''The Count of Monte Cristo'' 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 ...

adventure program. It was broadcast on the

Don Lee Network The Don Lee Network, sometimes called the Don Lee Broadcasting System was an American regional network of radio stations in the old-time radio era. Origin Don Lee made a fortune as the exclusive West Coast distributor of Cadillac automobiles. He ...

on the West Coast in the 1944-1945 season and on the

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 ...

December 19, 1946 - January 1, 1952.

Format

Derived from the novel ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

'' by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

, the program focused on the adventures of Edmond Dantes, who was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on a false accusation of treason. Dantes escaped from prison and fought corruption in 18th-century France. The episodes on the Don Lee Network were sponsored by Peralto Wines.

Personnel

Carleton Young Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice. Early years Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of St ...

had the title role. Rene Michon (the count's "faithful manservant") was portrayed first by Ferdinand Munier and later by

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 ...

. Actors who frequently had supporting roles included

William Conrad William Conrad (born John William Cann Jr., September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose entertainment career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he s ...

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

Virginia Gregg Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

Joseph Kearns Joseph Sherrard Kearns
TV Guide. July 15–21, 1961, Savetheorgan.org; retrieved September 28, 2011.

, Barbara Lee, Paul Marion,

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 ...

Jay Novello Jay Novello (born Michael Romano, August 22, 1904 – September 2, 1982) was an American radio, film, and television character actor. Early life Novello was born in Chicago to Joseph Romano and Maria (Salemme) Romano. He had three sibling ...

, Jack Petruzzi, and Vic Rodman. Announcers were Rod O'Connor, Charles Arlington, and Dick Wynn. Thomas Freebairn-Smith directed the episodes on the Don Lee Network, and Jaime del Valle directed those on Mutual. Anthony Ellis was the writer. The orchestra was led by Dean Fossler.

References

External links

Logs

Log of ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' episodes from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs

Log of ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' episodes from Old Time Radio Researchers Group

Streaming

Episodes of ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Count of Monte Cristo (radio program), The 1944 radio programme debuts 1952 radio programme endings Mutual Broadcasting System programs Don Lee Network programs Works based on The Count of Monte Cristo Period radio series