April 23: Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare's biggest claim to fame was...being William Shakespeare. He was born on this day in 1564, so let's take a moment to celebrate performances of Shakespeare works on old time radio.

Orson Welles was a lover of the classics who cut his teeth as a stage actor acting in several Shakespeare classics. He produced and directed several, including some for the Federal Theatre Project in the early 1930's. On the air, he brought Shakespeare to life on his program Columbia Workshop, with adaptations of Hamlet and As You Like It.

Shakespeare's plays were adapted on such programs as I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, Suspense, and Theatre Guild. References to Shakespeare characters and phrases inspired titles of episodes of Gunsmoke, First Nighter, and Favorite Story. He is too big a figure in arts and literature not to have made his imprint on old time radio. Happy Birthday, Bard.

February 7: Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens

February 7: Happy Birthday, Charles Dickens

We salute the author of A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, David Copperfield, and many other classics because so many of his works were adapted into radio plays.

If you can recall sitting on the floor with the fire crackling nearby, your mom sorting her coupons at the coffee table, and radio actors giving voice to great Dickens dramas, here's what you're remembering, specifically:

• A Tale of Two Cities on Lux Radio Theatre, 1942, 1945, and 1946
• Great Expectations on Theatre Guild, 1953
• David Copperfield on Theatre Guild, 1950
• A Christmas Carol on Campbell Playhouse, 1939
• Dickens' work was also presented on Suspense, Richard Diamond, Escape and Lights Out.

Imagine turning on commercial radio today and hearing classic literature instead of gossip about Miley Cyrus or the latest hit song by Justin Bieber.