The Adventures of Bill Lance

Last updated
The Adventures of Bill Lance
Gerald Mohr.jpg
Gerald Mohr played Bill Lance in the 1947-1948 version of the program.
GenreDetective drama
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
SyndicatesCBS West Coast (1944-1945)
ABC (1947-1948)
StarringJohn McIntire
Pat McGeehan
Gerald Mohr
AnnouncerDick Joy
Owen James
Created by J. Donald Wilson
Written by J. Donald Wilson
Stewart Sterling
Sylvia Richards
Maurice Zimm
Martha Chapin
Directed byMel Williamson
Original releaseApril 23, 1944 – January 4, 1948
Sponsored byPlanters Peanuts

The Adventures of Bill Lance is a 30-minute radio crime drama, created by J. Donald Wilson, which aired on two networks in two runs between 1944 and 1948.

Initially heard on CBS West Coast Sundays at 9 p.m., the series began April 23, 1944, with John McIntire as Bill Lance, a detective who traveled to exotic locales. Pat McGeehan took over the role the following March until the series ended September 9, 1945. Howard McNear played Lance's pal, Ulysses Higgins. Others in the cast included Mercedes McCambridge, Cathy Lewis, Joseph Kearns and Frank Graham. The announcers were Dick Joy and Owen James. Milton Charles supplied the music. The program was sponsored by Planters peanuts. [1]

With Gerald Mohr in the title role, the series returned on ABC June 14, 1947 (the first time it was broadcast nationwide), [2] airing Saturdays at 9pm until August, then Mondays at 9 p.m. until September, then Sundays at 5 p.m. [3] Produced by Dwight Hauser, with music by organist Rex Koury, [2] this series ran until January 4, 1948. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Q. Bryan</span> American actor (1899–1959)

Arthur Quirk Bryan was an American actor and radio personality. He is best remembered for his longtime recurring role as well-spoken, wisecracking Dr. Gamble on the radio comedy Fibber McGee and Molly and for voicing the Warner Brothers cartoon character Elmer Fudd.

The Whistler is an American radio mystery drama which ran from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955, on the west-coast regional CBS radio network. The show was also broadcast in Chicago and over Armed Forces Radio. On the west coast, it was sponsored by the Signal Oil Company: "That whistle is your signal for the Signal Oil program, The Whistler." There were also two short-lived attempts to form east-coast broadcast spurs: July 3 to September 25, 1946, sponsored by the Campbell Soup Company; and March 26, 1947, to September 29, 1948, sponsored by Household Finance. The program was also adapted into a film noir series by Columbia Pictures in 1944.

The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a radio drama series which aired in the USA from 1939 to 1950, it ran for 374 episodes, with many of the later episodes considered lost media. The series was based on the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Some of the surviving episode recordings may be found online, in various audio quality condition.

<i>I Love a Mystery</i> American radio drama series, 1939-1944

I Love a Mystery is an American radio drama series that aired 1939–44, about three friends who ran a detective agency and traveled the world in search of adventure. Written by Carlton E. Morse, the program was the polar opposite of Morse's other success, the long-running One Man's Family.

<i>The Adventures of Superman</i> (radio series)

The Adventures of Superman is a long-running radio serial that originally aired from 1940 to 1951 featuring the DC Comics character Superman.

Ronald Grant Taylor was an English-Australian actor best known as the abrasive General Henderson in the Gerry Anderson science fiction series UFO and for his lead role in Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940).

<i>The Adventures of Ellery Queen</i> American radio and television detective series

The Adventures of Ellery Queen is the title of a radio series and two separate television series made in the 1950s. They were based on the fictional detective and pseudonymous writer Ellery Queen and the cases he solved with his father, Inspector Richard Queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lund (actor)</span> American actor (1911–1992)

John Lund was an American film, stage, and radio actor who is probably best remembered for his role in the film A Foreign Affair (1948) and a dual role in To Each His Own (1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael O'Shea (actor)</span> American actor (1906–1973)

Michael O'Shea was known as an American actor who appeared in feature films and later in television and whose career spanned the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reed Hadley</span> American actor (1910–1958)

Reed Hadley was an American film, television and radio actor.

The Adventures of Father Brown is a 1945 radio crime drama that aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System, adapted from G. K. Chesterton's stories of Father Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lurene Tuttle</span> American actress and acting coach (1907–1986)

Lurene Tuttle was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile actresses. Often appearing in 15 shows per week, comedies, dramas, thrillers, soap operas, and crime dramas, she became known as the "First Lady of Radio".

The Adventures of the Thin Man radio series, initially starring Les Damon, was broadcast on all four major radio networks during the years 1941 to 1950. Claudia Morgan had the female lead role of Nora Charles throughout the program's entire nine-year run. The radio series was modeled after the film series which was based on the 1934 Dashiell Hammett novel.

<i>Nick Carter, Master Detective</i> Radio series

Nick Carter, Master Detective was a Mutual radio crime drama based on tales of the fictional private detective Nick Carter from Street & Smith's dime novels and pulp magazines. Nick Carter first came to radio as The Return of Nick Carter, a reference to the character's pulp origins, but the title was soon changed to Nick Carter, Master Detective. A veteran radio dramatist, Ferrin Fraser, wrote many of the scripts.

The Adventures of Nero Wolfe is a 1943–44 American radio drama series produced by Himan Brown and featuring Rex Stout's fictional detective. Three actors portrayed Nero Wolfe over the course of the series. J. B. Williams starred in its first incarnation, beginning April 10, 1943, on the regional New England Network. Santos Ortega assumed the role when the suspense drama moved to ABC on July 5, 1943, and continued as Wolfe until sometime in 1944 when he was succeeded by Luis Van Rooten. Archie Goodwin, Wolfe's assistant and legman, was played by Joseph Julian. Based on Stout's principal characters but not his stories, the series ended with the broadcast July 14, 1944.

<i>The Adventures of Ellery Queen</i> (radio program)

The Adventures of Ellery Queen is a radio detective program in the United States. Several iterations of the program appeared on different networks, with the first one broadcast on CBS June 18, 1939, and the last on ABC May 27, 1948.

<i>Defense Attorney</i> American radio program

Defense Attorney is an American old-time radio crime drama. It was broadcast on ABC from July 6, 1951, to December 30, 1952. It was also known as The Defense Rests.

Johnny Fletcher is a fictional character created by Frank Gruber. Fletcher is a con-man and reluctant amateur detective. The character was the protagonist of several mystery novels published between 1940 and 1964. Additionally, he was featured in a feature film adaptation scripted by Gruber, and a short lived radio series.

Michael Shayne is a generic title that can refer to any of three American old-time radio detective programs that were broadcast from 1944 to 1953. Specific titles varied with different versions of the show. They included Michael Shayne, Private Detective, The New Adventures of Michael Shayne, and The Adventures of Michael Shayne.

References

  1. 1 2 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 7. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  2. 1 2 "Adventures of Bill Lance New KWNO Feature". The Winona Republican-Herald. The Winona Republican-Herald. June 14, 1947. p. 10. Retrieved April 10, 2015 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "WHMA". The Anniston Star. September 15, 1947. p. 2. Retrieved April 10, 2015 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg