Rare Old-Time Radio Photographs

Over the past two decades, I made it a habit of scanning photographs of old-time radio personalities from every archive I had access to. Recently cataloging the tens of thousands of photographs, labeling each photo accordingly, I came across a number of them that are truly rare and more than likely never seen in decades. So I wanted to take a moment to share them with you. 

Ben Bernie and Lupe Velez

Victor Moore

Virginia Jones

Hildegarde

Edgar Bergen

A young Gale Gordon.

John Houseman

Jackie Kelk

Mel Allen

Raymond Edward Johnson

Poison Gardner

Nila Mack of Let's Pretend

Shirley Temple

The "LOST" SERGEANT PRESTON OF THE YUKON Adventures

Initially titled Challenge of the Yukon, the Sergeant Preston radio program started out in 1939 as a 15-minute series with massive epics in serial format. By 1940, the series evolved into single adventures (and sometimes two-part adventures). Broadcast "live" over the Michigan Radio Network, the program could be heard in Chicago, northern Indiana and Ohio, and certain sections of Canada where radio receivership (and superb weather conditions) could allow someone with a superb radio set to pick up the broadcasts. The program never went national until 1947. It was not until 1943 that the radio broadcasts were recorded on transcription discs. All of which makes these 1940 plot summaries treasured. Over the years I have been reading those pre-1943 radio broadcasts to fill in the gaps, progressing to a complete broadcast log of each and every radio adventure. The plots below are from radio scripts where recordings do not exist. (The plots are rough draft, not final draft.)

By the way, it would not be until the broadcast of May 30, 1940, that Tom Dougall began assigning script titles. 

Episode #121 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast March 7, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69068, script received at Registration Office March 18, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: Sergeant Preston and Pierre drove South on the Yukon from Lamont, on the trail of three men named Bart Hayden, Scar Reynolds and Lefty Mike who robbed a company store. Stopping at a cabin along the wide expanse of Lake Bartlett, they meet an old time named Pop Hanson. 

The old man helped guide our heroes to Windward Pass, where they could cut off the path, then asked for a favor. Mike is his son and the crime accused was the boy’s first. Mike loved a girl named Sally and her father was very ill. It was quite possible the boy stole the money to help the girl. Pop asked Preston to not hurt the lad. The criminals, however, attempted to thwart their pursuers by pushing a boulder off the cliff and starting an avalanche that roared down the steep side of the bluff. Before it reached bottom, Preston, Pierre and Pop found shelter. Risking his life, Preston climbed the bluff to reach Mike, who was alone fetching firewood. Upon learning the boy was a witness to the crime but never committed the act, and was forced to go along with the criminals, Preston handed Mike a gun to help assist with the capture. The confrontation led to a broken wrist and a wounded shoulder, but the Mountie got his men. As for Lefty Mike, he would receive the reward money – and the boy wanted to help Sally’s father.

 

Episode #122 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast March 14, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69284, script received at Registration Office March 26, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: Sergeant Preston was working in Dawson for nearly six months when he returned to Beaver City, where he was assigned a new case from Inspector Conrad. Shortly after Preston left for Dawson, the Yukon Trading Company sent a new man to take charge of their post in the Lost River district. He was a crook. He robbed the company and he robbed the Indians. It was not until his assistant quit and came back to Beaver City that the Inspector learned what was going on. Miaku, the chief of the local Indians, however, did not like the idea of being cheated and the tribe went on the warpath. Manson managed to escape his post and fled, was arrested, tried and convicted. Miaku and his tribe were still on the warpath, a party of trappers were captured, and Miaku sent a warning: the next white man to cross Stormy Ridge will die. Preston and Pierre were the first white men to defy the new law. Miaku would not believe Preston’s insistence that the white man who cheated them is facing the law and our heroes are tied up. Condemned to die by fire, Preston asks for water as a last request and instead of drinking it, he used it to put out the fire. Further discussion convinced Miaku that the white man wanted to be friends. 

 

Episode #123 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast March 21, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69280, script received at Registration Office March 26, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: While stationed in Beaver City, Sergeant Preston learned that the manager of the Yukon Trading company branch roused the post. Robbers had broken into his store during the night and stole $20,000 in gold dust, waiting for shipment to White Horse. Inspector Conrad put Constable Edwards on the case, to question all suspicious characters in town, check on all the trails and way cabins, etc. Preston was sent to Bitterroot Valley to deliver supplies and a bag of mail. The Sergeant and Pierre set out on the windswept trail for the north and along the way he stopped to deliver a letter to Matt. Outside the cabin, Matt insisted no one came through in the last few days, but takes a moment to read the letter from his friend. After Preston and Pierre leave and continue on their way, Matt returns to his cabin to face the two criminals who were hiding inside. Moments later, the door was busted open and King attacked one of the men while Preston handled the other. The crooks were Canora Pete and Al Maitland, both of whom have records. Matt tipped off the Sergeant not by what he said when he read the letter, but because he was blind and could not read – an oversight the criminals were not aware of.

 

Episode #124 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast March 26, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69403, script received at Registration Office April 6, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: Sergeant Preston and Pierre were on the trail from Bitterroot Valley. They were forced to take shelter in an isolated cabin during a blizzard. After a few minutes, Preston discovers the two residents of the cabin, prospectors Jerry Carr and Slim Brandon, do not acknowledge each other’s existence. It seems they lived together for so long that even a whistle or a sneeze is a deliberate intent to be annoying to the other. In an attempt to cure them, Preston creates a scenario whereby he decides to abuse his position and orders the men to decide who goes out to fend for themselves. There is not enough food for the four of them and the blizzard rages on. He suggests they settle the dispute with a game of cards. The men, panicking, insist they have the right to stay – even crediting the good each has done for the other, reinforcing their friendship. When the prospectors discover the ruse, they laugh and shake hands.

 

Episode #125 [NO TITLE LISTED]

Broadcast April 2, 1940

Copyright Registration D-69439, script received at Registration Office April 10, 1940.

Written by Tom Dougall.

Plot: Information reached police headquarters at Dawson that a criminal who was wanted for a bank robbery in Regina was somewhere in the Yukon. Sergeant Preston and Pierre were sent North to Forty Mile to investigate. One the day they arrived they rented a cabin and while Pierre made the rounds of the cafes in town, the Sergeant treated one of the dogs who had gone lame on the trail. Pierre found Dan Morgan, the man they were seeking, in the Lady Luck café. Dan admits he was wanted in Regina, but asked Preston for the opportunity to teach young Tim a lesson. The youth just married and struck it rich with a vein and is gambling. Tim is striking good fortune and Dan fears the boy will go from a miner to a gambler. Preston agrees to a parlay and lets Dan teach the boy a lesson at the table. Tim returns home penniless whiel Preston agrees with Dan that he will find a way to get the money returned, knowing Tim and Sally have a future. Dan promises to take the difference in winnings and return it to the bank he stole it from, in the hopes that the courts will be lenient. 

The Lost Radio Adventures of "THE GREEN HORNET"

It was not until May of 1938 that The Green Hornet radio program was recorded on a regular basis. Prior, the radio broadcasts originating from WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan, were never heard again after the initial broadcast. No sooner did the broadcast conclude, the actors tossed their scripts into a box in the corner of the room and began rehearsals for the next drama (usually The Lone Ranger). As a result, the first two years of the program does not exist in recorded form. Thankfully we have the radio scripts to consult. Enclosed are plot summaries based on the script pages, "lost" adventures of the masked man and his faithful valet, Kato.

Episode #181 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Tuesday, November 2, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53101, script received at Registration Office Nov. 10, 1937.

Plot: Jack Preston, a junior member of his father’s investment firm, runs up a $5,000 debt in Gangloff’s Plaza Club, an underworld gambling joint. In order to pay off the liability he prefers his father not know about, young Preston is forced into making investments for Gangloff, using someone else’s collateral against his account. Mike Axford and The Daily Sentinel staff have been investigating Gangloff’s illegal and rigged roulette wheels and slot machines, but his indebted victims don’t care to talk. When Reid meets up with young Preston and learns he went into debt, The Green Hornet goes to steal the I.O.U.s that would incriminate the guilty parties — and get back Jack’s I.O.U.

 

Episode #182 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Thursday, November 4, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53102, script received at Registration Office Nov. 10, 1937.

Plot: Police Commissioner Langdon is frustrated that an organization is forcing bums to pay a percentage for rights to panhandle in specific territories. The organization belongs to Ogden Jenks, whose goal is to have Langdon out of office so a new commissioner, one of Ogden’s type, will overlook larger rackets. When Britt Reid learns about a private entrance to Jenks’ office suite, he becomes The Green Hornet and overhears some of Jenks’ conferences. When Jenks tries to murder the commissioner in his secret office, having learned the newspapers won’t run a story against Langdon, The Hornet arranges for reporters and police to find the secret entrance to the private office.

 

Episode #183 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Tuesday, November 9, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53321, script received at Registration Office Nov. 19, 1937.

Plot: John Baldwin, an insurance racketeer, employs Jim Jaundell, former boss of a hi-jacking ring. Jaundell supposedly lives a respectable life, and try as they might, police can find nothing to criticize his conduct. Meanwhile, accidents involving trucks of Five State Corp. continue, but there’s no evidence leading to Jaundell. But Jaundell makes a mistake in attempting a shakedown of Baldwin by committing a murder, and The Green Hornet and Kato set out to stir things up, suggesting a double-cross between the crooks and exposing Baldwin’s insurance racket and Jaundell’s gang-land approach to murder.

 

Episode #184 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Thursday, November 11, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53322, script received at Registration Office Nov. 19, 1937.

Plot: Ormand Weeks operates Ancestors Inc., which charges a fee to prepare a genealogical table for his customers. Weeks profits by “unearthing” material that his high-priced clients do not want public, offering to withhold the information for a price. For those desperate to prove they are legal heirs of a deceased millionaire, he charges a hefty sum for the fake documents. The Green Hornet tries muscling into the racket and when Weeks attempts to trick the masked man into capture by the police, The Green Hornet seeks vengeance by taking letters Weeks wrote that establish his guilt and mailing them. Being merciful, the masked man orders Weeks to get out of town and go honest — or else.

 

Episode #185 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Tuesday, November 16, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53455, script received at Registration Office Nov. 26, 1937.

Plot: The Arnold and Gordon Corp. handles stock sales for Dr. Adrian, who developed an automobile headlight made with polarized glass. Through misrepresentation, crooked stockbrokers cheat investors, and when Britt Reid learns of it from Adrian, he and Kato set out to make Arnold and Gordon pay back every cent they’ve taken, with interest. The Green Hornet tricks the stockbrokers into buying all the stock they can with their own money, and the next day, they learn of its worthless value. Reid, however, plays the stock accordingly and profits enough to make a substantial contribution to a worthy charity.

 

Episode #186 [NO TITLE LISTED] Broadcast Thursday, November 18, 1937

Copyright Registration D-2-#53456, script received at Registration Office Nov. 26, 1937.

Plot: Politician Max Miller is trying to profit from the state’s new flood control measure, even though the federal government is taking care of the project. Police Chief Higgens is against Miller’s attempts, so Miller goes public against Higgens. Meanwhile, Damon Pitcairn, head of a concrete construction business, who has profited from graft with previous state projects, gets involved because of what Miller has on Pitcairn. When Britt Reid learns of the ruse, by way of Mike Axford’s disappearance, he sets out as The Green Hornet to steal and extort in order to smash Max Miller’s game and save taxpayers money.

 

NOTES: These plot summaries were reprinted from The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television, by Terry Salomonson and Martin Grams, Jr.

 

William Moulton Marston and The Secret History of Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman, created in 1941, is the most popular female superhero of all time. Aside from Superman and Batman, no superhero has lasted as long or commanded so vast and wildly passionate a following. Like every other superhero, Wonder Woman has a secret identity. Unlike every other superhero, she also has a secret history. Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore has uncovered an astonishing trove of documents, including the never-before-seen private papers of William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman. She published her findings in 2014 in The Secret History of Wonder Woman, a book I highly recommend if you want to gain an appreciation for the fictional crime fighter.

Beginning in his undergraduate years of Harvard, William Moulton Marston was influenced by early suffragists and feminists, starting with Emmeline Pankhurst, who was banned from speaking on campus in 1911, when Marston was a freshman. In the 1920s, Marston and his wife, Sadie Elizabeth Holloway, brought into their home Olive Byrne, the niece of Margaret Sanger, one of the most influential feminists of the twentieth century. When his wife disapproved of Olive's residence in their home, he confessed they were lovers and drew a line in the sand. Ultimately, all three of them lived together under the same roof in extraordinary nonconformity. As an expert on truth, he invented the lie detector test. Do these fact surprise you? 

Cathy Lee Crosby as Wonder Woman

Jill Lepore traveled to numerous depositories, both private and public. From the archives of Columbia University, Mount Holyoke College, the University of Minnesota, Saint Louis University, the Smithsonian, the University of Virginia, and the Library of Congress, among others, the author did the legwork and her finished product is top-notch as a result. While most people in this day and age believe in writing a book based on standard web browsing, in what academics refer to as "cut and paste," Lepore compiled what is the most comprehensive biography of William Moulton Marston, and a deeper understanding of the various elements that make up Wonder Woman. To understand the formation of the character is to understand the creator.

If you want to read the vintage 1944-1945 newspaper strip, which was short-lived, you have a chance to buy a copy of a hardcover compilation here:

http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Woman-Complete-Newspaper-Comics/dp/1631400282/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458956791&sr=1-1&keywords=wonder+woman+newspaper

One of the more amusing entries in the legend and lore of Wonder Woman is the 1974 made-for-TV movie which is now available commercially on DVD through Warner. A review from Variety magazine is reprinted for your amusement. And they hit the nail right on the head.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman will be consulted in years to come by historians and with the addition of two other books focusing on the comic adventures of the Amazon goddess, make up the essentials for your bookshelves. This is the kind of book that needed the treatment Lepore provided and regardless of the fact that some fans of Wonder Woman may not find this book as entertaining as an encyclopedia documenting every facet of the comic adventures, required a wide distribution from Alfred Knopf. Not only can the untold story be brought to light, but through her efforts the details of Marston and the influence that became Wonder Woman is now preserved.