The series had it origins in the meeting of two minds: the ad agency for General Mills at the time, Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample was looking for a different means to reach a child audience besides television, which was decreasing commercial minutes and increasing costs; and Himan Brown, producer-director of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, who wanted to introduce new audiences to the dramatic form on radio. Tom Bosley was chosen as the host because of his television recognition from a kid’s oriented series, Happy Days. CBS chose to produce 52 original broadcasts followed by 52 repeat broadcasts. I believe they had hoped to maintain General Mills sponsorship during the complete 104 episodes, but General Mills dropped their sponsorship after the original broadcasts. The series continued for the next 52 repeats as the CBS Radio Adventure Theater.
Show # |
Date |
Title |
Radio Play |
Author |
Actor 1 |
Actor 2 |
|
1 |
2/5/77 |
Kidnapped |
Paul Tripp |
Robert Louis Stevenson |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Ian Martin |
|
2 |
2/6/77 |
A Very Special Place |
Alan Sloane |
Original |
Russell Horton |
Elspeth Eric |
|
3 |
2/12/77 |
With Malice Toward None |
Ian Martin |
Original |
Skip Hinnant |
Merry Flershem |
|
4 |
2/13/77 |
Moby Dick |
Alan Sloane |
Herman Melville |
Howard DaSilva |
Mason Adams |
|
5 |
2/19/77 |
The Boy Who Would Be a Sailor |
Sam Dann |
Rudyard Kipling |
Kevin McCarthy |
Jack Grimes |
|
6 |
2/20/77 |
King Solomon’s Mines |
Paul Tripp |
Henry Rider Haggard |
Ralph Bell |
Court Benson |
|
7 |
2/26/77 |
The Caliph of Baghdad |
Paul Tripp |
The Arabian Nights |
Fred Gwynne |
Leon Janney |
|
8 |
2/27/77 |
The Story of Pinocchio |
Paul Tripp |
Carlo Collodi |
Evie Juster |
Robert Dryden |
|
9 |
3/5/77 |
The Railway Children |
Robert Newman |
Edith Nesbit |
Sarah Parker |
Toby Parker |
|
10 |
3/6/77 |
The Other World |
Ian Martin |
Original |
Jada Rowland |
Russell Horton |
|
11 |
3/12/77 |
Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp |
Paul Tripp |
The Arabian Nights |
Roger Baron |
Evie Juster |
|
12 |
3/13/77 |
Black Arrow |
Robert Newman |
Traditional |
Skip Hinnant |
Ann Costello |
|
13 |
3/19/77 |
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
Ian Martin |
Jules Verne |
Paul Hecht |
William Griffis |
|
14 |
3/20/77 |
Robin Hood and His Merry Men |
Paul Tripp |
Traditional |
Kevin McCarthy |
Court Benson |
|
15 |
3/26/77 |
Survival Test |
Vicky Dann |
Original |
Jack Grimes |
Russell Horton |
|
16 |
3/27/77 |
Jason & the Golden Fleece |
Paul Tripp |
Traditional |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Ian Martin |
|
17 |
4/2/77 |
Captains Courageous |
Ian Martin |
Rudyard Kipling |
Skip Hinnant |
Fred Gwynne |
|
18 |
4/3/77 |
Bravest of the Brave |
Jerry Keane |
Original |
Jada Rowland |
Russell Horton |
|
19 |
4/9/77 |
The Last of the Mohicans |
Paul Tripp |
James Fenimore Cooper |
Ian Martin |
Russell Horton |
|
20 |
4/10/77 |
I Remember Alice |
George Lowthar |
Lewis Carroll |
Merry Flershem |
Robert Dryden |
|
21 |
4/16/77 |
Three Swords |
Elspeth Eric |
Traditional |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Ian Martin |
|
22 |
4/17/77 |
The Clown Who Wasn’t |
Ian Martin |
Original |
Corrinne Orr |
Ralph Bell |
|
23 |
4/23/77 |
Lewis and Clark |
G. Frederic Lewis |
Merriwether Lewis & William Clark |
Mason Adams |
Bob Kaliban |
|
24 |
4/24/77 |
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
Ian Martin |
Jules Verne |
Ian Martin |
Don Scardino |
|
25 |
4/30/77 |
A Different Ghost Story |
Elizabeth Pennell |
Original |
Corinne Orr |
Skip Hinnant |
|
26 |
5/1/77 |
The Red Badge of Courage |
Fletcher Markle |
Stephen Crane |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Bryna Raeburn |
|
27 |
5/7/77 |
Treasure Island |
Paul Tripp |
Robert Louis Stevenson |
Jim Dybas |
Robert Dryden |
|
28 |
5/8/77 |
The Man Without a Country |
G Frederic Lewis |
Edward Everett Hale |
Russell Horton |
Robert Dryden |
|
29 |
5/14/77 |
Three Tales of Hans Christian Anderson |
G Frederic Lewis |
Hans Christian Anderson |
Evie Juster |
William Griffis |
|
30 |
5/15/77 |
A Coat of Many Colors |
Paul Tripp |
The Bible |
Tony Roberts |
Robert Dryden |
|
31 |
5/21/77 |
They Called Him Slim |
G Frederic Lewis |
Original |
Russell Horton |
Ann Pitoniak |
|
32 |
5/22/77 |
They Called Him Lucky |
G Frederic Lewis |
Original |
Russell Horton |
Ann Pitoniak |
|
33 |
5/28/77 |
The Gold Bug |
Elizabeth Pennell |
Edgar Allen Poe |
James Dybas |
Robert Dryden |
|
34 |
5/29/77 |
The Travels of Ulysses |
Paul Tripp |
Homer |
Michael Wager |
Anne Williams |
|
35 |
6/4/77 |
Cinderella |
Paul Tripp |
Traditional |
Catherine Byers |
Robert Dryden |
|
36 |
6/5/77 |
Remember the Alamo |
G Frederic Lewis |
Original |
Paul Hecht |
Jackson Beck |
|
37 |
6/11/77 |
Adventures of Oliver |
G Frederic Lewis |
Charles Dickens |
Evie Juster |
Court Benson |
|
38 |
6/12/77 |
The Boy David |
Frederia Lewis |
The Bible |
Skip Hinnant |
Leon Janney |
|
39 |
6/18/77 |
Three Times Magic |
Paul Tripp |
Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm |
Don Scardino |
Mia Dillon |
|
40 |
6/19/77 |
The Eyes of Vishnu |
James Lawrence |
Original |
Merry Flershem |
Jack Grimes |
|
41 |
6/25/77 |
Ali Baba & the Forty Thieves |
G Frederic Lewis |
The Arabian Nights |
Gordon Heath |
Roberta Maxwell |
|
42 |
6/26/77 |
The Valiant Little Tailor |
G Frederic Lewis |
Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm |
Robert Dryden |
Evie Juster |
|
43 |
7/2/77 |
The Sea Wolf |
James Agate Jr. |
Jack London |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Joe Silver |
|
44 |
7/3/77 |
The Master Thief |
G Frederic Lewis |
Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm |
Paul Hecht |
William Griffis |
|
45 |
7/9/77 |
The Sailor Who Wouldn’t Give Up |
James Agate Jr. |
Jack London |
Russell Horton |
Earl Hammond |
|
46 |
7/10/77 |
Youth |
James Agate Jr. |
Joseph Conrad |
Don Scardino |
Leon Janney |
|
47 |
7/16/77 |
Mowgli |
James Agate Jr. |
Rudyard Kipling |
Don Scardino |
Fred Gwynne |
|
48 |
7/17/77 |
Tiger, Tiger |
G Frederic Lewis |
Rudyard Kipling |
Don Scardino |
Fred Gwynne |
|
49 |
7/23/77 |
The Man in the Iron Mask |
G Frederic Lewis |
Alexander Dumas |
Paul Hecht |
Russell Horton |
|
50 |
7/24/77 |
Gulliver’s Travels |
G Frederic Lewis |
Jonathan Swift |
Michael Tolan |
Ian Martin |
|
51 |
7/30/77 |
Ivanhoe |
Madilon Ferber |
Sir Walter Scott |
Kevin McCarthy |
Don Scardino |
|
52 |
7/31/77 |
Daniel, the Oracle |
Ian Martin |
The Bible |
Russell Horton |
Jackson Beck |
When General Mills withdrew their sponsorship at the end of the original run of 52 episodes, CBS continued their commitment to complete the 104 episode, one year run probably hoping a new sponsor would be found. Unfortunately, that did not happen and after repeating the original 52 episodes, CBS cancelled the series. Himan Brown re-focused on his main series, CBS Radio Mystery Theater which continued for some time longer.
Show #
|
Date |
Title |
Radio Play |
Author |
Actor 1 |
Actor 2 |
|
53 |
8/6/77 |
A Very Special Place |
Alan Sloane |
Original |
Russell Horton |
Elspeth Eric |
|
54 |
8/7/77 |
Kidnapped |
Paul Tripp |
Robert Louis Stevenson |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Ian Martin |
|
55 |
8/13/77 |
Moby Dick |
Alan Sloane |
Herman Melville |
Howard DaSilva |
Mason Adams |
|
56 |
8/14/77 |
With Malice Toward None |
Ian Martin |
Original |
Skip Hinnant |
Merry Flershem |
|
57 |
8/20/77 |
King Solomon’s Mines |
Paul Tripp |
Henry Rider Haggard |
Ralph Bell |
Court Benson |
|
58 |
8/21/77 |
The Boy Who Would Be a Sailor |
Sam Dann |
Rudyard Kipling |
Kevin McCarthy |
Jack Grimes |
|
59 |
8/27/77 |
The Story of Pinocchio |
Paul Tripp |
Carlo Collodi |
Evie Juster |
Robert Dryden |
|
60 |
8/28/77 |
The Caliph of Baghdad |
Paul Tripp |
The Arabian Nights |
Fred Gwynne |
Leon Janney |
|
61 |
9/3/77 |
The Other World |
Ian Martin |
Original |
Jada Rowland |
Russell Horton |
|
62 |
9/4/77 |
The Railway Children |
Robert Newman |
Edith Nesbit |
Sarah Parker |
Toby Parker |
|
63 |
9/10/77 |
Black Arrow |
Robert Newman |
Traditional |
Skip Hinnant |
Ann Costello |
|
64 |
9/11/77 |
Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp |
Paul Tripp |
The Arabian Nights |
Roger Baron |
Evie Juster |
|
65 |
9/17/77 |
Robin Hood and His Merry Men |
Paul Tripp |
Traditional |
Kevin McCarthy |
Court Benson |
|
66 |
9/18/77 |
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
Ian Martin |
Jules Verne |
Paul Hecht |
William Griffis |
|
67 |
9/24/77 |
Jason & the Golden Fleece |
Paul Tripp |
Traditional |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Ian Martin |
|
68 |
9/25/77 |
Survival Test |
Vicky Dann |
Original |
Jack Grimes |
Russell Horton |
|
69 |
10/1/77 |
Bravest of the Brave |
Jerry Keane |
Original |
Jada Rowland |
Russell Horton |
|
70 |
10/2/77 |
Captains Courageous |
Ian Martin |
Rudyard Kipling |
Skip Hinnant |
Fred Gwynne |
|
71 |
10/8/77 |
I Remember Alice |
George Lowthar |
Lewis Carroll |
Merry Flershem |
Robert Dryden |
|
72 |
10/9/77 |
The Last of the Mohicans |
Paul Tripp |
James Fenimore Cooper |
Ian Martin |
Russell Horton |
|
73 |
10/15/77 |
The Clown Who Wasn’t |
Ian Martin |
Original |
Corrinne Orr |
Ralph Bell |
|
74 |
10/16/77 |
Three Swords |
Elspeth Eric |
Traditional |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Ian Martin |
|
75 |
10/22/77 |
Journey to the Center of the Earth |
Ian Martin |
Jules Verne |
Ian Martin |
Don Scardino |
|
76 |
10/23/77 |
Lewis and Clark |
G. Frederic Lewis |
Merriwether Lewis & William Clark |
Mason Adams |
Bob Kaliban |
|
77 |
10/29/77 |
The Red Badge of Courage |
Fletcher Markle |
Stephen Crane |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Bryna Raeburn |
|
78 |
10/30/77 |
A Different Ghost Story |
Elizabeth Pennell |
Original |
Corinne Orr |
Skip Hinnant |
|
79 |
11/5/77 |
The Man Without a Country |
G Frederic Lewis |
Edward Everett Hale |
Russell Horton |
Robert Dryden |
|
80 |
11/6/77 |
Treasure Island |
Paul Tripp |
Robert Louis Stevenson |
Jim Dybas |
Robert Dryden |
|
81 |
11/12/77 |
A Coat of Many Colors |
Paul Tripp |
The Bible |
Tony Roberts |
Robert Dryden |
|
82 |
11/13/77 |
Three Tales of Hans Christian Anderson |
G Frederic Lewis |
Hans Christian Anderson |
Evie Juster |
William Griffis |
|
83 |
11/19/77 |
They Called Him Slim |
G Frederic Lewis |
Original |
Russell Horton |
Ann Pitoniak |
|
84 |
11/20/77 |
They Called Him Lucky |
G Frederic Lewis |
Original |
Russell Horton |
Ann Pitoniak |
|
85 |
11/26/77 |
The Travels of Ulysses |
Paul Tripp |
Homer |
Michael Wager |
Anne Williams |
|
86 |
11/27/77 |
The Gold Bug |
Elizabeth Pennell |
Edgar Allen Poe |
James Dybas |
Robert Dryden |
|
87 |
12/3/77 |
Remember the Alamo |
G Frederic Lewis |
Original |
Paul Hecht |
Jackson Beck |
|
88 |
12/4/77 |
Cinderella |
Paul Tripp |
Traditional |
Catherine Byers |
Robert Dryden |
|
89 |
12/10/77 |
The Boy David |
Frederia Lewis |
The Bible |
Skip Hinnant |
Leon Janney |
|
90 |
12/11/77 |
Adventures of Oliver |
G Frederic Lewis |
Charles Dickens |
Evie Juster |
Court Benson |
|
91 |
12/17/77 |
The Eyes of Vishnu |
James Lawrence |
Original |
Merry Flershem |
Jack Grimes |
|
92 |
12/18/77 |
Three Times Magic |
Paul Tripp |
Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm |
Don Scardino |
Mia Dillon |
|
93 |
12/24/77 |
The Valiant Little Tailor |
G Frederic Lewis |
Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm |
Robert Dryden |
Evie Juster |
|
94 |
12/25/77 |
Ali Baba & the Forty Thieves |
G Frederic Lewis |
The Arabian Nights |
Gordon Heath |
Roberta Maxwell |
|
95 |
12/31/77 |
The Master Thief |
G Frederic Lewis |
Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm |
Paul Hecht |
William Griffis |
|
96 |
1/1/78 |
The Sea Wolf |
James Agate Jr. |
Jack London |
Kristoffer Tabori |
Joe Silver |
|
97 |
1/7/78 |
Youth |
James Agate Jr. |
Joseph Conrad |
Don Scardino |
Leon Janney |
|
98 |
1/8/78 |
The Sailor Who Wouldn’t Give Up |
James Agate Jr. |
Jack London |
Russell Horton |
Earl Hammond |
|
99 |
1/14/78 |
Mowgli |
James Agate Jr. |
Rudyard Kipling |
Don Scardino |
Fred Gwynne |
|
100 |
1/15/78 |
Tiger, Tiger |
G Frederic Lewis |
Rudyard Kipling |
Don Scardino |
Fred Gwynne |
|
101 |
1/21/78 |
Gulliver’s Travels |
G Frederic Lewis |
Jonathan Swift |
Michael Tolan |
Ian Martin |
|
102 |
1/22/78 |
The Man in the Iron Mask |
G Frederic Lewis |
Alexander Dumas |
Paul Hecht |
Russell Horton |
|
103 |
1/28/78 |
Daniel, the Oracle |
Ian Martin |
The Bible |
Russell Horton |
Jackson Beck |
|
104 |
1/29/78 |
Ivanhoe |
Madilon Ferber |
Sir Walter Scott |
Kevin McCarthy |
Don Scardino |