How Did You Discover Old Time Radio?

[Widebrim]

Various L.A. stations (AM and FM) used to play them from time to time when I was a kid. I remember that NBC station KFI had a 50th anniversary, and I recorded quite a few of the old shows that were re-broadcast.

 

[marcoshark]

My Story...

I blame my Mom...

She worked as a producer. First at the Voice of America, when they were located at the Hearst Building in New York City, then at WNYC.

Growing up in New York, I was fortunate to have listened to Jean shepherd, who would also talk about OTR on many of his shows.

 

[Hercule]

When I was a kid (had to have been in 8th grade or so) back in Connecticut I used to listen to the radio with an ear plug at nigh when I went to bed. I'd go up and down the dial listenning for far away stations (AM). From Ct I can remember hearing a station out of Detroit and New York. But I would regularly tune into a station out of Washington DC and listen to the CBS Radio Mystery theater. That show really set me on to vintage radio dramas.

H

 

[bob_amos]

Back in the 70's I use to listen to CBS radio and they would play an hour of Old Radio Shows on the Drama Hour followed by CBS Radio Mystery Theater. I later started collecting vintage radios. When I had collected a large number of radios I built a small AM transmitter and picked up a few old radio shows and played them through that transmitter and into the old radios. That small start turned in well over 10,000 shows, including every available episobe of those old CBS Radio Mystery Theater shows. My favourites are Fibber McGee and Molly, Great Gildersleeve, Challange of the Yukon, Green Hornet... My wife's favourite is Yours Truely, Johnny Dollar. We listen to one episode of a chosen show every night when we go to bed. Takes all the troubles of the day away and we fall asleep easier.

 

[iancandler]

My first memories are listening to the radio with mum and my gran, after that a long gap to a few years ago where I by chance heard a re run of a fairly modern radio comedy called "old harry's game".

I searched it out online and that led to more radio comedy that just kept getting older and older.

I will admit though my favourites are relatively modern, namely "the navy lark", "hancocks half hour", "the goons" and finally "much binding on the marsh".

I know listen to BBC radio 7 everyday, all day, in fact I hardly watch TV now.

 

[purerad]

growing up our local radio station would occationally play old scary ones on halloween. as i got older i bought several old tube sets and would listen to koma while dxin, in the 80s early 90s before koma went all talk they would play old radio shows every night from 11-12 and from 6-12 on sunday nights
parents always had a rought time waking me up for school but oh well.....lol
wgn had them on from midnight to one for awhile after but quit too..........
eventually got rid of the tube sets cause of divorce. would love an old zenith shutter dial but haven't found one in my area for a long time.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

My first memories are listening to the radio with mum and my gran, after that a long gap to a few years ago where I by chance heard a re run of a fairly modern radio comedy called "old harry's game".

I searched it out online and that led to more radio comedy that just kept getting older and older.

I will admit though my favourites are relatively modern, namely "the navy lark", "hancocks half hour", "the goons" and finally "much binding on the marsh".

I know listen to BBC radio 7 everyday, all day, in fact I hardly watch TV now.

Good stuff on Radio 4 also - over here we can listen via bbc iplayer online.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Various L.A. stations (AM and FM) used to play them from time to time when I was a kid. I remember that NBC station KFI had a 50th anniversary, and I recorded quite a few of the old shows that were re-broadcast.

KFI currently uses as part of their station tag a vintage soundbite of an announcer saying, "This is KFI, Los Angeles, Earl C. Anthony, Incorporated". Earl C. Anthony was a Cadillac dealer in L.A. and a West Coast broadcasting pioneer who owned radio stations in L.A. and San Francisco. Interestingly enough, Anthony's broadcasting rival Don Lee owned a Packard dealership.

 

[bunnyb.gal]

I always remembered fondly listening to the original broadcasts of CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, and I think it was through finding that decades later on internet radio which led me to OTR.

Now before going to sleep always I put on a story and fall asleep to it...

 

[Mugwump]

I was 15 years of age, lying in bed on Sunday nights trying desperately to stay awake until midnight when "Mystery Theater" was broadcast on Chum FM. lol
Wow, that really brought back memories! Glad to see I wasn't the only youngster that learned an appreciation of this long - gone art. Love the posts here...

 

[p71towny]

Not able to get to bed when I was about 10 or so in the early 90s I was messing with my radio and found 1040 W.H.O. out of DesMoines Iowa. It made it to Westerville O.H. They had a show called Rejection Slip Theater and a new show featuring Artie Azettie?? Anyways, I'd listen to that and original old shows and was hooked. I listen to A.M. 740 @ 10pm eastern now to catch the shows. I'd love to buy box sets like DVD series of all the shows.

 

[purerad]

hey p71! thanks for reminding me of old who out of des moines........i used to listen to it too! couldn't remember the name of it so i didn't list it. Used to spend alot of nights next to my crosley bakelite dashboard model listening to them too! great memories!

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I've always known about it since I was a kid. Of course, we used to make fun of my dad and ask him if he sat and "watched" the radio when he was younger lol

I never actively started listening to it until about 2008, though. It was when I got my iPod and was able to download episodes into that and listen at work.

 

[JimWagner]

I am old enough that I caught the very last of major radio network programming as a small child in the early 1950's. This was before anyone in my town had a tv set so radio continued to be our primary entertainment.

Although I was very young, enough of that exposure must have taken root in my "little gray cells" to motivate a lifelong enjoyment of OTR.

:arated:

 

[~Kate~]

I discovered OTR quite by accident back when I was in high school. I was actually watching Foamy Videos (a foulmouthed cartoon squirrel) and looked at the websites list of recommended links. One of these was to a website that sold OTR recordings. Before that I didn't even know such things were available. I listened to a few of the sample episodes and was hooked!

 

[bunnyb.gal]

I was 15 years of age, lying in bed on Sunday nights trying desperately to stay awake until midnight when "Mystery Theater" was broadcast on Chum FM. lol
Wow, that really brought back memories! Glad to see I wasn't the only youngster that learned an appreciation of this long - gone art. Love the posts here...

And your first sentence brought back to me the memory of taking the radio into a dark closet and listening to it in there! (I think it was broadcast during the day...and yes, I was a pretty weird kid!) I'd forgotten that!

 

[Widebrim]

KFI currently uses as part of their station tag a vintage soundbite of an announcer saying, "This is KFI, Los Angeles, Earl C. Anthony, Incorporated". Earl C. Anthony was a Cadillac dealer in L.A. and a West Coast broadcasting pioneer who owned radio stations in L.A. and San Francisco. Interestingly enough, Anthony's broadcasting rival Don Lee owned a Packard dealership.

I've got to check that out.

 

[Mark D]

I was fortunate enough, when I was 16 or 17 years old, to live next to a old woman. One day I saw this woman trying to drag something rather large out to the street. I went over to help her and found that it was an antique radio. She said that she was throwing it away, but I could have it if I wanted it. Turns out the thing was a full cabinet '36 Stromberg-Carlson. An absolutely gorgeous radio with one of the most beautiful art-deco dials that I've ever seen. It still worked and she even gave me a few extra tubes.

Fast forward a few years; I was playing around on it one night and came across Danny-Stiles doing his late night big band/dixieland/swing show that he used to have on 1560 AM in NY. That music coming out of that radio...the dial glowing and lighting up the room. I was absolutely hooked.

 

[CharlieB]

Growing up, my dad loved to listen to an old AM radio program called "Sentimental Journey" (theme song, of course was the tune of that name).

As a teenager, I loved the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, with E. G. Marshall. There is something really spooky about listening to these in a dark room (just before going to sleep, no less).

Anyone else a fan of CRMT?

 

[JFriday]

My first experience with OTR was through several local radio stations that played radio drama and comedy at various times late at night in the mid 1970s. While my well intentioned parents would put me to sleep early, I have never slept much and would wake up to start my day around 0100h. I would turn the radio on low and listen to the shows for hours. A mystery-detective fan, the best hours were spent listening to The Shadow, Dragnet, Johnny Dollar, Philip Marlow and Suspense (You``re always right with Autolight!). One of the stations also played Big Band, which I grew up with in the day hours, my parents being older and having grown up during 1940s. This may well be one of the reasons that the Lounge, the Era and its conventions forms such a massive component of my life still, as it did when I was young. Our last OTR playing station, CFMS, changed format in the 90`s and for years I was left with the open reel tapes I had made those late nights years before. Five years ago XM entered my life and I am listening to classic radio drama now as I write this reply.

Keep Listening,
Friday