“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
The Shadow knows… ”
In 1930, successful pulp fiction magazine publisher Street and Smith wanted to get into the emerging radio market. Adapting stories from their pulp magazine, Detective Stories, they created the radio series initially called The Detective Story Hour for CBS. The narrator, played by James La Curto and then Frank Readick, was referred to only as “The Shadow”.
Response for the mysterious voice was overwhelming, and Street and Smith with writer Walter B. Gibson quickly launched a pulp fiction magazine defining this new super crime fighter. The Shadow would become one of the most enduring pulp heroes, lasting for 325 novels, 285 penned by Mr. Gibson himself, and over 17 years, marking one of the most successful pulp publishing successes.
On the radio, The Shadow continued to play only the role of narrator until 1937 when the Shadow commanded the lead in fighting crime over the airwaves. A young, 22 year-old actor named Orson Welles, won the audition to become the voice of the Shadow in the new expanded format. Although the famous Shadow laugh continued from the earlier Frank Readick era, Welles’ enthusiasm and talent helped propel the radio series to become the highest rated dramatic program. With Bill Johnstone and Bret Morison picking up the cape over time, the broadcast run lasted an astonishing 25 years with as many as 15 million weekly listeners enjoying the mysteries and learning the lesson that “the weed of crime bears bitter fruit… crime does not pay! ”
(Listen to the Shadow Intro here:mp3,flash audio)
- The Shadow’s Greatest Radio Adventures
- The Shadow: The Lost Shows
- Legends of Radio: The Shadow
- The Shadow: Three Hour Collector’s Edition
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