast James Cagney as a gangster, he might be counted alongside Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Gene Kelly as among the greatest musical stars of all time.

Gorillas, Dinosaurs, and Aliens, Oh My! DC Comics in the Early Silver Age

If there was one thing that separated the Silver Age of Comic Books from the Golden Age, it was the prevalence of science fiction themes. This was particularly true of DC Comics. When DC Comics rebooted many of its Golden Age characters in the late Fifties and early Sixties, they provided the new characters with origins rooted in science fiction. The power ring of the Golden Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott, was created from a magical lantern. In contrast, the power ring of the Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, was provided to him by the Guardians of the Universe, who operate an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. The prevalence of science fiction at DC Comics through the Fifties into the early Sixties was so great that science fiction tropes could even be found in titles that originally had not been sci-fi, most notably Batman.

DC Comics' first science fiction title, Strange Adventures, debuted with a cover date of September 1950. It would be followed by Mystery in Space, which debuted with a cover date of April/May 1951. The two titles proved fairly popular. In fact, they proved so popular that they outsold many of DC's other titles. This should come as no surprise, as science fiction was fairly popular in the Fifties. The late Forties and early Fifties would see such juvenile science fiction TV shows as Captain Video and His Video Rangers, Tom Corbett: Space Cadet, and Space Patrol. For much of the Fifties movie theatres were filled with such sci-fi films as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1961), The Thing from Another World (1951), and This Island Earth (1955). Science fiction was so popular that it would have been surprising if DC's sci-fi titles had not sold well.

While it seems likely that it was the success of DC's science fiction titles that led the company to inject science fiction into many of its titles (even ones where it doesn't belong), it cannot definitively be said who decided DC to do so. The credit for that is generally given to Irwin Donenfeld, editorial director of DC Comics and son of the company's founder Harry Donenfeld. That DC's science fiction titles were outselling many of their other titles would not have been lost on Irwin Donenfeld. While Irwin Donenfeld is usually credited with steering various DC titles towards using science fiction tropes, according to Batman--the Complete History by Les Daniels, Mr. Donenfeld couldn't remember exact details, saying, "I like to take credit for everything, but truthfully I just don't know."

Regardless, science fiction began playing a greater role in DC's titles in the late Fifties. Aside from the various superhero titles, DC Comics' House of Mystery would be among the first titles in which science fiction began playing a large role. Originally a  horror anthology, after the introduction of the Comics Code in 1954 House of Mystery shifted more towards mystery and suspense. It was in 1957 that House of Mystery, along with the recently launched House of Secrets, began featuring science fiction stories. House of Mystery would more or less remain a science fiction title until 1964 when, with the renewed popularity of superheroes, it became the home of the Martian Manhunter (a superhero with a decidedly science fiction bent). Of course, by 1968 it would return to being a horror title.

Of course, DC Comics' remaining superhero titles would also begin featuring science fiction oriented stories. For the various Superman titles this would not present much of a problem. After all, Superman was already a science fiction character to a large degree (in the words of the TV series, he was "a strange visitor from another planet") and even in the Golden Age stories with science fiction themes appeared. That having been said, science fiction tropes began appearing in stories featuring characters who were not rooted in the genre. A notorious example of this is Batman.

Upon his debut Batman was an at times brutal vigilante influenced by such pulp characters as The Shadow. With the introduction of his sidekick Robin, Batman's character was softened a bit, although he still operated primarily at night and fought dangerous criminals. By the Fifties Batman had drifted further away from his pulp roots, actually operating in daylight. That having been said, he still mostly fought his rouge's gallery and various other criminals. All of this changed in 1957. While science fiction-type stories had appeared in the pages of the Batman titles as far back as the Golden Age, they were infrequent. It was the story "Batman's Super-Enemy" from Detective Comics #250, December 1957 that began around a six year stretch in which Batman fought aliens and monsters, travelled to other planets, and was transformed into everything from a giant to a baby.

Over the years many fans have blamed editor Jack Schiff for the abundance of science fiction stories in the pages of the Batman titles from 1957 to 1964. That having been said, Jack Schiff had edited the Batman titles since 1942. During those 15 years Mr. Schiff made very little use of science fiction tropes. What is more, Jack Schiff himself was uncomfortable with science fiction being injected into the Batman titles. In a 1983 interview in The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, he said, "I was having disagreements with the management about the 'monster craze' everybody was into.  I fought the introduction into Batman and Superman of this trend, but I was pressured into using them." Ultimately sales for the Batman titles would drop and would not recover until Julius Schwartz took over as their editor and introduced the New Look for Batman. The science fiction stories, as well as such characters as Batwoman and Ace the Bathound, disappeared from the titles, replaced by stories that placed an emphasis on detective work.

As strange as the science fiction bent in Batman's stories from the late Fifties and early Sixties might seem, DC Comics injected science fiction into titles where it even more obviously had no place. The character of Tomahawk had been introduced in Star-Spangled Comics #69, June 1947 and earned his own title in 1950. Tomahawk was a Revolutionary War era character and throughout the late Forties and most of the Fifties his adventures were appropriate to that era. This changed in 1960 when Tomahawk began facing giants, dinosaurs, aliens, and gorillas. Tomahawk would not start having more appropriate adventures until 1967.

The Batman titles and Tomahawk certainly wouldn't be the only DC Comics titles in which science fiction was introduced where it really should not have been. The Blackhawk Squadron had been introduced at Quality Comics in Military Comics #1, August, 1941. Led by the mysterious Blackhawk, the Blackhawk Squadron was a multi-national fighter squadron who originally fought the Nazis during World War II and later Communists following the war. With the very first issue of Blackhawk published by DC Comics, the Blackhawks began fighting a variety of science fiction menaces that would become more prominent as the Sixties progressed. It was with Blackhawk #228, January 1967 that the Blackhawks shifted to being superheroes, which was arguably even less appropriate for the team than fighting science fiction monsters...

For the most part DC's war titles would remain unscathed during the company's "monster craze." G.I. Combat and Our Army at War (the home of Sgt. Rock) would continue to publish stories appropriate to World War II or, more rarely, World War I. This would not be the case with Star Spangled War Stories. With Star Spangled War Stories #90, May 1960 the series "The War that Time Forgot" began. "The War that Time Forgot" featured soldiers fighting dinosaurs on an uncharted island in the South Pacific. The series ran until 1968, when Enemy Ace (a World War I German pilot) replaced it. "The War That Time Forgot" wasn't the only example of science fiction to be found in Star Spangled War Tales. "Goliath from the Western Front!," from Star Spangled War Stories #93, November 1, 1960, featured American soldiers facing off against a Nazi giant.  As might be expected of a DC comic book during this era, even a gorilla made an appearance in Star Spangled War Stories. In the story "You Can't Pin a Medal on a Gorilla" from Star Spangled War Stories #126, May 1966 a gorilla trained to entertain the troops helps take out an enemy gun post.

Of course along with the emphasis on science fiction stories in Silver Age DC comic books, there was also a proliferation of gorillas in DC comics of the era as well. The large numbers of gorillas that appeared in DC comic books actually pre-dated the Silver Age. Reportedly, the whole trend towards gorillas in DC Comics throughout the Fifties and well into the Sixties began with Strange Adventures #8, May 1951. The lead story for that issue was "The Incredible Story of an Ape with a Human Brain." Quite naturally, the ape of the story was featured prominently on the cover. Strange Adventures#8 sold very well, something that made Irwin Donenfeld curious. Editor Julius Schwartz guessed it was because it featured a gorilla on the cover. Mr. Schwartz then decided to try featuring a gorilla on another cover. Once more it sold well. Gorillas then began appearing regularly on the covers of Strange Adventures and would eventually spread to other DC titles, from Batman to Tomahawk.

The popularity of gorillas at DC Comics would eventually see gorillas who were recurring characters in their titles. The character of Congo Bill had first appeared in More Fun Comics #56, June 1940. Originally he was an adventurer based in Africa who owed a good deal to the newspaper comic strip character Jungle Jim. In Action Comics #248, January, 1959, one of Bill's friends, a dying African chief, gave him a ring that would allow him to enter the body of a legendary golden gorilla for an hour. It was then that Congo Bill became Congorilla. The second recurring gorilla to appear in DC Comics in 1959 was an opponent of Superman, Titano the Super-Ape, who first appeared in Superman #127, February 1959. The third recurring gorilla character to appear in DC Comics would also be the most famous. Gorilla Grodd, the super-intelligent, telepathic ape who is also the enemy of The Flash, first appeared in The Flash #106, May 1959.

It would be for similar reasons that dinosaurs would appear so frequently in DC Comics of the early Silver Age. At some point later in the Fifties a tyrannosaurus rex appeared on the cover of a DC title. That particular title sold well, so soon dinosaurs were appearing in a diverse variety of DC comic books.

Here it must be pointed out that there were some lines of DC Comics that went through the Fifties and Sixties without featuring science fiction stories, gorillas, or dinosaurs. With the exception of Star Spangled War Stories, DC's war titles continued publishing the same straight-forward war stories they always had. Neither DC Comics' Western titles nor their romance titles embraced science fiction, let alone gorillas or dinosaurs. DC Comics' humour titles tended to be a mixed bag with regards to the "monster craze." The Adventures of Bob Hope more or less continued as it always had. The Adventures of Jerry Lewis frequently featured gorillas, but then it had done so when the titles was still The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (issue #19, February 1955). Of course, Angel and the Ape (which was first published in 1968) obviously featured a gorilla prominently.

DC Comics' love affair with science fiction, gorillas, and dinosaurs would fade as the Sixties. The science fiction plot lines would be excised from the Batman titles in 1964. Tomahawk would go back to fighting the British and American Indians in 1967. Star Spangled War Stories would return to being a more typical war comic book in 1968. Blackhawk would shift to being a superhero title in 1967 and then back to being a paramilitary group in 1968. House of Mystery shifted to being a superhero title in the mid-Sixties before shifting back to horror in 1968.


While the trend towards science fiction (not to mention gorillas) would fade at DC Comics as the Sixties progressed, its legacy is still felt to this day. Such science fiction oriented characters as The Flash and Green Lantern still appear in the pages of DC comic books. Not only has The Flash appeared in two live-action TV shows, but Gorilla Grodd has appeared regularly in the latter. DC Comics has even revisited "The War that Time Forgot" from time to time. As goofy as some of the stories from DC Comics' early Silver Age might seem (particularly those published in the Batman titles), the impact of that era is still being felt at DC today.

(Credit Where Credit is Due Department: While I am familiar with DC Comics during the Silver Age, this article did require a bit of research. I owe a debt to the books Batman: The Complete History by Les Daniels, Comics Gone Ape! by Michael Eury, and Was Superman a Spy?: And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed by Brian Cronin. I also owe a debt to Commander Benson for his excellent write-up on the late Fifties/early Sixties Batman science fiction stories, "From the Archives: Deck Log Entry # 21 The Science-Fiction Batman---BEM's in His Belfry." )

Bonanza and the Ranch Westerns of the Sixties

Beginning in 1955 there would be a cycle of Westerns on American television that would last until 1960.  It would perhaps be the largest cycle of any given genre in American television history. In fact, from the 1958-1959 season to the 1960-1961 there was at least one Western TV show, sometimes more, on each night of the week. Despite the sheer number of Westerns on American television at the time, there was not a whole lot of variety in the Westerns of the late Fifties. Most of them centred on lawmen of various types (marshals, sheriffs, and so on), individuals whose professions required them to travel (bounty hunters, gamblers, and so on), or drifters. Conspicuously missing for much of the cycle were any Westerns set on ranches.

All of that would begin to change in the 1958-1959 season with the debut of The Rifleman. The Rifleman centred on Lucas McCain (played by Chuck Connors), who lived on a small homestead with his son Mark in New Mexico. It would be in the 1959-1960 season that two different Western TV shows based around ranches would debut. The first of these was Bonanza, which debuted on September 12 1959. Bonanza centred on Ben Cartwright (played by Lorne Greene) and his three sons, who together ran the Ponderosa Ranch just a few miles outside Virginia City, Nevada. The oldest son was Adam (played by Pernell Roberts), the level headed one with a college education. The second oldest son was Hoss (played by Dan Blocker), a gentle giant with a gift for caring for animals and people. The youngest son was Little Joe (played by Michael Landon), the impulsive one with a tendency to fall in love often. Ben's sons were technically only half-brothers. He had married three times, siring a son by each wife, only to lose his wives to death in childbirth (Adam's mother), an Indian massacre (Hoss's mother), and an accident with a horse (Little Joe's mother).

Bonanza debuted on Saturday, September 12 1960 at 7:30 PM Eastern. During its first two seasons, it did respectably in the ratings, even coming in at no. 17 for the year in its second season. In its third season NBC moved Bonanza to 9:00 Eastern Sunday night and the show really began to take off. For that season it jumped all the way up to no. 2 in the ratings for the year. The next few years Bonanza would remain in the top five shows until, in the 1964-1965 season, it became the no. 1 show on the air. It remained the no. 1 show for the next three seasons. Ultimately, Bonanza would spend nine consecutive seasons in the top five and would last 14 years. As might be expected, the success of Bonanza would lead to more Western TV shows set on ranches.

Before that, however, there was another ranch Western that debuted in the 1959-1960 season, as mentioned earlier. Laramie was set on the Sherman Ranch and stagecoach relay station. It starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, owner of the ranch, and Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, a drifter who settled down to help Slim run the ranch. In the first season the cast also included Slim's much younger brother Andy (played by Robert L. Crawford) and Jonesy (played by Hoagy Carmichael), who handled the domestic duties on the ranch.

Laramie led a somewhat schizophrenic existence. For much of the first season the show's episodes centred on the ranch and stage stop. For the show's second season NBC did not renew Hoagy Carmichael's contract, so that Jonesy was no longer on the show. Andy was phased out, only appearing in a few episodes of the second season. And while the first season saw many episodes set around the ranch, the second season saw many episodes in which Slim, Jess, or both of them were away from the ranch. This changed with the show's third season, which also saw the show change from black-and-white to colour. Spring Byington joined the cast as Daisy Cooper, a widow who became the Sherman Ranch's new housekeeper. Dennis Holmes also joined the cast as orphan Mike Williams who finds a home on the ranch. The third and fourth seasons would then see most of the episodes set around the Sherman Ranch or Laramie. Unlike Bonanza, Laramie  was never a ratings success. It would be cancelled in its fourth season due to declining ratings. That having been said, it developed a following that it maintains to this day.

It was perhaps because of the success of Bonanza that a show which saw its hero travelling a great deal became a ranch Western. Originally Tales of Wells Fargo centred on Dale Robertson as Jim Hardie, a detective for Wells Fargo. At times as much of a detective series as it was a Western, Tales of Wells Fargo would see Jim Hardie travelling across the West on various cases. It was in the sixth and final season that Tales from Wells Fargo expanded from a half hour to an hour. It was also at the beginning of the sixth season that Jim Hardie bought a ranch outside San Francisco. While Dale Robertson had been the only star on the show for its first five season, the sixth season also saw the addition of a supporting cast consisting of William Demarest as his ranch foreman Jeb Gaine, Virginia Christine as his neighbour Olive, and Jack Ging as Hardie's assistant Beau McCloud.

Many of the ranch Westerns that followed in the wake of Bonanza have been accused, rightly or wrongly, of being Bonanza imitators. That would not be the case with the next ranch Western to debut, which was based on a classic novel. It was a young story editor at Columbia Pictures named Frank Price who suggested a television version of The Virginian by Owen Wister, which by that time had entered public domain. It was then in 1958 that Screen Gems produced a half hour pilot for a TV series based on The Virginian by Owen Wister. While the pilot failed to sell, NBC found the young actor cast in the title role, James Drury appealing. Of course, 1958 was the peak of the Western cycle. In fact, Wagon Train, airing on NBC, was the no. 1 show on television for the year. It would be Wagon Train that would lead to The Virginian finally coming to television.

Wagon Train was produced by MCA's television production subsidiary Revue Studios. It had proven very profitable for MCA, and in the 1961-1962 season was still the no. 1 show on the air. Jennings Lang, vice president of MCA-TV, figured he could get twice as much money out of Wagon Train by selling it to another network. Mr. Lang then sold Wagon Train out from under NBC to ABC. Fortunately, he would not leave NBC empty handed. Instead he sold them The Virginian, which would not only be shot in colour (somewhat of a rarity then), but would be a full 90 minutes in length. James Drury, who had played The Virginian in the unsold 1958 Screen Gems pilot, was cast in the title role. Frank Price, who had instigated the 1958 pilot, was brought on board to write the format for The Virginian. He would also serve as the show's producer in its early days and later as its executive producer.

The Virginian was very loosely based on the novel of the same name. It was set on the Shiloh Ranch outside Medicine Bow, Wyoming in the 1890s, owned by Judge Henry Garth (played by Lee J. Cobb). Judge Garth had a young daughter named Betsy (played by Roberta Shore). A major change from the novel was in the character of Trampas. In the novel Trampas is actually the primary villain. On the TV show however, Trampas (played by Doug McClure) was The Virginian's fun loving friend. Trampas would be only one of two characters, along with The Virginian, who would be on the show for its entire run. As to The Virginian, just as in the novel, he was the ranch foreman.

While The Virginian proved successful, the show underwent many changes through the years. Lee J. Cobb left after the fourth season, after which the Shiloh Ranch would go through three more owners. In fact, there were so many cast changes on The Virginian that ultimately only James Drury and Doug McClure would remain with the show for its entire run. The ninth season would see the show's title changed to The Men from Shiloh and the look of the show was revamped as well in an effort to attract younger viewers. Not surprisingly, there was also a new owner of the Shiloh Ranch in the form of Colonel Alan MacKenzie (played by Stewart Granger).

Despite the many cast changes on The Virginian, the show remained successful for most of its run. In its second it ranked no. 17 for the year in the ratings. For its third and fourth seasons it ranked in the top twenty five. The Virginian peaked in ratings during its fifth season, when it ranked no. 10. Ultimately, the only year in which it did not rank in the top twenty five would be its eighth season, when it did not rank in the top twenty. It was still doing well in its ninth and final season, ranking at no. 18 for the year. Unfortunately, the 1970-1971 season was when the Rural Purge took place. While CBS axed the most shows for having audiences too old or too rural during the Rural Purge, NBC axed its share of shows as well. Among them was The Virginian.

The Virginian would have a lasting impact. As the first ninety minute show with continuing characters it established the format as viable. It was then that the other networks made their own attempts at ninety minute Westerns. ABC expanded Wagon Train to ninety minutes in its 7th season. The experiment failed and the show was returned to an hour the following year. During the 1967-1967 season CBS aired its own ninety minute Western, Cimarron Strip. It was cancelled due to low ratings. Despite the failure of both Wagon Train and Cimarron Strip as ninety minute shows, there would be ninety minute shows in other genres following in the wake of The Virginian. The Name of the Game was a ninety minute drama that aired on NBC from 1968 to 1971. In 1971 The NBC Mystery Movie debuted. While it started out at ninety minutes, it would eventually expand to two hours.

Of course, The Virginian would inspire more than other ninety minute shows. Its success sparked a new cycle towards Westerns that would produce such shows as Destry, Branded, The Wild Wild West, and Iron Horse. It also insured that more ranch Westerns would produced during this new cycle towards Westerns on television.

It was in 1965 that a ranch Western debuted that differed from all the others in that its lead was a woman. The Big Valley was created by Lou Edelman and A.I. Bezzerides as a vehicle for acclaimed actress Barbara Stanwyck. For inspiration they looked to the Hill Ranch, a historical ranch that had operated in  Calaveras County, California from 1855 to 1931. In 1861 Lawson Hill. owner and operator of the ranch, was murdered, after which his wife Euphemia took over running the ranch with her three sons. Developed following the failure of The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Lou Edelman was unable to interest anyone in a show about a woman running a ranch. Of course, much of this might have had to do with the fact that by 1961 Western TV shows were on their way out.

Fortunately, with a new cycle towards Westerns underway in the Sixties, Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions was able to strike a deal with ABC and Four Star Television for the prospective show. As might be expected, they asked Barbara Stanwyck if she was still interested in the show. Of course, she was.

The Big Valley centred on Victoria Barkley, a widow who owned the Barkley Ranch just outside of Stockton, California. Among her sons were the eldest Jarrod (played by Richard Long), the refined level headed attorney, and the second eldest Nick (played by Peter Breck), the hot tempered manager of the ranch. Victoria also had a daughter, Audra (played by Linda Evans). The Barkley's were joined by Heath Barkley (played by Lee Majors), the illegitimate son of Victoria's husband.  There was also youngest son, Eugene (played by Charles Briles), who was studying medicine at Berkeley. He only seen sporadically on the show before eventually being written out of it.

The Big Valley debuted on ABC on  September 15 1965. Critics were dismissive of the series, with some referring to it as a Bonanza imitator ("Bonanza in skirts"). Despite this, it proved popular with audiences. In a readers' poll conducted by the magazine TV Radio Mirror, The Big Valley was voted the favourite new show of the 1965-1966 season. While The Big Valley never ranked in the top thirty shows of the year, it did well enough to run four seasons. It would also prove to be a success in syndication.

While The Big Valley was often accused of imitating Bonanza, the next ranch Western to debut would be created by Bonanza creator David Dortort. That having been said, it was a far cry from Bonanza. The High Chaparral centred on the ranch of that name in Arizona during the 1870s. The High Chaparral starred Leif Erickson as John Cannon, owner of the High Chaparral, whose wife had died in an Indian raid not long after settling in Arizona. His neighbour was powerful rancher Don Sebastián Montoya (played by Frank Silvera), who promised to be his ally if he would marry his daughter Victoria (played by Linda Cristal). Realising that Montoya would be a powerful enemy, John consented. Victoria differed from many Western television heroines in being strong willed and intelligent. In time she came to love John and John came to love her.

Coming with Victoria to live on the High Chaparral was her brother Manolito (played by Henry Darrow). Manolito had a strong streak of independence, not to mention a good deal of cunning and charm. Also living on the High Chaparral was John's brother Buck. Although uneducated, Buck had a good deal of common sense and would not hesitate to help someone. Rounding out the household was John's son Blue (played by Mark Slade), who at times find himself at odds with his father. The High Chaparral differed from other ranch Westerns in that it actually featured ranch hands in recurring roles. Among them were ranch foreman Sam Butler (played by Don Collier), Sam's brother Joe (Bob Hoy), Pedro (played by Roberto Contreras), and others.The High Chaparral also differed from previous Westerns in featuring several Lantix characters. Like Bonanza before it, it often dealt with various issues, particularly racism.

The High Chaparral debuted on September 10 1967 on NBC. It would not repeat the success of Bonanza. While The High Chaparral received respectable ratings for much of its run, it never ranked in the top thirty for the years. In the end, it lasted four seasons and 98 episodes. It would prove successful in syndication, and it maintains a cult following to this day.

The final ranch Western of the Sixties was Lancer. On the surface, Lancer would appear to owe something to Bonanza. Lancer centred on Murdoch Lancer (played by Andrew Duggan), who is struggling to protect his ranch in the San Joaquin Valley from bandits in the 1870s. To help, he seeks out his two sons, each by one of this two wives, neither of whom he had seen since they were children. The eldest was Scott (played by Wayne Maunder), the educated son from Boston. The youngest was Johnny Madrid, a half-Mexican gunslinger. In return for their help, he offers them one-third ownership in the ranch each. Teresa O'Brien (played by Elizabeth Baur) was Murdoch's ward, the daughter of his foreman who had been killed. Paul Brinegar, who had played Wishbone on Rawhide, joined the cast in the first season progressed as the Lancers' cook and ranch hand Jelly Hoskins.

While Lancer resembled Bonanza on the surface, in many ways it was a very different show. While Ben Cartwright was a wise and usually gentle father, Murdoch Lancer could often be obstinate and sometimes downright cruel. Indeed, while Ben's wives had died, Murdoch's wives simply left him. Scott's mother, born of wealth, took Scott back to Boston where she raised him. Johnny Madrid's mother ran off with a gambler and returned to Mexico. Particularly early in the show, Murdoch's two sons sometimes came into conflict due to their differing backgrounds. There was a world of difference between the Cartwrights and the Lancers.

Lancer debuted on September 24 1968 on CBS. Unfortunately, the show was scheduled against one of the big hits of the 1968-1969 season, The Mod Squad on ABC. As a result it struggled in the ratings. It would be cancelled after two seasons. That having been said, like many of the ranch Westerns it would maintain a cult following.

Of course, much of the reason Lancer may have lasted only two seasons is that it simply debuted at the wrong time. The cycle of Westerns that had been started by The Virginian had wound down by 1968. Lancer was the only one of two Westerns to debut in the 1968-1969 season, along with The Outcasts (which lasted only one season). There was also another possible reason for the decline in Westerns in 1968 beyond the cycle having come to an end. Quite simply, following the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, there was renewed outcry over television violence. In fact, at least one Western (the spy-fi/Western hybrid The Wild Wild West) would be cancelled in 1969 dues to its allegedly violent content. That to some degree or another the networks associated the Western genre with violence is borne out by an article published in the Pittsfield Berkshire Eagle, the Corpus Christi Caller Times, and other newspapers in mid-March of 1969. An ABC executive uses as an example of the network's efforts to reduce violence on the small screen the fact that they have eliminated all Westerns from their schedule. Indeed, it seems that several Westerns would go off the air in the year 1969: The Big Valley, The Guns of Will Sonnett, The Outcasts, and The Wild Wild West. While some of these shows were probably cancelled due to ratings, it seems possible that violence may have played a role in the cancellation of some of them (it certainly did with The Wild Wild West). Those Westerns that remained would find it more difficult to accurately portray the Western milieu. As Milburn Stone, who played Doc on Gunsmoke said at the time, "How can you have Westerns without violence?"

Regardless, by the late Sixties Western TV shows were already in decline. Lancer left the air in 1970. Both The High Chaparral and The Virginian (under the title The Men from Shiloh) left the air in 1971. None of the new Westerns that debuted in the Seventies would be ranch Westerns and none of them would last beyond three seasons, with most having much briefer runs. If there was a sign that the ranch Western on television was truly dead, it was the cancellation of Bonanza in 1973.  After well over a decade, the era of the ranch Western was over.

New Old Time Radio Page

Yesterday's post on the radio show revival of the Seventies got me to thinking about how I should really write more about Old Time Radio. It also got me to thinking about the various posts I have written about Old Time Radio through the years. I decided to create a new page where all of my posts on Old Time Radio would be collected.

Obviously I am much too young to remember Old Time Radio. After all, I was born six months after Old Time Radio came to an end when the last episodes of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Suspense aired on September 30 1962. That having been said, I knew about Old Time Radio from an early age. My parents told me about Old Time Radio shows such as Fibber McGee & Molly and One Man's Family. When I was in third grade our teacher, Mary Simons (who was also a family friend), played old episodes of The Lone Ranger for us. With more and more Old Time Radio shows becoming available on vinyl and cassette, I would eventually hear episodes of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, The Shadow, The Green Hornet, and others. I have then been a fan of Old Time Radio most of my life.

The Radio Show Revival of the Seventies

It was on September 30 1962 that Old Time Radio came to an end with the final episodes of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Suspense. They would be the last two radio dramas that CBS would air for some time, and they would be among the few last radio shows with any amount of success. While the radio shows of old were gone, they were not forgotten. Indeed, the Seventies would see a revival of radio shows, with new shows debuting and Old Time Radio shows being released on tape and on vinyl.

Of course, it must be kept in mind that even after Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Suspense ended their runs, there would be yet other survivors of Old Time Radio that would continue to air. The Grand Ole Opry had debuted in 1925 as The WSM Barn Dance and still airs to this day. King Biscuit Time debuted in 1941 and also continues to air to this day.

What is more, it was only a little under two years after Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Suspense had left the air that there was an attempt at a new radio show. It was on August 3 1964 that Theatre 5 debuted on ABC Radio. Theatre 5 was an anthology series that aired Monday through Friday at 5:00 in the afternoon. Given when it debuted, Theatre 5 could be considered the first attempt to revive Old Time Radio. Unfortunately, it would not prove successful. Theatre 5 left the air only a little less than a year after it had debuted, on July 25 1965.

While Theatre 5 was not successful, it was clear that there was still interest in the radio shows of old. It was in the Sixties that collectors of Old Time Radio shows emerged. Many collectors would seek out the surviving transcription discs of radio shows from radio stations, sponsors, stars, and even guests from the shows. Many collectors would also record programs on reel to reel tape, cassette tapes not being available yet. As might be expected, a good deal of trading programs went on among collectors. Eventually companies emerged that would sell higher quality recordings of radio shows, initially on reel to reel tape and later on vinyl and still later on cassettes. Among the many companies that would emerge in the late Sixties, early Seventies, and later were Mar-Bren Sound Co., Mark56 Records, Murray Hill, and Nostalgia Lane.

Given the interest in Old Time Radio that emerged in the Sixties, it should come as no surprise that there would be books published on the subject. In 1967 The Great Radio Heroes by Jim Harmon became one of the earliest books published on Old Time Radio. The Great Radio Heroes covered a wide range of Old Time Radio shows, everything from The Shadow to The Adventures of Superman to I Love a Mystery. It also proved to be a success, so successful that it is still in print today.

By the early Seventies there was enough interest in Old Time Radio that not only would a thriving industry of companies releasing radio shows on vinyl and cassette would arise, but some companies would even use vinyl LP collections of radio shows as promotional items. Among the most notable is Coca-Cola, who released the LPs The Lone Ranger (Original Radio Broadcasts) and The Shadow (Original Radio Broadcasts) in 1972, and then Superman (Original Radio Broadcasts), Dick Tracy (Original Radio Broadcasts), and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon (Original Radio Broadcasts) in 1973.  Old radio shows weren't only released on vinyl and cassette. Some would actually find their way back on the air as well. Charles Michelson Inc. began syndicating reruns of old radio shows to stations around the country. By 1974 the company had sold Old Time Radio reruns to over 400 stations in the United States.

With the rising interest in old radio shows, it was only a matter of  time before someone would try to revive the form. It was in 1971 that the radio show Earplay debuted on NPR.  Earplay began when NPR station WHA received a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. While the program can quite rightfully be considered a revival of Old Time Radio, it did differ from the radio shows of old in some respects. For one thing, it aired in stereo. In fact, it was not unusual for one speaker to be used for one character and another speaker used for another character. Second, the production of Earplay was much more like that of a film than an Old Time Radio show. Segments would be recorded with only the voices of actors and then the sound effects and music would be added later.

Producer Karl Schmidt initially pitched his idea for Earplay as a 10 to 15 minute program, as he was worried that listeners at the time might not be accustomed to longer radio dramas. Fortunately, listeners eagerly embraced Earplay, so that in its second year it expanded to an hour. Playwrights from David Mamet to Achibald MacLeish wrote for the show. Over the years Earplay would feature such top actors as Leon Ames, Vincent Gardenia, Brock Peters, and Meryl Streep. Airing on NPR gave Earplay more freedom than it might have had on a commercial radio network, but it did have a downside when it came to funding the show. This would be one of the factors in the show's demise. Earplay would be discontinued in 1981 after ten years on the air.

It was perhaps the success of Earplay as much as it was growing interest in Old Time Radio that would lead the commercial radio networks to start their own radio shows. It was on September 3 1973 that The Zero Hour debuted in syndication. It was hosted by Rod Serling.  It was produced by Norman Corwin, who had produced many radio shows for CBS during the Golden Age of Radio. The Zero Hour focused on tales of adventure, mystery, and suspense.  It was a half hour in length and ran five days a week. In its first season episodes of The Zero Hour would air in five parts, Monday through Friday.

It was even before The Zero Hour ended its first season on December 7 1973 that the Mutual Broadcasting System began repeating episodes of the show on October 15 1973. When the second season of The Zero Hour began on April 19 1974 there was a significant change in the show. While it still aired five nights a week, the multi-part episodes were gone. Episodes would begin and end in a half hour each night. The final episode of The Zero Hour aired on July 26 1974, less than a year after it had debuted.

While The Zero Hour would not prove to be a success, the next radio show to debut would prove to be one of the most successful programs of the Seventies radio show revival. CBS Radio Mystery Theater was created by Himan Brown, who had created the classic radio show Inner Sanctum Mystery and produced over 30,000 shows, from The Adventures of the Thin Man to Terry and the Pirates. It should come as no surprise that CBS Radio Mystery Theater drew heavily from Inner Sanctum Mysteries. Like Inner Sanctum Mysteries, CBS Radio Mystery Theater started with a creaking door. Like Inner Sanctum Mysteries, it also had its own host with a dark sense of humour in the form of acclaimed actor E. G. Marshall. And like Inner Sanctum Mysteries, it was an anthology series that featured tales of mystery, suspense, and horror. CBS Radio Mystery Theater was an hour in length and aired seven nights a week.

CBS Radio Mystery Theater debuted on January 6 1974. While the show's target audience appears to have been older listeners who could remember Old Time Radio, the program picked up a loyal following of younger listeners as well. E. G. Marshall remained with the show for most of its run, with Tammy Grimes taking over as host in its final season. CBS Radio Mystery Theater aired nearly nine years, ending its run on December 31 1982. Since then CBS Radio Mystery Theater has been rebroadcast on both CBS stations and NPR stations.

The year 1974 seems to have been the peak of the radio show revival. It was on May 1 1974 that Sounds of the City debuted on the Mutual Black Network. Sounds of the City differed from many radio shows in the revival in that it was not an anthology series. Instead it was a fifteen minute soap opera with continuing characters. It was also unique in that it centred on black characters. Among the actors on the show were Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. The series focused on an African American family from the South and their efforts to make the transition to life in the North.

Sounds of the City would only last 39 weeks, but it is hard to say that the show was not a success. The impetus for the soap opera was Byron Lewis, who had founded UniWorld Group Inc., a multicultural advertising agency, in 1969. Among other things, it was UniWorld that handled the promotional campaign for the movie Shaft (1971). Unfortunately the Seventies were a tough time for black owned advertising agencies, so that by 1974 UniWorld was struggling. It was then that Byron Lewis remembered how his family listened to such Old Time Radio soap operas as Stella Dallas. He struck upon the idea of an African American soap opera, He found a sponsor in Quaker Oats, who would remain a client of UniWorld after Sounds of the City. It was then Sounds of the City that saved the agency.

There would be one other radio show that debuted in 1974 that was not an anthology show. A Prairie Home Companion would number among the most successful radio shows to emerge from the revival. It was essentially a revival of the variety shows of old, owing less to modern comedy (as The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour and The National Lampoon Radio Hour did) than it did the variety shows of the Golden Age of Radio.

In fact, it was after Garrison Keillor had researched The Grand Ole Opry for an article that he hit upon the idea of doing a variety show on radio. A Prairie Home Companion debuted on July 6 1974 on Minnesota Public Radio and was distributed through its syndication branch American Public Media. The show proved to be a success and aired until June 13 1987. For many years there would be annual farewell broadcasts until, at last, A Prairie Home Companion was revived on October 2 1993. Garrison Kellor left the show, with his last episode airing on July 2 2016. Chris Thile was announced as the show's news host in October 2016. It was on November 29 2017 that Minnesota Public Radio ended its association with Garrison Keillor due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Because Keillor owned the rights to the name A Prairie Home Companion, the show's name was changed to Live from Here. Live from Here continues to air to this day.

The next radio show to debut would begin in the offices of General Mills, Inc.'s advertising agency Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample. The agency was looking for a means to reach children besides television. It was in 1972 that the National Association of Broadcasters changed its code of practices so that advertising during children's shows was reduced from 16 minutes an hour to 12 minutes an hour. At the same time, costs for creating children's programming (which at the time consisted primarily of animated cartoons) had increased. It was also at that time that Himan Brown, who had been producing The CBS Radio Mystery Theater, wanted to introduce radio drama to a younger audience. The end result would be The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater. 

The General Mills Adventure Radio Theater was hosted by Tom Bosley, then familiar to many as Mr. Cunningham on Happy Days. It aired on Saturday and Sunday evenings and the episodes ran an hour. General Mills Radio Adventure Theatre debuted on February 5 1977. The program featured a mix of original episodes based on history and legends and episodes based on such literary classics as Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped, H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, Jule Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist. The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater ran for 52 episodes and aired its last original episode on July 31 1977. General Mills dropped out as the show's sponsor, so that when CBS began rerunning the show on August 8 1977 it aired under the title CBS Radio Adventure Theater. The program last aired on CBS on January 29 1978.

The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater was not the last new radio show to debut on CBS in the Seventies, nor was it the last one to have a big name sponsor. Sears Radio Theatre was produced by Elliott Lewis, a veteran radio actor who had voiced Archie Goodwin on The Amazing Nero Wolfe and Frank Remley on The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show among many other roles. Mr. Lewis had also directed episodes of Suspense, Pursuit, and the revival series Zero Hour. He had also produced Broadway is My Beat, The Lineup, Suspense, On Stage, and Crime Classics.

Sears Radio Theater ran five nights a week and ran an hour. It also had a rather unique format in that each night of the week was dedicated to a different genre and had a different host. Western Night was Monday, hosted by Lorne Greene.  Comedy Night was Tuesday, hosted by Andy Griffith. Mystery Night was Wednesday, hosted by Vincent Price. Love and Hate Night was Thursday, hosted by Cicely Tyson. Finally, Adventure Night was Friday. Initially Adventure Night was hosted by Richard Widmark. Later it would be hosted by Howard Duff and still later by Leonard Nimoy. Sears Radio Theater featured some well known actors, including Eve Arden, Tom Bosley, Hans Conried, John Dehner, Henry Morgan, Janet Waldo, and Jesse White.

Sears Radio Theater debuted on CBS on February 5 1979. Its first season ran until August 2 1979. The show then left CBS for the Mutual Broadcasting system where it was renamed Mutual Radio Theater. Otherwise the show was unchanged, with each night dedicated to a different genre, although Leonard Nimoy now hosted Adventure Night. Mutual Radio Theater made its debut on Mutual on March 3 1980. It would run until December 19 1980.

The Seventies were over, but there would be one more show in the radio show revival that had begun during the decade. It was in the same year, 1981, that Earplay ended that NPR launched a new series of radio dramas titled NPR Playhouse. Like Earplay, NPR Playhouse aired weekly. Unlike Earplay it was only a half hour, although it often aired multi-part stories. NPR Playhouse's debut on March 1 1981 would be an auspicious one. It was upon its debut that it began a 13 part expanded adaptation of the movie Star Wars (1977).  The Star Wars adaptation garnered a larger audience than NPR had ever had. Over the years NPR Playhouse would feature adaptations of Don Quixote, Madame Bovary, a series of Sherlock Holmes short stories, and even Doc Savage pulp novels. It also featured original episodes, as well as episodes that had originated on Earplay.

NPR Playhouse would prove fairly successful, so successful that it ran over for twenty years. Unfortunately, NPR discontinued NPR Playhouse in September 2002 because so many of its stations did not carry the show. While NPR Playhouse was the last show in the revival that had begun in the Seventies, its success was only exceeded by A Prairie Home Companion in terms of how long it ran.

The Seventies would see more new radio dramas debut than any decade since Old Time Radio ended. As to the reason the radio drama revival began at all, it went beyond the renewed interest in Old Time Radio that had begun in the Sixties. The Seventies saw a nostalgia wave that lasted for much of the decade. While many are familiar with the wave of the Fifties nostalgia that produced the musical Grease and the sitcom Happy Days during the decade, there was a boom in nostalgia for other eras as well. Among the most successful shows of the Seventies was The Waltons, which was originally set during the Great Depression. Several successful movies set in the era of Old Time Radio were released in the Seventies, including Summer of '42 (1971), The Way We Were (1973), Chinatown (1974),  and Death on the Nile (1978). Reprints of old pulp magazine novels that had begun in the Sixties with Bantam's reprints of the Doc Savage novels only increased in the Seventies. While the renewed interest in Old Time Radio dramas had begun among aficionados in the Sixties, the nostalgia wave of the Seventies would bring it into the mainstream.

The Seventies radio drama revival would have a lasting impact. While at no point have there been as many new radio dramas been on the air as there were in the Seventies, in the intervening years Old Time Radio shows have become increasingly available. They would continue to be released on cassette and vinyl. Still later Old Time Radio shows would be released on CD and on MP3. There are numerous sites on the web where one can stream old radio dramas. There are even multiple mobile apps for streaming old radio shows. Old Time Radio may have ended on September 30 1962, but it never really went away.

The Late Great Freddie Jones

Actor Freddie Jones died on July 9 2019 at the age of 91. He appeared in such films as Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) and Dune (1984), and he was a regular on the soap opera Emmerdale. He also made a notable guest appearance on The Avengers, becoming the second of six men to play John Steed (more on that later).

Freddie Jones was born in Dresden, a suburb of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, on September 12 1927. He attended grammar school in Longston. He had his first taste of acting while very young, appearing when he was a Boy Scout in at a show at the old Theatre Royal in Hanley. After leaving school, he worked for a brief time at the home appliance store Creda in Blythe Bridge. Afterwards he worked for ten years as a lab assistant in a chemical factory in Tamworth. He began acting as an amateur at the old Shelton rep and other companies in the Stoke region.

Freddie Jones was in his thirties when he won a scholarship to the Rose Bruford Training College of Speech and Drama. He spent some time with the Lincoln repertory before he made his London debut with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Afore Night Come at the Arts Theatre in 1962. On stage he also appeared in a revival of The Birthday Party in 1963, Lower Depths at the Aldwych Theatre in 1964, and The Persecution and Assassination of Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade in 1964. In 1965 he made his only appearance on Broadway, reprising his role in The Persecution and Assassination of Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade. In 1980 he played Sir in The Dresser.

Freddie Jones had an extensive career in television. He made his television debut in the two-part TV movie Androcles and the Lion in 1960. He played Count Muffat in the mini-series Nana and Claudius in the mini-series The Caesars. Mr. Jones also appeared in the mini-series The Victorians and Germinal. He played Ben Gunn in the series Treasure Island. Freddie Jones made several guest appearances on TV in the Sixties, the most notable being in The Avengers episode "Who's Who???" In the episode he played a criminal named Basil whose mind is switched with John Steed, so that for most of the episode it was actually Freddie Jones who was playing John Steed and Patrick Macnee who was playing Basil. This made Freddie Jones the second man to play Steed (the others besides Patrick Macnee being Simon Oates in the 1971 stage play The Avengers, Donald Monat in the 1971 South African radio drama The Avengers, Ralph Fiennes in the 1998 movie The Avengers, and Julian Wadham in the recent Big Finish audio series The Avengers – The Lost Episodes). In the Sixties Freddie Jones also guest starred on such shows as It Happened Like This, Z Cars, Maupassant, Festival, ITV Play of the Week, The Wednesday Play, Our Man at St. Mark's, The Liars, Theatre 625, The Baron, Half Hour Story, Contrasts, BBC Show of the Week, Cold Comfort Farm, The Saint, ITV Playhouse, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Omnibus, Menace, and The Main Chance.

In the Seventies Freddie Jones was the Storyteller on the TV series Jackanory. He had the role of Mr. Chaffery on Love and Mr. Lewisham, the Mayor on The Government Inspector, Sir George Uproar in The Ghosts of Motley Hall, Bertrand de Born on The Devil's Own, Selwyn Raven in The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris, and Socrates in The Greeks: A Journey in Space and Time. He appeared in the mini-series Fall of Eagles, Children of the Stones, Nicholas Nickleby, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Fall of Eagles, Pennies from Heaven, and Bull Week. He guest starred on the shows The Goodies, His and Hers, The Protectors, The Adventurer, Ooh La La!, Armchair 30, Bowler, Armchair Theatre, Childhood, Late Night Drama, ITV Sunday Night Drama, This Week, Centre Play, Thriller, Shades of Greene, Space: 1999, Brensham People, Just William, The Galton & Simpson Playhouse, Three Piece Suite, The Duchess of Duke Street, Van der Valk, Target, Hazell, BBC Play of the Month, and Strangers.

In the Eighties Freddie Jones was a regular on the TV programmes The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾, The District Nurse, Vanity Fair, How to Be Cool, and Sob Sisters. He guest starred on the shows Theatre Box, Travelling Man, Bulman, Summer Season, Theatre Night, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Boon, TECX, Hale and Pace, and Screenplay. He appeared in the miniseries The Paper Man.

In the Nineties Mr. Jones appeared in the mini-series Hotel Room, Mr. Wroe's Virgins, No Bananas, Neverwhere, Drover's Gold, and The Life and Crimes of William Palmer. He guest starred on the shows Inspector Morse, Screen One, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Lovejoy, Mother's Ruin, Just William, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, The Bill, Dalziel and Pascoe, Duck Patrol, Sunburn, The Passion, and The League of Gentleman.

It was in the Naughts that Freddie Jones began playing the long running role of Sandy Thomas on Emmerdale. He would remain on the show for 13 years and Sandy Thomas would be the final role he would play. He appeared in the mini-series Casanova. He guest starred on the shows Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), The Royal, Midsomer Murders, Casualty, and Heartbeat. In the Teens he continued to appear on Emmerdale.

Freddie Jones also had a fairly successful movie career. He made his movie debut in Accident in 1967. That same year he reprised his role as Cucurucu in the film version of Marat/Sade. In the Sixties he also appeared in the films Far From the Madding Crowd (1967), The Bliss of Miss Blossom (1968), Otley (1969), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), Doctor in Trouble (1970), The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970), and Goodbye Gemini (1970).

In the Seventies Mr. Jones appeared in the movies Assault (1971), Mr. Horatio Knibbles (1971), Kidnapped (1971), Anthony and Cleopatra (1972), Sitting Target (1972), Son of Dracula (1973), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), Juggernaut (1974), Vampira (1974), Never Too Young to Rock (1976), Zulu Dawn (1979), and The Elephant Man (1980).

In the Eighties Freddie Jones appeared in the movies Firefox (1982), Captain Stirrick (1982), Krull (1983), E la nave va (1983), Firestarter (1984), Dune (1984), Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), Comrades (1986), Maschenka (1987), Consuming Passions (1988), Erik the Viking (1989), and Wild at Heart (1990). He was the voice of Dalben in the animated film The Black Cauldron (1985).

In the Nineties he appeared in the films Poslední motýl (1991), Spies Inc. (1992), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1993), Prince of Jutland (1994), Die unendliche Geschichte III: Rettung aus Phantasien (1994), What Rats Won't Do (1998), My Life So Far (1999), House! (2000), and Married 2 Malcolm (2000).

In the Naughts  Freddie Jones appeared in the films The Count of Monte Cristo (200), Puckoon (2002), Ladies in Lavendar (2004), The Libertine (2004), Caught in the Act (2008), and Come On Eileen (2010). He was the narrator for the film By Our Selves (2015).

Freddie Jones was a phenomenally talented actor. A perfect example of his talent is The Avengers episode "Who's Who???." As mentioned earlier, in the episode he played Basil, a criminal whose mind is switched with John Steed early in the plot. Mr. Jones not only played Basil perfectly, but he was also extremely convincing as Steed. In fact, if not for the fact that Freddie Jones didn't exactly look like Steed, he could have easily played him on a regular basis. Of course, Mr. Jones did much more than guest star in an Avengers episode. He played the ill-fated asylum director Professor Richter in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. He played Thufir Hawat, Mentat and Master of Assassins, in Dune. He was the entirely clueless Harald the Missionary in Erik the Viking. Over the years Mr. Jones appeared in everything from Hammer Horrors to comedies to dramas to science fiction. He did all of it very well.

Godspeed Rip Torn

Rip Torn, the actor who appeared in such films as Cross Creek (1984) and played Artie on The Larry Sanders Show, died yesterday, July 9 2019, at the age of 88.

Rip Torn was born Elmore Rual Torn Jr. on February 6 1931 in Temple, Texas. The nickname "Rip" was passed down through the family, and he shared it with his father and an uncle. He attended Texas A&M and majored in agriculture before transferring to the University of Texas and switching to drama. After graduating Mr. Torn served in the Army in two years before moving to New York to study acting at the Actors Studio.

Rip Torn made his Broadway debut in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1956. Later, in 1960, he appeared in Sweet Bird of Youth. In the Sixties he appeared in the productions Daughter of Silence, Strange Interlude, Blues for Mister Charlie, and The Cuban Thing. In the Seventies he appeared on Broadway in Dance of Death, Look Away, and The Glass Menagerie. In the Eighties he appeared in Mixed Couples. In the Nineties he appeared in Anna Christie and The Young Man from Atlanta.

Rip Torn also had an extensive career in television. He made his television debut in 1956 in an episode of Omnibus. In the Fifties he guest starred on the TV shows The Kaiser Aluminum Hour, The Alcoa Hour, The Seven Lively Arts, The Restless Gun, The United States Steel Hour, Kraft Television Theatre, Matinee Theatre, Pursuit, Sunday Showcase, Playhouse 90, and Thriller. In the Sixties Mr. Torn guest starred on such shows as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Frontier Circus, Naked City, The Dick Powell Show, The Untouchables, Route 66, The Lieutenant, Channing, The Eleventh Hour, Ben Casey, Combat!, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Rawhide. In the Seventies he guest starred on such shows as Bonanza, Mannix, Most Wanted, and The Eddie Capra Mysteries. He appeared in the mini-series Blind Ambition.

In the Eighties Rip Torn appeared in the mini-series The Blue and the Gray, The Atlanta Child Murders, and Dream West. In the Nineties he played Artie, the bombastic producer of a talk show on The Larry Sanders Show. In 1996 he won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the role. He also served as the narrator on the show Ghost Stories and provided various voices on the animated series The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat. He guest starred on such shows as Columbo, Chicago Hope, The Wonderful World of Disney, and  Seasons of Love. He appeared in the mini-series Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III.

In the Naughts Rip Torn had a recurring role on the shows Will & Grace, The Lyon's Den, and 30 Rock. He guest starred on Soul Food and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. His last appearance on television was in TV series TripTank in 2016.

In addition to his careers on Broadway and television, Rip Torn also had a successful movie career. He made his film debut in an uncredited roll in Baby Doll in 1956. In the late Fifties he appeared in the films A Face in the Crowd (1957), Time Limit (1957), and Pork Chop Hill (1959). In the Sixties he appeared in the films King of Kings (1961), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), Hero's Island (1962), Critic's Choice (1963), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), You're a Big Boy Now (1966), Beach Red (1967), Sol Madrid (1968), Beyond the Law (1968), Lion's Love (1969), Coming Apart (1969), Tropic of Cancer (1970), and Maidstone (1970).

In the Seventies he appeared in the films Slaughter (1972), Payday (1973), Cotter (1973), Crazy Joe (1974), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Birch Interval (1976), Nasty Habits (1977), The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977), Coma (1978), The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), Heartland (1979), One-Trick Pony (1980), and First Family (1980). In the Eighties Rip Torn appeared in such films as A Stranger is Watching (1982), The Beastmaster (1982), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), Cross Creek (1983), Flashpoint (1984), City Heat (1984), Summer Rental (1985), Extreme Prejudice (1987), Nadine (1987), Cold Feet (1989), and Beautiful Dreamers (1990).

In the Nineties Rip Torn appeared in such films as Defending Your Life (1991), Beyond the Law (1993), RoboCop 3 (1993), For Better or Worse (1995), Canadian Bacon (1995), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Trial and Error (1997), Men in Black (1997), The Insider (1999), and Wonder Boys. He was the voice of Zeus in Disney's animated feature Hercules (1997). In the Naughts he appeared in such films as Men in Black II (2002), Rolling Kansas (2003), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), Marie Antoinette (2006), Three Days to Vegas (2007), Lucky Days (2008), American Cowslip (2009), and The Afterlight (2009). In the Teens he appeared in The Legend of Awesomest Maximus (2011), 3 Weeks to Daytona (2011), Men in Black 3 (2012), and Bridge of Names (2012).

By his own admission, Rip Torn could be irascible, but he was also an extremely talented actor. He played a wide variety of roles, ranging from Judas in King of Kings to General Ulysses S. Grant in the mini-series The Blue and the Gray. He played the affable defence attorney Bob Diamond in Defending Your Life, but he also played the villainous wizard Maax in The Beastmaster. His career spanned genres, and he appeared in everything from war movies (Pork Chop Hill) to science fiction (The Man Who Fell to Earth) to historical dramas (The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover) to comedies (Defending Your Life). Rip Torn may not have always been the easiest actor to get along with, but he was extremely versatile and talented.