CBS RAD))|((O Mystery (and Adventure) Theater
Mark J. Cuccia
1970's:
Mystery Theater ran on the Network from Jan.1974 thru Dec.1982.
Adventure Theater ran on the Net from Feb.1977 thru Jan.1978.
Himan Brown was the producer of both, *in association with* the
CBS RAD))|((O NETWORK.
I don't know when Mystery Theater stopped producing "new" ep's,
but there were probably new productions well into 1981, maybe
even 1982. However, reruns were already popping in by mid-1974,
only a few months into its original run! You'd have a rerun here
or there, and then more repeats slipping in, with fewer "new"
episodes.
Mystery Theater ran SEVEN nights a week through about the end
of the 1970's. By the time it ended the original network feed/run,
it was only airing/feeding M-F nights. In 1980 or 81, the weekend
feeds/runs were eliminated, but I don't know if they eliminated
the Sunday edition and later the Saturday edition, or if they
eliminated BOTH Sat/Sun at the same time.
Many affiliates didn't always carry the Sunday ediiton even in the
1970's, probably because of prior paid-religious program
committments. When WWL-870 in New Orleans (the CBS Radio affil)
carried Mystery Theater, they never ran the Sunday night edition.
In early 1977, WWL cancelled their airing of CBS Radio Mystery
Theater, but by late 1977, WNPS-1450 (which may have just changed
its calls to WWIW-1450, and in 1989 it changed to WBYU-1450 - at the
time the NBC Radio affil, and a nostalgic music station, presently
affiliated with ABC Radio's Dalls "Stardust" service) picked up the
option to Mystery Theater, and carried it 7-nites, but of course,
CBS dropped it to five nights by the final original network year
(1982).
The "official" CBS Radio affil not desiring Mystery Theater, and
having it picked up by an alternate station was *NOT* uncommon.
Five of the seven CBS Radio O&O AMs carried Mystery Theater...
WCBS-880 (NY) and KCBS-am (San Francisco) didn't carry it. They felt
that Mystery Theater didn't fit into their "all news/information"
format. Yet the other five CBS O&O AMs were also "all news" yet they
*DID* run Mystery Theater. BTW, I *FREQUENTLY* heard Mystery Theater
from CBS-O&O WBBM-NewsRadio 78(0) 50Kw Chicago at 10:30pm Central
(on a taped delay from the network feed).
I don't know offhand which San Francisco radio station picked up
Mystery Theater when KCBS didn't want it... but WOR-710 NY picked up
Mystery Theater when WCBS-NewsRadio-88(0) didn't want it. WOR was
also still carrying a lot of Mutual programming at the time.
E.G. Marshall *WAS* the host/narrator of Mystery Theater during its
original Network run, 1974-82. But I've heard Himan Brown's voice at
least "open up" Mystery Theater (The CBS Radio Mystery Theater
presents...) on many syndicated reruns or current CBS/Westwood
satellite reruns in more recent years (1989-to-current).
When E.G. Marshall passed away a few years ago, I remember
Christopher ("In the News" CBS-TV Sat morn vignettes of the 1970s)
Glenn on "The World Tonight" on CBS Radio mentioning the passing
AND crediting Marshall as the host of CBS Radio Mystery Theater back
in the 70's. (Douglas Edwards was the CBS News anchor for "The World
Tonight" for YEARS, and his last W/T on CBS Radio was Good Friday
1-April-1988. I have most of that broadcast on tape and listened to
it recently. He retired to Florida and passed away in 1990 or so.
Edwards had started with CBS Radio/News in **1943 or 1942**)
Radio ADVENTURE Theater ran on CBS Radio from Feb.1977 to Jan.1978.
It aired on Sat and Sun. The series was aimed more towards "kids",
and had stories on Moby Dick, Treasure Island, etc. Some were
original stories though. There were several "two-parters" that
started on Sat and concluded on Sun.
Himan Brown *WITH* CBS produced the series just like they did with
Mystery Theater. Much of the MUSIC SCORE on CBS Radio Mystry Th and
CBS Radio Adv Theater was the *SAME* music as used on older late
50's and early 60's CBS Radio Dramas (Suspense, Johnny Dollar, the
radio edition of Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke radio, Fort Laramie,
etc) and also the music as used on CBS *owned/produced* TV dramas of
that time as well (the main five: Perry Mason, Twilight Zone,
Rawhide, TV Gunsmoke, TV Have Gun Will Travel; and other TV series).
Some of this CBS Music Score dates back to the 1930's/40's and
early 50's on CBS Radio dramas and early CBS-TV dramas. Much of this
CBS music score was composed/conducted by the late Bernard Herrmann,
who also composed the music for Hitchcock's movies of he 50's/60's
(Vertigo, Marnie, N.by-NW, Trouble with Harry, Psycho, etc)...
watching a 50's/60's Hitchcock movie is an experience like watching
TZ or Perry Mason, or listening to Suspense, etc. of that era!
Herrmann also worked closely with Orson Wells' Mercury Theater
players (Agnes Moorehead who was regularly on other CBS Radio
dramas, and Ray "Lt.Tragg" Collins) on Wells' CBS Radio dramas, and
Wells' RKO Movies of the 30's/40's. Herrmann also composed music for
numerous other Movie/Production companies throughout his career as
well.
Other composers (most notably Lucien Morawek/Rene Garriguenc, and
conducted by Lud Gluskin; but many many others - Lyn Murray, Van
Cleve, Franz Waxman, etc.etc.) composed music that CBS Radio/TV
used in their OWN OWNED/PRODUCED dramas throughout the "good old
days", and much of this "traditional" score has been heard on CBS
Radio Mystery/Adventure Theater as well as Perry Mason, TZ, Rawhide,
etc. and Suspense, Johnny Dollar on Radio...
(Even the original 1963-67 David Jansen "Fugitive" TV series, which
neither was produced by CBS-TV Productions nor aired on the CBS-TV
Network - it was produced by United Artists and Quinn Martin, and
aired over ABC-TV... also used "traditional" CBS Music Score for
the BULK of its music in the stories)
Anyhow...
Radio Adventure Theater was first called General Mills Radio
Adventure Theater for the first six months, Feb thru July 1977. The
sole network sponsor was General Mills cereals, and done in
"cartoon" style... Trix, Lucky Charms (NOT Lucky Strikes! :), Kix,
Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, the "monster" cereals Count Chockula and
Franken-Berry (and others), etc. The remaining six months (Aug 1977
thru Jan 1978), CBS Radio did "regular" commercials... and the
program was simply called the CBS Radio Adventure Theater. The
second half of the network run was reruns, in the same order as the
first six months original airings.
Tom Bosley (Howard Cunningham of Happy Days) was the host. He opened
up as well "The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater...." for the
first six months Gen.Mills sponsorship original airing.
The pre-recorded hosting by Bosley continued in the
second-six-months repeats, but Himan Brown recorded the opening for
the (non-Gen-Mills) second-six-months reruns: "the CBS Radio
Adventure Theater presents..."
CBS Radio Mystery Theater had several feeds a night, from :07-:59.
However, there was a PRE-feed for stations to tape to play earlier
if they so desired, from 1:07-1:59pm (Eastern) M-F, and from
3:07-3:59pm (Eastern) on Sat/Sun.
(Gen.Mills) CBS Radio Adventure Theater... the "desired" time that
the network wanted, and fed the program on Sat and Sun was
6:08-6:58pm Eastern. But the Sat ed had a Thursday morning pre-feed,
and the Sun ed had a Friday morning pre-feed, 11:08-11:58am
(Eastern).
In 1979, there was yet ANOTHER drama on CBS Radio, M-F, called
"Sears Radio Theater". It was an INDEPENDENTLY produced radio drama,
with ORIGINAL music score by Nelson Riddle. CBS Radio aired the
drama, but did NOT own/produce it. Sears and Robuck was the SOLE
sponsor.
Each nite of the week (M-F) was a different theme and host:
Lorne Greene for Westerns (Monday), Eve Arden or Lucy for Commedy
(Tuesday), etc. One nite was "Mystery", one night was "Adventure",
another night "romance". I forget the hosts and nites, and they did
change some... Vincent Price was one of the "theme night" hosts.
Howard Duff and Ida Lupino hosted another night/theme.
There were several weeknite feeds of "Sears Radio Theater", from
:08-:58, alternating with hours where Mystery Theater was fed.
And there was a weekday morning pre-feed, from either 10:08-10:58am
or 11:08-11:58am (Eastern). I'll have to dig out my old CBS Radio
network feed schedules to see exactly which time the pre-feed was.
A year later, in early 1980, CBS Radio *CANCELLED* Sears Radio
Theater. Being an indepdendently produced radio drama (CBS only
aired it and was NOT involved in production/ownership), the Mutual
Network picked it up. Mutual hadn't yet gone fully satellite, and
was still feeding much of the country on Bell System landlines,
mostly 3.5 Khz bandwidth except for the LARGEST markets getting
'cleaner' 5.0 Khz bandwidth Telco feed.
Also, Mutual had TWO five-min newscasts an hour, one at :00 and also
at :30, the "Progressive" newscast at :55... several sports/features
at either :05/:35 or :15/:45, and there was also the Sheridan/Mutual
Black Network which fed its news down the Mutual Broadcasting System
telco landlines, from :50-:54:50.
Mutual syndicated the radio drama on tape reels or 12" vinyl.
Sears was still the sole (or maybe just primary but not "sole"
anymore) network sponsor, but the title was called "Mutual Radio
Theater" instead of Sears Radio Theater.
Throughout 1980, Sears sponsorship was less-and-less, until the
sponsorship was just "any participating national sponsor" on the
network commercial position spots/slots. The drama was gone by 1981
or 1982. I don't remember the exact year that it ceased production
and (syndicated) reel/disk distribution by Mutual.
BTW, since Mutual "syndicated" Sears/Mutual Radio Theater on disk or
reel, you had no need for "bee-doops".
But when CBS had it as Sears Radio Theater (and also on CBS Radio
Mystery Theater and CBS/Gen.Mills Radio Adventure Theater), since
they were FED DOWN the CBS Radio Network telco lines, and there were
local spot avails, you *DID* hear the NetALERT "bleeps" or
"squeaks". And, if a news bulletin needed to be aired, you'd hear
the "chirps/bleeps/squeaks" during Mystery Theater or Adventure
Theater, or the CBS 1979 Sears Radio Theater, and the 1968-83 jingle
with announcer voice alerting that there is a "CBS Radio NetALERT
News bulletin".
Jeff Miller has a PERFECT example of this at his Broadcasting Sounds
website at Geocities:
http://www.geocities.com/jeff560khz
Look for the CBS Radio news bulletin on the 1977 NYCity power
blackout. You hear some dialog of Mystery Theater's feed, with FIVE
(pre-1978 version) NetALERT "chirps", then dead air, then the
sounder/bulletin for 5-minutes. (mostly David Jackson and Doug
Poling of CBS News). Then the close out with the sounder, a single
"chirp" and the rejoin to Mystery Theater already in progress.
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N0JAA
I printed it so I can read it at home, but I did glance through it.
I remember the Mystery Theatre from the 70's, as that was when I grew up
(graduated HS in '82). I lived in Colorado Springs then, and listened to it
nightly on KVOR-1300, and the Adventure Theatre ran on the weekends after the
Mystery Theatre.
I thought the Theatre was ALWAYS more interesting than the TV any day, as one
had to use one's imagination to make the pictures and etc. It reminds me of a
quote I heard once (don't remember who said it), but it was in response to a
question this person was asked about whether he preferred radio or television:
"I like radio; the pictures are better."
After I moved to Denver in '89, I discovered that KOA-850 was running reruns of
the Mystery Theatre, which allowed me to tape several of the episodes. I moved
to Houston in '97, and that was the last I heard of the Radio Mystery Theatre.
I collect a lot of old radio broadcasts from places such as Radio Spirits and
etc. I have some shows from the Mercury Theatre on the Air, a few episodes of
"Escape!", several Sherlock Holmes radio mysteries, and others. But the Radio
Mystery Theatre holds a special place for me because it was being produced when
I was listening.
Paul.