Casey's Thanksgiving - Old Time Radio (Casey, Crime Photographer)

On this week of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a wonderful item that you can listen to as you are preparing your meal at home.  I will be doing the same. If you have Sirius/XM, you can listen to Greg Bell's Old time radio channel (#82). He has a number of great Thanksgiving-themed programs available this week. You can also get a large number of these programs at a variety or resources on the web.

Columbia Square in Hollywood - the home of all CBS radio programs after World War II.  This picture was taken on October 31, 2013.

On a lark, I decided to search the Internet Archive for shows that have Crime in the name. I stumbled across Casey, Crime Photographer, which is a cool series that follows...wait for it...a crime photographer. As a budding photographer myself, I love the idea of following a cameraman through the rough streets of the city. The series was sponsored by Anchor Hocking glass company of Lancaster, Ohio.

From another page on the Internet Archive, the series was described as follows: "Casey, whose first name was never revealed, was the major crime photographer at the fictional Morning Express newspaper. With the help of reporter Ann Williams, he tracked down criminals and solved numerous crimes on this popular mystery-adventure series. Often a picture snapped at a crime scene led Casey to play detective."  The show went by many names over the years - including Flashgun Casey; Casey, Press Photographer; Crime Photographer; and Casey, Crime Photographer.  The characters remained mostly the same, with Casey and his constant companion Ann Williams setting out to solve the mysteries that the police could not figure out.  Their evenings would almost always end up at the Blue Note Tavern with its great bar keep - Ethelbert.

The voice talent was primarily Staats Cotsworth as Casey, Jan Miner as Ann Williams and John Gibson as Ethelbert the bartender.  The two Thanksgiving Themed episodes are linked below.  They include 1947's "After Turkey, The Bill" when an ex-con is framed for a robbery on Thanksgiving and 1948's "Holiday" when a reformed ex-con is forced to pull one last safe-cracking job.  You can see a trend here.  The series is often cited as an example of a second-rate series - but I generally like it.  This is good radio detectives - not great!  But, unlike the incident in Missouri this summer, Casey would never show up unprepared!  He always had his equipment.

Here are additional links to Casey, Crime Photographer items on the web.

• Casey, Crime Photographer (radio) - page on the Wikipedia
• Thanksgiving Episode - Holiday (November 25, 1948)
• Thanksgiving Episode - After the Turkey - The Bill (November 27, 1947)
• List of Casey Stories by George Harmon Coxe in Black Mask Magazine (from Wikipedia)
• Read about Casey Crime Photographer (page 7) in the Nov/Dec 2010 issue of The Old Radio Times (#52)
• Casey, Crime Photographer (on the Internet Archive)
• Casey, Crime Photographer (Single Episodes on the Internet Archive)
• Casey, Crime Photographer (information on Digital Deli - not working today, hopefully soon)

Here are links to other Thanksgiving themed shows available on the Internet Archive:

• Thanksgiving and Christmas specials sponsored by the Elgin Watch Company via the Internet Archive. 
• Elgin's 6th Annual Thanksgiving Show (November 27, 1947) 
• Elgin's 7th Annual Thanksgiving Show (November 25, 1948)
• Elgin's Thanksgiving Shows (article by Jim Ramsburg)
• 100 OTR Thanksgiving Holiday Shows from the Internet Archive

100th Birthday Celebration for Frank Graham (old time radio star)

100 years ago today, in Detroit, Michigan, Frank Graham was born.  Though he died at age 35, he made a lasting impact among fans of old time radio during a very short career.  More about his death later.

Living near Detroit, I always get stopped by that word when I am scanning through articles and news.  So a few years ago, I learned about Frank Graham and that he was one of many Detroit natives who make their mark in old time radio programming.  Though he did not work at WXYZ (the Detroit station famous for many series including the Green Hornet, the Lone Ranger and Challenge of the Yukon), I was always interested in him and his career.

But what made him the great radio star was his voice.  While he was known as the man of 1,000 voices, he was best known for two series.

First his great role on Romance of the Ranchos, where he was the "Wandering Vaquero" on this historical series which came to the air thanks to the Title and Trust Insurance Company of Los Angeles.  This historical series revealed how complicated it was to ensure that you held title to your land.  Given the great history of the Ranchos in Southern California, this radio series was a perfect way for the Title and Trust Insurance Company to share its stories.  When I travel in Southern California, I always make sure I have these on my phone or my  MP3 player.

• Romance of the Ranchos (Digital Deli)
• Listen to Romance of the Ranchos (Internet Archive)
• One of my favorite episodes - Christmas at Mission San Gabriel

Frank Graham was also well known for being in the detective series Jeff Regan, Investigator.  The role was created by Jack Webb (of Dragnet fame).  The long suffering Jeff Regan worked as the "Lyon's eye" for the International Detective Bureau in Los Angeles.  His boss was the insufferable Anthony J. Lyon.  Regan was always balancing between what he thought was right and what Anthony J. Lyon could bill for.  As you might imagine, Regan always won.

One of my favorite episodes is the Man in Black.  What I love the most about it is that it is a rehearsal, not a final performance.  So you hear the directors and the banter during the recording.  You hear (at the 25 minute mark) Frank Graham get frustrated with his fellow actors as they are clearly lost in the script.  Check out the link below.  

• The Man in Black (rehearsal)
• Gentlemen Prefer Horses (his last episode)
• Jeff Regan, Investigator (Digital Deli)
• Listen to Frank Graham's episodes of Jeff Reagan

The Series was recorded in Hollywood at the CBS studios

CBS Columbia Square (Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) - October 31, 2013

The series ended abruptly in September 1950 with the death of its star.  Even though Frank Graham was not the original Jeff Regan, the producers decided not to continue.

The news of his death, at his own hand, was carries across the country:

Frank Graham, Radio Actors, Kills Himself (Toledo Blade on September 5, 1950, p.15)

HOLLYWOOD, Sept. 5 (UP)

Funeral services will be held today for radio's "man of 1,000 voices." Frank Lee Graham.

Graham, 35, star of the Jeff Reagan program, committed suicide Saturday night by inhaling automobile exhaust fumes.  Police blamed an unhappy love affair.

A more detailed story appeared (as you might imagine) in the Los Angeles Times (from the Tralfaz blog).  From that story, "Near Graham’s hand on the front seat of the car was the photograph of a handsome brunet woman, identified by police as Miss Mildred Rossi. Associates said that until recent weeks Miss Rossi had been Graham’s constant companion."

While his life ended tragically and all too short, it is nice that we have these recordings that his work lives on.

Other links worth looking at include:

• Frank's Wikipedia entry
• Nightcap Yarns (short radio programs that featured Frank Graham)
• The Sad End of Frank Graham (Tralfaz)
• The Cavalcade of America (he was a frequent announcer on this series)
• Frank Graham's listing in the great Radio Gold Index