''Night Beat'', sometimes spelled ''Nightbeat'', is an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

radio drama 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 ...

series that aired February 6, 1950–September 25, 1952, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and

Wheaties Wheaties is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is made by General Mills. It is well known for featuring prominent athletes on its packages and has become a cultural icon in the United States. Originally introduced as Washburn's Gold Meda ...

Description

Frank Lovejoy Frank Andrew Lovejoy Jr. (March 28, 1912 – October 2, 1962) was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He is perhaps best remembered for appearing in the film noir '' The Hitch-Hiker'' and for starring in the radio drama '' Night Beat ...

starred as Randy Stone, a reporter who covered the night beat for the ''Chicago Star'', encountering criminals, eccentrics, and troubled souls. Listeners were invited to join Stone as he "searches through the city for the strange stories waiting for him in the darkness." Most episodes leaned towards suspense, crime and thriller themes, but ''Night Beat'' also featured occasional humorous or sentimental stories. Each episode ended with Stone at his desk as he finished typing a news story based on his latest exploits, and shouting for the

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the ''Herald Sun'' who began work there ...

to deliver his story to an editor. Radio historian John Dunning described ''Night Beat'' as a "superior series", carried by vivid writing and Lovejoy's sympathetic performance. ''Ripperologist'' editor Paul Begg offered this description of the series: Supporting actors included

Joan Banks Joan Banks (October 30, 1918 – January 18, 1998) was an American film, television, stage, and radio actress (described as "a soapbox queen"), who often appeared in dramas with her husband, Frank Lovejoy. Early life Banks attended a school of ...

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...

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Lawrence Dobkin Lawrence Dobkin (September 16, 1919 – October 28, 2002) was an American television director, character actor and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. Dobkin was a prolific performer during the Golden Age of Radio. He narrat ...

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Howard McNear Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of ''Gunsmoke'' and as Floyd Lawson, the ...

Lurene Tuttle Lurene Tuttle (August 29, 1907 – May 28, 1986) was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile a ...

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, and Ben Wright. The announcer was Donald Rickles.

Other media

Television

The format was recreated, with Lovejoy as Stone, on an episode of the television anthology series, ''

Four Star Playhouse ''Four Star Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956. Four Star Playhouse was owned by Four Star International. Its episodes ranged anywhere from surreal mysteries, such as "The Man on the Train", to light comedies ...

'' ("Search in the Night" 5 November 1953). This episode was a

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

produced by

Four Star Productions Four Star Television, also called Four Star International, was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell, David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Joel McCrea, it was insp ...

for a proposed, but ultimately unproduced, weekly television series.

Prose

In December 2012, Old Time Radio distributor Radio Archives published ''Nightbeat: Night Stories'', an ebook anthology of six new ''Nightbeat'' stories.''Nightbeat: Night Stories'' ebook
/ref> Authors included were

Howard Hopkins Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

, Paul Bishop,

Will Murray William Murray (born 1953) is an American novelist, journalist, short story, and comic book writer. Much of his fiction has been published under pseudonyms. With artist Steve Ditko, he co-created the superhero Squirrel Girl. Biography Early ...

, Tommy Hancock (who also served as editor),

Mark Squirek Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

, and

Bobby Nash Robert Nash (born March 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2010, he has formerly competed for the UFC and RFA. Background Born and ra ...

. Each story used the traditional radio opening and closing, as well as Stone's first-person narration. Several characters from the radio series appear, and Hancock's entry – "Lucky" – attempts to explain who "Lucky" Stone from the original pilot really is. ''Nightbeat: Night Stories'' was also released as an audiobook, read by

Michael C. Gwynne Michael C. Gwynne (born October 1, 1942) is an American film, television and radio actor. His film roles include ''Payday'' (1973), ''A Cold Night's Death'' (1973), ''Harry in Your Pocket'' (1973), ''The Terminal Man'' (1974), '' Special Deliver ...

References

External links