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My Favorite Husband hit the CBS Radio airwaves in 1948, starring Lucille Ball and Richard Denningas Liz and George Cugat - who later became Liz and George Cooper when confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change. Set in the fictitious town of Sheridan Falls, the show follows the happily married couple, residents of 321 Bundy Drive, through mischief and various predicaments, from faked illnesses to trouble with exes.

First heard on network radio in 1948, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar chronicled the adventures of freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar, "the man with the action-packed expense account". For 14 years, it was one of the most popular detective shows on the air, lasting until the final days of network radio drama in 1962. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance executive calling on Johnny Dollar to investigate an unusual claim.

First heard on network radio in 1948, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar chronicled the adventures of freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar, "the man with the action-packed expense account."

For 14 years, it was one of the most popular detective shows on the air, lasting until the final days of network radio drama in 1962. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance executive calling on Johnny Dollar to investigate an unusual claim. His investigations usually required him to travel to distant locales and often involved murder.

Dimension X was one of radio's first adult science fiction series, and made its mark by adapting short stories by acknowledged masters in the field, including Isaac Asimov, Clifford D. Simak, and William Tenn. Scriptwriters Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, who also contributed their own original scripts, adapted the original stories. At the start of every broadcast, host Norman Rose promised us "adventures in time and space, told in future tense" and you knew you were about to be transported from your everyday existence.

Dimension X was one of old-time radio's first adult science-fiction shows. Though it ran for only a short time, the show made its mark by adapting short stories written by some of the best-known masters of the genre - Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Kurt Vonnegut, and others. Writers Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts adapted the stories, occasionally contributing original scripts of their own.

Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high-adventure, airing on CBS radio from 1947 to 1954. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with an introduction spoken by Paul Frees and William Conrad: "Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape!"

The Whistler was one of radio's top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955, sponsored by the Signal Oil Company. The Whistler was an ominous narrator who opened each episode with: "I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."

Pat Novak, for Hire began in 1946 as a regional radio show produced at KGO in San Francisco and starred Jack Webb in the title role, with scripts by Webb's friend Richard L. Breen. When Webb moved to Los Angeles in 1947, Ben Morris replaced Webb as Novak. In a later network version, Jack Webb resumed the role along with Breen as scriptwriter. Pat Novak, for Hire lasted until 1949, when Jack Webb turned his attention to the series that would make him a star, Dragnet.

This collection contains 12 episodes from the greatest science fiction shows ever broadcast during the golden age of radio, including a two-part Suspense episode starring Orson Welles, written by Curt Siodmak, author of The Wolf Man, one of Universal Pictures' biggest hits. Other classics include stories by H. G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, Frederick Pohl, and Murray Leinster on Dimension X, Escape, and X Minus One.

Among several newspaper-based dramas during radio's golden age, Night Beat was a cut above the others. It was the story of Randy Stone, a hard-nosed Chicago Star newsman, and his quest for the human-interest story behind the headlines. Frank Lovejoy starred as Randy Stone, who came to vivid life thanks to expert scripts by Russell Hughes, Larry Marcus, E. Jack Neuman, and John Michael Hayes. Lovejoy's distinctive voice and approach to the role, combined with top performances by veteran radio actors, gave Night Beat a noir style that listeners loved.

"Wherever there is mystery, adventure, intrigue, in all the strange and dangerous places in the world, there you will find the man called X!" Debonair British actor Herbert Marshall stars as FBI secret agent Ken Thurston, "the man who crosses the ocean as readily as you and I cross town; he is the man who fights today's war in his unique fashion, so that tomorrow's peace will make the world a neighborhood for all of us." Leon Belasco plays Mr. X's comedic sidekick, Pagan Zeldchmidt, who always turns up in remote parts of the world.

Jack Webb (1920 - 1982) was a popular American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter. He started out in the entertainment industry in comedy, but achieved his first success playing the title character in the radio show Pat Novak, for Hire. His greater success came from his role as Los Angeles Police Department sergeant Joe Friday in the show Dragnet, which he created based on actual LAPD criminal case files and which ran for many years on both radio and television.

Duffy's Tavern, first heard in 1940, was co-created and written by Ed Gardner, who played Archie, the manager of Duffy's Tavern, which was a flea-infested dive in New York City. Archie's abuse of the English language quickly became a favorite feature of the show. Regulars on the show included Duffy's man-hungry daughter Miss Duffy; Clifton Finnegan, the classic village idiot, played by Charlie Cantor; Eddie the waiter, played by Eddie Green; and Clancy the cop, played by Alan Reed. Duffy himself was never heard on the show.

The Lineup was a hard-boiled drama. Like Dragnet, it realistically showed police doing their jobs. The show always began with a police sergeant ordering suspects to stand at attention so that the victim, behind one-way glass, could try to identify the criminal. While the lineup was rarely the key to solving the case, it did give the show a rhythm and also allowed for humor in the interrogation of the suspects by the sergeant. The series began as a summer replacement for The FBI in Peace and War in 1950, but soon got its own time slot.

In 1949, NBC brought handsome Irish American actor Brian Donlevy to the radio microphones as international troubleshooter Steve Mitchell in the spy series Dangerous Assignment. Mitchell worked for an unnamed US government intelligence agency, whose boss, "the Commissioner," dispatched him to world trouble spots. Mitchell's assignment was to solve problems in record time and in accordance with US interests.

Lyon, portrayed by Wilms Herbert, ran the International Detective Bureau, a small private investigations firm in downtown Los Angeles, with often oversized ambitions. Regan handled rough assignments from Lyon, with whom he was not always on good terms. Actor Jack Webb played Regan as tough and tenacious, with a dry sense of humor. The series ended when Webb left the show in December 1948, but was resurrected in October 1949 with a new cast.

The CBS Radio Workshop regularly featured the works of the world's greatest writers, including Ray Bradbury, Archibald MacLeish, William Saroyan, Lord Dunsany, and Ambrose Bierce, among others. The radio series aired from January 27, 1956, through September 22, 1957, and was a revival of the prestigious Columbia Workshop from the 1930s and 1940s. Creator William Froug launched the series with this powerhouse two-part adaptation of Brave New World and booked author Aldous Huxley to narrate his famous novel.

Movie star Alan Ladd played Dan Holiday, a former newspaperman turned mystery novelist and adventurer. To gain ideas for his books, Holiday placed an ad in the Star-Times newspaper: "Adventure wanted - will go anywhere, do anything - write Box 13, Star-Times." It wasn't long before his post office box became jammed with adventure offers galore. The stories follow his escapades when he responds to the letters.

Reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart's character Rick Blaine from the classic movie Casablanca, Rocky Jordan relocated to Cairo after being ousted from St. Louis by his enemies. Now living in North Africa, Rocky Jordan owns and operates a gin joint, the Café Tambourine, and finds himself involved in an assortment of mystery and intrigue endeavors while unwillingly moonlighting as a crime fighter.

Fibber McGee & Molly had a long and successful run on radio from 1935 to 1959, featuring its creators and stars, married couple Jim and Marian Jordan. Living in the fictional Midwestern city of Wistful Vista, Fibber was an American teller of tall tales and a braggart, usually to the exasperation of his long-suffering wife, Molly, who tried to keep him out of trouble.