''Hawk Larabee'' is an American

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

. It was broadcast on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

from July 5, 1946, until February 7, 1948.

Format

In his book, ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'', radio historian John Dunning described ''Hawk Larabee'' as "radio's first half-hearted attempt at an adult western drama, a concept that was not fully realized until the arrival of ''Gunsmoke'' five years later." Although adults listened to earlier radio westerns, such as ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'' and ''

Red Ryder Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

'', the main audience for those programs was children. Another radio historian, Jim Cox, wrote in his book, ''Say Goodnight, Gracie: The Last Years of Network Radio'', that ''Hawk Larabee'' "fell short in providing the stark realism of a grown-up narrative." A summer replacement for ''

The Adventures of Maisie ''The Adventures of Maisie'' (aka ''Maisie'') was a radio comedy series starring Ann Sothern as underemployed entertainer Maisie Ravier and a spin-off of Sothern's successful 1939–1947 ''Maisie'' movie series, based on a character created by Wil ...

'', the program began as ''Hawk Durango'', with the main character having that name. Those episodes focused on the adventures of Durango and his partner, Brazos John. After six weeks, the program ended. On October 3, 1946, ''Hawk Larabee debuted'', with the title character being the owner of Black Mesa Ranch. Larabee and his partner, Somber Jones, encountered adventures in and around the town of Sundown Wells. Larabee often found himself accused of crimes that he had not committed and thus had to solve the crimes to save himself from misfortune.

Personnel

The changes in title and format were accompanied by a change in who had the title role. Elliott Lewis played Hawk Durango, with

Barton Yarborough William Barton Yarborough (October 2, 1900 – December 19, 1951) was an American actor who worked extensively in radio drama, primarily on the NBC Radio Network. He is famous for his roles in the Carlton E. Morse productions '' I Love a My ...

as Brazos John. In the ''Hawk Larabee'' program, Yarborough played the title role, while

Barney Phillips Bernard Philip Ofner (October 20, 1913 – August 17, 1982), better known by his stage name Barney Phillips, was an American film, television, and radio actor. His most prominent roles include that of Sgt. Ed Jacobs on the 1950s '' Dragnet' ...

portrayed Somber Jones. James Matthews was the announcer.

William N. Robson William N. Robson (October 8, 1906 – April 10, 1995) was a director and producer of radio programs. Early life Robson was born William N. Robson II in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of William N. Robson and Gertrude Brehm Robson. His father ...

was producer and director, and Richard Sanville was assistant director. Writers were Gomer Cool,

E. Jack Neuman Ernest Jack Neuman (February 27, 1921 – January 15, 1998) was an Edgar and Peabody award-winning American writer and producer. Early years Neuman was born in Toledo, Ohio. He moved to Denver, Colorado, as a child and graduated from Regis Je ...

, Arthur E. Orlock, Dean Owen, and

Kenneth Perkins Kenneth Taylor Perkins (May 16, 1890 – June 7, 1951) was an American author of Western, mystery, adventure, and horror stories. From 1920 until his death in 1951, Perkins wrote plays, novels, radio and television scripts, and scores of short s ...

. Music was by

Wilbur Hatch Wilbur Hatch (May 24, 1902 – December 22, 1969), was an American music composer who worked primarily in radio and television. He was born in Mokena, Illinois, and died in Studio City, California.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An I ...

, and episodes incorporated singing by the Texas Rangers quartet. They sang the theme and provided bridges and background music for the broadcasts. Each episode also included three one-minute arrangements of songs in case some local stations wanted to insert commercials for the otherwise unsponsored program. In later episodes, Andy Parker's Plainsmen replaced the Texas Rangers.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Logs

Logs of episodes of ''Hawk Durango'' and ''Hawk Larabee'' from The Digital Deli Too
* ttp://www.otrr.org/FILES/Logs_txt/Hawk%20Larabee.txt Logs of episodes of ''Hawk Durango'' and ''Hawk Larabee'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Groupbr>Log of selected episodes of ''Hawk Larabee'' from radioGOLDINdex

Streaming

Episodes of ''Hawk Larabee'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library
1945 radio programme debuts 1948 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs CBS Radio programs Period radio series Western (genre) radio series