Lux Radio Theater
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Genre	Anthology drama
Running time	1 hour
Country	United States
Language(s)	English
Home station	WJZ (10/14/34-06/30/35) CBS WABC (07/29/35-05/25/36) CBS (06/01/36-06/28/54) NBC (09/14/54-06/07/55)
Television adaptation(s)	Lux Video Theatre (1950-1957)
Host(s)	John Anthony, Albert Hayes, Cecil B. DeMille, William Keighley, Irving Cummings
Starring	Numerous Broadway and Hollywood stars
Writer(s)	George Wells Sanford Barnett
Director(s)	Antony Stanford, Frank Woodruff, Sanford Barnett, Fred MacKaye, Earl Ebi, Norman Macdonnell
Recording studio	1934–1936 New York City 1936–1955 Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Air dates	October 14, 1934 – June 7, 1955
No. of series	21
No. of episodes	926
Audio format	Monaural sound

Lux Radio Theater, one of the genuine classic radio anthology series (NBC Blue Network (1934-1935); CBS (1935-1954); NBC (1954-1955)) adapted first Broadway stage works, and then (especially) films to hour-long live radio presentations. It quickly became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, running more than twenty years. The program always began with an announcer proclaiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, Lux presents Hollywood!" Cecil B. DeMille was the host of the series each Monday evening from June 1, 1936, until January 22, 1945. On one occasion, however, he was replaced by Leslie Howard. Anthrology Drama, or Anthrology Dramas, or Anthrology Drama(s): Anthrology Dramas are dramas that are theatrical in nature. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... WABC AM (770 kHz New York City) NewsTalkRadio 77 is the flagship station of the ABC Radio Network. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... NBC (a former acronym for National Broadcasting Company) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Lux Video Theatre was a weekly television series, produced from 1950 until 1959. ... Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. ... The year 1934 in radio involved some significant events. ... The year 1936 in radio involved some significant events. ... “New York, NY” redirects here. ... The year 1936 in radio involved some significant events. ... // September 22 - The character Grace Archer dies in the BBC serial The Archers, a spoiler for the launch of ITV on the same day. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Frank Sinatra is interviewed on Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II. Old-Time Radio (OTR) and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming lasting from commercial radios introduction in the early 1920s to its replacement in the late 1950s and early 1960s... An anthology series is a television series that features different stories, with a different cast of characters in every episode. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American radio and television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... NBC (a former acronym for National Broadcasting Company) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Broadway theatre[1] is the most prestigious form of professional theatre in the U.S., as well as the most well known to the general public and most lucrative for the performers, technicians and others involved in putting on the shows. ... Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Leslie Howard (April 3, 1893 - June 1, 1943) was an English stage and film actor. ...

Lux Radio Theater strove to feature as many of the original stars of the original stage and film productions as possible, usually paying them $5,000 an appearance to do the show. It was when sponsor Lever Brothers (who made Lux soap and detergent) moved the show from New York City to Hollywood in 1936 that it eased back from adapting stage shows and toward adaptations of films. The first Lux film adaptation was The Legionnaire and the Lady, with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable, based on the film Morocco. That was followed by a Lux adaptation of The Thin Man, featuring the movie's stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell. Sponsorship Porsches during WTA championships in Madrid For other uses, see Sponsor (disambiguation). ... The British manufacturer Lever Brothers was founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever (later Lord Leverhulme) and his brother James. ... “New York, NY” redirects here. ... ... Marlene Dietrich IPA: ; (December 27, 1901 – May 6, 1992) was a German-born actress, singer, and entertainer. ... William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... The Thin Man was the first of six comic detective films starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a hard-drinking and flirtatious married couple who banter wittily as they easily solve crimes. ... Myrna Loy (August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American motion picture actress. ... William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 - March 5, 1984) was an American actor, noted for his sophisticated, cynical roles. ...

Many of the greatest names in film appeared in the series, most in the roles they made famous on the screen, including Abbott and Costello, Lauren Bacall, Lucille Ball, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Boyer, Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Joseph Cotton, Bing Crosby, Dan Duryea, Ava Gardner, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Vivien Leigh, Agnes Moorehead, Vincent Price, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Ann Sothern, Barbara Stanwyck, James Stewart, Gene Tierney, John Wayne, Jane Wyman, Orson Welles and Loretta Young. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Betty Joan Perske (born on September 16, 1924), better known as Lauren Bacall, is a Golden Globe- and Tony Award winning, as well as Academy Award-nominated, American film and stage actress. ... Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an iconic American actor, comedian and star of the landmark sitcom I Love Lucy, a four time Emmy Award winner (awarded 1953, 1956, 1967, 1968) and charter member of the Television Hall of Fame. ...   (pronounced in Swedish, but usually in English, IPA notation) (August 29, 1915 – August 29, 1982) was a three-time Academy Award-winning and two-time Emmy Award-winning Swedish actress. ... Humphrey DeForest Bogart (December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957) was an American actor. ... Charles Boyer (August 28, 1899 – August 26, 1978) was a French-American actor who starred in several classic Hollywood films, TV director and TV producer. ... Claudette Colbert (September 13, 1903 - July 30, 1996) was an Academy Award-winning and Golden Globe-winning French-American actress in Hollywood film, stage, television and radio. ... Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper May 7, 1901 – May 13, 1961) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor of English heritage. ... Joseph Cheshire Cotten (May 15, 1905–February 6, 1994) was an American stage and screen actor. ... Harry Lillis Bing Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death in 1977. ... Publicity photo for Duryea Dan Duryea (born January 23, 1907, in White Plains, New York; died June 7, 1968, in Hollywood, California) was a hard-working TV and movie actor. ... Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American screen actress who worked on film and television. ... Archibald Alec Leach (January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986), better known by his screen name, Cary Grant, was an English film actor. ... Bob Hope, KBE (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-Born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel, well known for his good natured humor and career longevity. ... Vivien Leigh (November 5, 1913 – July 8, 1967) was an English actress. ... Moorehead as Endora on Bewitched Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900 – April 30, 1974) was an Oscar-nominated American character actress. ... Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ... Main title caption from Dallas. ... Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was a jazz oriented popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor. ... Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American film actress. ... Barbara Stanwyck (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American film/television actress. ... Brigadier General James Maitland Jimmy Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an iconic, Academy Award-winning American film and stage actor, best known for his self-effacing screen persona. ... Gene Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American actress. ... John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), born Marion Robert Morrison[1] and later changed to Marion Michael Morrison, popularly known as the Duke, was an iconic, Academy Award-winning, American film actor. ... Jane Wyman (born Sarah Jane Fulks on January 5, 1917 in Saint Joseph, Missouri)[1] is an Academy Award-winning, Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated American actress also known for being the first wife of president Ronald Reagan. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... Loretta Young in 1935 Loretta Young (January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an Academy Award-winning American actress. ...

Among the men, Don Ameche -- eventually a radio star in The Bickersons -- appeared most often, with 18 Lux appearances, just ahead of Fred MacMurray's 17. Among the women, the honor went to Barbara Stanwyck with 15 Lux appearances, including her re-creation of her hit film Sorry, Wrong Number -- itself born of an earlier radio production, on CBS legend Suspense). Loretta Young's 14 appearances were the second most among the women. Dominic Felix Ameche (May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor. ... The Bickersons, an American radio comedy (1946-1951)---born on The Chase and Sanborn Hour and refined on the lesser-remembered Drene Time---stood the already-typical domestic presentation of radio and its infant offspring, television, so squarely on its head that there were those who feared the show---whose... Fred MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an actor who appeared in over one hundred movies and a highly successful television series during a career that lasted from the 1930s to the 1970s. ... Barbara Stanwyck (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American film/television actress. ... Categories: Movie stubs | 1948 films | 1989 films | Best Actress Oscar Nominee (film) ... Suspense, one of the premier drama programs of the Golden Age of Radio, was subtitled radios outstanding theater of thrills. ...

Some classic radio regulars also made the occasional appearance on Lux Radio Theater. Jim and Marian Jordan, better known as Fibber McGee and Molly, appeared on the show twice and also built an episode of their own radio comedy series around one of those appearances. Bandleader Phil Harris and his singing actress wife, Alice Faye, who had become radio comedy stars with their own show beginning in 1948, appeared in a Lux presentation. Fred Allen, Jack Benny (with and without his wife, Mary Livingstone), and George Burns and Gracie Allen were among the other radio stars who were invited to do Lux presentations as well. Lux Radio Theater even presented an adaptation of the film version of The Life of Riley, featuring William Bendix as the Brooklyn-born, California-transplanted aircraft worker he already made famous in the long-running radio series (and eventual television hit) of the same name. Jim and Marian Jordan were featured in 1947 NBC promotional art by Sam Berman. ... Phil Harris and Alice Faye Phil Harris (born Wonga Philip Harris) (June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, jazz musician and comedian. ... Alice Faye, from her official Website, http://www. ... He has eyes like Venetian blinds and a tongue like an adder — radio/television critic John Crosby about humourist Fred Allen, portrayed here by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. ... Jack Benny (February 14, 1894 in Chicago, Illinois – December 26, 1974 in Beverly Hills, California), born Benjamin Kubelsky, was an American comedian, vaudeville performer, and radio, television, and film actor. ... Jack and Mary Benny Mary Livingstone (born Sadye Marks in Seattle, Washington on June 23, 1905) was an early co-star of American radio, and the wife and collaborator of radio and comedy king Jack Benny. ... George Burns[1], born Nathan Birnbaum (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), was an American comedian and actor. ... Gracie Allen (July 26, 1895[1] – August 27, 1964) was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns. ... The Life of Riley is an expression meaning an ideal life of carefree prosperity and contentment. ... William Bendix (January 14, 1906 - December 14, 1964) was an American film actor. ...

Mercury Theatre on the Air -- which eventually made Orson Welles a force to be reckoned with, especially with the commotion his broadcast of The War of the Worlds (30 October 1938) provoked -- was initially a summer replacement series for Lux Radio Theater. The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City by Orson Welles and John Houseman. ... The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. ...

It was a clash over closed shop union rulings favoured by the old American Federation of Radio Artists that ended DeMille's term as Lux Radio Theater's host. AFRA assessed members a dollar each to help back a campaign to enact closed-shop rulings in California. DeMille, an AFRA member but a stern opponent of closed shops, refused to pay because he believed it would nullify his opposition vote. When AFRA ruled those not paying faced suspension from the union, and thus a ban from appearing on the air, DeMille was finished---because he also refused to let anyone else pay the dollar for him. Lux Radio Theater auditioned, on the air, several hosts over the next year, until they settled on William Keighley as the new permanent host, a post he held from late 1945 through mid-1955. Image File history File linksMetadata Luxdolls2. ... A trade union or labor union is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment. ...

The Lux Video Theatre began as a live 30-minute Monday evening CBS series October 2, 1950, switching to Thursday nights during August, 1951. In September 1953, the show relocated from New York to Hollywood. In August, 1954, it jumped to NBC as an hour-long show on Thursday nights, telecast until September 12, 1957. James Mason was the host in the 1954-55 season. Lux Video Theatre was a weekly television series, produced from 1950 until 1959. ... October 2 is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... James Neville Mason (May 15, 1909 – July 27, 1984) was a three-time Academy Award nominated English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. ...

References

• Audio Classics Archive Radio Logs: Lux Radio Theater

Listen to

• OTR Network Library: Lux Radio Theater (276 1936-55 episodes)
• Lux Radio Theater (1936-52) in The Internet Archive's Old-Time Radio Collection
• Botar's Old Time Radio Lux Radio Theatre (free mp3 download)

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External links

• Lux Radio Theater: War Of The Worlds
• Lux Radio Theater at the National Film and Sound Archive