THE SHADOW - ORSON VERSIONS AND OTHERS

[Obssessed_with_Orson]

does anyone have a difinitve list of who portrayed The Shadow in the series. there were many versions, many stars, and too many wrong lists that tell who did what episode.

at the library, there are some that say Orson Welles, but to my ears, are somebody else. and some that say somebody else are actually Orson Welles.

even in the computer, there are lists, but there are too many different lists that tell different things.

oh well.

bye now!

[Le Chiffre]

There's a new encyclopedia of Old Time Radio out now, a pretty good book that I thumb through whenever I go to the local Borders book store. It's about $50 if you wanna buy it. It will have a list of all the Shadows, I'm sure.

I believe Welles was the first to play him as a character, inside the stories, so to speak. Frank Readick Jr. originated him before that though, as a host of crime stories, sort of like Welles in THE BLACK MUSEUM or Hitchcock on his TV show (BTW regarding the other thread, I can't believe they're "resurrecting" Welles to host MUSEUM again - hope it's not as tasteless as those John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe commercials). Welles reportedly borrowed Readick's sinister Shadow laugh for the show's intro.

Speaking of Frank Readick Jr., he later joined the Mercury Theatre, giving a tour-de-force performance as the doomed Carl Phillips in WAR OF THE WORLDS. He became one of the Mercury's key players, giving many other good performances for the Campbell Playhouse series. He was supposed to be in the HEART OF DARKNESS film, but did not appear in CITIZEN KANE. In fact, he only appeared once in the movies for Welles, as Agnes Morehead's henpecked husband, Mathews, in JOURNEY INTO FEAR (the guy that offers Joseph Cotton the sharpened umbrella as a weapon). One of the Mercury's unsung heroes.

[Obssessed_with_Orson]

does anyone have a permanent list of which shadow episodes orson did and the others did.

i was all excited yesterday. after waiting for the cassette version of a record set, that stated starring orson welles, so far only one of them has been orson welles.

the hypnotized audience.

the others, you can just about tell when they come on the introduction at the beginning.

but if you wonder, you'll keep listening, just to make sure.

the ones i was hoping he did were "ghost town" and "murder in the death house".

oh well, bye now!

[Jeff Wilson]

Welles' 41 shows are, in order:

Death House Rescue
Red Macaw
Danger in the Dark
Murder by the Dead
Temple Bells of Neban
Three Ghosts
Death Rides the Subway
Terror Island
Ruby of Modoc
Circle of Death
House of Death
Death Triangle
Cold Death
Voice of Death
Goddess of Death
League of Terror
Sabotage
Society of the Living Dead
Poison Death
Phantom Voice
House of Horror
Hounds in the Hills
Plot Murder
Bride of Death
Silent Avenger
White Legion
Hypnotized Audience
Death From the Deep
Firebug
Blind Beggar Dies
Power of the Mind
White God
Aboard the Steamship Amazon
Murders in Wax
Message From the Hills
Creeper
Tenor With a Broken Voice
Murder on Approval
Tomb of Terror
Death Under the Chapel
Caverns (Caravans?) of Death

Titles in italics are believed lost.

Welles' run on THE SHADOW was from September 9, 1937 to September 11, 1938. Any episode not originally broadcast between those dates is someone else in the lead. Agnes Moorhead did stick around for a couple seasons after Welles departed the show, however.

[Le Chiffre]

Wow, I had no idea that there were so many missing Shadow episodes. I wonder if it's possible that some episodes were given more then one title (as in the Harry Lime series). IMO, The Shadow is more important in the formation of the Mercury then many Welles fans realize. Not just because of the fame and money it gave Welles, but also it's where he, Moorehead, Erskine Sanford, Paul Stewart, and Everett Sloane solidified their ensemble chemistry, playing the same characters week after week.
One of the articles in the new Welles interview book says that when the Mercury went on the road with their Ceasar production, Welles found that his fame as the Mercury's director was dwarfed by his fame as The Shadow. Of course, this was just before War of the Worlds.

[Jeff Wilson]

It's possible that there are overlapping titles; I got that list from Jerry Haendiges' web site, which is usually pretty thorough. And it is true that Welles found many of his Mercury actors in radio, which later entended to those appearing in film roles, such as Jeanette Nolan and Glenn Anders, to name two. It's not surprising people knew him as the Shadow rather than the wunderkind of the Mercury, though; how many people could have really known about the Mercury's stage successes, as compared to the nationwide exposure the Shadow received?

[Le Chiffre]

Ah yes, how is old Jer'? I haven't been to his site in awhile. I'll have to check it out and see if he's got anything new. I wonder if he ever finished restoring those Mercury Summer Theatre shows.

I can see Glenn Anders having had a big career in radio with that voice. I also think I recognized him doing the voice of Uncle Max in The Trial.

[Jeff Wilson]

Haendiges is presumably the same as always; he did remember me the last time I ordered (maybe because of the annoyed emails I sent the previous occasion when he screwed up a tape). He (or a flunky) still screws up at least one tape an order. But he's fast, I'll give him that, and he's got the best selection, so what can you do?

I don't think he's added any new Welles material lately, but I haven't visited in a while, so that could have changed.

[Obssessed_with_Orson]

thanks for the list. much appreciated.

out of that set of sixteen, hypnotized audience was the only one of orson's.

bye now!

[purplepines]

At Audible, Orson's 20+ episodes from 1937 to about 1939 (?) are for sale as digital downloads. They're sold individually for only NINETY FIVE CENTS each (SIXTY SEVEN CENTS IF YOU'RE A MEMBER), or you can buy them in packs of 5 for $3.95 ($2.77 if a member). Agnes Moorehead was in about 15 too! They've got a few other Orson items on there actually

[Skylark]

Came across some Shadow episodes with some nice illustrations...

http://pulpsunday.blogspot.com/

[Kane76]

Here's a link to a release that tells of 11 episodes of The Shadow radio program that Welles did in 1938. A company called Radio Spirits will be releasing them (a few at a time, so it seems) in various compilations.

http://www.audiodramatalk.com/showthread.php?t=2406

[Glenn Anders]

Dear skylark: Thank you for all your audio and YouTube contributions.

And thank you, Kane76, for for the Radio Spirits material. This company has been around for a long time, and some of my earliest Welles and Old Radio cassettes were bought from them.

TIME MARCHES ON!

Glenn

[Terry]

The first six of those eleven lost episodes are:

The Old People (6-26-38)
The Voice of the Trumpet (7-03-38)
He Died at Twelve (7-10-38)
The Mark of the Bat (7-24-38)
The Black Buddha (9-04-38)
The Witch Drums (9-11-38)

and are available in these three sets.

[Glenn Anders]

Thanks, Terry: You always get your man . . . er, shadow.

My son, Guy, who is living with me now, has been listening with fresh ears and radiant pleasure to various recordings that you have provided for us here.

Thank you.

Glenn