''Terry and the Pirates'' is a radio serial adapted from the comic strip of the same name created in 1934 by

Milton Caniff Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (; February 28, 1907 – April 3, 1988) was an American cartoonist famous for the ''Terry and the Pirates'' and ''Steve Canyon'' comic strips. Biography Caniff was born in Hillsboro, Ohio. He was an Eagle Scout and a r ...

. With storylines of action, high adventure and foreign intrigue, the popular radio series enthralled listeners from 1937 through 1948. With scripts by Albert Barker, George Lowther and others, the program's directors included Cyril Armbrister, Wylie Adams, and Marty Andrews. The central character, Terry Lee, was portrayed at various times by

Jackie Kelk John Daly "Jackie" Kelk (August 6, 1923 – September 5, 2002) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for portraying the role of Homer Brown on the radio series '' The Aldrich Family'' ...

Cliff Carpenter Clifford A. Carpenter (March 2, 1915 – January 9, 2014) was an American actor who appeared in radio, television and films. Career In 1937, Carpenter began his professional career on the radio serial ''Terry and the Pirates''. The show was ada ...

, Owen Jordan, and Bill Fein. Some newspapers say that Jackie Kelk was the first actor to play Terry, when the series debuted on NBC in late October 1937. "Behind the Radio Dial," ''Weekly Kansas City Star'', March 7, 1951, p. 12. Terry's buddy Pat Ryan was played by

Bud Collyer Bud Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969) was an American radio actor and announcer and game show host who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars. He is best remembered for ...

, Warner Anderson, Bob Griffin, and Larry Alexander. Others in Terry's Far East entourage were Flip Corkin ( Ted de Corsia), Elita (Gerta Rozan), Burma (

Frances Chaney Frances Chaney (July 23, 1915 – November 23, 2004) was an actress on stage, on old-time radio and on television. She was perhaps best known, however, for being "ostracized as pro-communist along with her late blacklisted husband, Ring Lardn ...

), Hotshot Charlie (Cameron Andrews) and Connie the coolie (

Cliff Norton Clifford Charles Norton (March 21, 1918 – January 25, 2003) was an American character actor and radio announcer who appeared in various movies and television series over a career spanning four decades. Early years Norton was born in Chi ...

, John Gibson, Peter Donald). Throughout the Orient, they encountered plenty of evildoers, including the

Dragon Lady Dragon Lady is usually a stereotype of certain East Asian and occasionally South Asian and/or Southeast Asian women as strong, deceitful, domineering, mysterious, and often sexually alluring. Inspired by the characters played by actress Anna Ma ...

(

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

, Adelaide Klein, Marion Sweet, Mina Reaume), in such adventurous episodes as "Pirate Gold Detector Ring," "Deadly Current," "The Mechanical Eye" and "The Dragon Lady Strikes Back."

History

When the late afternoon series began, it was heard at 5:15pm, three times a week, sponsored by Dari-Rich, airing on

NBC Red Network The NBC, National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network it was ...

from November 1, 1937 to June 1, 1938. It switched to

NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Comp ...

on September 26, 1938, continuing until March 22, 1939. Absent from the airwaves for over two years, it returned shortly before the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, heard in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

on the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

s WGN. That series, sponsored by

Libby's Libby's (Libby, McNeill & Libby) was an American company that produced canned food and beverages. The firm was established in 1869 in Chicago, Illinois. The Libby's trademark is currently owned by Libby's Brand Holding based in Geneva, Switzerlan ...

, aired five days a week from October 16, 1941 to May 29, 1942. With increasing popularity during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

years, the show next took off at a fast pace on Blue Network, airing daily for 15 minutes on weekday afternoons beginning February 1, 1943. The Quaker

Puffed Wheat Puffed grains are grains that have been expanded ("puffed") through processing. They have been made for centuries with the simplest methods like popping popcorn. Modern puffed grains are often created using high temperature, pressure, or extrusi ...

and

Puffed Rice Puffed rice and popped rice (or pop rice) are types of puffed grain made from rice commonly eaten in the traditional cuisines of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. It has also been produced commercially in the West since 1904 and is popu ...

"shot from guns" commercials often had a patriotic pitch. Douglas Browning was the announcer during the mid-1940s. After 1945, with no wartime villains for Terry and his pals to fight, ratings began to drop in the post-World War II period until the final episode on June 30, 1948.

References

External links

Milton Caniff biography
*Recorded shows:
Jim Widner's ''Terry and the Pirates'' (episodes from 1942)

{{Terry and the Pirates American children's radio programs American radio dramas 1937 radio programme debuts 1948 radio programme endings Radio programs based on comic strips NBC radio programs NBC Blue Network radio programs ABC radio programs Terry and the Pirates Aviation radio series

History

See also

References

External links