Radio Programs Featuring Boris
Karloff
"This comprehensive radio log was compiled and contributed by John Eccles
Jr. of Atlantic City NJ.
We wish to thank John very much for this important addition to The Boris Karloff
Home Page. "
Sara
Karloff
Unknown Title (January 3, 1932) Format: Variety; Network: CBS.
Hollywood on Parade [aka: Hollywood
on the Air] (October 7, 1933)
Format: Talk; Host: Jimmy Fidler; Guests: Boris Karloff, Victor
McLaglen, Reginald Denny; Network: NBC; Content: the three stars promoted and
performed a scene from The Lost Patrol.
Hollywood on Parade [aka: Hollywood
on the Air] (January 27, 1934)
Format: Talk; Host: Jimmy Fidler; Guests: Boris Karloff, Maxine Doyle;
Network: NBC; Content: Karloff promoted The Lost Patrol.
The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour (October
11, 1934)
Format: Variety; Announcer: Graham McNamee; Performers: Rudy Vallee,
Boris Karloff, The Shaw Group, Lou Holtz, Crauford Kent, Margaret Braden,
Katherine Hall; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Fleischmann’s Yeast; Broadcast Time:
Thursday, 8 p.m.; Content: Karloff portrayed the title character in “Death
Takes a Holiday”; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Hollywood on the Air (May 1935)
Format: Talk; Content: Karloff promoted Bride of Frankenstein.
Shell Chateau (August 31, 1935)
Format: Variety; Host: Al Jolson; Guests: Boris Karloff, Maxine Lewis,
Joyce Weathers, George Jessel, Jack Stanton, Peggy Gardner, Martha Creighton,
Crauford Kent; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Shell; Broadcast Time: Saturday, 9:30
p.m.; Content: Karloff played the Rajah in a skit based on the play The
Green Goddess; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Unknown Title (December 30, 1935)
Format: Fact-Based Drama; Performers: Boris Karloff, Murray Kinnell,
Russell Gleason; Content: Karloff and his friends dramatized his “life
history.”
The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour (February
6, 1936)
Format: Variety; Announcer: Graham McNamee; Performers: Boris Karloff,
Rudy Vallee; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Fleischmann’s Yeast; Broadcast Time:
Thursday, 8 p.m.; Content: Karloff appeared in a skit titled “The Bells”;
Running Time: 60 minutes.
The Royal GeIatin Hour (September
3, 1936)
Format: Variety; Announcer: Graham McNamee; Performers: Rudy Vallee,
Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Royal Gelatin; Broadcast Time: Thursday,
8 p.m.; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Camel Caravan (December 8,
1936)
Format: Variety;
Performers Included: Boris Karloff: Music: Benny Goodman and His Orchestra;
Network: CBS: Sponsor: Camel; Broadcast Time: Tuesday; Content: Karloff
reprised the title role in "Death Takes a Holiday"; Running Time: 60
Minutes
The Chase and Sanborn Hour (January
30, 1938)
Format: Variety; Announcer: Wendell Niles; Performers: Edgar Bergen and
Charlie McCarthy, Boris Karloff; Don Ameche, Nelson Eddy, Dorothy Lamour;
Music: Robert Armbruster and His Orchestra; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Chase and
Sanborn; Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8 p.m.; Content: Karloff read “The Evil Eye,”
an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”; Running Time: 60
minutes.
Baker’s Broadcast [aka: Seein’
Stars in Hollywood] (March 13, 1938)
Format: Variety; Host: Feg Murray; Performers: Ozzie Nelson, Harriet
Hilliard (Nelson), Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi; Network: NBC Blue; Broadcast
Time: Sunday; Content: Karloff read “The Supplication of the Black Aberdeen” by
Rudyard Kipling and sang a duet, “We’re Horrible, Horrible Men,” with Lugosi.
Lights Out (March 23, 1938)
Format: Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Darrell Hall’s Thoughts”;
Performers Included: Boris Karloff' (as Darrell Hall); Network: NBC; Broadcast
Time: Wednesday; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Lights Out (March 30, 1938)
Format: Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Valse Triste”; Performers
Included: Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Wednesday; Running Time:
30 minutes.
Lights Out (April 6, 1938)
Format: Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Cat Wife” by Arch Oboler;
Performers Included: Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Wednesday;
Running Time: 30 minutes.
Unknown Title (April 11, 1938)
Format: promotional; Content: Karloff joined John Ringling Norton to
promote the current New York performances of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum
& Bailey Circus.
Lights Out (April 13, 1938)
Format: Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Three Matches”; Performers
Included: Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Wednesday; Running Time:
30 minutes.
Lights Out (April 20, 1938)
Format: Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Night on the Mountain”;
Performers Included: Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Wednesday;
Running Time: 30 minutes.
Royal Gelatin Hour (May 5,
1938)
Format: Variety; Announcer: Graham McNamee; Performers: Rudy Vallee,
Boris Karloff, Ed East and Ralph Dumke, Irving Caesar, Tommy Riggs and Betty
Lou, Colgate Glee Club, Harold Vermilyea; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Royal Gelatin;
Broadcast Time: Thursday, 8 p.m.; Content: Karloff appeared as a mysterious
harbinger of death in a skit titled “Danse Macabre”; Running Time: 60 minutes.
The Eddie Cantor Show (January
16, 1939)
Format: Variety; Announcer: Bert Parks; Host: Eddie Cantor; Performers:
Boris Karloff, Bert (“The
Mad Russian”) Gordon; Musie: Edgar (“Cookie”) Fairchild’s Orchestra:
Network. CBS; Broadcast Time: Monday, 7:30 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Royal Gelatin Hour ( April 6 1939)
Format: Variety; Announcer:L Graham McNamee; Performers: Rudy Vallee, Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Royal Gelatin; Broadcast Time: Thursday, 8 p.m.; Content: Karloff appeared in a skit titled "Resurrection"; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knnowledge
( September 25, 1940)
Format: Musical Comedy Quiz; Host: Kay Kyser; Announcer: Ken Niles; Guests: Borid Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre; Music: the Kay Kyser Orchestr, including Ginny Simms, Harry Babbitt, Sully Mason, Ish Kabibble; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Lucky Strike; Broadcast Time: Wednesday, 10 p.m.; Content: the four stars promoted You'll Find Out; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Everyman’s
Theater (October 18, 1940)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Cat Wife” by Arch Oboler; Performers Included:
Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Oxydol; Broadcast Time: Friday, 9:30
p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Information
Please (January 24, 1941)
Format:
Quiz; Host: Clifton Fadiman; panelists: John Kieran, Franklin P. Adams, Boris
Karloff, Lewis E. Lawes (Warden of Sing Sing); Network: NBC Blue; Sponsor:
Lucky Strike; Broadcast Time: Friday, 8:30 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (March 16, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “The Man of Steel”; Director: Himan Brown;
Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris
Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time:
Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Hollywood
News Girl (March 22, 1941)
Format:
Talk; Host: Lydia Pinkham; Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Saturday, 1:15 p.m.;
Content: Karloff discussed Arsenic and Old Lace and his horror films;
Running Time: 15 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (March 23, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “The Man Who Hated Death”; Director: Himan
Brown; Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers
Included: Boris Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (April 6, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Death in the Zoo”; Director: Himan Brown;
Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris
Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time:
Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
The
Voice of Broadway (April 19, 1941)
Format:
Talk; Host: Dorothy Kilgallen; Content: Karloff discussed Arsenic and Old
Lace; Network: CBS; Broadcast Time: Saturday, 11:30 a.m.; Running Time: 15
minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (April 20, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Fog”; Director: Himan Brown; Host: Raymond
Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris Karloff;
Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time: Sunday,
8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (May 11, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: "Imperfect Crime”; Director: Himan
Brown; Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers
Included: Boris Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (June 1, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar
Allan Poe; Director: Himan Brown; Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed
Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s
Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Bundles
for Britain (June 14, 1941)
Format:
Propaganda; Guests: Boris Karloff, Constance Collier; Network: Mutual;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 3 p.m.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (June 22, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Green-Eyed Bat”; Director: Himan Brown;
Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris
Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time:
Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (June 29, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “The Man Who Painted Death”; Director: Himan
Brown; Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers
Included: Boris Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
United
Press Is On the Air (July 11, 1941)
Format:
Talk; Hosts: Joan Younger and Russ Hughes; Guests: Boris Karloff, Dorothy
McGuire; Network: Syndicated; Content: Karloff discussed his career, promoted Arsenic
and Old Lace, and growled like the Frankenstein Monster; Running Time: 15
minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (July 13, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Death Is a Murderer”; Director: Himan Brown;
Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris
Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time:
Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (August 3, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe;
writer: Robert Newman; Director: Himan Brown; Host: Raymond Edward Johnson;
Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers: Boris Karloff (as Simon), Everett Sloane,
Santos Ortega; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast
Time: Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (October 26, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Terror on Bailey Street”; Director: Himan
Brown; Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers
Included: Boris Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Time
to Smile (December 17, 1941)
Format:
Variety; Performers: Eddie Cantor, Dinah Shore, Boris Karloff; Network: NBC;
Broadcast Time: Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Keep
’em Rolling (February 8, 1942)
Format:
Variety; Performers: Morton Gould, Clifton Fadiman, Boris Karloff; Network:
Mutual; Broadcast Time."Sunday, 10:30 p.m.; Content: Karloff appeared in a
play titled “In the Fog” in this program that supported the war effort; Running
Time: 30 minutes.
Information
Please (February 20, 1942)
Format:
Quiz; Host: Clifton Fadiman; Announcer: Milton Cross; panelists: John Kieran,
Franklin P. Adams, Boris Karloff, John Carradine; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Lucky
Strike; Broadcast Time: Friday; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (April 5, 1942)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar
Allan Poe; Director: Himan Brown; Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed
Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s
Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (April 19, 1942)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Blackstone”; Director: Himan Brown; Host:
Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris
Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time:
Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (May 3, 1942)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Study for Murder” by Sigmund Miller;
Director: Himan Brown; Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Performers: Boris Karloff
(as Dr. Herbert Lodge), Everett Sloane; Network: ABC; Broadcast Time: Sunday,
8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (May 24, 1942)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: "The Cone”; Director: Himan Brown; Host:
Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy, Performers Included: Boris
Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time:
Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (May 31, 1942)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Death Wears My Face”; Director: Himan Brown;
Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris
Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time:
Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (April 7, 1942)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Strange Bequest”; Director: Himan Brown;
Host: Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris
Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time:
Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (April 21, 1941)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “The Grey Wolf’; Director: Himan Brown; Host:
Raymond Edward Johnson; Announcer: Ed Herlihy; Performers Included: Boris
Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Carter’s Little Liver Pills; Broadcast Time:
Sunday, 8:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
The
Theatre Guild on the Air (1943)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Arsenic and Old Lace” by Joseph Kesselring;
Performers Included: Boris Karloff (as Jonathan Brewster); Network: CBS;
Broadcast Time: Tuesday; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Information
Please (May 17, 1943)
Format:
Quiz; Host: Clifton Fadiman; Announcer: Milton Cross; Panelists: John Kieran,
Franklin P. Adams, Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Heinz; Broadcast Time:
Monday, 10:30 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Blue
Ribbon Town (July 24, 1943)
Format:
Variety; Host: Groucho Marx; Performers: Virginia O’Brien, Fay McKenzie, Boris
Karloff; Music: Ray Noble and His Orchestra; Network: CBS; Sponsor: Pabst Blue
Ribbon; Broadcast Time: Saturday, '10:15 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
The
Charlie McCarthy Show (January 30,
1944)
Format:
Variety; Hosts: Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy; Regulars Included: Mortimer
Snerd; Guest: Boris Karloff; Music: Ray Noble and His Orchestra; Network: NBC;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8 p.m.; Content: Karloff agreed to have his head “read”
in a skit dealing with phrenology; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Creeps
By Night (February 15-June 20, 1944)
[series]
Format:
Horror Anthology; Titles Included: “Those Who Walk in Darkness” (Director: Dave
Drummond; Music: Albert Sach), “The Voice of Death” (February 15, 1944), “The
Man With the Devil’s Hands” (February 22, 1944), “Dark Destiny” (March 14,
1944), “A String of Pearls” (March 28, 1944), “The Final Reckoning” (May 2,
1944), “The Hunt” (May 9, 1944); Production Supervisor: Robert Maxwell;
Performers Included: Boris Karloff; Network: ABC; Broadcast Time: Tuesday,
10:30 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Blue
Ribbon Town (June 3, 1944)
Format:
Variety; Host: Groucho Marx; Performers: Virginia O’Brien; Fay McKenzie, Boris
Karloff; Music: Robert Armbruster and His Orchestra; Network: CBS; Sponsor:
Pabst Blue Ribbon; Broadcast Time: Saturday, 10:15 p.m.; Running Time: 30
minutes.
Duffy’s
Tavern (January 12, 1945)
Format:
situation comedy; Announcer: Graham McNamee; Performers: Ed Gardner, Boris
Karloff,
Charles
Cantor, Shirley Booth, Eddie Green; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Ipana; Broadcast
Time: Friday,
8:30
p.m; Content: for a war bond rally, tavern manager Archie writes a play that
pairs his “Dr. Frank” with Karloff’s “Dr, Stein”; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Suspense
(January 25, 1945)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Drury’s Bones” by Harold Swanton; Producer
and Director: William Spier; Performers: Boris Karloff (as Terrance Drury),
William Johnstone, Debbie Ellis, Joseph Kearns; Network: CBS; Sponsor: Roma
Wines; Broadcast Time: Thursday, 8 p.m; Running Time: 30 minutes.
The Fred Allen Show (October 14, 1945)
Format: Variety; Host: Fred Allen; Guest: Boris
Karloff; Sponsor: Standard Brands, Network: NBC.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (October 23, 1945)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Corridor of Doom”; Director: Himan Brown;
Host: Paul McGrath; Performers: Boris Karloff (as John Clay), Richard Widmark;
Network: CBS; Sponsor: Lipton Tea and Soup; Broadcast Time: Tuesday, 9 p.m;
Running Time: 30 minutes.
Hildegarde’s
Radio Room (October 23, 1945)
Format:
Talk; Host: Hildegard; Guest: Boris Karloff; Sponsor: Brown and Williamson
Tobacco; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Raleigh; Broadcast Time: Tuesday, 10:30;
Running Time: 30 minutes.
The
Charlie McCarthy Program (October 28,
1945)
Format:
Variety; Hosts: Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy; Announcer: Ben Grauer;
Regulars: Mortimer Snerd, Anita Gordon, Pat Patrick; Guest: Boris Karloff;
Music: Ray Noble and His Orchestra; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Chase and Sanborn;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8 p.m.; Content: Karloff took Bergen, McCarthy, and the
gang to visit his “haunted house”; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Report
to the Nation (November 3, 1945)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Back for Christmas” by John Collier; Adaptation:
Charles Monroe; Announcer: Ted Pearson; Performers: John Daly, Boris Karloff
(as Professor Herbert Carpenter), Alan Young, Maxine Sullivan, Sgt. Ben Haroki;
Network: CBS; Broadcast Time: Saturday, 1:45 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (November 6, 1945)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “The Wailing Wall” by Milton Lewis (based on
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat”); Director: Himan
Brown; Host: Paul McGrath; Performers: Boris Karloff (as Gabriel Hornell),
Jackson Beck; Network: CBS; Sponsor: Lipton Tea (represented by Mary, “the
Lipton Tea Girl”) and Lipton Soup; Broadcast Time: Tuesday, 9 p.m; Running
Time: 30 minutes.
Theatre
Guild on the Air (November 11, 1945)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Titles: “The Emperor Jones” and “Where the Cross is Made”;
Performers Included: Boris Karloff; Network: ABC; Sponsor: United States Steel
Corporation.
The
Fred Allen Show (November 18, 1945)
Format:
Variety; Host: Fred Allen; Regulars: Portland Hoffa, Kenny Delmar, Minerva
Pious, Parker Fennelly, Alan Reed; Guest: Boris Karloff; Music: the DeMarco
Sisters, Al Goodman and His Orchestra; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Tenderleaf Tea;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 8:30 p.m.; Content: due to the postwar housing
shortage, Karloff offered to rent his home to Allen; of course, it turned out
to be haunted; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Textron
Theater (December 8, 1945)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Angel Street” by Patrick Hamilton; Adaptation:
Robert Cenadella; Announcer: Frank Gallop; Performers: Helen Hayes, Boris
Karloff (as Mr. Manningham), Cedric Hardwicke; Music: Vladimir Zalinsky
(composer and conductor); Network: CBS; Broadcast Time: Saturday, 7 p.m.;
Running Time: 30 minutes.
Exploring
the Unknown (December 23, 1945)
Format:
Anthology; Title: “The Baffled Genie”; Narrator: Charles Irving; Announcer:
Andre Baruch; Performers Included: Boris Karloff; Network: Mutual; Broadcast
Time: Sunday, 9 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Information
Please (December 24, 1945)
Format:
Quiz; Host: Clifton Fadiman; Panelists: John Kieran, Franklin P. Adams, John
Mason Brown,
Boris
Karloff; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Mobil; Broadcast Time: Monday; Running Time: 30
minutes.
Request
Performance (February 3, 1946)
Format:
Variety; Performers: Boris Karloff, Frank Morgan, Roy Rogers; Network: CBS;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 9 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
That’s
Life (November 8, 1946)
Format:
Talk; Host: Jay C. Flippen; Guest: Boris Karloff; Network: CBS; Broadcast Time:
Friday, 5:30 p.m.; Content: Karloff promoted On Borrowed Time and read a
self-penned limerick; Running Time: 30 minutes.
The
Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre (November
25, 1946)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Arsenic and Old Lace” by Joseph Kesselring;
Announcer: Truman Bradley; Performers: Boris Karloff (as Jonathan Brewster),
Eddie Albert, Verna Felton, Jane Morgan, Joseph Kearns, Herb Vigran; Network:
CBS; Broadcast Time: Monday, 8:30 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Show
Stoppers (1946)
Format:
Talk; Host: Knox Manning; Guest: Boris Karloff; Production Company: Textile
Broadcasts; Network: Syndicated; Sponsor: Koret of California; Content: Karloff
read “The Beggarman” by Ivan Turgenev and discussed his early career in Canada,
The Criminal Code; Arsenic and Old Lace, and Frankenstein; Running
Time: 15 minutes.
The
Jack Benny Show (January 19, 1947)
Format:
Comedy Variety; Host: Jack Benny; Regulars: Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris,
Dennis Day, Eddie (“Rochester”) Anderson, Don Wilson, Mel Blanc, Frank Nelson,
L.A. (“Speed”) Riggs, F.E. Boone; Guest: Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Sponsor:
Lucky Strike; Broadcast Time: Sunday, 7 p.m.; Content: in a skit titled “I
Stand Condemned,” Karloff played a mysterious stranger who gave Benny money;
Running Time: 30 minutes.
Lights
Out (July 16-August 6, 1947) [series]
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Titles Included: “Death Robbery” (July 16, 1947),
“The Undead” (July 23, 1947), “The Ring” (July 30, 1947); Producer and
Director: Bill Laurents; writers: Willis Cooper and Paul Pierce; Host and
performer: Boris Karloff; Announcer: Ken Niles; Network: ABC; Sponsor:
Eversharp; Broadcast Time: Wednesday, 10:30 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Philco
Radio Time (aka The Bing Crosby
Show) (October 29, 1947)
Format:
Musical Variety; Host: Bing Crosby; Announcer: Ken Carpenter; Guest: Boris
Karloff; Music: Victor Moore, John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra, Jud
Conlin’s Rhythmaires, Gail Robbins; Network: ABC; Sponsor: Philco; Broadcast
Time: Wednesday, 10 p.m.; Content: Karloff traded quips and sang “The Halloween
Song” with Crosby and Moore; Running Time: 30 minutes.
The
Jimmy Durante Show (December 10, 1947)
Format:
Musical-Comedy Variety; Host: Jimmy Durante; Announcer: Howard Petrie;
Regulars: Arthur Treacher, Alan Reed; Guest: Boris Karloff; Music: Peggy Lee,
Candy Candido, Roy Bargy and His Orchestra; Network: NBC; Sponsor: Rexall;
Broadcast Time: Wednesday, 10:30 p,m.; Content: Durante described his visit to
Karloff’s “haunted house”; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Suspense
(December 19, 1947)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Wet Saturday” by John Collier; Adaptation:
Harold Medford;
Producer
and Director: William Spier; Performers: Boris Karloff (as Fred Princey), Hans
Conreid, Cathy Lewis, Wally Maher; Music: Lucien Moraweck (composer), Lud
Gluskin (conductor); Network: CBS; Broadcast Time: Friday, 9:30 p.m.; Running
Time: 30 minutes,
The Kraft Music Hall (December 25, 1947)
Format: Musical Variety; Announcer: Ken Carpenter;
Guest: Boris Karloff; Music: Al Jolson, Oscar Levant, Lou Bring and His
Orchestra; Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Thursday, 9 p.m.; Content: Karloff
played Santa Claus, visiting Jolson on Christmas Eve; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Unconquered
(1947)
Format:
Promotional; Performers Included: Boris Karloff; Content: re-enactment of a
15-minute scene from Unconquered (1947).
Guest
Star (September 12, 1948)
Format:
Federal Government Promotional; Host: Win Eliot; Announcer: Roger Foster;
Guest: Boris Karloff; Music: Harry Sosnick and His Orchestra; Network:
Syndicated; Sponsor: the United States Treasury Department; Content: Karloff
appeared as escaped convict Spider Parsons in a skit titled “The Babysitter”
and promoted the sale of Treasury Bonds; Running Time: 15 minutes.
The
NBC University Theater of the Air (October
17, 1948)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “The History of Mr. Polly” by H.G. Wells;
Adaptation: Clarice Ross; Performers: Boris Karloff (as Alfred Polly), Ramsay
Hill, Constance Cavendish, Naomi Stevens, Terry Kilburn, Arthur Q. Bryan, Ben
Wright, Gray Stafford, Donald Morrison, Monty Margetts, Ina Ronsley, Marlene
Ames; Commentator: Harvey C. Webster; Music: Henry Russell (conductor);
Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Saturday, 2:30 p.m; Running Time: 60 minutes.
The
Sealtest Variety Theater (aka The
Dorothy Lamour Show) (October 28, 1948)
Format:
Musical Variety; Host: Dorothy Lamour; Guest: Boris Karloff; Network: NBC;
Broadcast Time: Thursday, 9:30 p.m.
Great
Scenes from Great Plays (October 29,
1948)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “On Borrowed Time” by Paul Osborn; Host: Walter
Hampden; Performers: Boris Karloff (as Gramps), Parker Fennelly; Network:
Mutual; Broadcast Time: Friday, 8 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Truth
or Consequences (October 30, 1948)
Format:
game; Host: Ralph Edwards; Announcer: Harlow Wilcox; Guest: Boris Karloff;
Network: NBC; Sponsor: Duz; Broadcast Time: Saturday, 8:30 p.m.; Content:
Karloff, disguised as a swami, surprised a local guest on the Halloween show;
Running Time: 30 minutes.
Theater
USA (February 3, 1949)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Producer: ANTA (American National Theater and Academy);
Network: ABC; Broadcast Time: Thursday.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (February 14, 1949)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Birdsong for a Murderer”; Director: Himan
Brown; Host: Paul McGrath; Performers Included: Boris Karloff (as Carl Warner);
Network: CBS; Broadcast Time: Monday, 8 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Spike
Jones Spotlight Review (April 9, 1949)
Format:
Musical-Comedy Variety; Producer: Joe Bigelow; Host: Spike Jones; Announcer:
Michael Roy; Guest: Boris Karloff; Network: CBS; Sponsor: Coca-Cola; Broadcast
Time: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Running Time; 30 minutes.
Theatre Guild on the Air (May 29, 1949)
Format: Dramatic Anthology; Title: “The Perfect Alibi”;
Performers: Boris Karloff, Joan Lorring; Network: ABC; Broadcast Venue: Belasco
Theatre, New York.
The
Sealtest Variety Theater (aka The
Dorothy Lamour Show) (June 23, 1949)
Format:
Musical Variety; Host: Dorothy Lamour; Guest: Boris Karloff; Network: NBC;
Broadcast Time: Thursday, 9:30 p.m.
Starring
Boris Karloff (September 21-December
14, 1949)
Format:
Suspense Anthology; Titles: “Five Golden Guineas” (September 21),“The Mask”
(September 28), “Mungahara” (October 5), “Mad Illusion” (October 12),
“Perchance to Dream,” (October 19), “The Devil Takes a Bride” (October 26),
“The Moving Finger” (November 2), “The Twisted Path” (November 9), “False Face”
(November 16), “Cranky Bill” (November 23), “Three O’Clock” (November 30), “The
Shop at Sly Corner” (December 7), “The Night Reveals” (December 14); Host and
Performer: Boris Karloff; Announcer: George Gunn; Organist: George Henninger;
Network: ABC; Broadcast Time: Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Note:
This radio series ran concurrently with the television version, which aired on
Thursday evenings.
The
Bill Stern Colgate Sports Newsreel (January
13, 1950)
Format:
Sports; Host: Bill Stern; Guest: Boris Karloff; Announcer: Arthur Gary;
Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Friday, 10:30 p.m.; Content: Karloff briefly made
sinister comments about Friday the 13th; Running Time: 15 minutes.
The
Bill Stern Colgate Sports Newsreel (July
21, 1950)
Format:
Sports; Host: Boris Karloff; Announcer: Arthur Gary; Network: NBC; Broadcast
Time: Friday, 10:30 p,m.; Content: Karloff filled in for the vacationing Stern,
relating sports stories with a murder theme; Running Time: 15 minutes.
Boris
Karloff's Treasure Chest (September
17-December 17, 1950) [series]
Format:
Children’s Literature; Titles Included: “Casey at the Bat” (October 1, 1950),
“Johnny Appleseed” (November 26, 1950), “Boris Karloff’s Christmas Treasure
Chest” (December 24, 1950); Producer: Richard Pack; Director: John Grogan;
Continuity: Mort Levin; Host: Boris Karloff; Organist: Kay Reed; Station: WNEW,
New York; Broadcast Time: Sunday, 7 p.m.
The
Theater Guild on the Air (December 24,
1950)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens; Adaptation:
Robert Anderson; Director: Homer Thickett; Executive Producer: Imana Marshall;
Production Supervisors: Lawrence Langer, Theresa Helborn; Editor: S. Mark
Smith; Host: Roger Pryor; Announcer: Norman Brokenshire; Performers: Richard
Burton, Boris Karloff (as Uriah Heep), Flora Robson, Hugh Williams, Cyril
Ritchard, Isobel Elsom, Brenda Forbes, David Cole, Penelope Mundy, Patricia
Marmont, John Merivale, Carl Harborg; Music: Harold Levy (composer and
conductor); Net work: NBC; Sponsor: United States Steel Corporation; Broadcast
Time: Sunday; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Stars
on Parade (May 4, 1951)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “The Big Man” by Arnold G. Leo; Announcer: Joseph
Ripley; Performers Included: Boris Karloff (as Al Carto); Music: Johnny
Guarnieri (composer and conductor); Sponsor: Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS);
Running Time: 15 minutes.
Duffy’s
Tavern (October 1951)
Format:
situation comedy; Regulars: Ed Gardner, Charles Cantor, Rudolph Weiss; Guest:
Boris Karloff; Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Friday, 9 p.m.; Content: when
Duffy decides to sell the tavern, Archie hires his “old pal,” Karloff, to scare
off the potential buyer; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Phillip
Morris Playhouse on Broadway (February
10, 1952)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Journey into Nowhere”; Performers: Boris Karloff,
Charles Martin; Network: CBS; Broadcast Time: Sunday, 10 p.m..
The
Theatre Guild on the Air (February 24,
1952)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens; Performers: Boris
Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Leveen McGrath, Melville Cooper; Network: NBC;
Sponsor: United States Steel Corporation; Broadcast Time: Sunday; Running Time:
60 minutes.
The
Theatre Guild on the Air (April 27,
1952)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “The Sea Wolf” by Jack London; Host: Roger Pryor;
Announcer: Norman Brokenshire; Performers: Boris Karloff, Burgess Meredith;
Network: NBC; Sponsor: United States Steel Corporation; Broadcast Time: Sunday;
Running Time: 60 minutes.
Phillip
Morris Playhouse on Broadway (June 1,
1952)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Outward Bound”; Performers: Boris Karloff, Charles
Martin; Network: CBS; Broadcast Time: Sunday, 10 p.m.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (June 22, 1952)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Birdsong for a Murderer”; Director: Himan
Brown; Host: Paul McGrath; Performers Included: Boris Karloff (as Carl Warner);
Network: CBS; Sponsor: Pearson Pharmaceutical Company; Broadcast Time: Sunday,
8 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
Best
Plays (July 6, 1952)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Arsenic and Old Lace” by Joseph Kesselring;
Director: Edward King; Supervisor: William Welch; Adaptation: Ernest Kinoy;
Host: John Chapman; Announcer: Fred Collins; Performers: Boris Karloff (as
Jonathan Brewster), Donald Cook, Evelyn Varden, Jean Adair, Edgar Stehli,
Wendell Holmes, Joan Tompkins, Arthur Maitland, Ed Latimer, Ted Osborne;
Network: NBC; Broadcast Time: Sunday, 6:30 p.m.; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Inner
Sanctum Mysteries (July 13, 1952)
Format:
Horror-Suspense Anthology; Title: “Death for Sale”; Director: Himan Brown;
Host: Paul McGrath; Performers: Boris Karloff (as Mark Devis), Everett Sloane;
Network: CBS; Sponsor: Pearson Pharmaceutical Company; Broadcast Time: Sunday,
8 p.m.; Running Time: 30 minutes.
MGM
Musical Comedy Theater of the Air (November
26, 1952)
Format: Musical-Comedy Anthology; Title: “Yolanda and the Thief’; Adaptation: Melbourne Kelly (Based on the Screenplay by Irving Brecher and the Story by Jacques Thery and Ludwig Bememelmans; Producer: Raymond Cash; Director: Mark Lowe; Announcer: Ed Stokes; Performers: Boris Karloff (as Angelo, the Guardian Angel), John Conte, Lisa Kirk, John Griggs, Wendell Holmes, Eileen Heckart; Songs Included: “A Pocketful of Dreams,” “Blue Moon,” “You Stepped Out of a Dream,” “Got a Date with an Angel”; Musical Director: Joel Harrisson; Network: Mutual; Sponsor: R.J. Reynolds; Broadcast Time: Wednesday; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Phillip
Morris Playhouse on Broadway (December
10, 1952)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Man Against Town”; Performers: Boris Karloff,
Charles Martin; Network: CBS; Broadcast Time: Sunday, 10 p.m..
U.S.
Steel Hour (April 5, 1953)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens; Performers;
Boris Karloff (as Magwich), Melville Cooper, Margaret Phillips, Tom Helmore,
Estelle Winwood, Rex Thompson, Carl Harper, Sarah Burton; Anthony Kemble
Cooper, Norman Barrs, Judson Reese, Veronica Cole; Network: NBC; Broadcast
Time: Sunday; Running Time: 60 minutes.
Phillip
Morris Playhouse on Broadway (April
15, 1953)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “Dead Past”; Performers: Boris Karloff, Charles
Martin; Network: CBS, Broadcast Time: Sunday, 10 p.m.
Heritage
(April 23, 1953)
Format:
Historical Anthology; Title: “Plagues”; Producer and Director: Sherman H.
Dryer; Host: Charles Irving; Performers Included: Boris Karloff; Music: Ralph
Norman; Network; ABC; Broadcast Time: Thursday, 8:30 p.m.
Phillip
Morris Playhouse on Broadway (June 17,
1953)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “The Shop at Sly Corner” by Edward Percy;
Performers: Boris Karloff (as Decius Heiss), Charles Martin; Network: CBS;
Broadcast Time: Sunday, 10 p.m.
The
Play of His Choice (December 1953)
Format:
Dramatic Anthology; Title: “The Hanging Judge” by Bruce Hamilton; Writer:
Raymond Massey; Producer: Cleland Finn; Performer: Boris Karloff (as Sir
Francis Brittain); Network: Aired in Great Britain.
Easy
as ABC (April 27, 1958)
Format:
Anthology; Title: “0 Is for Old Wives Tales”; Performers: Boris Karloff, Peter
Lorre, Alfred Hitchcock; Network: CBS; Sponsor: UNESCO (United Nations
Educational Scientific Cultural Organization); Broadcast Time: 11:30 p.m.;
Running Time: 25 minutes.
Tales
from the Reader’s Digest (1956-69)
Format:
News-Talk; Host: Boris Karloff; Network: Syndicated; Broadcast Time: Weekdays,
in 3-minute
installments.
Note:
This program also was aired as Boris Karla on the Armed Forces Radio
Service (AFRS).