The Douglas of The World Radio Program
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Home >> D D Too Home >> Radio Logs >> Douglas of The World |
Douglas of The World was mastered in Studio B of the famous Capitol Records Tower building in Hollywood.
Far East Network Logo (Now AFN Tokyo)
Army Broadcasting Service Insignia
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Background
Globetrotting, high adventure espionage mysteries over North American Radio had become popularized as early as 1932:
The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) and the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) adopted at least David Harding Counterspy and The Man Called X for transcribed, syndicated broadcasts to American and United Nations Armed Forces abroad. The AFRS and AFRTS were usually given production masters of the corresponding commercially aired transcriptions in either electrical transcription disc form or via magnetic tape reel by the originating network(s) or the sponsoring advertising agency(ies). The AFRS would then 'denature' the commerical recordings to remove any commercial, network, or temporal cues to create a 'clean' rendition the introductions, performances and closing announcements that comprised the original recording--sans any commercial or network messages.
In many instances, the originating producers of the commercial productions would not only provide the original recordings but would also provide the services of one of the orginal narrators or performers to re-record introductions, expositions, breaks and closing credits specifically for the AFRS version(s). This provided an even more seamless and polished production for AFRS and AFRTS recipients.
As the AFRS' and AFRTS' own organic production services became more sophisticated, the Far East Network (FEN) in the Pacific and the Armed Forces Network (AFN) in Europe produced their own Theatre-originated programming for the service people overseas. The respective theatre(s) would provide their own engineering talent, production and direction and acting talent.
By the 1950s the AFRS began mounting even more sophisticated productions from its facilities in Los Angeles. The material spanned all manner of dramatic and musical genres of the era and featured name Radio voice or performing talent. Some of the more ambitious musical productions would include big name Music and Drama talent of the era.
The AFRS produces Douglas of The World for the Services
Douglas of The World was probably recorded at the Capitol Records Tower building in Hollywood during 1952 to 1953. The production featured durable West Coast Radio actor and narrator Jack Moyles in the role of Bradford 'Brad' Douglas, a globetrotting foreign correspondent for 'The New York World,' a fictious New York-based newspaper with bureaus in Paris, Stockholm, and London.
Bradford Douglas' portfolio encompassed the major geopolitical hotspots of the era, ranging around the world from Moscow to Indonesia and everywhere in between. Brad Douglas' assignments were usually provided by Mike Shaughnessy, the roving Managing Editor of The New York World.
Douglas of The World was unique for the genre in employing actual names of geopolitical locations, situations and personalities of the Cold War era. One of the episodes addressed the death of Stalin. Another addressed Mohammed Mossadegh, the Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953.
In that regard it would appear that the series was specifically mounted with the intent to shape some of the Cold War propaganda of the era for its military listening audiences in the Pacific and European theatres. As an example, Mohammed Mossadegh was the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran who nationalized Iran's vast oil fields. Of course that didn't sit well with British and American Oil interests of the era.
The British in particular began demagoguing Mossadegh as soon as he'd begun hinting at nationalizing Iran's Oil resources. The British Government for its part began collaborating with the U.S. about the possibility of ousting Mossadegh and installing a Prime Minister more understanding of Western Oil interests. The CIA's infamous 'Operation Ajax' ultimately deposed Dr. Mossadegh and installed General Fazlollah Zahedi, as Prime Minister after the coup d'etat.
The resulting Douglas of The World episode, "The Terrorists," while characterizing Dr. Mossadegh as a patriot and true hero of Iran, nevertheless portrayed the CIA-instigated nationalist movement as growing, communist-inspired movement against Mossadegh. This was of course the CIA's disinformation intent from the outset.
The Douglas of The World production masters were of the highest quality recorded as they were, at Studio B located in the famous Capitol Records building in Hollywood during the 1952 to 1953 timeframe. By 1954 they had aired in the Pacific theatre over the Far East Network and in the European over the Armed Forces Network.
The final episode of Douglas of The World, "The Judgement Day," provides an impassioned plea for the work of The United Nations and its charter. Perched atop the United Nations building in New York City, Jack Moyles, as Brad Douglas, delivers a stirring John Vlahos-written, plea for hopefulness and international unity during the Cold War era. It was a fitting conclusion to a series that, in addition to providing worldwide adventures, also underscored the geopolitical landscape of the Cold War and America's expanding role in that troubled landscape.
Douglas of The World's production values were absolutely top notch, backed by some of West Coast Radio's finest voice talent from the famous earlier Golden Age of Radio era. Radio giants Harry Bartell, Ben Wright, Peter Leeds, Paul Richards, Fritz Feld, Howard Culver, Gigi Pearson, Jay Novello, Jack Kruschen, Eddie Firestone and Victor Rodman formed the core of most of the ensemble voice talent over the twenty-six episode production.
Robert M. Young, Will Scott, and Steven R. Callahan helmed the productions, with writing credits to William Tundberg. Legendary sound engineer Gene Twombley handled the sound shaping for the run, and Bill Woodson handled the announcing chores for the run.
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Series Derivatives:
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AFN Syndication; FEN Syndication |
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Genre: |
Anthology of Golden Age Radio Espionage Dramas |
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Network(s): |
Armed Forces Network (AFN); Far East Network (FEN) |
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Audition Date(s) and Title(s): |
Unknown |
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Premiere Date(s) and Title(s): |
53-03-07 01 The Golden Treasure |
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Run Dates(s)/ Time(s): |
53-03-07 to 53-08-29; AFN; Twenty-six, 30-minute programs |
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Syndication: |
The AFRS; Armed Forces Network (AFN); Far East Network (FEN) |
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Sponsors: |
The AFRS |
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Director(s): |
Robert M. Young, Will Scott, Steven R. Callahan [Producers/Directors]
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Principal Actors: |
Jack Moyles, Karen Steel, B. J. Thompson, Peter Leeds, Harry Bartell, Paul Richards, Victor Rodman, Jack Carroll, Fritz Feld, Peter Rankin, Gigi Pearson, Ben Wright, Eddie Firestone, Shep Mencken, Victor Rodman, Norbert Schiller, Jack Lloyd |
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Recurring Character(s): |
Bradford 'Brad' Douglas, a foreign correspondentfor The New York World [Jack Moyles]; Mike Shaughnessy, Managing Editor of The New York World |
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Protagonist(s): |
None |
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Author(s): |
None |
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Writer(s) |
John Vlahos, William Tundberg |
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Music Direction: |
Earl Lawrence [Composer]
Michel Perrier [Conductor]
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Musical Theme(s): |
Unknown |
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Announcer(s): |
Bill Woodson |
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Estimated Scripts or
Broadcasts: |
26 |
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Episodes in Circulation: |
4 |
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Total Episodes in Collection: |
4 |
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Provenances: |
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RadioGOLDINdex, Hickerson Guide.
Notes on Provenances:
The most helpful provenances were the log of the RadioGOLDINdex and newspaper listings.
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[Date, title, and episode column annotations in red refer to either details we have yet to fully provenance or other unverifiable information as of this writing. Red highlights in the text of the 'Notes' columns refer to information upon which we relied in citing dates, date or time changes, or titles.]
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The Douglas of The World Radio Program Biographies
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Jack Moyles
(Bradford Douglas)
Stage, Radio, Television and Film Actor
(1913-1973)
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Education: University of San Francisco
Radiography:
1937 Idylls of the King
1938 Two-Way Justice
1939 Backgrounds of Democracy
1942 Alias John Freedom
1943 The Great Gildersleeve
1944 The Pacific Story
1945 Destination Tomorrow
1945 A Man Named Jordan
1945 Twelve Players
1945 Doctor Paul
1946 Cavalcade Of America
1946 Dark Venture
1946 The Whistler
1947 The Bill GOodman Show
1947 Command Performance
1948 Suspense
1948 The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe
1948 Rocky Jordan
1949 Prowl Car
1950 My Favorite Husband
1950 Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
1950 The Adventures Of the Saint
1950 Escape
1950 Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1950 Screen Director's Playhouse
1951 The Harold Peary Show
1951 The Line-Up
1951 Wild Bill Hickok
1951 The Whisperer
1951 O'Hara
1951 Make Believe Town
1951 Tarzan
1952 Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1952 The Hour Of St Francis
1952 The Roy Rogers Show
1953 Douglas of the World
1953 Hour of St. Francis
1953 Lux Radio Theatre
1953 Stars Over Hollywood
1953 Dangerous Assignment
1953 Broadway Is My Beat
1953 General Electric Theater
1953 Fibber McGee and Molly
1954 Hallmark Hall Of Fame
1954 Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator
1954 Inheritance
1954 Escape
1954 Romance
1955 My Little Margie
1955 A Man Named Jordan (Audition)
1956 Fort Laramie
1956 Those Young Bryans
1956 Gunsmoke
1957 Point of Law
1958 Frontier Gentleman
1958 Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone
1959 Have Gun--Will Travel |
Jack Moyles circa 1937
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From the November 7th 1937 edition of the Oakland Tribune:
By JACK BURROUGHS
..."Jack Moyles, young announcer-actor of KSFO, was born in San Francisco and attended the University of San
Francisco. At the age of 20 he was graduated from college and determined to make radio his career. After a successful
audition he became a member of the dramatic staff of a local station. There he remained for a year, during which time he played the lead in 'A Tale of Two Cities.' But he was dissatisfied, believing that he was not advancing quickly enough. In April, 19-35, he came to KSFO.
''His possibilities, both as an announcer and as an actor, were seen immediately by J. C. Morgan and P. G. Lasky, to whom he feels he owes all his success in radio. Besides his duties as an announcer, Jack has several weekly programs of his own, that are all network. His 'Silhouette' program has long been a favorite of coast listeners.
"Jack, himself, in spite of his success, has remained unaffected and friendly. He has black, wavy hair and large brown eyes. His most outstanding characteristic is his rolling gait, which resembles that of a sailor. At KSFO Jack is noted for his dry humor. Among his pet likes are tall blonds and animated cartoons. He particularly dislikes people who rattle candy papers in the midst of dramatic love scenes at the movies. He prefers the girls he takes out not to wear makeup, although he says he doesn't mind a little bit. He is 24 and still a bachelor."...
...IN the latter part of 1932 Jim Morgan leased the old KFWT studios in a San Francisco hotel with the idea of running them as a side business.
He established a production company and radio training school. Among the outstanding radio artists who acted as instructors were Barbara Jo Allen, Captain Bill Royle and Helen Musselman.
The production end of the enterprise was handled by Thomas Ashwell, who later became program director for WLW, Cincinnati's giant station, and Howard Way, who later on became the associate manager and editor of one of the large leading radio magazines.
Jack Moyles, who was just out of college at that time, applied at Morgan's training school for his first post-collegiate job. He was given the job. Moyles is now a member of the CBS staff in San Francisco...
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Peter Leeds
(Ensemble player)
Stage, Screen, Radio, and Television Actor
(1917-1996)
Birthplace: Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Radiography:
1941 Lux Radio Theatre
1943 Wings To Victory
1944 Wings Over the West
1945 Rogue's Gallery
1945 Theatre Of Romance
1946 Cavalcade Of America
1946 The Alan Young Show
1946 The Lucky Strike Program
1947 The Adventures Of the Saint
1947 Errand Of Mercy
1947 In Your Name
1948 Your Movietown Radio Theatre
1948 Ellery Queen
1948 Let George Do It
1948 Diary Of Fate
1948 Hallmark Playhouse
1948 Guest Star
1948 Sealtest Variety Theatre
1948 Skippy Hollywood Theatre
1949 Sam Pilgrim's Progress
1949 The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe
1949 Prowl Car
1949 This Is Your FBI
1949 My Favorite Husband
1949 Our Miss Brooks
1949 Young Love
1949 Richard Diamond, Private Detective
1949 Screen Director's Playhouse
1949 Rocky Jordan
1949 The Adventures Of Frank Race
1950 The Adventures Of Maisie
1950 Presenting Charles Boyer
1950 The Railroad Hour
1950 The Adventures Of Christopher London
1950 Night Beat
1950 Escape
1950 Sara's Private Caper
1950 Fibber McGee and Molly
1950 The New Adventures Of Nero Wolfe
1950 The Amazing Nero Wolfe
1951 The Magnificent Montague
1951 The Halls Ov Ivy
1951 The New Adventures Of Nero Wolfe
1951 The Amazing Nero Wolfe
1951 The Story Of Dr Kildare
1951 The Harold Peary Show
1951 Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
1951 The Man Called X
1951 The Railroad Hour
1951 The Whistler
1951 The Line-Up
1951 The Bickersons
1951 The Whisperer
1951 Mr Aladdin
1952 Stars Over Hollywood
1952 Suspense
1952 The Bob Hope Show
1952 Tales Of the Texas Rangers
1952 Gunsmoke
1952 Romance
1952 Hollywood Star Playhouse
1952 Broadway Is My Beat
1952 Dragnet
1953 Destination Blood Center
1953 My Friend Irma
1953 Dangerous Assignment
1953 The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show
1953 The Great Gildersleeve
1953 Wild Bill Hickok
1954 That's Rich
1954 Life With Luigi
1954 You Were There
1956 CBS Radio Workshop
1957 The Stan Freberg Show
1958 Heartbeat Theatre
1958 Frontier Gentleman
1958 Luke Slaughter Of Tombstone
1973 Hollywood Radio Theatre
1979 Sears Radio Theatre
1982 Nightfall
I Was A Communist For the FBI
The Hardy Family
Premier Performance
Douglas Of the World
Hollywood Sound Stage |
Peter Leeds, ca. 1962
Peter Leeds as a hopeless drunk in Dragnet, ca. 1954
Peter Leeds on TV, in TV, on TV in My Little Margie, ca 1954 .
Peter Leeds on the run from Boston Blackie, ca. 1953.
Leeds in Thriller, ca. 1960
Leeds as a game show emcee in Leave it to Beaver (1959)
Leeds as a game show emcee in Leave it to Beaver (1959)
Leeds as a security guard in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957)
Peter Leeds as Lt. Sherman in Honey West (1965)
Peter Leeds as Lt. Coombs in Honey West (1965)
Peter Leeds as yet another (unnamed) Police Lieutenant in Honey West (1965)
Peter Leeds singing 'Thanks for The Memories' with Bob Hope on USO Tour, 1962
Leeds was awarded AFTRA's prestigious Gold AFTRA card for his many years of service to the Union.
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We've observed elsewhere in these biographies, that some of the greatest character actors of the 2oth Century often disappear into obscurity. And even though ubiquitous throughout Radio, Television and Film, their very workman-like ethic and skill at their craft are the very traits that leave them all too often taken for granted. Peter Leeds was such a craftsman.
A native of Bayonne, New Jersey, Peter Leeds received his training at The Neighborhood Playhouse just across the Hudson. He debuted in Film with a bit part in Public Enemies (1941). Leeds broke into Radio in 1941, and from that day forward never stopped working until The Golden Age of Radio effectively ended. His career in radio spanned well over 3,000 appearances. Indeed his radiography in the RadioGOLDINdex is one of the longest in their database. Leeds' talent was by no means limited to Radio. Leeds was seen in 28 films between his debut in 1941 and his entry into Television in 1951. But Television is where Leeds posted a truly astonishing record of over 8,000 appearances over his fifty-year career as a character actor.
Clearly appreciated--and respected--by fellow actors and technicians alike, it's clear that none of his peers begrudged him his extraordinary success. Leeds' specialty, if one had to pin one down was as a straight man. Leeds worked with virtually every major comedian and comedienne in entertainment history in one medium or another. Having seen him in Film and Television and having heard hundreds of his Radio performances, we can attest to Leeds' impeccable timing, versatility and effectiveness. From comedy to radio noir to straight dramatic roles to action-adventure, we can vouch for Leeds' expert craftmanship. And so it should have been. Leeds was a character actor, and the consummate character actor, in the final analysis.
We grew up during the Golden Age of Television, and though I can't say I've seen all 8,000 of his Television performances, I can certainly say with great conviction that I know I've watched at least 1,000 of his performances on Television. I must also confess to having taken the vast majority of those performances for granted myself--until I began listening to his work in Radio. I had no understanding of either comedic or dramatic timing when I was younger. I just knew what made me laugh and what made me cry. Peter Leeds simply popped up in a Television role, performed his role seemingly effortlessly, then exited the scene. Simple, straightforward. No muss, no fuss. Impeccable. I had no informed appreciation then of the skill and craft I was witnessing.
Perhaps that's the magic of Radio. I grew up during the tail-end of The Golden Age of Radio. I listened to enough of it, to remember Peter Leeds' voice even though I never made the connection to the actor I watched on Television. That was his genius, and that was the perfection of his craft as an actor. And it's the wonderful imposed limitation of Radio that made me all the more aware of his talent in that medium than I had ever learned to appreciate in his Television roles. It's not counterintuitive at all, when you think about it. A Radio drama focuses one's attention on the spoken word, to the aural ambience, to the pace, the timing, and the ability of the actors and technicians to successfully draw you into their reality.
Peter Leeds was always brilliant in that respect. I've heard him as a gangster, a detective, a romeo, a dupe, a con-man, a killer, a rich wastrel, a drunk, a wrangler, a sheriff, and a corporate magnate. Indeed, I can't even begin to recount all of the roles I've heard him perform. And that's precisely what we do here--listen to Radio. We do it because we love it, and we love it because it's still a fascinating and compelling entertainment medium. When you listen to as much Golden Age Radio as we do, you can't help but keep picking up more and more nuances in the performances of your favorite voice talent. My particular favorites are the detective and crime genre programs. I didn't even have to glance at the Leeds' Radiography to know that I've heard him in every single major detective and crime genre program recorded from the 1940s through the end of The Golden Age of Radio.
He was everywhere. I can still recall the first time I watched him on Television. It was a Dragnet episode--from the orginal series--in which he brilliantly portrayed a drunk and a murderer who, once nabbed by Sgt. Friday, still couldn't bring himself to admit his guilt. I watched fascinated as he 'unpeeled' himself, layer by layer. Like peeling an onion, each thin new layer revealed a more resolute, matter-of-fact acknowledgement of his guilt--but only the most begrudgingly. Until finally--relieved to have fully exposed himself and his crime--he literally thanks Friday and his partner for catching up with him. This is not a new arc for a drama script by any means. Indeed it's been over-used in Television. But it's an arc that very few character actors can pull off as seamlessly, as deftly, and as convincingly as Peter Leeds could.
His comedic timing was probably even more appreciated than his straight dramatic talent. And again, I've watched him play off of Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, Johnny Carson, etc, etc, etc. And yet again, the man's timing and effectiveness were always brilliant. Often forgettably so. Is that a contradiction in terms? Of course it is. But isnt' that precisely what he was selected to do? And he did it, and did it brilliantly. So brilliantly, in fact that it's been estimated that for as much as seven years, he logged more days acting than any other member of the Screen Actor's Guild. I have no reason to doubt that assertion.
Bob Hope specifically requested that Leeds accompany him on fourteen of his U.S.O. tours, both stateside and abroad, precisely because of Leeds' impeccable timing in sketch comedy. Leeds was a regular on Stan Freberg's radio show and on many of his records. And no less a talent than Johnny Carson adored him. Anyone who watched the Carson Show saw Peter Leeds in Johnny's sketch pieces again and again, from Carson's earliest years to his last.
One of his last appearances in Film was one that felt most poignant to me, personally. The 1987 Dragnet film seemed to go out of its way to cameo as many of the old Dragnet regulars as were still alive. And there was Peter Leeds. I felt every bit of my forty years of age at that point. That first memory I had of him in the original Dragnet, contrasted with the image of him in his 1987 cameo role . . . . It all came rushing back to me with that one cameo. The hundreds and thousands of character actors and extras that had passed before my eyes in Film and Television, and yet here was the one ubiquitous face in a crowd of great Television character actors, that I most recognized.
Thankfully Leeds' great talent hadn't gone unnoticed by his peers. During the 1970s, Leeds served for five years as the president of the Los Angeles chapter of AFTRA and later served on the actors' union's national and local Board of Directors. In 1992, AFTRA repaid his many years of service with its highest honor, The Gold AFTRA Card. Leeds later served on the Board of Governors for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Leeds succumbed to cancer on November 12, 1996, at the age of 79. As with many of his peers, we miss their presence among us, but we have only to listen to one of their thousands of Golden Age Radio performances to experience their genius all over again. |
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Harry Bartell
(Ensemble player)
Stage, Radio, Television and Film Actor; Writer; Radio Announcer; Professional Photographer
(1913-2004)
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.
Radiography:
1942 The Adventures of Raffles
1942 Cavalcade Of America
1944 Lux Radio Theatre
1944 The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
1944 Command Performance
1945 On A Note Of Triumph
1945 The New Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes
1945 The Adventures Of Maisie
1946 Rogue's Gallery
1946 The Casebook Of Gregory Hood
1946 Hollywood Star Time
1946 Let George Do It
1947 The Alan Young Show
1947 The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe
1947 All-Star Western Theater
1947 Escape
1947 Conquest
1948 The Whistler
1948 In Your Name
1948 June's My Girl
1948 Family Theatre
1948 My Friend Irma
1949 Screen Director's Playhouse
1949 The Green Lama
1949 This Is Your FBI
1949 The Adventures Of the Saint
1950 Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
1950 Night Beat
1950 The Adventures Of Sam Spade
1950 My Favorite Husband
1950 Broadway Is My Beat
1950 Romance
1950 T-Man
1950 Hollywood Star Playhouse
1950 Suspense
1951 The Adventures Of Nero Wolfe
1951 Wild Bill Hickok
1952 Stars Over Hollywood
1952 Dragnet
1952 Defense Attorney
1952 Gunsmoke
1952 Violence
1952 Dangerous Assignment
1952 Hollywood Playhouse Of Romance
1952 I Was A Communist For the FBI
1953 General Electric Theater
1953 Bakers' Theatre Of Stars
1953 On Stage
1953 Rogers Of the Gazette
1953 Crime Classics
1953 Hallmark Hall Of Fame
1953 Stars Over Hollywood
1953 The Six-Shooter
1954 Meet Mr McNutley
1954 San Francisco Final
1956 Fort Laramie
1956 CBS Radio Workshop
1958 Frontier Gentleman
1958 Flight 101
1958 Have Gun--Will Travel
1965 Horizons West
1995 KIRO Mystery Playhouse
2003 The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Pride Of the Outfit
When The West Was Young
Douglas Of the World |
Harry Bartell publicity photo circa 1952
Harry Bartell as Father Xavier Rojas in the traditional Christmas episode of Dragnet, The Big Little Jesus, originally aired December 24, 1953.
Harry Bartell as Dietrich in Get Smart from 1965
Harry Bartell as Willie the Billiards Pro in Get Smart from 1966
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Born in New Orleans, Harry Bartell got his first start in Radio during the early 1930s in the Houston market over local radio. He reportedly also performed local radio summaries of motion pictures of the era.
In 1937, Harry Bartell moved to the West Coast working, variously, as a disc jockey, looping commercials, and performing at The Pasadena Playhouse. Bartell's first network radio was over CBS inThe Adventures of Raffles (1942), in which he was cast as an Hindu. This was the first of what eventually became a wide and varied arsenal of dialects and accents, including numerous Spanish roles on Romance of the Ranchos, Dragnet, Have Gun Will Travel, and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.
Throughout the Golden Age of Radio Harry Bartell was a favorite with many of the West Coast's finest Radio directors, including:
- Jack Webb -- Dragnet, Pete Kelly's Blues, Johnny Madero, Pier 23
- Norm Macdonnell -- Romance, The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe, Escape, Have Gun, Will Travel, Gunsmoke
- Elliott Lewis -- Broadway Is My Beat, On Stage, Crime Classics, Suspense
- William N. Robson -- Escape
- Jack Johnstone -- Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, The Man Called X, The Six Shooter, Hollywood Star Playhouse
He appeared in Norman Corwin's famous On A Note of Triumph broadcast on V-E Day, May 13, 1945. He also appeared in both the first and last episodes of Radio's Gunsmoke and 180 other episodes in between.
Jack Webb justifiably never cast Harry Bartell as a villain in any of his ensemble productions. Webb apparently felt that Bartell was most effective in his various blood and guts crime dramas as a more sympathetic character--in both Webb's Radio productions and Television productions. Bartell was one of several ensemble actors that Jack Webb employed in most of his productions, along with Wilms Herbert, Herb Butterfield, Michael Fox, Raymond Burr, Tudor Owen, Barney Philips, Tony Barrett, John Dehner, and of course Betty Lou Gerson and Virginia Gregg.
Bartell reportedly preferred the ensemble work over the years: “One of the major benefits was that you had great trust in the other actor. You knew if for some reason you got off-track or you made a mistake, they were going to cover for you. And you would cover for them. As a result, there was an ensemble feeling that was very different than if you had a different cast on the show every day.”
Harry Bartell co-starred with John Anderson in Horizons West, an historical radio documentary drama series on the Lewis and Clark Expedition produced for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service in the early 1960’s. Bartell portrayed Captain Meriwether Lewis and Anderson played Captain William Clark.
Harry Bartell also enjoyed co-starring or featured roles in The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe as Archie Goodwin, in Fort Laramie as Lieutenant Siberts, in the Charlotte Greenwood Show as Tommy Brooks, and in Rogers of the Gazette as Officer Ed Miller.
With some 10,000+ radio appearances to his credit over an almost thirty-five year career in Radio, it's more difficult to cite a west coast production that Harry Bartell didn't appear in. But a simple sampling of his credits is staggering:
- 180+ appearances in Gunsmoke
- 60+ appearances in Escape
- 15+ appearances in Advs. of Philip Marlowe
- 30+ appearances in Dragnet
- 20+ appearances in Let George Do It
- 45+ appearances in Suspense
- 96+ appearances in Johnny Dollar
- 60+ appearances in Have Gun, Will Travel
Bartell also performed as an announcer over the years. He announced for Silver Theatre, Sherlock Holmes, and The Casebook of Gregory Hood, though he never really considered himself an announcer, per se. He reportedly approached performances as announcer as simply another acting job--acting the role of announcer.
Harry Bartell appeared in at least 80 Television series' over a 25-year career in Television.
Harry Bartell also co-wrote two Gunsmoke scripts for Radio with fellow Gunsmoke cast member Vic Perrin: Chester's Inheritance and Father And Son. Bartell added professional photographer to his resume when not working actively in radio, television or film.
As with most of the more successful Radio performers of the Golden Age of Radio, Harry Bartell reportedly preferred the medium of Radio to all others: “Radio was a dream medium, every day or twice a day was like a first night. There was always a freshness, a challenge. Radio offered an actor or actress opportunities to play roles they couldn’t obtain anywhere else.”
Similar sentiments can be found in other biographies on these pages--Lurene Tuttle's and Virginia Gregg's, especially. All three great Radio actors cite Radio as the magic medium over which they could portray any person of any era, in any situation--and often several different portrayals in the same radio play episode.
Harry was a popular guest at Old-Time Radio Conventions around the country; particularly so with the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound in Seattle. Not only did he get to perform in recreations, he also appeared with friends from the Golden Age of Radio in several contemporary radio dramas of Jim French.
On Friday, June 27, 2003 Harry went into the recording studio for the last time, to record an episode of Jim French's radio series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, called "The Adventure Of The Great American" which Jim had written especially for Harry. This episode aired on the syndicated series Imagination Theatre on August 24, 2003.
Harry Bartell ultimately passed away in February 2004. As with most of his huge body of fans from The Golden Age of Radio, we miss his active contributions to both the background and history of the era, but by the same token, his amazing body of work remains a tribute to his talent, versatility and depth.
And yet, ironically--or perhaps as it should be--Harry Bartell probably claims more active fans and admirers now than he ever did while actively performing over Radio--because of the thousands of exemplars of his work that have survived from the era. The admiration is well-deserved, to say the least.
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