Muskogee's Three Rivers Museum has a KBIX exhibit. Pictured is a recreation of a 1942 announcer, whose voice sounds very similar to Jerry Pippin's, who is pictured in the shadows.

One of Jerry's favorite radio heroes was THE SHADOW. Like The Shadow? Then, CLICK HERE for more about this radio hero from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. When Radio Was offers frequent broadcast of THE SHADOW. CLICK HERE to listen.

Sunday was an interesting time in the Pippin Family. My Mother would allow us to go into the living room. We lived in the Den most of the week, but on special times and every Sunday we could go into the living room, have coffee, hot chocolate or ice tea and turn on KBIX and at 4:30 there was THE SHADOW on the radio with Lamont Cranston.

The version I remember was on the Mutual Broadcasting System. However; Louis V. Genco on his website says The Shadow made its debut on  Thursday night, July 31,1930. The time was 9:40 PM. Radio listeners tuned to CBS head the first appearance of "The Shadow" as James La Curto portrays the part in the Detective Story Hour. Street and Smith publishers sponsored this show (which lasted about a year), along with their magazine series The Shadow, A Detective Monthly.

In September 1931, The Blue Coal Radio Revue, starring Frank Readick, Jr. (who was the star in the later Detective Story Hour shows), continued the adventures of "The Shadow". The show remained an hour long, but was heard on Sundays at 5:30 PM. A year later (October, 1932), the series moved to NBC, and continued what was to be a long relationship with the sponsor: Blue Coal.  Readick  remained the star for the weekly Wednesday presentations. In October 1934, NBC aired the program on both Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30PM. Interesting enough, both men who had played the shadow. Frank Readick and James LaCurto were heard as the Shadow during this time.

Then Orson Wells took over the roll.  I knew Orson was quite the radio star, but I had not realized he had played the Shadow.  Listen to this sound bite from 1937 when it was on Mutual and I beleive this is Orson Wells doing the role.  "Weed of Crime" ending from 1938; later that same year another actor replaced Orson who went on to the Mercury Theater and Motion Picture Fame, 

Bill Johnstone became the new voice. Here is a sound sample from November, 1939. the same year I was born. In many ways I think Johnstone was the best of the Shadow voices, but it  Bret Morrison who was best known as the voice of The Shadow first in 1943 and part of 1944, coming back for the fall season in September of 1945 and continuing  until the program ended in 1954. John Archer replaced Morrison late in 1944. However, l  Bret Morrison returned in September, 1945, and remained the voice through 1954, when the program ended. Here is a sound sample from May, 1948 

The program  "sustained" by Mutual without a  sponsor at the last; in fact most if not all of the last year was without a sponsor in 1954. The Shadow ended on the Sunday afternoon after Christmas, 1954.

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 A look at local TV and Radio in the good old days.