''Author's Playhouse'' is an
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...
radio drama series created by Wynn Wright, that aired on
Mutual in 1940–1941,
[Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 31.] and on the NBC
Blue Network
The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945.
Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the ...
from March 5, 1941, until October 1941. It then moved to the NBC
Red Network
The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...
where it was heard until June 4, 1945.
Philip Morris was the sponsor between 1942 and 1943.
[Dunning, John. ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'']
New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Premiering with "Elementals" by
Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét ( ; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'', published in 1928, for which he receive ...
, the series featured adaptations of stories by famous authors, such as “Mr. Mergenthwirker’s Lobbies” by
Nelson Bond, "The Snow Goose" by
Paul Gallico
Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures. ...
, "The Monkey's Paw" by
W.W. Jacobs, "The Piano" by
William Saroyan
William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...
and "
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1939) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in ''The New Yorker'' on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book ''My World and Welcome to It'' ( Ha ...
" by
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' an ...
.
[
]
Cast
Cast members included Curley Bradley, John Hodiak
John Hodiak ( ; April 16, 1914 – October 19, 1955) was an American actor who worked in radio, stage and film.
Early life
Hodiak was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Anna (Pogorzelec) and Walter Hodiak. He was of Ukrainian and ...
, Marvin Miller
Marvin Julian Miller (April 14, 1917 – November 27, 2012) was an American labor union leader and baseball executive who served as the first executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) from 1966 to 1982. Miller l ...
, Nelson Olmsted, Fern Persons, Olan Soule
Olan Soule (February 28, 1909 – February 1, 1994) was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films.
He was the ...
and Les Tremayne
Lester Tremayne (16 April 1913 – 19 December 2003) was a British-born American actor who performed in Vaudeville, film, theatre, radio and television.
Early life
Tremayne was born in Balham, London. He moved with his family at the age o ...
. Orchestra conductors for the program were Joseph Gallicchio, Rex Maupin and Roy Shield.[
]
Production
Directors included Norman Felton
Norman Francis Felton (April 29, 1913 – June 25, 2012) was a British-born American television producer, known for his involvement in shows such as ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' and '' Dr. Kildare''.
Background
Felton was born in London, the so ...
, Homer Heck and Fred Weihe.[ In 1944, ''Author's Playhouse'' was the summer replacement for '']Truth or Consequences
''Truth or Consequences'' is an American game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–57) and later on television by Edwards (1950–54), Jack Bailey (1954–56), Bob Barker (1956–75), Steve Dunne (1957–58), Bob Hi ...
''.
Related
The series was a precursor to several NBC radio programs of the late 1940s and early 1950s: ''The World's Great Novels
''NBC University Theater'' (also known as ''NBC University Theater of the Air'', ''NBC Theater of the Air'' or ''NBC Theater'') was a brand the National Broadcasting Co. applied to a category of radio programming. Although it was not actually a u ...
'', '' NBC Presents: Short Story'' and ''The NBC University Theater''.
References
External links
Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: ''Author's Playhouse''
Listen to
*{{InternetArchiveOTR, id=AuthorsPlayhouse, title=Author's Playhouse
American radio dramas
1940s American radio programs
NBC Blue Network radio programs
NBC radio programs
Anthology radio series
1941 radio programme debuts
1945 radio programme endings