The Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy is sad to report the passing of former President, founding member and long-time board member Robert “Bob” Steinmetz at age 80.

An Unflagging Dedication to SPERDVAC:

• Bob was the longest-serving president in SPERDVAC’s history, serving two terms from 1992-1994 and 1998-2013.
• He served on the Board of SPERDVAC for so long we’ve lost track of the dates but he was on at least as recently as 1988, retiring in 2022.
• Bob’s great love at SPERDVAC was managing the cassette library for the club, making sure members got shows they borrowed and seeing to it that additions to our archive became available as well. Generations of members built their collections around his stewardship.
• His easy manner and ability to see everyone’s point of view helped keep the club’s leadership on the same page and focused on its long-term goals during his tenure as president. 
• Bob’s obituary in The Daily Breeze (linked above) mentions his role in several non-profit organizations dedicated to service and preserving America’s cultural heritage, including the Manhattan Beach Historical Society, SPERDVAC, and the Knights of Columbus.
• We all knew Bob as a dedicated, responsible member of SPERDVAC’s leadership who carried the torch for its founders and helped keep its institutional memory intact as we navigated dramatic changes in collecting and preservation during the 2000s.

We know all of our members share our condolences to Bob’s family and friends at this difficult time.

Per his obituary, Bob did not want a funeral.

I love streaming OTR on my phone (iPhone) but need suggestions.

I like being able to choose from a large amount of shows (I like it all in one place), the app/site remembers where I left off a show and it doesn’t cost money.

I’ve heard people talk about podcasts and YouTube but I feel like those options are more specific in their genre or show.

Any suggestions?

On October 21, 1947, The Mysterious Traveler aired “Death Is My Caller.”

A stockbroker learns that his former business partner has been released from prison.

That would be unsettling enough.

But then it begins to look as though the man is arranging the stockbroker’s death one careful step at a time.

With Maurice Tarplin associated with the broadcast, it is exactly the kind of creeping, psychological story that made The Mysterious Traveler such a perfect late-night listen.

Listen to Death Is My Caller, originally broadcast October 21, 1947:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/the-mysterious-traveler-1947-10-21-125-death-is-my-caller/

Then, on October 21, 1953, Crime Classics turned to one of the most notorious names in the American West with “Billy Bonny, Bloodletter, Also Known as ‘The Kid.’”

The episode follows the violent early life of William Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, from his youth in New Mexico into the killings that made him one of the West’s most infamous gunmen.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/crime-classics-billy-bonny-bloodletter-also-known-as-the-kid-1953-10-21/

And in 1950, Edmond O’Brien was Johnny Dollar in “The Jack Madigan Matter.”

Two witnesses connected to a federal investigation disappear.

Johnny begins looking for answers and finds himself moving through deception, missing people, and eventually murder.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/yours-truly-johnny-dollar-1950-10-21-68-the-jack-madigan-matter-1950-10-21-edmond-o-brien/

A man waiting for an old enemy to make his move. Billy the Kid’s bloody path through the West. And Edmond O’Brien’s Johnny Dollar following a trail of vanished witnesses.

That’s October 21 in radio.

Explore more broadcasts from October 21:

https://goldenradiohour.com/on-this-day/?date=10-21

Listen anytime with the Golden Radio Hour app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio

At 6:30 PM Pacific, Golden Radio Hour takes us into the world of private detectives, missing persons and dangerous cases with Johnny Dollar, Philip Marlowe, Richard Diamond and Sam Spade.

https://youtube.com/live/pJkcgcv0wxo

At 8:00 PM Pacific, the lights go down for Radio Past Midnight. The Black Museum, The Saint, Inner Sanctum and Escape will keep the mysteries coming through the night.

https://youtube.com/live/6-0Y_F4Qm5E

Both broadcasts run for approximately 12 hours.

I'd love to see more listeners discover Radio Past Midnight, so please share tonight's broadcasts with a friend who enjoys classic radio.

#OldTimeRadio #GoldenRadioHour #RadioPastMidnight

Does anyone remember a Suspense episode or at least I think it was suspense where Frank Lovejoy plays a radio operator at an airport trying to talk in an inexperienced pilot in a heavy fog? I would love to know the name of the episode or the original air date to see if I could find this. I’m not too sure that the pilot isn’t actually Willard Waterman.

On October 20, 1950, Sydney Greenstreet stepped into one of radio’s great detective roles when The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe aired “Stamped for Murder.”

It was the first episode of the series, with Greenstreet bringing his unmistakable voice and larger-than-life presence to Rex Stout’s brilliant, eccentric detective.

The case begins with what looks like a treasure hunt involving old papers and stamps, but soon leads Wolfe into forged documents, murder, and a collection of stamps worth far more than anyone first realizes.

Listen to Stamped for Murder, originally broadcast October 20, 1950:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/the-new-adventures-of-nero-wolfe-1950-10-20-1-nanw-ep01-stamped-for-murder/

Then, on October 20, 1953, Frank Sinatra found himself in trouble aboard a luxury liner in Rocky Fortune.

In “The Shipboard Jewel Robbery,” Rocky is working as a steward when a passenger’s valuable jewels disappear.

Things get much worse when a ship’s doctor is murdered and Rocky finds himself framed for the crime.

The solution involves stolen jewels, an injured arm, a plaster cast, and a scheme that nearly works perfectly.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/rocky-fortune-the-shipboard-jewel-robbery-1953-10-20/

And on October 20, 1947, Quiet, Please aired “Pavanne: The Girl with the Flaxen Hair.”

A man named Andrew begins hearing the voice of a little girl.

There is only one problem.

He can hear her, but he can never see her.

What begins as curiosity slowly becomes something much stranger as he tries to discover who, or what, he has been hearing.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/quiet-please-1947-10-20-20-pavanne-the-girl-with-the-flaxen-hair-1947-10-20/

Sydney Greenstreet beginning his run as Nero Wolfe. Frank Sinatra trying to clear himself of murder aboard a luxury liner. And Quiet, Please turning the voice of an unseen little girl into something deeply unsettling.

That’s October 20 in radio.

Explore more broadcasts from October 20:

https://goldenradiohour.com/on-this-day/?date=10-20

Listen anytime with the Golden Radio Hour app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio

What are episodes to check out as I am just discovering the show still but I do like the ones I have been hearing.

Also looking for other similar shows like this or Dragnet.

LOS ANGELES! 1930s Radio Mystery Theater is coming to the Elysian on Thursday, October 29th at 7:30 PM! 

Inspired by the greats of CBS Radio Mystery Theater, The Baby Radio Mystery Hour is an audio experience like no other. Featuring a live vintage synth score, live Foley, and two radio episodes recorded live onstage! 

The Baby Radio Mystery Hour is a send-up of Orson Welles’ The Shadow and follows Gaston Novis, a millionaire playboy who was mysteriously turned into an infant. Now with the help of his former fianceé turned Nanny, the Baby keeps ne’er do wells up all night… in fear!

Get your tickets today at the link below! 

https://calendar.elysiantheater.com/shows/the-baby-radio-mystery-hour-october-29-2026-752882/

I'm not a regular listener of "Suspense", but I've heard it enough times to know that the Sta-ful battery "needs water only three times a year, in normal car use". But what the hell was it?

Finally, after stumbling upon an issue of "Popular Mechanics" from September of 1951, I know the answer. This full-page ad explains how the Sta-ful battery works and what problem they were trying to solve with it.

I know this is on the periphery of OTR, but I always like understanding the context in which the shows were aired. To me, that includes understanding what was going on in the world when a show aired, and some knowledge of the products being advertised (and the songs that were popular/sung on shows with a musical component). It helps me better conceptualize how an era-listener would have experienced the show and bring the world of OTR slightly more alive.

Mods: if this is too far off the path, let me know and I'll remove it.

Detective show, first time really listening to it pretty good actually! Anyone else like it?

Vincent Price. An isolated lighthouse. And thousands of starving rats.

On October 19, 1958, Suspense aired one of old-time radio’s great nightmare stories: “Three Skeleton Key.”

Vincent Price stars as one of three men stationed at a lonely lighthouse when a derelict ship drifts toward their tiny island.

There is no living crew aboard.

Instead, the ship is carrying an enormous swarm of ravenous rats.

Once they reach the island, the lighthouse becomes a trap.

The story originated with French writer Georges-Gustave Toudouze, with the famous radio adaptation written by James Poe. Price returned to the story several times during radio’s classic era, including this 1958 Suspense production.

Listen to Three Skeleton Key, originally broadcast October 19, 1958:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/suspense-1958-10-19-773-three-skeleton-key/

Then, on October 19, 1951, Orson Welles was back as the charming and thoroughly untrustworthy Harry Lime in “Blue Bride.”

Harry heads to Bordeaux for a major counterfeit-currency deal while a rival closes in. His solution involves the rival’s bride, a helpful professor, a suitcase full of bogus money, and eventually a police siren getting much too close.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/the-lives-of-harry-lime-blue-bride-1951-10-19/

And in 1953, Hall of Fantasy aired “The Return From Death.”

A doctor succeeds at something humanity has dreamed about for centuries: bringing the dead back to life.

But overcoming death does not mean restoring what was lost, and the person who returns is not quite what the doctor expected.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/hall-of-fantasy-1953-10-19-the-return-from-death-1953-10-19/

Vincent Price trapped in a lighthouse surrounded by rats. Orson Welles running another Harry Lime scheme. And a doctor discovering that perhaps the dead should stay dead.

October 19 was a very good night to have a radio.

Explore more broadcasts from October 19:

https://goldenradiohour.com/on-this-day/?date=10-19

Listen anytime with the Golden Radio Hour app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio

I got in to OTR 5ish years ago by listening to The House in Cypress Canyon one night and have been hooked ever since! My favorite horror episodes are

The House in Cypress Canyon- Suspense

Ghost Hunt- Suspense

House on Lost Mans Bluff- Hermits Cave

Dunwich Horror- Suspense

Sorry Wrong Number- Suspense

Three Skeleton Key- Escape

Evening Primrose- Escape

Poltergiest- Lights Out

Little Old Lady- Lights Out

What are some of yours? Are there any favorites I have not mentioned that I should give a listen to?

The movie is one of my all time favorites of Bob Hope.

I love the radio show but of course it is a condensed version.

But it's a fun story with either version.

There's a joke that's shown up in several Jack Benny episodes that I've had difficulty understanding. Because it's variable, it's also difficult to search for.

The general structure of the joke is as follows:

Some cast member will say something that Jack doesn't like.

There's a pause, and in a southern accent, Jack says "Do I hear a voice from <location>?".

The location changes, but seems to be loosely associated with the cast member that spoke first. However, it doesn't sound like it's directly related to what they said.

I most recently came across it a few days ago (and of course I can't remember which episode it was, or what the cast member said), and in that particular case it was Phil Harris, and Jack's line was "Do I hear a voice from the corn fields?".

The audience always loves it, and I'm thinking it's a reference to something, but there's not much to go on. Since the joke held up to audiences over a period of at least a few years (before it could stand on its own) maybe it's a variation of a line from a movie that was popular? Anyone have any idea what the joke could be based on?

On October 18, 1948, Lux Radio Theatre presented The Razor’s Edge, starring Ida Lupino and Mark Stevens.

The story follows a disillusioned veteran who turns away from the life everyone expects him to want and begins searching for something deeper, while the people around him make very different choices involving money, status, love, and self-destruction.

It is a much more reflective kind of radio drama than the crime and mystery shows we usually spotlight, and Ida Lupino gives the story a strong emotional center.

Listen to The Razor’s Edge, originally broadcast October 18, 1948:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/lux-radio-theatre-1948-10-18-48-the-razor-s-edge-ida-lupino-mark-stevens-no-op-cl/

Also on October 18, 1948, Inner Sanctum Mysteries aired “Death of a Doll.”

A reporter investigating a drowned girl and the doll connected to her death begins attracting the attention of someone who would very much like the investigation to stop.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/inner-sanctum-mysteries-1948-10-18-inner-sanctum-death-of-a-doll/

And in 1959, Bob Bailey’s Johnny Dollar took on “The Double Identity Matter.”

Johnny’s newest romantic interest suddenly becomes the leading suspect in a string of insurance-fraud deaths, forcing him to investigate not only her story, but whether she is even who she claims to be.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/yours-truly-johnny-dollar-1959-10-18-659-the-double-identity-matter-1959-10-18-bob-bailey/

Ida Lupino in a thoughtful Hollywood drama. Inner Sanctum with a drowned girl and a sinister doll. And Johnny Dollar discovering that romance and insurance fraud make a dangerous combination.

That’s October 18 in radio.

Explore more broadcasts from October 18:

https://goldenradiohour.com/on-this-day/?date=10-18

Listen anytime with the Golden Radio Hour app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio

#OnThisDayInRadio #IdaLupino #LuxRadioTheatre #InnerSanctum #JohnnyDollar #BobBailey #OldTimeRadio #GoldenRadioHour

People liked my original post so here are some more!

A repeat-free Halloween list: I checked against all the episodes already named in this conversation, including the suggested additions. None of these repeats a story—even in a different production.
We’ve already used most of the biggest horror staples, so this is the next set of classic, accessible choices, with a little science-fiction horror and survival suspense mixed in.

1. “The Yellow Wallpaper” — Suspense
July 29, 1948 · Agnes Moorehead
A woman confined to a country house for a “rest cure” becomes obsessed with her bedroom’s wallpaper—and the figure she believes is trapped behind it. Claustrophobic psychological horror with a superb central performance.
https://archive.org/details/TSP480729
2. “Casting the Runes” — Escape
November 19, 1947
An encounter with an occultist leaves a man under a deadly curse. Adapted from M. R. James, this is a strong choice for anyone who likes supernatural menace intruding into an otherwise respectable, ordinary world.
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/escape-casting-the-runes-1947-11-19/
3. “On a Country Road” — Suspense
November 16, 1950 · Cary Grant and Cathy Lewis
A couple driving through Long Island hears a radio warning about an escaped woman carrying a butcher cleaver. Then their own journey becomes increasingly precarious. Human menace rather than ghosts, and excellent nighttime listening.
https://archive.org/details/TSP501116
4. “Donovan’s Brain” — Suspense
May 18 and 25, 1944 · Orson Welles
A scientist keeps a dead millionaire’s brain alive in a jar. The experiment becomes something else when the brain begins exerting control over him. A substantial two-part horror story, worth setting aside an evening for.
https://archive.org/details/44051825
Listening note: The curator recommends the West Coast Part 1 dated May 22 and the East Coast Part 2 dated May 25. Both are on the page.
5. “Leiningen Versus the Ants” — Escape
January 14, 1948 · William Conrad
A stubborn plantation owner refuses to abandon his land before an advancing army of ants. Like “Three Skeleton Key,” it turns an overwhelming natural threat into a siege nightmare—but it is a completely different story.
https://archive.org/details/Escape480114LeiningenVsTheAnts
6. “Mars Is Heaven” — Dimension X
July 7, 1950
An expedition reaches Mars and encounters something astonishingly familiar. Ray Bradbury’s story is an excellent bridge between science fiction and horror; avoid reading a synopsis that explains the surprise.[7][8]
https://www.relicradio.com/otr/2024/06/mars-is-heaven-by-dimension-x-2/
7. “The Most Dangerous Game” — Escape
October 1, 1947
A hunter becomes the quarry in Richard Connell’s classic human-hunting story. Not supernatural, but a natural fit for a Halloween playlist built around pursuit, isolation, and the collapse of civilized behavior.
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/escape-the-most-dangerous-game-1947-10-01/
8. “Zero Hour” — X Minus One
November 23, 1955
The neighborhood children are absorbed in a new game. The adults have more important things to worry about. Bradbury turns the gap between what children say and what adults hear into an especially nasty premise.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_X_Minus_One_Singles
Listening note: Select “X Minus One 55-11-23 (026) Zero Hour.” It runs approximately 14 minutes.
9. “The Country of the Blind” — Escape
November 26, 1947
A sighted outsider reaches an isolated community where everyone is blind. What he considers his greatest advantage becomes a source of danger. H. G. Wells supplies an unsettling reversal rather than a conventional monster story.
https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/escape-the-country-of-the-blind-1947-11-26/
10. “The Black Door” — Suspense
November 19, 1961
An archaeologist searching Central America for the “City of the Fire God” encounters a mystery that invites precisely the wrong kind of curiosity. A late-series supernatural adventure, and a good closer for a night of forbidden discoveries.
https://archive.org/details/TSP611119

Listening note: Choose the WROW recording if the playlist offers both station versions; the Suspense Project identifies it as the better surviving copy.

preferably nothing made later than the 80s or 90s.

Long before Ernest Kinoy became an Emmy-winning writer on the landmark 1977 miniseries Roots, he was helping shape some of radio’s best science fiction.

On October 17, 1957, X Minus One aired “Point of Departure,” adapted for radio by Kinoy.

In the story, a factory manager looks back on the scandal and tragedy surrounding an attempt to revive an ancient technology.

That was one of the things X Minus One did so well. It could begin with a science fiction idea, then turn it into a very human story about ambition, risk, and consequences.

Kinoy was one of the important writers behind both X Minus One and Dimension X. Years later, he carried that storytelling ability into television and became one of the writers of Roots, earning an Emmy for his work.

Listen to Point of Departure, originally broadcast October 17, 1957:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/x-minus-one-1957-10-17-point-of-departure/

Then, in 1949, Inner Sanctum Mysteries aired “Image of Death.”

A sculptor has built a new life under a new identity, but an old crime refuses to stay buried. When blackmail enters the picture, the past begins closing in.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/inner-sanctum-mysteries-1949-10-17-inner-sanctum-image-of-death/

And in 1956, Bob Bailey’s Johnny Dollar reached Part 3 of “The Phantom Chase Matter.”

Johnny had been hunting an embezzler who disappeared after skipping bail.

Then his informant is murdered.

Just like that, the case is no longer only about finding a missing man. Johnny is now investigating a homicide.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/yours-truly-johnny-dollar-1956-10-17-499-the-phantom-chase-matter-ep-3-3rd-of-9-1956-10-17-bob-bailey/

Ernest Kinoy moving from radio science fiction toward a career that would eventually include Roots. Inner Sanctum digging up a deadly past. And Johnny Dollar watching a routine investigation turn into murder.

That’s October 17 in radio.

Explore more broadcasts from October 17:

https://goldenradiohour.com/on-this-day/?date=10-17

Listen anytime with the Golden Radio Hour app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio

#OnThisDayInRadio #XMinusOne #ErnestKinoy #Roots #InnerSanctum #JohnnyDollar #BobBailey #OldTimeRadio #GoldenRadioHour

I've put together two nearly 12-hour old-time-radio marathons for anyone who enjoys classic detective stories, suspense, and a little late-night mystery.

Golden Radio Hour | 6:30 PM Pacific

Detective Nights features 24 episodes of Night Beat, Philip Marlowe, Richard Diamond, and The Line Up.

https://youtube.com/live/IlUq_FAnr9U

Radio Past Midnight | 8:00 PM Pacific

Shadow Stories features 23 episodes from The Black Museum, The Mysterious Traveler, Escape, and CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

https://youtube.com/live/W2_qTmZ2PVw

I spent extra time screening the recordings for sound quality and keeping recently used episodes out of the lineups.

Both streams are free to listen to. If you're a fan of classic radio, you're welcome to drop in for a story or settle in for the night.

I'd also be interested to know which old-time-radio programs are your favorites.

On October 16, 1954, Gunsmoke put Kitty right in the middle of the danger.

In “Kitty Caught,” bank robbers flee Dodge with Kitty as their hostage, forcing Matt Dillon to chase them while trying to keep her alive.

It’s the kind of story that shows why the radio version of Gunsmoke could be so tense. William Conrad’s Matt Dillon is at his best when he has to stay calm while everything around him is going wrong.

Listen to Kitty Caught, originally broadcast October 16, 1954:

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/gunsmoke-1954-10-16-131-kitty-caught/

October 16 also brought listeners a very different kind of danger.

In 1945, Inner Sanctum Mysteries aired “Till Death Do Us Part.”

A pair of honeymooners witness a killing and quickly find themselves pulled into a deadly mystery of their own.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/inner-sanctum-mysteries-1945-10-16-inner-sanctum-till-death-do-us-part/

And in 1960, Bob Bailey starred in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar as Johnny investigated “The Twins of Tahoe Matter.”

A wealthy man disappears at Lake Tahoe, leaving his identical twin nephews as the obvious suspects.

The problem?

Both seem to have airtight alibis.

https://goldenradiohour.com/old-time-radio-episodes/yours-truly-johnny-dollar-1960-10-16-708-the-twins-of-tahoe-matter-1960-10-16-bob-bailey/

William Conrad racing to save Kitty. Honeymooners trapped in an Inner Sanctum nightmare. And Bob Bailey trying to solve a case where two suspects seem impossible to pin down.

October 16 gave radio listeners plenty to stay up for.

Explore more broadcasts from October 16:

https://goldenradiohour.com/on-this-day/?date=10-16

Listen anytime with the Golden Radio Hour app:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goldenradiohour.radio

#OnThisDayInRadio #Gunsmoke #WilliamConrad #InnerSanctum #JohnnyDollar #BobBailey #OldTimeRadio #GoldenRadioHour