While we celebrate the birthday’s this week of a number of familiar folks, I want to highlight one in particular; Raymond Burr. Why? Because not only do we have TV’s Perry Mason in episodes of Suspense, Pat Novak For Hire and multiple episodes of Fort Laramie, but he stars in a tremendous one person new to the channel production of The CBS Radio Workshop. Known as “The Silent Witness”, it is a courtroom drama featuring only Burr. Great radio!

The other major name being celebrated is Jimmy Stewart and like Burr, he will headline two different specials. A Lux Radio Theater version of his western motion picture, “Winchester ’73″ as well as multiple episodes of his very own western radio series, The Six-Shooter. I also will share with you portions of my visit with Charles & Erna Reinhart, the c0-authors of the very comprehensive book, Jimmy Stewart On The Air which covers Stewart entire radio career.

Additional birthday tributes for Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes); British actor Herbert Marshall (The Man Called X); Dennis Day (A Day In The Life Of Dennis Day, The Jack Benny Program); Barbara Luddy (The First Nighter Program); radio director Jock McGregor (Nick Carter, The Crime Club, The Sealed Book) and Jeanne Bates (a featured role in a new one from Let George Do It).

We have a 5-part Yours Truly, Johnny Marathon as well as a Man of Steel Marathon (A six-part storyline from July 1940) plus additional new to the channel this week episodes from Hopalong Cassidy, The Shadow, Bergen & McCarthy, Jack Benny, Phil Harris & Alice Faye, The Damon Runyon Theater, Screen Director’s Playhouse, Suspense, CBS Radio Workshop, Suspense, Lux Radio Theater and Frontier Fighters.

Greg

We begin the week with Mother’s Day (and four appropriately themed episodes from Harris & Faye, The Red Skelton Show, The Life Of Riley, Father Knows Best). And we once again mark National Police Week with a number of law enforcement episodes from Dragnet, Calling All Cars and Tales Of The Texas Rangers.

Among the birthday tributes: Katharine Hepburn (Lux Radio Theater’s “Undercurrent”); Henry Fonda (Lux Radio Theater’s “Mary Burns, Fugitive”, The Cavalcade Of America, Suspense); Joseph Cotten (Academy Award Theater, Suspense); Maureen O’Sullivan (Chase & Sanborn Hour); bandleader Meredith Willson (Burns & Allen Show); author Leslie Charteris (The Saint) and more.

Additional new to the channel offerings from The Whistler, The Jack Benny Program, Let George Do it, The Life Of Riley, Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, Wild Bill Hickok, CBS Radio Workshop, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, Candy Matson, Suspense, The Great Gildersleeve and The Weird Circle.

Greg

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A very busy birthday week on RadioClassics (heck the entire month of May is crammed with radio star’s birthdays) but I want to open by mentioned a new to the channel episode of The CBS Radio Workshop – it is nearly indescribable, but I believe some of you will love it (others maybe not so much). Anyway – it is “A Matter Of Logic” from June 1st, 1956 and will be heard on Sirius XM 82 right after When Radio Was on Monday, Wednesday and Friday – the start time is a little odd – it’s 12:50pm ET (11:50am CT, 10:50am MT, 9:50am PT). William Conrad stars basically as himself – a radio actor getting coached by the show’s writer/director/producer, Antony Ellis. It’s a show about doing a show. Great stuff!

Okay onward;

We celebrate the birthdays of three different actors who played The Shadow on radio; John Archer, Brett Morrison and Orson Welles. Only Welles will not be featured in that role but rather instead starring in the following shows; The Black Museum, The Third Man, Suspense, fill-in hosting The Jack Benny Program and Mercury Theater On The Air’s version of “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

We also have birthday specials for Gary Cooper, Alice Faye, Fred Astaire, Anne Baxter, Mike Wallace (of 60 Minutes Fame), Ben Wright (Pursuit, Escape, Suspense) and announcer Frank Martin (Lights Out, Suspense).

Greg

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Wrapping up April and rolling into the month of May with a very busy week of birthdays. We celebrate  Bing Crosby, Eve Arden, Norman Corwin, Lionel Barrymore, Harry McNaughton (It’s Higgins, Sir), Ian Martin (Cloak & Dagger, Suspense) and Glenn Ford.

Leading the new to the channel episodes will be the Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar Marathon – “The Clinton Matter” from March of 1956. Also we have episodes from The CBS Radio Workshop; United Nation’s Radio (Corwin’s “Could Be”); The Whistler; Murder At Midnight; Dark Fantasy; Damon Runyon Theater; The Dennis Day Show; Let George Do It, The Screen Director’s Playhouse and more.

And lastly we bring back a First & Finale special by playing Jack Benny’s debut on radio (The Canada Dry Program from May 2nd, 1932) and his final original episode (The Jack Benny Program from May 22nd, 1955).

Greg

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First of all we are just two months now away from the inaugural Radio Spirits Old-Time Radio Cruise. I am very happy with all the folks coming along, we have a great turnout. Gonna be a blast. If any of you out there are still interested in joining us, I believe there are still a few cabins still available. We depart the New York City area on June 22nd, 2013 for a 5 day Royal Caribbean cruise to Bermuda. We are going to re-create radio plays and so much more. And the actors I am using on stage will be “all of you!”      Here is the website http://www.cruisingwithgregbell.com/  or you can call Larry at 1-800-269-2127

Okay lots of new to the channel this week episodes from multiple series including Suspense, Frontier Fighters, Dark Fantasy, The Witch’s Tale, CBS Radio Workshop, The Whistler, Damon Runyon Theater, The Saint, Gunsmoke, Wild Bill Hickok, Let George Do It, The Shadow, The Great Gildersleeve, Mr. & Mrs. North, Columbia Workshop, Screen Director’s Playhouse and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar.

We celebrate the following series debut anniversaries; Gunsmoke, Richard Diamond Private Detective and X Minus One. And birthday week tributes for Vic Perrin (again with my interview with his son, George), Shirley Temple (She is 85!), France Robinson (Let George Do It, The Whistler), Charlotte Lawrence (Suspense) and Ted Osborne (The Columbia Workshop, The Mysterious Traveler).

Greg

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Some major radio stars were born this week so that’s a perfect excuse to also debut some wonderful new to the channel episodes from various series.

For example. we have Hans Conried featured on the very creative CBS Radio Workshop‘s “Interview with Shakespeare”;  Betty Lou Gerson is being celebrated with two new episodes of The Whistler – the first “The Human Catalyst” co-stars Tony Barrett and in the second “Sleep, My Pretty One” she supports Willard Waterman (aka the second Gildersleeve).

Other birthdays -  Bob Hastings (Archie Andrews, X Minus One) still with us and turning 88!  Arthur Lake (Dagwood in The Adventures of Blondie); Joan Alexander (Lois Lane in Superman, Ellen Deering on Philo Vance, Detective); Al Hodge (The Green Hornet) and Les Tremayne’s Centennial (The Falcon, The Thin Man).

We also have a few movie stars birthdays – William Holden, John Hodiak, Wendy Barrie and John Gielgud (he stars in multiple episodes of Sherlock Holmes).

And if you catch this week’s Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar Marathon (The Alvin Summers Matter) stick around afterwards and catch a new to the channel offering of the female led detective series, Candy Matson.

Greg

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Hey folks here are some of the highlights for this week on the channel;

A Man Of Steel Marathon: two hours of Superman and an 8 part storyline from August of 1946. Clayton “Bud” Collyer as both Clark Kent and The Man Of Steel, Joan Alexander as Lois Lane and Julian Noa as Daily Planet Editor Perry White.

The return of the Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar Marathon storyline, “The Matter of Reasonable Doubt” from May 1956.

Lux Radio Theater’s take on the classic adventure picture, “The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre” with Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston joined by Frank Lovejoy, Gerald Mohr and Don Diamond.

The anniversary of the following series radio debuts; Nero Wolfe, The Falcon, Dimension X, Nick Carter Master Detective and My Friend Irma.

Birthday week tributes for Harry Morgan (Mystery In The Air, This Is Your FBI); Frankie Thomas (Tom Corbett, Space Cadet); Paul McGrath (The Inner Sanctum Mysteries, The Chase); Sylvia Picker (Suzy on Box 13) and Larry Keating (This Is Your FBI).

Greg

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The week begins with Easter and so we have a two-hour comedy block with Easter episodes from Phil Harris & Alice Faye, The Life Of Riley, Life With Luigi and The Great Gildersleeve.

We mark the first week of Major League Baseball with the following Hall of Famers showing up on classic comedy series; Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Leo Durocher. And of course we have Abbott & Costello performing “Who’s On First”.

Some major Hollywood stars birthdays are celebrated: Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Spencer Tracy and Doris Day (she is 89!).

And the radio stars are well represented too led by Jack Webb (Dragnet, Pat Novak For Hire, Pete Kelly’s Blues, Jeff Regan Investigator) as well as comedian Henry Morgan (in a great new to the channel CBS Radio Workshop “The Crazy Life); Frances Langford (The Bickersons); John Brown (new to the channel Damon Runyon Theater, The Life Of Riley, My Friend Irma); Bea Benaderet (Arch Oboler’s Plays); Les Damon (The Falcon); Fran Carlon (Big Town); Maurice Tarplin (Murder Clinic, Boston Blackie, The Mysterious Traveler, The Strange Dr. Weird); Lou Merrill (The Whistler, Crime Classics) and Charles Russell (Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar).

Greg

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Lots of new to the channel during this final week of March as we as usual celebrate birthdays as well as series debut anniversaries.

Actually just one series anniversary, but it’s a great one. Arch Oboler’s Plays debuted on March 25th back in 1939 for it’s first run. It later returned during World War II as a 1945 summer replacement series. We’ll play the very first episode “The Ugliest Man In The World” starring Raymond Edward Johnson and then a female lead episode “A Gallery Of Big Shots” from the 1945 run.

We mark Frank Lovejoy’s birthday this week with a tremendous new to the channel Suspense episode known as “The Long Night” with Lovejoy as an air traffic controller trying to “talk down” a lost pilot. Of course we also have Lovejoy in a couple from his best known series, Nightbeat.

Other birthday tributes – Richard Denning (My Favorite Husband, Mr. & Mrs. North); Ed Begley, Sr (supporting roles on The Fat Man, Richard Diamond); Earle Ross (Judge Hooker on The Great Gildersleeve); Andy Clyde (California on Hopalong Cassidy); Fletcher Markle (Studio One); writer Lucille Fletcher (“Sorry Wrong Number”, “The Hitchhiker”); writer Joel Murcott (Frank Race, Tales Of The Texas Rangers); writer Phil Rapp (Baby Snooks, The Bickersons); and show creator Clifford Goldsmith (The Aldrich Family).

The new to the channel episodes are from the following series Columbia Workshop, Red Skelton Show, Academy Award Theater, Let George Do It, Nick Carter Master Detective, Gunsmoke, Damon Runyon Theater, Jack Benny Program, Mr. & Mrs. North, The Whistler, Murder At Midnight, Wild Bill Hickok, CBS Radio Workshop, Have Gun Will Travel and The Great Gildersleeve.

Greg

We open the week with St. Patrick’s Day and themed episodes from Jack Benny, Fred Allen and George & Gracie and concluded the week with birthday specials for a couple very talented ladies, Joan Crawford & Paula Winslowe.

In between you’ll get additional birthday week tributes for Ozzie Nelson, announcer Art Gilmore, musical director Rex Koury (Gunsmoke), Ross Martin, Jack Kruschen, Edward Everett Horton, Kermit Murdock and Jody Gilbert.

In the do-not-miss category be sure to check out “Dick Tracy in B-Flat” as presented on Command Performance. A real tour de force production which combines music and comic strips featuring an incredible cast including Bing Crosby as Dick Tracy, Dinah Shore as Tess Trueheart, Bob Hope as Flattop, Frank Sinatra as Vitamin Flintheart, Jimmy Durante as The Mole and many more.

Other highlights include a five-part Yours Truly Johnny Dollar Marathon, the latest baby storyline episode of The Great Gildersleeve, the children’s show Let’s Pretend’s version of “The Little Mermaid” and a diverse mix of westerns; Gunsmoke, Fort Laramie, Frontier Fighters and even Suspense (“The Hunting of Bob Lee” starring Richard Widmark).

Finally we are still looking for a few more folks that would like to join me for the Radio Spirits Old-Time Radio Cruise planned for June 22nd-27th 2013 (NYC to Bermuda on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer Of The Seas). Cabins are filling up, so we need to hear from you now. You can either visit the website at  www.cruisingwithgregbell.com/ or call Larry at 800-269-2127   Lots of great activities planned, you can some of those by clicking HERE

Greg