Old Radio

The lovely Joan Fontaine led a colorful and unusual childhood, alternately living in California and Japan. As soon as she struck adulthood she began auditioning for Hollywood film roles, racking up a spree of parts in B-movies.  A breakthrough role was in Hitchcock 's Rebecca, in which she co-starred with Laurence Olivier. The radio producers new she even sounded pretty, and snapped her up for parts in adaptations of contemporary dramas.  In this capacity, she appeared on Lux Radio Theater , Screen Guild Theater , and Theater Guild on the Air . Born in 1917, Fontaine is now an American treasure.

Ohhh, do we gave a good one today!  If you're a knowledgeable devotee of radio's yesteryear, you live for a figure like Carleton Young.  He was the star of a strange, obscure and short-lived radio series called Whisperer .  If you remember this one, you're doing well!  Young's character was the lawyer Philip Gault, who'd gotten into a car accident in which his voice had been reduced to a creepy whisper. He figured while he was at it, he'd infiltrate organized crime cells and lead them to the police. As interesting as that sounds, Young's output as an actor across his career was just as colorful, including parts it a panoply of projects included Jules Verne 's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Reefer Madness , the original (1937) Dick Tracy , and From Here To Eternity.  We wish a happy birthday to Mr. Young, who got started on this day in 1905.

Today marks the day on which, in 1907, " What's My Line " regular Arlene Francis was born. Francis was a New York native and a Finch College graduate, who achieved a relatively painless entry into show business. Her first big play appearance was when she was a mere 21, and she would go on to act in 25 Broadway plays. Radio-wise, the fetching starlet joined the cast of the intelligent and challenging game show " What's My Line ?"  The show was hosted by John Charles Daly and featured, along with Francis, high-brow personages such as Bennett Cerf and Dorothy Kilgallen . One thing to recall about " What's My Line ?" is that in addition to the main guessing game, the panelists also attempted to divine the identity of a mystery guest at the show's end.  MG's included Jimmy Stewart , Orson Welles , Marlene Dietrich and a host of others. Thanks for the memories, Arlene!

Terms of Endearment, The World According to Garp, Footloose, and Shrek.  Not a bad resume for an actor, and all of these film credits belong to John Lithgow. The serious and cerebral-appearing Lithgow also appeared in many episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater.  Not long before his all-important roles in Garp and Endearment, Lithgow lent his voice to such episodes of RMT as "Alien Presences," "The Dagger of Almohades," and "Portrait of an Assassin." Another tidbit is that Lithgow played Yoda on NPR adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  We wish him a happy birthday!

October 18, 1943: Debut of Perry Mason on the Radio ! Isn't it true that America's favorite courtroom drama began on radio today in 1943? Isn't it true that the author of the novels on which it is based withdrew his support for a primetime version of the daily serial version? Isn't it true that the radio version later came to TV transformed into "the Edge of Night"? Isn't it true it's Perry Mason? Well, isn't it? Earl Stanley Gardner despised the  Perry Mason   radio version of his work, and would only support a TV version if it adhered more closely to his novels, which it did with Raymond Burr in the lead role.

A dancer as a child and actress and sex symbol as an adult, Rita Hayworth was born Margerita Carmen Cansino on this day in 1918. Star of Gilda, Pal Joey, and Separate Tables, the stunning brunette was also once married to Orson Welles and romantically involved with Prince Aly Khan, Aga Khan's son. But let's allow others to worry about her lovelife, her scandals and intrigues.  We're here to celebrate her radio performances: there were many.  She appeared on The Lux Radio Theatre , Gulf Screen Guild Theatre , The Pepsodent Show (hosted by Bob Hope ), Suspense , and Command Performance .  On these top-flight shows, she acted alongside Cary Grant , Cecil B. DeMille, George Burns , and Angela Lansbury . Hayworth was dashing and sensual, and has been recognized by collective memory as one of the great film actresses of all time.

Scandalous author, incurable wit, and patron saint of cheeky wags, Oscar Wilde was born on this day in 1854.  His work became a mainstay on radio, with plays such as An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Picture of Dorian Gray being regularly adapted. His biting aphorisms make his work ideal for delivery by comedic radio actors.  Though he may have found the sentiment trite, we bid a happy birthday to playwright Oscar Wilde.