Episodes

Saturday Oct 30, 2010
The Weird Circle - Pgm 20
Saturday Oct 30, 2010
Saturday Oct 30, 2010
Now for some more creepiness for Halloween, an episode of the classic NBC syndicated series, "The Weird Circle".

Sunday Aug 08, 2010
The Weird Circle - Pgm 19
Sunday Aug 08, 2010
Sunday Aug 08, 2010
If you're an old time radio collector, you're no doubt familiar with "The Weird Circle", a horror/mystery anthology series based on famous books that was syndicated by NBC in the 1940s.

Friday Jan 16, 2009
Mercer McLeod, The Man With the Story - Pgm 1
Friday Jan 16, 2009
Friday Jan 16, 2009
NBC, best known for quality live shows on their network, also offered a wide range of programs especially recorded for syndication to local stations. In some other blog posts, we heard "Playhouse of Favorites", but you might have heard the more famous program "Five Minute Mysteries" (a show I'd like to collect in original transcriptions) or "Weird Circle".
This week, we take a listen to one of the more unusual programs in the NBC syndication library, "Mercer McLeod, the Man With the Story". Each fifteen minute episode dramatized a story dealing with the mysterious or supernatural. What makes it unique, and the little "gimmick" for the show, is that Mercer McLeod plays all the roles in the show. (Except the female roles, which are handled by an actress credited only as "Rita".)
McLeod was a busy character actor in radio and television. He was a member of the Frank Benson Shakespeare Company and the the Ben Greet Players in England toured several countries with the Bernard Shaw Players. "The Man With the Story" was, according to an online bio, his entry into American radio. He was so versatile and impressive on the show, that he received many offers for radio and television work through the 1950s and 60s.
Here's program 1 in the series, "The Mysterious Drawing", transferred from an original vinyl NBC Orthacoustic Syndicated Program Series transcription, matrix number ND5-MM-11444-3.
If you have any other original discs in the series, let me know - I'd love to work on collecting a set.

Friday Aug 08, 2008
Playhouse of Favorites - Pgm 50 - Enoch Arden
Friday Aug 08, 2008
Friday Aug 08, 2008
Here's another episode of "Your Playhouse of Favorites", a program syndicated by NBC consisting of dramas based on classic literature.


Friday May 16, 2008
Your Playhouse of Favorites - Pgm 49 - Robin Hood
Friday May 16, 2008
Friday May 16, 2008
"Your Playhouse of Favorites" was one of many series produced especially for syndication by NBC; you might recall others such as "Five Minute Mysteries". The series were offered to stations regardless of network affiliation.


Wednesday Apr 16, 2008
Vass Family - Pgm 58
Wednesday Apr 16, 2008
Wednesday Apr 16, 2008
Continuing from our last post, another five minute Alka Seltzer show featuring the Vass Family. In program 58, the group sings "Crinoline Days" and "Old King Cole".

Wednesday Apr 16, 2008
Vass Family - Pgm 57
Wednesday Apr 16, 2008
Wednesday Apr 16, 2008
Today we have a fun little five minute musical program featuring the Vass Family on the air for Alka Seltzer. This show and one in the next entry are taken from an original vinyl NBC syndication disc pressed by RCA, matrix number MS 03444. (The other side of the disc contains two five minute Alka Seltzer shows by the Hoosier Hot Shots that I'll post later.)