''Mark Trail'' is the title of two different American radio series based on the popularity of the comic strip ''

Mark Trail ''Mark Trail'' is a newspaper comic strip created by the American cartoonist Ed Dodd. Introduced April 15, 1946, the strip centers on environmental and ecological themes. As of 2020, King Features syndicated the strip to "nearly 150 newspaper ...

'' by

Ed Dodd Edward Benton Dodd (November 7, 1902 – May 27, 1991) was a 20th-century American cartoonist known for his '' Mark Trail'' comic strip. Early years Born in Lafayette, Georgia to Reverend Jesse Mercer Dodd and Effie Cook Dodd (the artist Lamar D ...

and airing around the same time period between 1950 and 1952. Just like the comic strip they were adventure stories aimed at a young audience.

1950–1951 series

The first

audio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

series about Mark Trail aired on January 30, 1950 and lasted until June 8, 1951. It was broadcast on

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

. Each episode was 30 minutes long and aired three times a week, at 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The series was sponsored by

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

Pep cereal. A review of the first episode in the trade publication ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said that the show's hero "combines the character of J. Edgar Hoover and Robin Hood." It commended Matt Crowley's performance in the title role.

1951–1952 series

On September 10, 1951, only three months after the first version, a second audio play series aired, this time on ABC Radio. Each episode was also a half-hour in length and ran thrice a week until January 1952. After this date it switched to a 15-minute format airing weekdays through June 27, 1952, namely Monday, Wednesday and Friday on 5:15 p.m. Only a handful of the 15-minute episodes are known to have survived.

Cast

The series were directed by Drex Hines and

Frank Maxwell Charles Francis Maxwell (November 17, 1916 – August 4, 2004) was an American actor who served as president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists from 1984 to 1989. Life and career A native of The Bronx borough of New Yo ...

. Scripts were written by

Albert Aley Albert Aley (April 25, 1919 - January 1, 1986) was an American producer, screenwriter, script doctor and story editor. Aley began his career, as an actor on the radio series ''Let's Pretend''. Later in his career, Aley worked on radio and wrot ...

, Gilbert Braun, Max Ehrlich, Elwood Hoffman, Donald Hughes and

Palmer Thompson Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and fi ...

. The music was composed by

John Gart John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, while the sound effects were provided by Bill Hoffman and Jack Keane. Announcements were provided by

Jackson Beck Jackson Beck (July 23, 1912 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's '' The Adventures of Superman''Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. . Pp. 1 ...

and

Glenn Riggs Glenn Everett Riggs (July 24, 1907 – September 12, 1975) was an American radio announcer. Early years Riggs was the youngest of two children born to parents Edwin E. (April 15, 1874–August 1, 1968) and Pearl Riggs on July 24, 1907 in E ...

. * Mark Trail: Matt Crowley,

Staats Cotsworth Staats Cotsworth (February 17, 1908 – April 9, 1979) was an actor in old-time radio.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 64. He is ...

, John Larkin * Scotty:

Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in ''Life With Father'' (1939). He debuted in th ...

Ronald Liss Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

* Cherry:

Joyce Gordon Joyce Gordon (March 25, 1929 – February 28, 2020) was an American actress. Early life Gordon was born on March 25, 1929, in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in Chicago. Her father was the founder of the National Barber and Beauty Manufacturers Ass ...

Amy Sidell Amy is a female given name, sometimes short for Amanda, Amelia, Amélie, or Amita. In French, the name is spelled ''"Aimée"''. People A–E * Amy Acker (born 1976), American actress * Amy Vera Ackman, also known as Mother Giovanni (1886– ...

Announcement

Each episode would be announced with the following lines : ''Battling the raging elements!'' ''Fighting the savage wilderness!'' ''Striking at the enemies of man and nature!'' ''One man's name resounds from the snowcapped mountains down across the sun-baked plains: MAAAAARRRRRKKKKK TRAIL!''

Other radio adaptations of ''Mark Trail''

From 1991 through September 2002 the Minneapolis-St. Paul,

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

station

KFAI KFAI (90.3 FM Minneapolis) is a community radio station in Minnesota. The station broadcasts a wide variety of music, and also airs programming catering to many of the diverse ethnic groups of the region. KFAI has frequently been honored by lo ...

aired the series ''Mark Trail Radio Theatre''. Each Friday evening a new weekly episode was aired. In total 228 weekly installments and 17 adventures in total were made.

Sources

{{Reflist American radio dramas American children's radio programs 1950 radio programme debuts 1951 radio programme endings Mutual Broadcasting System programs 1952 radio programme endings ABC radio programs Radio programs based on comic strips