Arch Oboler (December 7, 1909 – March 19, 1987) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, and director who was active in radio, films, theater, and television. He generated much attention with his radio scripts, particularly the horror series '' Lights Out'', and his work in radio remains the outstanding period of his career. Praised as one of broadcasting's top talents, he is regarded today as a key innovator of radio drama. Oboler's personality and ego were larger than life. Radio historian John Dunning wrote, "Few people were ambivalent when it came to Arch Oboler. He was one of those intense personalities who are liked and disliked with equal fire."

Early life

Oboler was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, to Leon and Clara Oboler, Jewish immigrants from Riga, Latvia.Profile
familytreemaker.genealogy.com; accessed October 31, 2014. The family was poor, though cultured. He grew up a voracious reader and discerning music appreciator, listening to the likes of violinist

Fritz Kreisler Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known ...

and the great soprano

Amelita Galli-Curci Amelita Galli-Curci (18 November 1882 – 26 November 1963) was an Italian coloratura soprano. She was one of the most popular operatic singers of the 20th century, with her recordings selling in large numbers. Early life She was born as A ...

Early radio career

Oboler entered radio because he believed it had great unrealized potential for telling stories with ideas. He thought that the medium was being wasted on soap operas. In 1933, he wrote a spec script called ''Futuristics'', which satirized the world of the present in light of the future. NBC bought Oboler's script and broadcast it as part of a dedicatory program to NBC's new futuristic headquarters in New York City, Radio City. The broadcast was a success, but it set the stage for Oboler's future run-ins with broadcasters. In the play, one of Oboler's characters lampoons the slogan of American Tobacco. At that time in broadcasting history, making fun of commercials was still taboo. From 1933 to 1936, Oboler wrote potboilers for programs such as ''

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

'' and ''Welch's Presents

Irene Rich Irene Rich (born Irene Frances Luther; October 13, 1891 – April 22, 1988) was an American actress who worked in both silent films and talkies, as well as radio. Early life Rich was born in Buffalo, New York. At age 17, she wed Elvo Elc ...

''. Things changed in 1936, when radio's leading impresario

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Vall ...

used a short radio playlet of Oboler's titled ''Rich Kid''. The success of ''Rich Kid'' landed Oboler a lucrative 52-week stint writing plays for

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...

for ''

The Chase and Sanborn Hour ''The Chase and Sanborn Hour'' is the umbrella title for a series of American comedy and variety radio shows sponsored by Standard Brands' Chase and Sanborn Coffee, usually airing Sundays on NBC from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the years 1929 to ...

''. During this time, Oboler wrote a number of idea plays and some were aired, in shortened form, on '' The Rudy Vallée Show'' and ''

The Magic Key of RCA ''The Magic Key of RCA'' was an American variety radio show that featured an unusually large and broad range of entertainment stars and other noted personalities. It was on the NBC Blue Network from September 29, 1935, until September 18, 1939. ...

''.

''Lights Out'', Part I

Wyllis Cooper Wyllis Oswald Cooper (January 26, 1899 – June 22, 1955) was an American writer and producer. He is best remembered for creating and writing the old time radio programs '' Lights Out'' (1934–1947) and '' Quiet, Please'' (1947–194 ...

created ''Lights Out'' in 1934. The program aired at midnight and was notorious for its extreme (for the time) violence. In 1936, Cooper left the program for Hollywood. NBC gave Oboler the opportunity to take over the series and make it his own. He was unenthusiastic at first, "a weekly horror play that went on at Tuesday midnight to the somber introduction of 12 doleful chimes, was not exactly my idea of a writing Shangri-La...".Oboler Omnibus: ''Radio Plays and Personalities'', Oboler, Leisure Books, Inc. But Oboler soon realized that the midnight time slot and the lack of a sponsor gave him the freedom to experiment with both story content and style. Although NBC maintained strict neutrality regarding Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Oboler smuggled anti-fascist messages onto the program. Additionally, he used stream-of-consciousness techniques that were often deemed too esoteric for commercial audiences. Oboler caused controversy with his very first play for the series, ''Burial Services''. The ending of the play, in which a young girl is buried alive with no hope of rescue, was too much for audiences. Letters of protest poured into NBC. After this incident, Oboler toned down the realistic terror in his horror plays in favor of the fantastic. Perhaps the best remembered story from this series of ''Lights Out'' is ''Chicken Heart''. In that story, the tiny heart of a chicken, kept alive in a Petri dish in a lab, grows exponentially until it covers the entire earth. Oboler was very innovative with sound effects, and the insistent beating heart creates much of the terror in the broadcast. The story made such an impression on a young

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

that he created a memorable comic routine (featured on the ''

Wonderfulness ''Wonderfulness'' (1966) is the fourth album of stand-up comedy performances by Bill Cosby. The title comes from a catchphrase used in Cosby's television series, ''I Spy''. This was the first of several Cosby albums to be recorded live at Harr ...

'' album) around his childhood memories of ''Chicken Heart''; Stephen King also singles out ''Chicken Heart'' as a memorable episode in his discussion of horror radio in the book ''Danse Macabre''. Another well remembered story is ''The Dark'', about a malevolent fog that turns people inside out. This story also features memorable sound effects. Like ''Chicken Heart'', ''The Dark'' was also parodied, this time by ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' on a "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween special. Oboler tired of ''Lights Out'' because he wanted to write realistic plays about Fascism. "I found myself wanting the dimensions of that half hour on the air expanded to take in the actual horror of a world facing, with half-shut eyes, the fascistic

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

moving over Europe.".

''Your Hollywood Parade'' and the Mae West incident

Around the time that Oboler was writing for ''Lights Out'', he was invited to Hollywood to write sketches for the

Lucky Strike Lucky Strike is an American brand of cigarettes owned by the British American Tobacco group. Individual cigarettes of the brand are often referred to colloquially as "Luckies." Throughout their 150 year history, Lucky Strike has had fluctuating ...

-sponsored ''Your Hollywood Parade''. The show featured such guest stars as Dick Powell,

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

, Edward G. Robinson,

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

, and many others. After a frustrating encounter with

, Oboler decided that he would need to direct his plays in addition to writing them. Arch Oboler caused more controversy with his script contribution to the 12 December 1937 edition of ''

''. In Oboler's sketch, host

and guest

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

portrayed a slightly bawdy Adam and Eve, satirizing the Biblical tale of the Garden of Eden. On the surface, the sketch did not feature much more than West's customary suggestive double-entendres, and today it seems quite tame. But in 1937, that sketch and a subsequent routine featuring West trading suggestive quips with Edgar Bergen's dummy

Charlie McCarthy Charlie McCarthy is Edgar Bergen's famed ventriloquist dummy partner. Charlie was part of Bergen's act as early as high school, and by 1930, was attired in his famous top hat, tuxedo, and monocle. The character was so well-known that his popularit ...

caused a furor that resulted in West being banned from broadcasting and from being mentioned at all on NBC programming for 15 years. The timing may have been a contributing factor, according to radio historian Gerald S. Nachman in ''Raised on Radio'': "The sketch resulted in letters from outraged listeners and decency groups... What upset churchgoing listeners wasn't the Biblical parody so much as the fact that it had the bad luck to air on a Sunday show."

''Arch Oboler's Plays'', Part I

In 1939, with his own money, Oboler recorded an audition record of his play ''The Ugliest Man In the World'', from which he hoped to launch a new radio series of idea plays. He brought the recording to his network, NBC. At the time, NBC was looking to launch an experimental radio series to rival

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

's ''

Columbia Workshop ''Columbia Workshop'' was a radio series that aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from 1936 to 1943, returning in 1946–47. Irving Reis The series began as the idea of Irving Reis. Reis had begun his radio career as an engineer and devel ...

''. NBC was also looking for a radio writer and director to rival CBS's

Norman Corwin Norman Lewis Corwin (May 3, 1910 – October 18, 2011) was an American writer, screenwriter, producer, essayist and teacher of journalism and writing. His earliest and biggest successes were in the writing and directing of radio drama during the ...

. NBC gave Oboler his own series, without a sponsor and with complete creative control. It was NBC that named the series ''

Arch Oboler's Plays ''Arch Oboler's Plays'' is a radio anthology series written, produced and directed by Arch Oboler. Minus a sponsor, it ran for one year, airing Saturday evenings on NBC from March 25, 1939, to March 23, 1940, and revived five years later on Mutual ...

''. It was an almost unheard-of honor. The time slot was less auspicious; the series occupied the Sunday 7–7:30 period opposite

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

. An impressive roster of actors worked for scale to appear in Oboler's plays, including

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

, Ronald Colman,

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...

Elsa Lanchester Elsa Sullivan Lanchester (28 October 1902 – 26 December 1986) was a British-American actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.Obituary '' Variety'', 31 December 1986. Lanchester studied dance as a child and after the F ...

and James Cagney. Perhaps the most memorable broadcast was Oboler's adaptation of

Dalton Trumbo James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including ''Roman Holiday'' (1953), ''Exodus'', ''Spartacus'' (both 1960), and ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944) ...

's ''

Johnny Got His Gun ''Johnny Got His Gun'' is an anti-war novel written in 1938 by American novelist Dalton Trumbo and published in September 1939 by J. B. Lippincott. The novel won one of the early National Book Awards: the Most Original Book of 1939. A 1971 fi ...

'', starring James Cagney. The harrowing story of Joe Bonham, a World War I casualty with no limbs, eyes, ears, or mouth, was particularly suited to radio. Oboler created striking sound effects for the play, including the eerie vibration of bed springs, which Joe Bonham learns to recognize as the movement of people entering and exiting his hospital room. Oboler's series was so successful that it attracted the sponsorship of

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

. The new series was titled '' Everyman's Theatre''. ''Everyman's Theatre'' was essentially ''Arch Oboler's Plays'' with commercial sponsorship. The series ran from 1940 to early 1941. Oboler lost patience with the series because of the middle commercial interruption that came during his plays. After the series ended, it took almost a year before Oboler's services were called on again.

''Plays for Americans''

After

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

, Oboler's anti-Fascist plays – once shunned by corporate radio sponsors – were in demand. Oboler's new series was titled ''Plays For Americans''; its purpose was to "stimulate the American people to the importance of the war effort by indirection rather than by direct appeal." Oboler's ''Plays For Americans'' was World War II propaganda in half-hour radio drama form, each story teaching a lesson about wartime responsibility. Oboler's shows for this series were as star-studded as his last series. James Stewart starred in ''Letter At Midnight'', the story of a wealthy young man's conversion from isolationist to soldier.

starred in ''Adolf and Mrs. Runyon'', a fantasy-comedy where

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

finds himself magically transported into the back seat of a car belonging to an irate war bride. The program's life was cut short because of comments that Oboler made at the Radio Institute at Ohio State. Oboler was adamant that World War II propaganda should instill hatred of the enemy in the listener. To some at the institute, it sounded like Oboler was advocating the same kind of racial hatred that the Axis was advocating. Father Edward J. Flanagan rebuked Oboler and remarked that America did not need its own Goebbels. Oboler enlisted the help of Eddie Cantor to get another propaganda series on the air, but Cantor's efforts were of no avail.

''Lights Out'', Part II

Oboler generously wrote ''Plays for Americans'' for no fee. He decided that in order "to go on writing plays which contained some level of maturity and usefulness, ehad to find a way to make money quickly...a sponsor was quickly procured to pay me well for a revival of ''Lights Out''". Oboler's new series carried the introduction for which it is best remembered, the sound of chimes behind announcer Frank Martin intoning: This series of ''Lights Out'' differed from its predecessors in that it contained overt anti-Nazi messages. For instance, in ''Execution'' a Nazi commandant's efforts to kill the leader of a French resistance movement are frustrated by the continual regeneration of the leader. Most of these ''Lights Out'' broadcasts are remakes of Oboler's first ''Lights Out'' series. Almost all of these broadcasts are saved, whereas only three broadcasts remain of the earlier ''Lights Out''.

''To the President''

At the same time that Oboler wrote ''Lights Out'', he started a new series of propaganda plays titled ''To the President''. "The plays used the device of a citizen speaking to the President; each drama concerned itself with the particular problem of that week in the war." Like ''Plays For Americans'', ''To the President'' had a star-studded cast including actors such as Fred MacMurray, Claude Rains, and

Harry Carey Harry Carey may refer to: *Harry Carey (actor) (1878–1947), American actor * Harry Carey Jr. (1921–2012), American actor * Harry Carey (footballer) (1916–1991), Australian rules footballer See also * Henry Carey (disambiguation) * Harry Car ...

''Free World Theatre''

Oboler's next series was the ambitious ''Free World Theater''. Oboler produced and directed all 19 of the propaganda radio plays of this series, and wrote two of the plays. These plays were published with an introduction by

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

''Everything for the Boys''

Oboler next worked with Ronald Colman on a propaganda series that featured Colman as the lead in adaptations of popular novels and plays. Colman and Oboler did not get along. Oboler chafed at the commercial interruptions of his plays. The series was an expensive disaster.

''Arch Oboler's Plays'', Part II

Oboler's second series of ''Arch Oboler's Plays'' was broadcast over the Mutual Broadcasting Company. It aired without commercial interruption, and featured a mixture of idea and propaganda plays.

Films

In making a leap from radio to film, Oboler was sometimes compared to

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

, as in this commentary by Marty Baumann: His screen credits include ''Escape'' (1940) and ''

On Our Merry Way ''On Our Merry Way'' is a 1948 American comedy film produced by Benedict Bogeaus and Burgess Meredith and released by United Artists. At the time of its release, King Vidor and Leslie Fenton were credited with its direction, although the DVD lis ...

'' (1948). By 1945, he moved into directing with ''Bewitched'' and '' Strange Holiday'', followed by the post-apocalyptic ''

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

'' (1951), filmed at his own

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

-designed house. He made film history with the

3-D film 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pic ...

effects in ''

Bwana Devil ''Bwana Devil'' is a 1952 American adventure B movie written, directed, and produced by Arch Oboler, and starring Robert Stack, Barbara Britton, and Nigel Bruce. ''Bwana Devil'' is based on the true story of the Tsavo maneaters and filmed wit ...

'' (1952). '' The Twonky'' (1953) was adapted from the

Lewis Padgett Lewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore,Nicholls 1979, p. 445. taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C. H. Liddell, as w ...

(pseudonym for writers C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner) short story in the September, 1942, issue of '' Astounding Science Fiction''. Oboler returned to films with another 3-D feature, '' The Bubble'', in 1966. According to a retrospective article a
mondo-video.com
many writers and dramatic artists, including Rod Serling, François Truffaut and

Don Coscarelli Don Coscarelli Jr. (born February 17, 1954) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born to Italian settlers in Libya, he is best known for his work in horror films. His directing credits include the first four films in the ' ...

have claimed Oboler's films and radio work as significant influences. Oboler's films include: * '' Escape'' (1940) writer * ''

Gangway for Tomorrow Broadly speaking, a gangway is a passageway through which to enter or leave. Gangway may refer specifically refer to: Passageways * Gangway (nautical), a passage between the quarterdeck and the forecastle of a ship, and by extension, a passage th ...

'' (1943) screenwriter * '' Strange Holiday'' (1945) writer, director, producer * '' Bewitched'' (1945) writer, director * '' The Arnelo Affair'' (1947) writer, director * ''

'' (1951) writer, director, producer * ''

'' (1952) writer, director, producer * '' The Twonky'' (1953) writer, director, producer * '' One Plus One'' (1961) writer, director * '' The Bubble'' (1966) writer, director, producer * '' Domo Arigato'' (1972)

Broadway

Sidney Lumet directed Oboler's

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

play, ''

Night of the Auk ''Night of the Auk'' is a 1956 Broadway drama in three acts written by Arch Oboler. It is a science fiction drama in blank verse about space travelers returning to Earth after the first Moon landing. The play was based on Oboler's radio play ''Roc ...

'', a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

drama about astronauts returning to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

after the first moon landing. The play was based on Oboler's radio play ''Rocket from Manhattan'', which aired as part of ''Arch Oboler's Plays'' in September 1945. Produced by

Kermit Bloomgarden Kermit Bloomgarden (December 15, 1904 – September 20, 1976) was an American theatrical producer. He was an accountant before he began producing plays on Broadway including ''Death of a Salesman'' (1949), '' The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1955), ...

, the play ran for only eight performances in December 1956 despite a cast that included Martin Brooks,

Wendell Corey Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild. Biography Early years Corey was ...

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

, Claude Rains and

Dick York Richard Allen York (September 4, 1928 – February 20, 1992) was an American radio, stage, film, and television actor. He was the first actor to play Darrin Stephens on the ABC fantasy sitcom ''Bewitched''. He played teacher Bertram Cates in th ...

. In the December 17, 1956, issue, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' reviewed: A version of ''Night of the Auk'' aired as an episode of the anthology television series ''

Play of the Week Play of the Week may refer to: *''ITV Play of the Week'', British TV anthology series broadcast from 1956 to 1966 *''The Play of the Week'', American TV anthology series broadcast from 1959 to 1961 See also *''Play of the Month ''Play of the M ...

'' in 1960. In August 2012, Outside Inside Productions presented the first New York revival of ''Night of the Auk'' at the 16th Annual

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across sev ...

. Authorized by the Oboler family, this new production, directed by Adam Levi with co-direction by Kaitlyn Samuel, was a 75-minute one-act version of the original play, adapted by playwright Michael Ross Albert.

Television

In 1949, Oboler helmed an anthology television series, ''Oboler's Comedy Theatre'' (aka ''Arch Oboler's Comedy Theater'') which ran for six episodes from September to November. In the premiere show, "Ostrich in Bed," a couple awaiting the arrival of a dinner guest find an ostrich in their bedroom. In "Mr. Dydee" a dim-witted horse player inherits a diaper service.

Recordings

Audio horror gained an added dimension with Oboler's LP recording, ''Drop Dead! An Exercise in Horror'' ( Capitol Records, 1962). It features the following horror-themed dramatic vignettes, interspersed with commentary from Oboler: "Introduction to Horror", "I'm Hungry", "Taking Papa Home", "The Dark", "A Day at the Dentist's", "The Posse", "Chicken Heart", and "The Laughing Man". "Arch Oboler's African Adventure" (Decca 10" LP)field recordings during the filming of Bwana Devil.

Books

Novels

''House on Fire'' (Bartholomew House, 1969), was adapted by Oboler for radio's '' Mutual Radio Theater'' in 1980. in 2015,

Valancourt Books Valancourt Books is an independent American publishing house founded by James Jenkins and Ryan Cagle in 2005. The company specializes in "the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction," in particular gay titles and Gothic and ho ...

reissued ''House on Fire'' with a new introduction by Christopher Conlon.

Collected works

*''Free World Theatre: Nineteen New Radio Plays'' (Random House, 1944) *''Oboler Omnibus: Radio Plays and Personalities'' (Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1945) *''Night of the Auk: A Free Prose Play'' was published by Horizon Press in 1958

Short stories

His short story "And Adam Begot" was included in Julius Fast's ''Out of This World'' anthology ( Penguin, 1944) "Come to the Bank" was published in ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, pri ...

'' (Fall 1984). "Happy Year," a short story based on an Oboler script "from the ''Good News'' program," was published (beginning on page 8) in the December 1940 issue o
Radio and Television Mirror

Non-fiction

"My Jackasses and the Fire" in the June 1960 issue of ''

Coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara doe ...

''.

Personal life

Oboler married the former Eleanor Helfand; they had four sons: Guy, David, Steven and Peter Oboler. On April 7, 1958, Oboler's six-year-old son, Peter, drowned in rainwater collected in excavations at Oboler's Malibu home. The house was designed by architect

; the Wright-designed Oboler residential complex was named ''Eaglefeather'' (which was destroyed in 2018 by the

Woolsey Fire The Woolsey Fire was a wildfire that burned in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties of the U.S. state of California. The fire ignited on November 8, 2018, and burned of land. The fire destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted th ...

). The house is featured in Oboler's film ''Five''. Arch Oboler died in

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...

, in 1987, aged 77.

References

External links

*''Arch Oboler and His Bathyspheres'' Library of Congress Now See Hear blog post by Matt Barton, curator of the Recorded Sound Section

* – IMDb
All Movie: Arch ObolerMutual Radio TheaterZoot Radio, Free Arch Oblers radio show downloads
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oboler, Arch American radio writers Screenwriters from California 1909 births 1987 deaths American fantasy writers American male novelists American male screenwriters American dramatists and playwrights American radio producers Peabody Award winners Writers from Chicago Writers from Los Angeles American people of Latvian-Jewish descent 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Illinois Screenwriters from Illinois 20th-century American screenwriters