The Shadow (partially lost radio series; 1937-1954)

From The Lost Media Wiki
Revision as of 07:38, 14 March 2018 by Kobochat (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search
The Shadow.jpg

Promotional image.

Status: Partially Lost

The Shadow was a radio series created in 1937 and lasting until 1957 which followed the character of the shadow. The series is mostly remembered for originally staring the voice of Hollywood legend Orson Welles as the voice of the main character, however, the character himself is most greatly remembered as the main influence for DC Comic's Batman.

History

Orson Welles as The Shadow.

The Shadow originally appeared in 1930 as the narrator of the CBC series Detective Story Hour where the character was overlooked until Frank Readick, Jr replaced James La Curto as the character's voice and gave him "a hauntingly sibilant quality that thrilled radio listeners." The character later went on to be used to narrate The Blue Coal Radio Revue. After a temporary move to NBC and then back CBC the series ended due to Street & Smith's wanting the character to be rewritten into the crime-fighter described in the pulp novels by the character's creator Walter Gibson.

In 1937, Street and Smith signed a new agreement with Blue Coal, and in fall of that year began a new series based upon the character that aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System, with Orson Welles to play the main character. Welles eventually left the series in 1938 and was succeeded by Bill Johnstone, Bret Morrison, John Archer, and Steve Courtleigh.[1]

Availability

During the time of the series' syndication, archiving broadcasts was not a common practice, resulting in 165 of the series' 665 episodes becoming lost, with seasons 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18 being missing in their entirety.[2] Radio Spirits, a company that sells CDs of old radio series, has recovered many transcription discs that were sent out to radio stations for broadcasting and had them undergo digitization and remastering for their lineup of the series.[3]

References