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 Jun 19, 2025
Thursday Jun 19, 2025
We continue our short series dedicated to writer/director/producer, Norman Corwin, with an episode of The Fred Allen Show that is not broadly in circulation, originally broadcast on May 14th, 1944, with Corwin as special guest. Allen does a satirical adaptation of the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme presented in Corwin's dramatic style. The second half of the discs were badly damaged, but worth presenting, as it is the only time we know of that Allen and Corwin ever appeared together.
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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 Jun 17, 2025
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
This podcast is dedicated to showcasing the very best of vintage radio, and with that effort in mind, for the next few weeks we will be highlighting the work of writer/director/producer Norman Corwin. These days he's not exactly a household name, but once you hear his work from the '30s, '40s, and '50s, you will understand why he was so influential. We're kicking things off with a Corwin program from 1939 called "So This Is Radio," which offers an in-depth look at the various roles and processes involved in creating a radio broadcast. Following this, you will get to hear these radio techniques put into practice with one of Corwin's famous radio plays "Unity Fair" from 1945, featuring Groucho Marx.
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 Jun 12, 2025
Thursday Jun 12, 2025
This is week 11 of our series dedicated to comedians on the thriller series Suspense, and we decided to extend it one more week to present an episode that is not one of the better scripts but stars one of our favorite comedian-couples Phil Harris and Alice Faye. Joining us one last time in this series is Suspense Researcher Joe Webb. There were many other comedians who appeared on the series during its long history, and you can find them all, complete with fascinating research notes (as you heard here) on Dr. Joe’s legendary blog: suspenseproject.blogspot.com
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 Jun 10, 2025
Tuesday Jun 10, 2025
This is the final week on our series Comedians on Suspense. The stars are bandleader Phil Harris and his real-life wife, glamour movie star Alice Faye, appearing here in an episode of their sitcom from April 22, 1951. The storyline centers on a farcical attempt by Phil to write a serious drama, ultimately a parody of the series “Suspense.” Harris and Faye would appear as guest stars on “Suspense” two weeks later, which we will hear on Thursday.
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 Jun 05, 2025
Thursday Jun 05, 2025
Today we are bringing you another unlikely comedian in a Suspense episode. This one comes late in the Suspense series, and it features the young comedian/writer/voice talent Stan Freberg in a dramatic role, a surprising departure from his usual work. Host John Tefteller and guest Dr. Joe Webb discuss Freberg's diverse talents and his unexpected appearance in this thriller, about a man who gets murdered with a telephone!
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 Jun 03, 2025
Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
We are listening to episode thirteen of the Stan Freberg Show today from 1957. If you listen to this podcast regularly, you will know Stan Freberg is one of John’s favorite comedians, and when we found out Freberg was a guest star on the thriller series, Suspense, we had to do it. In this episode of his comedy show, they do a horror movie parody about a teenage werewolf who transforms into an advertising executive, and a humorous, ultimately abandoned, panel discussion on the circus. The broadcast also includes the announcement of the show's impending cancellation.
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 May 29, 2025
Thursday May 29, 2025
It’s Thursday again, and in this series that means we are focusing on the Suspense radio program episode "Murder in G Flat" which was the first of four Jack Benny appearances on the series. Researcher Dr. Joe Webb is with us again to dive into the background of this episode, highlighting Benny's unusual serious role as a piano tuner who finds stolen money, and tells us how Benny came to star in the show as well as the episode's ending, which was a humorous addition by producer Elliot Lewis fitting Benny's comedic 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
Tuesday May 27, 2025
Tuesday May 27, 2025
We’re featuring this week probably the most popular comedian on this podcast, the great Jack Benny. Jack was a guest star on the thriller series “Suspense” on four separate occasions. On Thursday we will be listening to Jack Benny’s first appearance on Suspense, but today we are listening to a Benny show from 1952. In this one, they are roasting “Suspense.”
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 May 22, 2025
Thursday May 22, 2025
On Tuesday we heard “America’s Favorite Young Married Couple,” Ozzie and Harriet in their popular radio sitcom, that would go on to even greater success on television. Today we hear them in one of their appearances on the thriller series “Suspense.” The episode tells a story about the couple unexpectedly buying a trunk at auction for a mere three dollars, only to discover that a mysterious man desperately wants the trunk back, leading to, well… suspense. Dr. Joe Webb is here to discuss this show’s significance and also provides background information on the story's origins and the show Suspense.
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 May 20, 2025
Tuesday May 20, 2025
This week on Comedians on Suspense, we are featuring the comedy couple, Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard, in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." Ozzie expresses his preference for routine, particularly his breakfast of boiled eggs, while Harriet contemplates shaking things up, even considering a new haircut. This light sitcom came about in the late ‘40s, though Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard had been in show business since the early days of radio.
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