Fighting Radio Detectives

It's a fight on MPIR, time for the battling radio detectives starting today and through the weekend for your listening enjoyment. Tune in to hear which of your favorite radio detectives win.

Mystery stream now playing:
Barrie Craig Confidential Investigator, Crime and Peter Chambers, The Adventures of Frank Race, Mr & Mrs North, The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe, Nick Carter Master Detective, The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, Richard Diamond Private Detective, The Adventures of Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes, and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar.

MPIR's Old Time Radio Dial now playing: The radio works of Jeff Chandler.
Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor, film producer and singer best remembered for playing Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950), for which he was Oscar nominated. He was one of Universals most popular male stars of the 1950s, his best known other credits including Sword in the Desert (1948), Female on the Beach (1955) and Away All Boats (1956). He was notable for being gray-haired at an early age, and for releasing a number of successful recording singles. After being discharged from the Army, Chandler moved to Los Angeles in December 1945 with $3,000 he had saved. Shortly after his arrival he was involved in a serious car accident on the way to a screen test, which resulted in a large scar on his forehead. Chandler initially struggled to find work in Hollywood and had spent all his savings when he got his first job as a radio actor in May 1946. He went on to appear in episodes of anthology drama series such as Escape and Academy Award Theater, The Whistler, Lux Radio Theatre, and became well known for playing the lead in Michael Shayne. Chandler was the first actor to portray Chad Remington in Frontier Town.

Chandler expressed his dissatisfaction with acting in film as opposed to radio:
[Radio actors] have to make their roles come alive, and they only have their voices with which to do it. But in pictures the technique is quite different. The actor is only a small part of the performance. He lends his intelligence and personality to the role, but the greatest part of the performance belongs to the producer, who puts him in a certain type of part; the director, who tells him how to play it; and the cutter, who edits what's done. That's why I find being a movie actor not particularly gratifying. I want to eventually branch off into writing and directing.

While struggling for acting parts and attention in early film roles. He received more attention playing Eve Arden's boyfriend on radio in Our Miss Brooks, which debuted in July 1948 and became a massive hit. Our Miss Brooks transferred to television but Chandler was not permitted to do TV under his contract; his part was taken by Bob Rockwell. On Peggy Lee's radio show he had demonstrated a talent for singing and he pursued this through the decade.

MPIR Comedy stream is still playing the radio works of Jack Benny

to keep a smile on your face!

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Please visit http://mpir-otr.com/sponsors-donations/  A one time donation of any amount will help. Thank You!

What's Playing On MPIR

Hello MPIR Fans, Some outstanding and variety of old time radio playing on all the streams. All for your listening enjoyment!

MPIR Mystery stream: Single episodes from various series in the drama, fantasy sci-fi genre.

MPIR's Old Time Radio Dial Now Playing: Several episodes of western genre OTR, Gunsmoke, Six Shooter, Have Gun Will Travel, Luke Slaughter, Frontier Town, etc. Plus Jack Benny, Our MissBrooks, and history type shows, along with Suspense, Whistler. All mixed up, and hopefully(fingers crossed) only playing once or at least spread out through 20 hours of play.

MPIR History Capsule: Cavalcade America, All Star Western Theatre, Command Performance, Guest Stars, with several interview shows from The Golden Days of Radio.

MPIR Comedy OTR: The Radio Works of Jack Benny Nothing gets me in a better mood than theone-liners of Jack Benny and Fred Allen feuding!

Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American comedian, vaudevillian, radio, television and film actor, and violinist. Recognized as a leading American entertainer of the 20th century, Benny portrayed his character as a miser, playing his violin badly. In character, he would claim to be 39 years of age, regardless of his actual age. Benny was known for comic timing and the ability to create laughter with a pregnantpause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated "Well!" His radio and television programs, popular from the 1930s to the 1970s, were a major influence on the sitcom genre.

The Benny-Allen feud
In 1937, Benny began his famous radio feud with rival Fred Allen. Allen kicked the feud off on his own show on his December 30, 1936 show, after child violinist Stuart Canin gave a performance of François Schubert'sThe Bee credible enough that Allen wisecracked about "a certain alleged violinist" who should by comparison be ashamed of himself. Benny, who listened to the Allen show answered in kind at the end of his January 3, 1937 show. And the two comedians were off and running.

For a decade, the two went at it back and forth, so convincingly that fans of either show could have been forgiven for believing they had become blood enemies. In fact, the two men were good friends and each other's greatest admirers. Benny and Allen often appeared on each other's show during the thick of the feud; numerous surviving episodes of both comedians' radioshows feature each other, in both acknowledged guest spots and occasional cameos. On one Christmas program Allen thanked Benny for sending him a Christmas tree, but then added that the tree had died. "Well, what do you expect," quipped Allen, "when the tree is in Brooklynand the sap is in Hollywood." Benny in his eventual memoir (Sunday Nights at Seven)  and Allen in his Treadmill to Oblivion later revealed that each comedian's writing staff often met together to plot future takes on the mock feud. If Allen zapped Benny with a satire of Benny's show ("The Pinch Penny Program"), Benny shot back with a parody of Allen's early favorite, Town Hall Tonight. Benny's parody was "Clown Hall Tonight." And their playful sniping ("Benny was born ignorant, and he's been losing ground ever since") was also advanced in the films Love Thy Neighbor and It's in the Bag!.

However, the original audio of the Dec 30 1936 show is so far, lost to history. But there are many clips of the feud playing, and the Benny program parody of Allen's Town Hall Tonight in the playlists.

A reminder Mystery Play Internet Radio is listener supported. Your donations are really helpful in paying rental for servers to give listeners from all over the world the opportunity to hear these outstanding programs.

Please visit http://mpir-otr.com/sponsors-donations/  A one time donation of any amount will help. Thank You!