Showing results by author "Black Eye Entertainment" in All Categories

Versatile actor/comedian Jack Benny had a long career (1911-1974) and was truly a star of stage, screen, and radio. Recognized as a leading 20th-century American entertainer, Benny often portrayed his character as a miser, playing violin poorly, and claiming to be no older than 39, regardless of his actual age. His radio and television programs, popular from 1932 until his death in 1974, were a major contribution to the sitcom genre. We’ve carefully chosen 11 radio episodes starring Jack Benny from our master archives for this collection.

This collection contains 12 of the greatest shows ever broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio – including episodes of The Jack Benny Program, Burns & Allen, Gunsmoke, The Amos ‘n' Andy Show, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Suspense, Dimension X, The Whistler, Sherlock Holmes and more. Radio’s finest actors perform before the microphones, including: Jack Benny, Tom Conway, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nigel Bruce, Chester Morris, Dick Powell, Howard Duff, George Burns, Gracie Allen, William Conrad, John Dehner and many more.

The Aldrich Family was a popular teenage situation comedy that was heard on radio and seen in films, television and comic books. The creation of playwright Clifford Goldsmith, teenager Henry Aldrich was an endearingly bumbling kid growing awkwardly into adolescence. Episodes revolved around Henry’s misadventures with girls, his family and his friends. Portrayed on radio by 20-something Ezra Stone, The Aldrich Family launched as a summer replacement program for Jack Benny in NBC’s Sunday night lineup, July 2nd, 1939, sponsored by Jell-O.

Created by S.S. Van Dine, Philo Vance was quite popular in books, movies, and on radio. He was portrayed as a stylish, very intelligent, and cultured private detective - an Americanized Sherlock Holmes - working out of New York. Not that Vance needed any help solving a crime, he did work closely with his secretary and right-hand woman Ellen Deering and his pal John Markham, New York County District Attorney. First heard for a brief time on NBC radio in 1945-46, it enjoyed success in syndication beginning in 1948 starring Jackson Beck.

The golden age of radio had incredible spine-chilling mystery shows that kept Americans glued to their radio sets. In this collection of 16 episodes, you’ll hear Lights Out! with Arch Oboler; three episodes of Suspense starring Agnes Moorehead, Howard Duff, and Paul Henreid; The Black Museum starring Orson Welles; The Mysterious Traveler starring Maurice Tarplin; Quiet Please starring Ernest Chappell; two episodes of Escape starring William Conrad and John Dehner; and many more!

This collection contains 15 of the greatest science fiction broadcasts from the Golden Age of radio, including episodes of X Minus One, Dimension X, Suspense, The CBS Radio Workshop, Escape, The Lux Radio Theatre, and others. Radio’s finest actors perform before the microphones in adaptations from the past masters of science fiction. Relive the best radio sci-fi shows from yesterday and the legendary stars that made them amazing in this incredible collection.

Whitehall 1212 was the famous telephone number for Scotland Yard - the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Force - and also an exciting true crime drama from the golden age of radio! Whitehall 1212 was a crime drama that aired on NBC from 1951 until 1952. It was hosted by Chief Superintendent John Davidson, curator of the Black Museum, Scotland Yard’s repository of death. Similar to The Black Museum, starring Orson Welles, Whitehall 1212 dramatized true-crime cases solved by Scotland Yard.

The golden age of radio had incredible detective shows that kept Americans glued to their sets. Families gathered around their living room radios to hear their favorite Hollywood stars voicing fiction's most famous gumshoes. This collection includes Dick Powell as suave detective Richard Diamond, Vincent Price as the Saint, Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday on Dragnet, Richard Kollmar as "enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend" on Boston Blackie, and much more!

The Golden Age of Radio featured many of the greatest comedy teams of all time, and this collection features the best of the best. This 17-episode collection features duos including Abbott and Costello, the Bickersons, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, Baby Snooks and Daddy, Lum and Abner, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and Phil Harris and Alice Faye. You’ll laugh till your sides ache at these great comedy duos!

X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio series broadcast from April 24, 1955 until January 9, 1958 over NBC. Initially a revival of NBC's Dimension X (1950-51), X Minus One is widely considered among the finest science fiction dramas ever produced for radio. The first 15 episodes were new versions of Dimension X episodes, but the remainders were adaptations by NBC staff writers, including Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, of newly published science fiction stories by leading writers in the field.

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope each had long careers in radio, the movies, and on television. They each had their own radio programs and often appeared together. This collection contains 10 radio broadcasts, some with Bing and Bob together and others with them appearing separately. Some of the supporting players include Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake, Judy Garland, Orson Welles, Virginia Bruce, Mel Blanc, Ralph Bellamy, Carole Lombard, and Cecil B. DeMille!

Detective series Let George Do It came to radio in 1946. It starred Bob Bailey as ex-GI and detective-for-hire George Valentine. Clients came to Valentine’s office after reading a newspaper carrying his classified ad: Personal notice: Danger’s my stock in trade. If the job’s too tough for you to handle, you’ve got a job for me. George Valentine.

Orson Welles was an actor, director, writer, and producer who worked in theatre, radio, TV, and film. His film Citizen Kane is ranked as one of the greatest movies ever made. In 1937, Orson Welles and John Houseman founded the Mercury Theatre, an independent repertory theatre company that presented a series of productions on Broadway through 1941. To help earn money to stage his productions, Welles moonlighted as a radio actor. We’ve carefully selected 12 of his finest radio performances for this collection, and we hope that you will enjoy them!

This collection contains episodes of The Jack Benny Program, The Abbott & Costello Show, Gunsmoke, The Amos 'N' Andy Show, Suspense, Fibber McGee & Molly, Dragnet, Have Gun - Will Travel, and many others. Relive the best radio shows from yesterday and the legendary stars that made them amazing in this incredible collection.

Jack Carson had a long radio career beginning in 1943 and ending in 1956. The Jack Carson Show also made the transition to television in 1954. On the radio and TV series, Carson played himself in a factualized version of his home life. Supported by Agnes Moorehead, Arthur Treacher, Normal Jean Nilsson, Irene Ryan, Jane Morgan, and Mel Blanc, the shows often included guest stars. Now, enjoy 16 half-hour comedy episodes of The Jack Carson Show starring Jack Carson and all his gang.

World War II changed the lives of many Americans. People moved from civilian careers to often radically different lives in the military. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was one of the most storied with its top-secret intelligence operations. Most OSS agents returned home to their normal lives after the war, but for some it wasn’t that easy. For Frank Race, the war changed his life, and he become a freelance troubleshooter and insurance investigator. Enjoy 16 of his exciting radio adventures.

Created by Irving Brecher, The Life of Riley starred William Bendix as Brooklyn-born Chester A. Riley, a family man who worked as an airplane riveter at the fictional Cunningham Aircraft plant in California. The stories were usually set at home, with Riley cheerfully disrupting life with his malapropisms and ill-timed intervention into minor problems. His stock answer to every turn of fate “what a revoltin' development this is!” became a popular catchphrase.

Debonair British actor Herbert Marshall starred as FBl secret agent Ken Thurston, "the man who crosses the ocean as readily as you and I cross town; he is the man who fights today's war in his unique fashion, so that tomorrow's peace will make the world a neighborhood for all of us." Leon Belasco played Mr. X's comedic sidekick, Pagan Zeldchmidt, who always turned up in remote parts of the world to assist Thurston.

Created by Don Quinn, the co-creator of Fibber McGee & Molly, The Halls of Ivy was a situation comedy series that ran on NBC radio from 1950 through 1952. Originally slated to star Gale Gordan and Edna Best, the lead roles went to British husband-and-wife actors Ronald and Benita Colman. The Colman’s were well versed at comedy and already a hit with radio fans having played Jack Benny’s next-door-neighbor on The Jack Benny Program for years. Ronald Colman played William Todhunter Hall, the urbane president of small, rural Ivy College.

MGM produced 10 successful Maisie movies from 1939 to 1947 starring gorgeous Ann Sothern as Mary Anastasia O'Connor, a brassy but kindhearted Brooklyn burlesque dancer who went by the stage name Maisie Ravier. Along with the Andy Hardy and Dr. Kildare films, the Maisie franchise generated big returns for MGM.