Old Time Radio Shows

Fort Laramie Radio dramas of the forties saw the rise of the Hard-Boiled detective . These independent heroes appealed to the returning WWII veteran who might have been craving a return to the excitement he had experienced while serving in the military. The fifties were the time of the Adult Western, perhaps better labeled as "Cowboys and Injuns for Thinking People". The mature-person's Westerns did not replace crime thrillers, but they did provide a choice of entertainment with a little less murder. Thoughtful Westerns reached a high point with the gritty reality of Gunsmoke in 1952. Created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston, the genesis of Gunsmoke was a desire expressed by CBS boss William Paley for a " Philip Marlowe in the Old West". U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon was every bit as hard-boiled as the most noir -ish Private Eye , just with dust and horses instead of urban grime, and many critics consider Gunsmoke to have been a high...

Paul Frees is one of those talents that is great fun to investigate. Even a short search of Paul Frees will have you saying "Really, that was him?" Frees was born in Chicago and started his acting/radio career in 1942. Like so many, he was interrupted by WWII. Frees was drafted and fought in Normandy during the D-Day Invasion . After being wounded in action he attended college, but cut his education short when his wife became ill. Returning to radio, his versatile voice talents were put to work announcing and sometimes starring on Suspense .  These duties were shared with his friend and fellow talented Voice,  William Conrad . Frees explained in an interview that he would announce when  Conrad  was starring in the episode, or involved with another project, and vice versa.  Both possessing memorable basso profundo voices, they made an effort to sound like one another in the announcements. Frees also did a lot of work on sister program  Escape . ...