radio

All right, all of you radio fans of the one who lives in the shadows; here are some interesting facts on the History of the RADIO SHADOW. I thought, over the years, that Orson Welles was the first person to personify the persona of the Shadow on radio. I am excluding the voices of the Announder Shadows. I am specifically speaking about the Shadow, as we know him from the pulp magazine and the Shadow stories on radio. Well fans, I have news for you, Orson Welles was NOT the first person to play the embodiement of the Shadow. So, here is the true story of the Radio Shadow. The information comes from a magazine called, "Blood 'N' Thunder, and the article was written by none other than Anthony Tollin. So, here is the way it goes: the title, ADVENTUROUS AIRWAVES, "Stalking the Lost Shadows".

The Shadow as THE SHADOW: On 9/26/37, Orson Welles starred as Lamont Cranston/Shadow. Now, going by the researched articles, which would make Welles the THIRD person to play the role. In 1935, Carl Kroenke played the titled role; he would be the second person to play the Shadow. These programs were only 15 minutes long. The researcher, one of which was Karl Schadow, searched newspaper articles from the 1930's. The search was concerning information on the MacGregor Shadow series. He, Karl, discovered that the transcripts were released to over 50 radio stations. Schadow also discovered, in the Albuquerque Journal an episode that featured a haunted (really?) opera house and a magician named Delano. In 1935 it seems as though the MacGregor Shadow had generated interest that the Associated Oil Company of California took on the sponsorship of the serial. The broadcast were primarily sent to broadcast stations in the Midwest, South and West. Further discoveries included an even earlier LOST SHADOW by Michael Ogden in 1934. It seems that Blue Coal may have produced a June 15, 1934, Shadow to appease Street & Smith. Among other discoveries, a disk on a KOIN transcript label that read: The Shadow, Pirate From The East - Part I - Length: 15 minutes - date: 7/11/35. Now, the question is, who was the person that played the part before Kroenke? Well, fans the guesswork goes this way. It was either James LaCurto or Frank Readick, and that was in 1934. Naturally there was a lot more research information in the article, but too much to add to this website. Why don't you try to research the idea? Have fun! - Signed: Everett Winrow ... So, who knows .... Ha, ha, ha. Are you kidding ...?

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