OLD-TIME RADIO ESSENTIALS Episode 55: The Great Gildersleeve (S5 Holiday Special)

Old-Time Radio Essentials returns with episode 55, and as we continue Season 5, we present Paul's pick, an installment of the NBC comedy series, The Great Gildersleeve, from 12/24/44. Come for the old-time radio, stay for the scintillating (that's one way of putting it) discussion afterwards!

As you listen, perhaps you'll learn if we feel this entry meets the following criteria:

1. Is it truly representative of that series? (Can anyone point to it and say, "Yes, that is what [NAME OF SERIES] was all about.")

2. Is it an episode worthy of inclusion in any and every OTR aficionado's private collection?

So with this in mind, we four bring you, as our fifty-fifth number (but 6th official episode of S5), this episode of The Great Gildersleeve, from Christmas Eve, 1944. We'll introduce the show, play it in its entirety, then discuss it at length. Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy it!

Please show your support of the podcast by doing any of the following...

To comment on how we might improve OTR-E, or give suggestions for future discussions, please write to us at [email protected] . Put the word "Essentials" in the subject line.

Your feedback means a lot to us! A review at iTunes or at your usual podcatcher would be appreciated.

Next Time: It's Pete's pick again, and he'll bring us, for our 1st number of 2026, special guest programmer (and fellow OTR podcaster) John Tefteller, who will be sharing an episode of You Bet Your Life, starring Groucho Marx. Join us then, won't you?

SIX-GUN SANTA CLAUS, A Jake Dimes Christmas Number

Western detective Jake Dimes returns for a third holiday adventure! At a family gathering in Celestial City, Jake and his sidekick Briar Buck tell the "one hundred percent true" tale of a youngster, living a hardscrabble existence in a small Arizona town, who gets a new lease on life through the kindness of a circus performer. Aside from the main story, two members of the family reveal some important news! Enjoy this new offering from the Narada Radio Company, and Happy Holidays to all of our listeners!

With the voice talents of:

Dana Gonsalves as JAKE DIMES

Victoria Fancki as CHRIS GREENSLATE DIMES

Austin Beach as BRIAR BUCK

Nancy Bueler as MOLLY SUTCLIFFE BUCK

Joe Stofko as FRED GREENSLATE

Glenn Hascall as SLIM SUTCLIFFE and

Debby Gonzales Ramirez as LUPE; with

Nick Wommack as TODD

Alan Clower as NEVADA

Andy Hartson-Bowyer as ACE GARLAND

Paul J. Patterson as COLONEL BRAGG

Mel Rose as FREDERICA "RICKY" DIMES

Additional voices by Pete Lutz

Cannonball Kelly as YOUR ANNOUNCER

*

Adapted, produced and directed by Pete Lutz, from a short story by Lee E. Wells.

The Jake Dimes Theme was composed by Pete Lutz, arranged and performed by Dr. Ross Bernhardt.

Music passages came from "The Winter's Passed" by Wayne Barlow; other music from the public domain with the exception of certain stings by Edward Champion.

THE BEETLE WHO WENT ON HIS TRAVELS by Hans Christian Andersen

Originally produced for Mutual Audio Network's Saturday Story Circle, I decided to share my narration of this enchanting story with my regular listeners, in case they missed it at Mutual a couple years ago. Enjoy!

OLD-TIME RADIO ESSENTIALS Episode 54: I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again

Old-Time Radio Essentials returns with episode 54, and as we continue Season 5, we present Patte's pick, an early episode of the groundbreaking BBC comedy series, I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, from April, 1964. Come for the old-time radio, stay for the scintillating (that's one way of putting it) discussion afterwards!

As you listen, perhaps you'll learn if we feel this entry meets the following criteria:

1. Is it truly representative of that series? (Can anyone point to it and say, "Yes, that is what [NAME OF SERIES] was all about.")

2. Is it an episode worthy of inclusion in any and every OTR aficionado's private collection?

So with this in mind, we four bring you, as our fifty-fourth number (but 5th official episode of S5), this episode of I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, from 04/64. We'll introduce the show, play it in its entirety, then discuss it at length. Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy it!

Please show your support of the podcast by doing any of the following...

To comment on how we might improve OTR-E, or give suggestions for future discussions, please write to us at [email protected] . Put the word "Essentials" in the subject line.

Your feedback means a lot to us! A review at iTunes or at your usual podcatcher would be appreciated.

Next Time: It's Paul's pick again, and he'll bring us, for our 5th annual Christmas special, a holiday edition of The Great Gildersleeve. Join us then, won't you?

OLD-TIME RADIO ESSENTIALS Episode 53: NBC Presents: Short Story

Old-Time Radio Essentials returns with episode 53, and as we continue Season 5, we present Pete's pick, or rather Special Guest Programmer Jack Ward's pick, an example of the NBC Radio Anthology series NBC Presents: Short Story. Come for the old-time radio, stay for the scintillating (that's one way of putting it) discussion afterwards!

As you listen, perhaps you'll learn if we feel this entry meets the following criteria:

1. Is it truly representative of that series? (Can anyone point to it and say, "Yes, that is what [NAME OF SERIES] was all about.")

2. Is it an episode worthy of inclusion in any and every OTR aficionado's private collection?

So with this in mind, we four bring you, as our fifty-third number (but 4th official episode of S5), this episode of NBC Presents: Short Story, from 3-15-51. We'll introduce the show, play it in its entirety, then discuss it at length. Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy it!

Please show your support of the podcast by doing any of the following...

To comment on how we might improve OTR-E, or give suggestions for future discussions, please write to us at [email protected] . Put the word "Essentials" in the subject line.

Your feedback means a lot to us! A review at iTunes or at your usual podcatcher would be appreciated.

Next Time: It's Patte's pick again, and she is still mulling things over -- but she does specify something from either the BBC or CBC. Join us then, won't you?

THE AMBITIOUS GUEST by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Read by Pete Lutz

Originally narrated for the Tales to Terrify podcast in 2017, I thought I'd share this reading of Hawthorne's 1835 short story with you for the Halloween timeframe. While it isn't necessarily horror, it does have some suspenseful elements and a strange twist, which are apropros to the season, no? Listen and enjoy.

OLD-TIME RADIO ESSENTIALS Episode 52: Hancock's Half-Hour

Old-Time Radio Essentials returns with episode 52, and as we continue Season 5, we present Paul's pick, an example of the BBC Radio comedy series Hancock's Half-Hour. Come for the old-time radio, stay for the scintillating (that's one way of putting it) discussion afterwards!

As you listen, perhaps you'll learn if we feel this entry meets the following criteria:

1. Is it truly representative of that series? (Can anyone point to it and say, "Yes, that is what [NAME OF SERIES] was all about.")

2. Is it an episode worthy of inclusion in any and every OTR aficionado's private collection?

So with this in mind, we three bring you, as our fifty-second number (but 3rd official episode of S5), this episode of Hancock's Half-Hour, from 1-11-56. We'll introduce the show, play it in its entirety, then discuss it at length. Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy it!

Please show your support of the podcast by doing any of the following...

To comment on how we might improve OTR-E, or give suggestions for future discussions, please write to us at [email protected] . Put the word "Essentials" in the subject line.

Your feedback means a lot to us! A review at iTunes or at your usual podcatcher would be appreciated.

Next Time: It's Pete's pick again, and also our annual Halloween Special! Pete's making it extra-special by inviting friend of the show and Essential Listener Jack Ward (Grand Poobah of the Mutual Audio Network) to be our guest programmer. At the time of recording we didn't know what Jack was going to bring us, but we're sure it's something spooky. Join us then, won't you?

MUTUAL PRESENTS: RETRO-ROCKETS! Crisis on Titan

(Orig. rel. 9-4-24 on Mutual Audio Network) On one of the many moons of Saturn, a troop of Interplanetary Soldiers have been given scut-duty: digging in the dirt to find an element vital to the survival of Earth and other planets. They long to get back to the job they were trained for: fighting whatever enemy is before them. These hard-bitten grunts soon get more than they bargained for, when the enemy takes over the garrison they'd left just a few hours before! Crisis on Titan first appeared in Planet Stories magazine, and was adapted for this series by Pete Lutz from the short story by James R. Adams.

CAST:

Andy Hartson-Bowyer as SGT. HALLIHAN

Ebony Rose as CORPORAL RODRIGUEZ and

Carole Krohn as CAPTAIN STALEY

The voices of the SOLDIERS were by Julie Krohn and Pete Lutz

The sounds of the THE BARBER'S DELIGHTS and THE SQUEAKERS were by Julie Krohn

PROJECT AUDION 72: Jimmy Durante - Garry Moore Show

Jimmy Durante: so famous for so many decades that just a caricature of his face was enough to elicit a smile. His outsized "Schnozz" matched the outsized personality from the 1920s through the 1970s. Even today, when his name and face are no longer common currency, his catchphrases and songs have endured. You can hear Durante singing in the "Joker" movie of 2019, imitated in lines from the "Lion King," and showing up every year in animated Christmas specials.

In this Audion Original, Pete Lutz revisits this unique talent, imagining a 1940s episode of the Jimmy Durante Comedy Caravan with his on-air partner Garry Moore, and guest stars Sydney Greenstreet and Rose Marie. "Everybody wants ta' get inta de act!" and they do for a half hour of mirth and music.

Pete Lutz, in Texas, as Jimmy Durante

Bob Beaumont, in California, as Garry Moore

Scott McKinley, in New Jersey, as Sidney Greenstreet

Jessica Matthews, in Texas, as Rose Marie

Laura Mirsky in New Jersey, as Vera Vague

Sheree Whichard, in New York, as Florence Halop

Trevor Rines, in Ontario Canada, as Candy Candido

Andy Hartson-Bowyer, in Virginia, as Verne Smith

Written and directed by Pete Lutz

Produced by Larry Groebe in Texas

THIS IS HOLLYWOOD: The Stranger

The Narada Radio Company proudly presents a re-imagined episode of a lost radio series, This is Hollywood! Little is known about this series, other than the fact that it, like many other series in the Golden Age, presented radio adaptations of popular films. When director Pete Lutz was working on his adaptation of the screenplay, he discovered that The Stranger had been adapted for this lost series. Since no recording of this episode, nor any episode, could be located, Mr. Lutz created an introduction and a closing segment that might've been the way This is Hollywood presented them. Right or wrong, there it is, and who can dispute it?

In this production, the Narada Radio Company presents an adaptation of the full film -- indeed the running times of this audio play and the motion picture are very similar -- so you get an hour and a half of suspense, action, adventure, and thrills, all surrounding the story of a post-WWII Nazi hunter, on the track of her prey, the mastermind behind the death camps -- who has destroyed all links to his identity! We're sure you'll agree that our production is just as thrilling as the 1946 film.

THIS PRODUCTION is dedicated to the memory of Michele Barnett, a much-loved personage in both the Narada Radio Company and in the Corpus Christi/Coastal Bend region community theatre family.

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

ANNOUNCER: Darren Rockhold

Geri Elliff as COMMISSIONER WILSON

Rhiannon McAfee as MARY LONGSTREET

Pete Lutz as CHARLES RANKIN

Carole Krohn as the SECRETARY and MRS. LUNDSTROM

Greg McAfee and Mark Kalita as the DIPLOMATIC DEPUTIES

Dana Gonsalves as CONRAD MEINEKE

Michele Barnett as MRS. POTTER

Kendra Murray as SARA

Victoria Fancki as NORA LONGSTREET

Jeff Moon as JUDGE LONGSTREET

Greg McAfee as JEFF LAWRENCE

Bobby Vela as the IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL and the SHIP'S STEWARD

Paul Arbisi as the PHOTOGRAPHER

Nick Wommack as MARVALES and MR. HAROLD

Eugene Lutz as the VOICE ON THE TELEPHONE

Nick Wommack, Eugene Lutz, Keane Lutz, Carole Krohn, Isla Braly, and Melody Gaines as the STUDENTS

Frank Guglielmelli as MR. PEABODY

Riley Lutz as MRS. LAWRENCE

Mark Kalita as MR. LUNDSTROM

Holly Braly as MRS. TINSDALE

Melody Gaines as MRS. RAND and the SHIP'S PASSENGER and

John Bell as DR. HIBBETT

Additional voices were by Julie Krohn and members of the cast

Music was composed and performed by Dr. Ross Bernhardt. The entire production was supervised by Pete Lutz.

OLD-TIME RADIO ESSENTIALS Episode 51: Wayne & Shuster

Old-Time Radio Essentials returns with episode 51, and as we continue Season 5, we present Patte's pick, an example of the Canadian comedy duo Wayne & Shuster, in which they present their famous routine, "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga" -- a sort of Julius-Caesar-meets-Mickey-Spillane. Come for the old-time radio, stay for the scintillating (that's one way of putting it) discussion afterwards!

As you listen, perhaps you'll learn if we feel this entry meets the following criteria:

1. Is it truly representative of that series? (Can anyone point to it and say, "Yes, that is what [NAME OF SERIES] was all about.")

2. Is it an episode worthy of inclusion in any and every OTR aficionado's private collection?

So with this in mind, we three bring you, as our fifty-first number (but 2nd official episode of S5), this episode of Wayne & Shuster, from 2-4-54. We'll introduce the show, play it in its entirety, then discuss it at length. Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoy it!

Please show your support of the podcast by doing any of the following...

To comment on how we might improve OTR-E, or give suggestions for future discussions, please write to us at [email protected] . Put the word "Essentials" in the subject line.

Your feedback means a lot to us! A review at iTunes or at your usual podcatcher would be appreciated.

Next Time: It's Paul's pick again, and he had nothing ready by the time we asked him what it was, but we're it'll be something...interesting. Join us then, won't you?