''Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police'' was a radio adventure series written by Virginia Cooke. It was centered on the adventures of Speed Gibson, a fifteen-year-old pilot who, through his uncle Clint Barlow, becomes a member of the International Secret Police. Speed was described as “a typical American boy: interested in short wave radio, aviation and most of all - The International Secret Police.”
The show
''Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police'' ran weekly from January 2, 1937, to May 25, 1940. 178 Episodes of the show were produced with each episode lasting approximately fifteen minutes.
Elliott Lewis may have starred in the title role of Speed Gibson but this cannot be confirmed. It is believed by some that Lewis played Splinters, one of the Octopus' henchmen.
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 ...
played his uncle Clint Barlow, and John Gibson played his sidekick, Barney Dunlap, known for using such catch phrases as “Suffering wangdoodles!” Other voice actors contributing to the series were
Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfiste ...
as The Octopus, Hanley Stafford, Jack Mathers, Victor Rodman and Sam Edwards. The opening theme contained the drone of an airplane and the voice of an air traffic controller urgently calling, “Ceiling zero… ceiling zero… ceiling zero!”
The series was divided into two stories. The first 100 episodes cover ''The Menace of the Octopus''. They highlight Speed's induction into the International Secret Police and the subsequent pursuit of the Octopus and his gang throughout the Orient. The remaining 78 shows are titled ''Speed Gibson And The Atlantian Syndicate''. This series follows Speed as he continues his adventures on the African continent and his quest to defeat the Octopus.
The series is notable in that all 178 episodes have survived intact.
See also
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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 ...
*
List of old-time radio programs
Listed below are vintage radio programs associated with old-time radio, also called Radio's Golden Age.
United States Golden Age programs
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*'' 10-2-4 Ranch''
*''15 Minutes with Bing Crosby''
*'' 19 Nocturne Boulevard''
*'' 20 Questions'' ...
References
External links
''Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police'' (178 episodes)
American radio dramas
1930s American radio programs
American children's radio programs
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