Juvenile
It's hard to imagine that there was a time when children would rush home from school to hear the latest episode of their favourite serial, but in the mid 40s there were at least thirty such programs broadcast regularly each week.
 | Adventures Of Frank Merriwell
Show Count: 38
Broadcast History: 26 March 1934 to 22 June 1934 and 5 October 1946 to 4 June 1949
Cast: Donald Briggs, Lawson Zerbe, Elaine Rost, Hal Studer, Lamont Johnson, Brad Barker, Grace Keddy, Patricia Hosley
Director: Joseph F Mansfield, Ed King, Harry Junkin, Fred Weihe
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell was created by Gilbert Patten who wrote under the name, Burt L. Standish and was first broadcast on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934 3 times a week in 15-minute continuation stories. |
 | Adventures Of Superman, The
Show Count: 1152
Broadcast History: 12 February 1940 to 1 March 1951
Sponsor: Kelloggs
Cast: Ronny Liss, Bud Collyer, Howard Duff, Michael Fitzmaurice, Joan Alexander, Julian Noa, Jackie Kelk, Gary Merrill, Stacy Harris, Matt Crowley
Director: George Lowthar, Robert Maxwell, Jessica Maxwell, Mitchell Grayson, Allen Ducovny
Producer: George Lowthar, Robert Maxwell, Jessica Maxwell, Mitchell Grayson, Allen Ducovny
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| Air Adventures of Biggles
Show Count: 92
Broadcast History:
In 1932, William Earl Johns, a former British bomber pilot, published the first of his 'Biggles' stories in the Popular Flying magazine. |
 | Bobby Benson's Adventures
Show Count: 12
Broadcast History: 17 October 1932 to 11 December 1936 and 21 June 1949 to 17 June 1955
Cast: Billy Halop, Ivan Cury, Richard Wanamaker, Tex Ritter, Don Knotts, Herb Rice, Neil O'Malley, Craig McDonnell, Florence Halop, Clyde Campbell, Charles Irving, Bob Haig
Director: Bob Novak
Producer: Herb Rice
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 | Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
Show Count: 24
Broadcast History: 7 November 1932 to 22 May 1936, 5 April 1939 to 31 July 1939, 18 May 1940 to 27 July 1940 and 30 September 1946 to 28 March 1947
Sponsor: Kelloggs, Cocomalt, Cream of Wheat, General Foods
Cast: Curtis Arnall, Matt Crowley, Carl Frank, John Larkin, Adele Ronson, Virginia Vass, Edgar Stehli, Elaine Melchior, Bill Shelley, Dan Ocko, Jack Roseleigh, Joe Granby
Director: Jack Johnstone
Producer: Jack Johnstone
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 | Captain Midnight
Show Count: 117
Broadcast History: 17 October 1939 to 27 March 1940, 30 September 1940 to 3 July 1942, 28 September 1942 to 17 June 1949 and 20 September to 15 December 1949
Cast: Art Hern, Bill Bouchey, Ed Prentiss, Paul Barnes, Shirley Bell, Billy Rose, Jack Bivens, John Coons, Boris Aplon, Rene Rodier, Sharon Grainger, Olan Soule, Angeline Orr, Marilou Neumayer, Sherman Marks
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 | Challenge Of The Yukon
Show Count: 628
Broadcast History: 3 February 1938 to 28 May 1947, 12 June 1947 to 30 December 1949 and 2 January 1950 to 9 June 1955
Sponsor: Quaker Oats
Cast: Jay Michael, Paul Sutton, John Todd, Brace Beemer
Director: Al Hodge
Producer: Al Hodge, George Trendle
Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ (as had The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet), and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938. The title changed from Challenge of the Yukon to Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in November 1951, and remained under that name through the end of the series and into television. |
 | Chandu The Magician
Show Count: 295
Broadcast History: 10th October 1932 to 6th September 1950
Cast: Tom Collins, Gayne Whitman, Margaret MacDonald, Bob Bixby, Betty Webb, Howard Hoffman, Cornelia Osgood, Olan Soule, Audrey McGrath, Irene Tedrow, Lee Millar, Joy Terry, Veola Vonn, Luis Van Rooten
Director: Cyril Armbrister
Chandu the Magician, one of the longest running radio adventure serials, was heard on several different networks and aired in two distinctly different series, one in the 1930s and a revival 12 years later in the 1940s and 1950s. The series was created by Harry A. Earnshaw (1878–1953) and Raymond R. Morgan. |
 | Cinnamon Bear, The
Show Count: 28
Broadcast History: 1937 to 1962
Cast: Martha Wentworth, Buddy Duncan, Barbara Jean Wong, Verna Felton, Joseph Kearns, Hanley Stafford, Howard McNear, Slim Pickins, Elvia Allman, Elliott Lewis, Lou Merrill, Frank Nelson, Cy Kendall, Gale Gordon, Ted Osborne, Joe Du Val, Dorothy Scott, Ed Max, Rosa Barcelo, Lindsay MacHarrie, Bud Hiestand
Director: Lindsay MacHarrie
A wonderful serial that was enjoyed annually by young children (at adults) in the period leading up to Christmas. |
 | Cisco Kid, The
Show Count: 337
Broadcast History: 2 October 1942 to 14 February 1945, and 1946-1956
Cast: Vicki Vola, Jackson Beck, Louis Sorin, Bryna Raeburn, Jack Mather, Harry Lang
Director: Jock MacGregor
Producer: J C Lewis
Western Drama mainly for the young ones or maybe just the young at heart. I say the young at heart, because The Cisco Kid and his likeable but simple partner Pancho were a couple of lovable rogues and because there was usually a lovely senorita around in every episode who fell madly in love with Cisco, there may well have been an element of lady listeners included in the audience rating figures. |
 | Dick Tracy
Show Count: 54
Broadcast History: 4 February 1935 to 11 July 1935, 30 September 1935 to 24 March 1937, 3 January 1938 to 30 September 1939, and 15 March 1943 to 16 July 1948
Sponsor: Sterling Products, Quaker Oats, Tootsie Rolls
Cast: Bob Burlen, Barry Thomson, Ned Wever, Matt Crowley, Walter Kinsella , Jackie Kelk, Andy Donnelly, Helen Lewis
Director: Mitchell Grayson, Charles Powers, Bob White
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 | Green Hornet, The
Show Count: 190
Broadcast History: 31 January 1936 to 7 April 1938, 12 April 1938 to 9 November 1939, and 16 November 1939 to 5 December 1952
Sponsor: General Mills, United Shirt Shops, Detroit Creamery, Orange Crush
Cast: Al Hodge, Bob Hall, Donovan Faust, Jack McCarthy, Various, John Todd, Jack Petruzzi, Raymond Hayashi, Rollon Parker, Mickey Tolan, Lee Allman, Jim Irwin, Gil Shea, Paul Hughes
Director: James Jewell, Charles Livingstone
Producer: James Jewell, Charles Livingstone
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 | Jack Armstrong, The All-American Boy
Show Count: 89
Broadcast History: 31 July 1933 to 28 June 1951
Sponsor: General Mills, Wheaties
Cast: Carlton KaDell, Don Ameche, Charles Flynn, Olan Soule, Herb Butterfield, Ken Christy, Michael Romano, Rye Billsbury, Patricia Dunlap, Sarajane Wells, Stanley Harris, Jim Ameche, Ken Griffin, Frank Dane, Frank Behrens, St John Terrell, John Gannon, Roland Butterfield, Murray McLean, Milton Guion, Dick York, Shaindel Kalish, Loretta Poynton, Naomi May, Jim Goss, Jack Doty, Ed Davison, Arthur Van Slyke, Robert Barron, Bye Billsbury, Carles Flynn
Director: James Jewell, David Owen, Pat Murphy, Ed Morse, Ted MacMurray
Producer: James Jewell
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 | Let's Pretend
Show Count: 71
Broadcast History: 7 September 1929 to 17 March 1934, and 24 March 1934 to 23 October 1954
Sponsor: Cream of Wheat
Cast: Estelle Levy, Patricia Ryan, Miriam Wolfe, Sybil Trent, Billy Mauch, Bobby Mauch, Arthur Anderson, Billy Halop, Nancy Kelly, Roslyn Silber, Dick Van Patten, Anne Francis, Lamont Johnson, Patricia Peardon, Albert Aley, Michael O'Day, Skippy Homeier, Marilyn Erskine, Jack Grimes, Kingsley Colton, Bobby Readick, Vivian Block, Gerrianne Raphael, Patsy O'Shea, Lorna Lynn, Jack Ayers, Alex Englander, Larry Robinson, Robert Lee, Mary Ellen Glass, Barbara Adams, Bill Lipton, Betty Jane Tyler , Judith Lockser, Joan Lazer, Jackie Kelk, Joan Tetzel, Jimmy Lydon , Michael Dreyfuss, Donald Buka, Hope Miller, Evelyn Juster, Lillian Collins, Daisy Aldan, Roger Sullivan, Rita Lloyd, Donald Madden, Lynn Thatcher, Stanley Martin, Diana Hale, Walter Tetley, Jack Jordan, Robert Morea, Jimsey Somers, Julian Altman, Donald Hughes, Florence Halop, Lester Jay, Eddie Ryan, Denise Alexander, Ivan Cury, Anne-Marie Gayer, Dick Etlinger, Elaine Engler, Sidney Lumet, Butch Cavell, Alan Shay
Director: Nila Mack, Jean Hight
Producer: Nila Mack
Host: Bill Adams
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 | Little Orphan Annie
Show Count: 37
Broadcast History: 1930, 6 April 1931 to 30 October 1936, 2 November 1936 to 19 January 1940, and 22 January 1940 to 26 April 1942
Sponsor: Quaker Puffed Wheat Sparkies, Ovaltine
Cast: Shirley Bell, Floy Hughes, Bobbe Deane, Janice Gilbert, Jerry O’Mera, Henrietta Tedro, Allan Baruck, Mel Torme, Henry Saxe, Boris Aplon, Stanley Andrews, Brad Barker
Director: Alan Wallace
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 | Lone Ranger, The
Show Count: 1945
Broadcast History: 31 January 1933 to 3 September 1954
Sponsor: Silvercup Bread, Gingham Bread, Merita Bread, Bond Bread, General Mills for Cheerios
Cast: Brace Beemer, Earle Graser, Jack Deeds, John Todd, John Hodiak, Paul Hughes, James Lipton, George Seaton, Ernie Winstanley, Dick Beals, Jay Mitchell
Director: James Jewell
Producer: James Jewell
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 | Minnesota School of the Air
Show Count: 44
Broadcast History: 1938-1979
Cast: Betty Thomas Girling
Producer: Betty Thomas Girling
This was a series of instructional radio programs written and produced for school-age children to listen to in the classroom. Each series was designed to supplement the curriculum of local school districts, with the content aimed from kindergarten right through grade 12. |
 | Tarzan
Show Count: 157
Broadcast History: 12 September 1932 to 27 June 1953
Cast: Barbara Luddy, Carlton KaDell, Gale Gordon, Hanley Stafford, James Pierce, Cy Kendall, Lamont Johnson, Jeanette Nolan, Fred Shields, Frank Nelson, Joan Burroughs, Art Kane, Fred Harrington, Eily Malyan, Ralph Scott, Karena Shields, George Turner, Brian Gregory
Producer: Fred Shields
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 | Terry And The Pirates
Show Count: 48
Broadcast History: 1 November 1937 to 22 March 1939, 16 October 1941 to 29 May 1942, and 1 February 1943 to 30 June 1948
Cast: Robert Griffin, Bud Collyer, Agnes Moorehead, Owen Jordan, Cliff Carpenter, Jackie Kelk, Ted de Corsia, John Gibson, Peter Donald, Frances Chaney, Adelaide Klein , Cameron Andrews , Bill Fein, Warner Anderson, Larry Alexander, Marion Sweet, Gerta Rozan, Cliff Norton
Director: Cyril Armbrister, Wylie Adams, Marty Andrews
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 | Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters, The
Show Count: 27
Broadcast History: Sept 25th, 1933 - December 16th, 1951
Cast: Russell Thorson, Curley Bradley
In early 1933, a survey of local school children determined their top western hero was Tom Mix, and from there, Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters was created as a new juvenile western radio adventure series. |