Oh no you didn't...

The NBC mikes were a long
way from the days of playing
vaudeville for Jim and Marian
Jordan (Fibber McGee & Molly).

Oh yes we did.  XRB Radio said we needed another day of Christmas extravaganza, and the OTR Express was more than willing to comply, with 2 more shows from the vaults.

The first is a Fibber McGee and Molly program.  If there is such a thing as a homespun literate comedy, it would be FM&M.  From the bustling metropolis of Peoria, IL, Jim and Marian Jordan (FM&M) created these characters; latching on with writer Don Quinn turned this into one of the longest-running and best-loved comedies of all time.  Some remember it for the closet gag, but it was so much more than that. 

A rare photo of John
Brown, star of The
Damon Runyon Theatre

This Christmas show is no different from the show's other offerings; a great litany of jokes and characters that the McGees run into on the way to the post office.

Our second helping is a Damon Runyon Theatre show, called Dancing Dan's Christmas.  This syndicated program offered dramatizations of some of author Damon Runyon's famous characters.  Maybe you've seen Guys & Dolls?  Then you've seen some of Runyon's characters.  I love the DRT, though I warn you, if you listen to too many of them, you start talking in "dems" and "dozes".

What do shoelaces and blindness have to do with Christmas?

Everything in this Christmas-themed episode of the Old Time Radio Express.  We chug back through history and view Christmas through two very different lenses.  One is more traditional, as we bring you a Jack Benny classic, as Jack debates what to buy for his cast for Christmas.

 

No dames were harmed
in the recording of this
radio program.  At least not
on Christmas.

The other is an example of how mystery and thriller programs celebrated a holiday that by its very nature seemed contrary to their blood curdling programming.  Some didn't even attempt to bridge the gap and continued with their straightforward mystery progamming.  Others made an effort, as you will see on this Mysterious Traveler episode, entitled "Christmas Story".  I think it's got enough of a mix between Christmas and mystery that a fan of either will appreciate it.

OTR did Christmas in such a big and spectacular way, that I have so much more to share with you.  Next week on the OTRExpress we'll stay in the spirit, despite what the calendar says.

Until then, happy eggnogging...

The Journalist and the Redhead

As funny as Lucy was on TV,
co-workers say that she
was awfully good at giving
them this look.  It was usually
followed by extensive cursing.

This week on the OTR Express, we hear the climax to the "My Favorite Husband" program.  (Or for those who grew up in the TV era - "That Old Radio Show That Sounds A Lot Like 'I Love Lucy'").  We'll also have some good discussions about how many similarities there really were between the two programs.

Then we'll hear a detective show that I stumbled across in the last couple of years, and has turned out to be one of my favorite detective shows, from the characterizations, to the acting, to the no-easy-way-out script.  Unfortunately, this show - "Crime on the Waterfront" - didn't last long enough to even use the verb "last"... after a pilot show, it never got picked up by the sponsors.  You'll have to listen in the to show to know whether the failure of this show ruined the career of its leading man.

Enjoy this week's old time radio!