Legendary radio collector John Tefteller presents the best of mystery, comedy, horror, and adventure stories, produced by the greatest writers, directors, composers, and stars.
Episodes
Thursday Apr 10, 2025
Thursday Apr 10, 2025
This week John Tefteller and guest Dr. Joe Webb discuss a 1947 episode of the radio show Suspense titled "Three Faces at Midnight," which starred William Bendix. The plot involves blackmail, politics, and gangsters, a territory familiar to Bendix who began as a thuggish character actor in the movies before The Life of Riley eclipsed his film career. They talk about the versatility of comedic actors in dramatic roles and an on-air sound effect mishap in the East Coast broadcast featuring actor Hans Conried.
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Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
Tuesday Apr 08, 2025
This week, as part of our epic 10-week quest that seeks to visit many comedians who appeared on the radio thriller series “Suspense,” and pare them with their radio programs, we’re stopping off at the popular sitcom, The Life of Riley, starring William Bendix as the well-meaning but often misguided Chester A. Riley. This is a Mother’s Day episode, and revolves around Riley's anxieties about his son Junior forgetting Mother's Day, leading to the show’s usual encounters with characters like Riley's friend Gillis (played by John Brown) and the undertaker Digger O’Dell (also played by John Brown!).
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Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
Today we welcome back to the show Suspense expert Dr. Joe Webb discussing an episode of the radio program Suspense titled "The Palmer Method." The episode stars Ed Gardner, primarily known for his comedic role in Duffy's Tavern, in a more dramatic part. Dr. Joe discusses background information on Suspense, noting this episode's unique characteristic of having significant variations between its East and West Coast broadcasts due to Gardner's improvisational style. They also explore Gardner's personality and the connection between his Duffy's Tavern character, Archie, and Archie Bunker from All in the Family.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
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Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
Today we’re starting a 10-week series contrasting comedic and dramatic performances of well-known vintage comedians. Moving through these shows chronologically, we begin with an episode of "Duffy's Tavern" starring Ed Gardner, who will be showcased later in the week in his appearance on “Suspense.” This particular "Duffy's Tavern" episode from May 25th, 1949, includes guest star Ed Wynn doing his humorous, nonsensical opera commentary within the radio show's usual tavern setting.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
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Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Thursday Mar 27, 2025
Thursday Mar 27, 2025
We’ve been featuring a taste of the large body of radio work of actor Jimmy Stewart. Jimmy appeared on hundreds of radio shows across his career, and many radio adaptations of his films. He also had his own radio series for a short time in the 1950s, when he was doing mostly westerns. Today we’re closing out this tribute with “The Six Shooter.” The series was far less gritty than his Anthony Mann films, and focused on stories that were often more family-oriented and feel-good than action-packed.
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Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
Tuesday Mar 25, 2025
Today as part of our February tribute to actor Jimmy Stewart on radio, we’re presenting a funny episode of The Jack Benny Program. Stewart appeared several times on The Benny Show, both his radio and TV program. This is his first appearance on the show. Jack corners him at The Brown Derby restaurant in an attempt to get him to appear in one of his films.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Thursday Mar 20, 2025
Thursday Mar 20, 2025
Today our month-long tribute to Jimmy Stewart on radio continues. "Cavalcade of America," at one time or other, had almost every major star in a title role during its near 20-year run. In this episode Jimmy Stewart taps into his easy, small American, home-town roots, playing a Montana cowboy who enlists in the Navy, but dreams of raising horses. Despite the Navy's lack of equine opportunities, he acquires a sickly colt and names him Montana, nursing him back to health and fighting to keep him.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Our month-long tribute to actor Jimmy Stewart on radio features a funny 1948 episode of Philco Radio Time, hosted by Bing Crosby. The Bing Crosby Show was primarily focused on popular songs sung by Crosby in the first half, and depending on Bing’s guest, the second half generally was devoted to comedy (written by Carol Carol). Stewart appeared many times on this program, and even hosted the show in the absence of Bing in an episode. We featured three of Stewart’s appearances two years ago, after Jimmy was married. Today we’re going back to Jimmy's first appearance on the program during his bachelor days, with lots of jokes here on Stewart’s popular bashful persona.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Today we are featuring Jimmy Stewart in an episode of Suspense that was only recently discovered in its entirety thanks to collector Randy Riddle. "The Rescue" stars James Stewart in a story about a man who witnesses a distressed woman threatening to jump from a hotel ledge. He becomes entangled in a dangerous plot involving a deceptive doctor and a potential murder. It’s a Stewart performance reminiscent of Stewart’s great Hitchcock films of this period.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
Tuesday Mar 11, 2025
We are back to Jimmy Stewart appearances on popular comedy radio programs. Believe it or not, in 1947 Stewart was a guest on "It Pays to Be Ignorant," a show we have featured on this podcast on a somewhat regular basis. The show features host, Tom Howard, and a panel of “experts” (really vaudevillian baggy-pants comedians) who answer absurd questions in kind. Kate Smith pinch hits for Lulu McConnell on this one. Stewart sounds a little like he was handed the script cold, but it’s fun to hear him totter amidst the utter chaos of this show.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD