Stars On Suspense (old Time Radio)

Before he was one of seven castaways stranded on Gilligan's Island, Jim Backus showed off his dramatic chops in two episodes of Suspense. Backus leaves Mr. Magoo behind - first as a blind man marked for death by the mob in "See How He Runs" (originally aired on CBS on April 19, 1959). Then - co-starring with his wife Henny - he plays a man plunging deeper into mental illness in "Pages from a Diary" (originally aired on CBS on August 19, 1962). We'll also hear him as Alan Young's haughty romantic rival in an episode of The Alan Young Show (originally aired on NBC on May 16, 1947) and as a tailor with an unusual problem in Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on ABC on February 9, 1951).

Oscar-winner Paul Lukas takes his final bow on the podcast as a blind man who witnesses a murder in "A World of Darkness" (originally aired on CBS on January 20, 1944). Then, he recreates the performance that won him his Best Actor prize in "Watch on the Rhine" on Academy Award (originally aired on CBS on August 7, 1946).

He made a name for himself in swashbuckling, sword and sandal movies, but Tyrone Power wanted to be more than a romantic hero. After his military service, he sought to leave the fencing of Zorro behind and embraced darker, more complex roles in movies like Nightmare Alley and Witness for the Prosecution. We'll hear him as a man accused of a murder he didn't commit in "The Guilty Always Run" (originally aired on CBS on March 29, 1954). Then, he joins Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone for an evening at a Paris nightclub in The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on CBS on December 4, 1949).

Robert Ryan was a classic big screen heavy, a memorable menace in Crossfire, Bad Day at Black Rock, and more. He was a terrific tough guy, but offscreen, he was a pacifist who supported the civil rights movement and opposed McCarthyism. We'll hear him opposite Ruth Warrick in the sixty-minute Suspense drama "Beyond Reason" (originally aired on CBS on February 21, 1948).

The worlds of Ray Bradbury jump from the page to the airwaves with four old time radio adaptations of his stories. First, a ventriloquist's dummy holds the key to a murder case in "Riabouchinska" (originally aired on CBS on November 13, 1947). Next, a little girl tries to save a woman in danger, but no one believes "The Screaming Woman" is real (originally aired on CBS on March 1, 1955). Finally, we'll hear a pair of Bradbury's classic sci-fi tales adapted for the airwaves. First, his novel "The Martian Chronicles" is presented on Dimension X (originally aired on NBC on August 18, 1950). And a group of astronauts wonder if "Mars is Heaven" on X Minus One (originally aired on NBC on May 8, 1955).

Best known today as humanity's last hope in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Kevin McCarthy lent his voice to a pair of Suspense thrillers in the later years of the program. First, he plays a juror whose wife has been kidnapped to sway his vote in "After the Movies" (AFRS rebroadcast from September 6, 1959). Then, he fights for his life in a sinking ship in "Dead Man's Story" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 15, 1960). Finally, we'll hear him in the dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a production of The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, part of the brief revival of network radio dramas (originally aired on CBS on June 18, 1974).

The wonderful character actor Everett Sloane steps back into the spotlight in three stories from "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear him as a highway patrol cop in a dangerous mountain chase in "Speed Trap" (AFRS rebroadcast from December 8, 1957). Then, Sloane is a scientist with doubts about working on a weapon of war in "The Voice of Company A" (originally aired on CBS on August 3, 1958). Finally, he plots a murder at sea and plans to disguise it as a boating accident in "Blood is Thicker" (AFRS rebroadcast from July 5, 1959).

Paul Douglas came out of the world of announcing and sportscasting to a successful career on the stage and screen. He went from announcing a World Series to starring in movies like It Happens Every Spring and Angels in the Outfield before his untimely passing. We'll hear him as a postmaster hunting for a mail bomb in "Fragile - Contents Death" (originally aired on CBS on February 1, 1951). Then, he's a newspaper columnist caught up in the middle of a spy hunt in "Man Alive" (originally aired on CBS on November 24, 1952).

The "first lady of Suspense" returns to the podcast! We'll hear Agnes Moorehead in another production of the series' most famous drama "Sorry, Wrong Number" (originally aired on CBS on September 6, 1945). Then, she stars in an adaptation of Charles Dickens' eerie story "The Signalman" (originally aired on CBS on March 23, 1953).

Before he sang his way through 1776 as Benjamin Franklin, Howard Da Silva was a busy screen and stage actor earning raves for his villainous turns on Broadway and on the big screen. We'll hear him as a cop on the trail of a cocky killer in "You Take Ballistics" (originally aired on CBS on March 13, 1947). Then, he recreates his screen role as a tyrannical ship's captain as the Lux Radio Theatre presents Two Years Before the Mast (originally aired on CBS on September 22, 1947).

Whether she's making us laugh or keeping us in Suspense, we love Lucille Ball. In this spotlight episode, we'll hear my three favorites from her six visits to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." First, she's a dance hall girl trying to stay out of the clutches of a serial killer in "Dime a Dance" (originally aired on CBS on January 13, 1944). Then, she's a hold-up artist who accidentally preys on a deadlier predator in "A Little Piece of Rope" (originally aired on CBS on October 14, 1948). Finally, she co-stars with her then-husband Desi Arnaz in "The Red-Headed Woman" (originally aired on CBS on November 17, 1949).

In his final appearances on Suspense, Victor Mature played an infamous Mexican outlaw and an undercover cop who falls for a gangster's girlfriend. We'll hear the star of My Darling Clementine and Kiss of Death in "The Love and Death of Joaquin Murrieta" (originally aired on CBS on February 16, 1953). Then, he gets too close to a beautiful - and dangerous - woman in "The Girl in Car Thirty-Two" (originally aired on CBS on March 15, 1954).

June Duprez broke out as a star in her native England in films like The Four Feathers and The Thief of Bagdad. Unfortunately, when she crossed the pond to Hollywood, mismanagement by a producer and her agent kept her from landing big roles. We'll hear her recreate one of her screen performances in "The Brighton Strangler" (originally aired on CBS on December 21, 1944). Then, she's a reclusive actress sharing her life story in "A Thing of Beauty" (originally aired on CBS on December 28, 1944). Finally, she is a woman on a dangerous train trip with her unstable husband in "Your Devoted Wife" (originally aired on CBS on June 20, 1946).

Actor, Rat Packer, and one-time presidential brother-in-law Peter Lawford made his final visit to Suspense in an adaptation of Wilkie Collins' "A Terribly Strange Bed" (originally aired on CBS on June 7, 1954) - the final episode of the show to be sponsored by Autolite. We'll also hear him co-star with Shirley Temple and Arthur Treacher in "First Love" from the Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on May 14, 1945). Click here to read the original Collins short story.

Marsha Hunt began her career in Hollywood in the 1930s, but she was blacklisted after she took a stand against McCarthyism and the Communist witch hunt in Hollywood. Though she continued to act in films and television, she rededicated her life to philanthropy and activisim, and she's still with us today. We'll hear her as a long-suffering niece who sees an opportunity to get rid of an abusive (and wealthy) aunt in "Pink Camellias" (originally aired on CBS on December 27, 1945). Then, she's a woman with no shortage of lovers, a husband she doesn't love, and a murder plan in "Self Defense" (originally aired on CBS on October 16, 1947).

Charles Ruggles was best known to audiences for his comedic roles in Bringing Up Baby and It Happened on Fifth Avenue, but he was also the guest star on the very first episode of Suspense. We'll hear the star in "The Burning Court" (originally aired on CBS on June 17, 1942), an adaptation of the mystery novel by John Dickson Carr. Then, he stars in Dorothy L. Sayers' "Suspicion" (originally aired on CBS on February 10, 1944).

In his final Suspense appearance, big screen baddie Dan Duryea plays a hold-up man turned murderer who has to dispose of a very inconvenient eyewitness in "Remember Me?" (originally aired on CBS on April 7, 1952). We'll hear him in that old time radio thriller, plus an episode of his radio police procedural The Man from Homicide. Duryea stars as Lt. Lou Dana in a radio mystery originally aired on ABC on July 16, 1951.

Stage and screen John Hodiak returns to the podcast in two more old time radio thrillers. First, he's a fast-talking hustler who joins a group of bank robbers in "The Big Heist" (originally aired on CBS on December 1, 1952). Then, he's a deep sea diver on a treasure hunt for a lost Spanish galleon in "Gold of the Adomar" (originally aired on CBS on January 19, 1953).

In this bonus episode, we're celebrating the life and career of the late, great Betty White. The legendary Emmy-winning actress started her showbusiness career in radio, and we'll hear one of her on-air performances. She co-stars with Fibber McGee and Molly in "Advice to the Lovelorn," a romantic comedy from Family Theatre (originally aired on Mutual on October 30, 1947).

In his only appearance on Suspense, sharp-tongued satirist Henry Morgan showed off his dramatic chops. He plays a man who suspects a neighbor is a murderer in "Dream Song" (originally aired on CBS on November 6, 1947). Then we'll hear his trademark comedy in The Henry Morgan Show (originally aired on ABC on February 19, 1947).