The Strange Wills Radio Programs

Series Derivatives:

Notes on Provenances:

All above cited provenances are in error in one form or another. The most helpful provenances were the logs of the RadioGOLDINdex, and contemporaneous newspaper radio listings.

The I Devise and Bequeath Episode #4 is announced as The Lady with The Tattooed Back. This is the same script as the American syndicated Strange Wills episode #4, The Lady and The Pirate.

Although Strange Wills some episodes were listed as pre-empted in newspaper radio listings, the unaired--or later aired--episodes are available in our collection.

There remains some question as to when I Devise and Bequeath actually aired over NBC--if it ever did. Currently available newspaper provenances cite no airing of I Devise and Bequeath during the late 1940s or early 1950s. Given the passing of Warren William--and his Warren William Radio Productions, Inc., in 1948, and the subsequent passing of his wife, Helen, only months after William's demise, it might be that the scheduled NBC run never aired. We're more inclined to believe that it did eventually air, but we have no provenance upon which to base this speculation. As further evidence, Teleways is heard as the source of syndication for the three available production episodes of I Devise and Bequeath. This may imply that Teleways was the syndicator under license from Warren William Radio Productions, Inc., or vice versa.

Both episodes #10 and #11 both have Warren William citing Emeralds Come High as the next episode.

Episode #'s 23, 28, and 29 cite episode titles that either never aired, or didn't air during the listed run. This was a syndicated program. As such, we can only speculate as to the actual episode order, or whether an episode was omitted from a specific run. We can only currently speculate as to whether the Swan Song, Portsmouth Square, or High Conquest scripts actually aired--or when.

The theoretical episode order for the Australian Strange Wills run is only anecdotal at present. The dates remain approximate.

[Updates: Acting on a provenance from the original Teleways marketing advertisement for this series, we updated our missing episode information above. We also corrected five titles, reordered the dates to correspond with the only complete 26-episode airing of the program we could find in newspaper provenances. We also concluded that the unaired episodes were Swan Song, Portsmouth Square [not Portsmith Square], and High Conquest.

As can now be proven from the Teleways promotion in the sidebar at the top, this syndication was packaged and sold as a 26-episode package--until someone can prove to us otherwise. There are twenty-seven episodes of Strange Wills currently in circulation, however. Given the provenance in the recording, The Killer and The Saint, we can only assume, for the moment, that Portsmouth Square never aired. We can only conjecture as to the additional two possible episodes, Swan Song and High Conquest, as to whether they were simply added to any package as possible candidate replacements in the subscribers' line-up, or simply added to the package after the series entered syndication. Either conjecture is plausible, but until either Swan Song or High Conquest surface, that question will have to remain unanswered.

As to provenanced dates, The Chicago Tribune cites the premiere date over WCFL as October 12, 1946, not the widely reported October 19, 1946 in the vast majority of circulating logs. Most of the plagiarized logs in circulation, including the Grams Radio Drama book, show a premiere date in June 1946. The source of that particular plagiarism is apparently the Audio-Classics CD list for Strange Wills [Note: The key to determining plagiarized logs is the use of the title 'Portsmith Square' in the log listing. That traces the source plagiarized to the Terry Salomonsen CD listing for Strange Wills, Q.E.D.]. RadioGOLDINdex also cites an episode, Dishonored Legacy, that may or may not have been part of the originally syndicated package. We can find no other provenance to support that title. ]

As more verifiable provenances surface, we'll continue to update the following series log, as appropriate.

All rights reserved by their respective sources.

Strange Wills Series Log

I Devise and Bequeath Series Log

Strange Wills [Australian] Series Log

Strange Wills Biographies

Filmography Highlights:

1932 The Woman from Monte Carlo
1932 Beauty and the Boss
1932 The Dark Horse
1932 Skyscraper Souls
1932 Three on a Match
1932 The Match King
1933 Employees' Entrance
1933 Gold Diggers of 1933
1933 Lady for a Day (1933)
1934 Upperworld (1934)
1934 Smarty (1934)
1934 Dr. Monica (1934)
1934 The Dragon Murder Case as Philo Vance
1934 The Case of the Howling Dog as Perry Mason
1934 Cleopatra
1934 Imitation of Life
1934 The Secret Bride
1935 Living on Velvet
1935 The Case of the Curious Bride as Perry Mason
1935 Don't Bet on Blondes
1935 The Case of the Lucky Legs as Perry Mason
1935 The Widow from Monte Carl
1936 Times Square Playboy
1936 Satan Met a Lady
1936 The Case of the Velvet Claws as Perry Mason
1936 Stage Struck
1936 Go West Young Man
1937 Outcast
1937 Madame X
1938 Arsène Lupin Returns
1938 The First Hundred Years
1938 Wives Under Suspicion
1939 The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt as The Lone Wolf
1939 The Gracie Allen Murder Case as Philo Vance
1939 The Man in the Iron Mask
1939 Day-Time Wife
1940 The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady as The Lone Wolf
1940 The Lone Wolf Strikes as The Lone Wolf
1940 Lillian Russell
1940 Trail of the Vigilantes
1940 Arizona
1941 The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date as The Lone Wolf
1941 The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance as The Lone Wolf
1941 Secrets of the Lone Wolf as The Lone Wolf
1941 The Wolf Man
1942 Counter-Espionage as The Lone Wolf
1943 One Dangerous Night as The Lone Wolf
1943 Passport to Suez as The Lone Wolf
1945 Strange Illusion
Fear
1947 The Private Affairs of Bel Ami

After she turned 15, her family relocated to Monrovia, California, where Lurene Tuttle began her performing career in earnest. She obtained her formal dramatic training at the Pasadena Playhouse, appearing in many of their productions with great success. She later joined Murphy's Comedians, a vaudeville troupe, and began performing as a dramatic ingénue in stock productions.

Though Broadway eluded her, Lurene Tuttle performed on Stage regularly until the 1930s.

Known for her fine speaking voice and extraordinary range of dialects, The Depression Years lead her to work in Radio, a natural medium for her extraordinary voice talent. For the next 25 years of the Golden Age of Radio, Lurene Tuttle became one of Radio's most recognized voices in virtually every Radio venue in which she performed.

Aptly referred to as "The First Lady of Radio," she was most fondly remembered for her role as Effie, the deliciously endearing "Girl Friday," to Howard Duff's Sam Spade on The Adventures of Sam Spade. Dyed-in-the-wool Sam Spade fans universally refer to the interaction between Duff and Tuttle as pure Radio magic--and deservedly so. Her comedic timing and interplay with Duff was absolutely superb, rivalled only by the Radio chemistry between Frances Robinson and Bob Bailey in Let George Do It.

By the time Film and early Television discovered her acting talent she found second and third careers as a durable, versatile character actress in a wide range of roles characterized primarily by their depiction of archetypal middle-American wisdom and warmth. Later years found her in recurring characterizations as a 'brittle' world-weary matron.

She debuted in Film in Heaven Only Knows (1947), then appeared alongside Cary Grant in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) and Room for One More (1952). She performed with Marilyn Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) and Niagara (1953). She also appeared with Joan Crawford in Goodbye, My Fancy (1951) and Leslie Caron in The Glass Slipper (1955). To Film's everlasting shame, she never got her chance to appear as a lead, not for lack of either versatility or talent. As it was, she continued to develop her talent as a durable, reliable character actor--and occasional scene-stealer.

Indeed her innate ability to steal any scene--on big screen or small--with an impish, knowing grin or world-weary, cynical glance remained two of her signature characterizations throughout her remarkable career. Her only real lead during this period was her portrayal of the crazed Ma Barker, in Ma Barker's Killer Brood (1960), a B-movie that's reached cult status.

Television was more cognizant of Lurene Tuttle's natural warmth and wisdom, which, given the kinder, gentler, family oriented fare of 1950s Television, found her performing regularly in a wonderful array of sitcoms, appearing as a starchy relative, gossipy gadfly, or archetypal down-home townfolk.

Lurene Tuttle married fellow actor and announcer, Mel Ruick a performer she met often while both were performing in Radio. Their daughter, Barbara Ruick, became an actress best known for her portrayal of Carrie Pipperidge in the wonderful musical comedy Carousel (1956). Barbara Ruick later married famed American composer John Williams, but died unexpectedly in 1974, just as John Williams' world-renowned talent was becoming recognized.

Lurene Tuttle became a widely-respected Drama and diction coach for several decades. She taught radio technique in the 1940s and re-trained several prominent actors returning from World War II duty. After her Television career in the 1950s, Lurene Tuttle returned to teaching. Her students included Red Skelton, Orson Welles, Milton Berle, Steve Allen, and Jayne Meadows. She joined the faculty of The University of Southern California, teaching acting technique, and remained in Southern California until she succumbed to cancer at the age of 78.

"I have a full life - radio acting, TV shows, movies, and my daily teaching - all crammed with delight. I find that the best way for me to conduct my life is to run my life - my way." -- Lurene Tuttle

Thankfully, her fame endures as new generations of Golden Age Radio and Television fans continue to discover her anew. Thus she remains to this day--and throughout the forseeable future--as one of the most beloved, most enjoyed and most admired voice and character talents of The 20th Century.

Lurene Tuttle as listed with Wormser, Heldfond & Joseph circa 1986