''Alias Jimmy Valentine'' is an

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 earl ...

crime drama in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It was broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

-Blue January 18, 1938 - February 27, 1939.

Format

The concept for ''Alias Jimmy Valentine'' came from writer

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the M ...

in his short story "

A Retrieved Reformation "A Retrieved Reformation" is a short story by American author O. Henry first published in '' The Cosmopolitan Magazine'', April 1903. The original title was "A Retrieved Reform". It was illustrated by A.I. Keller. History The story describes ...

". That story was adapted into the 1910 play ''Alias Jimmy Valentine'' by Paul Armstrong. The program's stories focused on Lee Randall, described by Jim Cox in his book, ''Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age'' as "an ex-con and reformed safecracker hoapplied his talents and enormous underworld contacts to abet the forces of law and order". While doing so, he became an honest bank clerk and fell in love with the daughter of the banker.

Producers

The series was produced by Frank and

Anne Hummert Anne Hummert (née Schumacher) (January 19, 1905 – July 5, 1996) was the leading creator of daytime radio serials or soap opera dramas during the 1930s and 1940s, responsible for more than three dozen series. Biography She was born in Baltimore ...

, who were described by Jim Cox in his book, ''Frank and Anne Hummert's Radio Factory: The Programs and Personalities of Broadcasting's Most Prolific Producers'' as "the most prolific creatives in eight decades of broadcast history". They originated more than 100 radio series, about half of which were soap operas. Cox wrote that ''Alias Jimmy Valentine'' episodes raised "the never-to-be-resolved query: 'Can a protagonist go straight and overcome his impasse?'" That query, Cox wrote, "was true formulaic Hummert".

Personnel

Bert Lytell Bertram Lytell (February 24, 1885 – September 28, 1954) was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films. Background Born in New York City, Lyt ...

and James Meighan each played the lead at different times.Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 21. William Bennett Kilpack and Earle Latimore also appeared on the program. Dick Joy was the announcer. Doris Halman was the writer. Ford Bond narrated.

References

{{Reflist 1938 radio programme debuts 1939 radio programme endings 1938 radio dramas 1939 radio dramas NBC Blue Network radio programs

Format

Producers

Personnel

See also

References