Old Radio

Its our pleasure to commemorate the birth (in 1915) or Edmond O'Brien , accomplished actor who starred in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar .   YTJD was a detective series, and O'Brien's reputation as a macho actor for tough-man roles got him the part. Johnny was a sort of working man's James Bond, a travelling adventurer with a way with the ladies.  The series ran in its original guise from 1949-'54, with a 1955 revival, this time with Bob Bailey as the Johnny, O'Brien having moved on. O'Brien was born in New York City and was probably best known for his role in D.O.A.

László Löwenstein , better known as Peter Lorre , was born in present day Slovakia in June of 1904. Lorre’s early years were rather dismal having lost his mother, not getting along with his stepmother and his father suffering a long-term illness. This all during the years preceding and including WWI. However, at the age of 17, Lorre began a career in entertainment with a renowned Viennese puppeteer. In the early 20’s, Lorre moved to Berlin and began his work in film by starring in a couple of moving pictures. However his work in the German made film “M” would bring him to the attention of Alfred Hitchcock . Some of his more notable film work was as the Japanese detective, Mr Moto , that ran in a few film episodes. During the 1940’s, Lorre made a number of motion pictures with names, such as George Raft and Humphrey Bogart , that carried through the troubled American period of war. After that world war, Peter Lorre spent time doing some projects for radio.  The “creepy f...

March 1: Happy Birthday, David Niven While countless men have been inspired by 007, James Bond, David Niven is said to have been the inspiration for the famous fictional spy. In the Bond film You Only Live Twice, Niven is called the only true gentleman in Hollywood. Legend has it the novelist Ian Fleming had Niven in mind as a bit of a prototype for the suave, playboy type who Bond would become in the novels and then the films. The British-born  Niven  , a soldier who experienced the D-Day invasion before becoming an actor, is of relevance to us here because of his appearances on Lux Radio Theatre , The Rudy Vallee Royal Gelatin Hour , and The Bob Hope Show . Perhaps most noteworthy, the debonair Brit voiced George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 on NBC University Theatre on Aug. 27, 1949.