''Everyman's Theater'' is a 30-minute

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 ...

dramatic series. Its 26 episodes were broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from October 4, 1940, through March 28, 1941. Created by Arch Oboler, ''Everyman's Theater'' succeeded ''

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 Mutu ...

'' after the latter program was canceled.Grams, Martin Jr. "Arch Oboler: Plays or Lights Out (Part Two)". ''Return with Us Now ...'' Volume 28, Number 11. November 2003. pp. 1, 3–6. One website commented: "''Arch Oboler's Plays'' was Oboler's breakout dramatic showcase over radio. ''Everyman's Theater'' further established Oboler's versatility and range, while underscoring Oboler's growing appeal to a far wider audience than he'd already established with '' Lights Out''." Some of the program's plays were original with Oboler; others were adapted by him.Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925–1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. . p. 188. A number of the episodes used scripts that had already been presented on radio. Plays presented on ''Everyman's Theater'' included "None but the Lonely Heart," "Ivory Tower," "The Laughing Man," "The Ugliest Man in the World" and "Lust for Life." Stars featured included

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

Raymond Massey Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor known for his commanding stage-trained voice. For his lead role in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1940), Massey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He r ...

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

.Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). ''The Big Broadcast: 1920–1950''. The Viking Press. . pp. 79–80.

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, ...

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

and

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

. Oboler had tight control over all facets of the program and was responsible for writing scripts and directing episodes. He was paid $4,000 per week, out of which he, in turn, paid actors and musicians involved in each production. Oboler had a passion for authenticity, as illustrated by his hiring a full symphony orchestra to play music written by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

for the play, "None but the Lonely Heart." His productions featured "offbeat plotting, realistic sound effects, and stream-of-consciousness narration."

References

{{Reflist

External links

Program log and other information about ''Everyman's Theater'' from The Digital Deli Too

1940s American radio programs American radio dramas NBC radio programs 1940 radio programme debuts 1941 radio programme endings Anthology radio series