T H E D A M O N R U N Y O N T H E A T R E ----- --------- ----------- ------------- 1949 First Broadcast Date: Jan 04, 1949 Last Broadcast Date: not known Number of Shows: 52 Audition Show Date: not known Series Description: Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 - December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer but is best known for his short stories. These humorous tales depicted Broadway in New Your City in the Prohibition era. The tales were of gangsters, gamblers, hustlers and others that occupied the underbelly of society. The popularity of his stories led them to be adapted to numerous movies, like "Little Miss Marker" in 1934 staring Shirley Temple, radio and television. THE DAMON RUNYON THEATRE was a syndicated radio series produced by Mayfair Syndication, Hollywood. The series consisted of 52 shows, remaining true to Mr. Runyon's stylized, idiomatic way of story telling. It was syndicated nationwide after it premiered on the West Coast on radio station KFI, Los Angeles. The story teller in Mr. Runyon's original works was usually unnamed. In this adaptation, he was given the name "Broadway", played by John Brown. Broadway not only recounts the tale, but in many of the shows, is directly involved in the action. The stories had plenty of warmth and appeal and were told in a thick Brooklyn accent. Supporting members of the cast were frequently actors well known to the radio audience, such as Frank Lovejoy, Allen Reed, Gerald Mohr, Eddie Mar, Louis Van Rooten and William Conrad. First airing of the syndicated series was on the West Coast on KFI, Los Angeles. According to Los Angeles Times listings, the first show aired on Jan. 4, 1949 at 9:30 PM. It remained in this time slot and day, Tuesday, for a total of 46 episodes, the last on Nov. 15, 1949. The series was heard in other parts of the country starting on various dates. A single audition for the series is in circulation, entitled "Princess O'Hara". The part of Broadway is played by Pat O'Brien and Ed Herlihy is the announcer. There are two other audition shows in circulation that can be confused as being part of this series. The series name used for both is DAMON RUNYON SAYS. The titles are "A Very Honorable Guy" and "A Piece of Pie". The original transcription discs are from Transamerica Broadcasting and Television Corporation. Transamerican was located at 689-691 Fifth Ave, Manhattan, NY where they maintained radio program studios from 1939 into the 1950's. The label on the discs for "A Piece of Pie" identify it as number 1. In this audition, Lionel Stander plays the part of Clabber, a character similar to Broadway in the Mayfair series. Frank Gallop is the announcer. The recording date for both is not known. In both, comments are made indicating that Mr. Runyon is still alive, placing the recording prior to his death on December 10, 1946. Both are listed below in the "Additional" section below the series logs. Besides the radio series, there was also a TV series with the same title. It aired in 1955 through 1956 for two seasons. The first season consisted of 20 shows. The second consisted of 19 shows. Log Comments: Since the series was syndicated and sent to stations on disk, broad- cast dates varied around the country. Some start dates are Jan. 4, 1949 (KFI, Los Angeles), Jan 11, 1949, Jan 22, 1950 and Aug 8, 1950. The earliest known broadcast of the series, on KFI, did not broadcast all episodes. Therefore, this log does not use broadcast dates. It is ordered by syndication number as listed in the US government's Library of Congress. Transcription-ordered Log: Num Title --- --------------------------------- Aud "Princess O'Hara" 1 "Tobias The Terrible" 2 "Little Miss Marker" 3 "Romance In The Roaring 40's" 4 "The Lemon Drop Kid" 5 "A Nice Price" 6 "The Idyll Of Miss Sarah Brown" 7 "For A Pal" 8 "Princess O'Hara" 9 "Butch Minds The Baby" 10 "Breach of Promise" 11 "Dancing Dan's Christmas" 12 "Pick A Winner" 13 "Hold 'em Yale" 14 "The Brain Goes Home" 15 "Blood Pressure" 16 "Old Em's Kentucky Home" 17 "Blonde Mink" 18 "Leopard's Spots" 19 "All Horseplayers Die Broke" 20 "The Hottest Guy In The World" 21 "A Piece Of Pie" 22 "Barbecue" 23 "Lonely Heart" 24 "Broadway Complex" 25 "Madame La Gimp" 26 "Baseball Hattie" 27 "The Big Umbrella" 28 "Earthquake" 29 "Bloodhounds of Broadway" 30 "Lily of St. Pierre" 31 "It Comes Up Mud" 32 "Broadway Financier" 33 "Bred For Battle" 34 "So You Won't Talk" 35 "Social Error" 36 "Cemetery Bait" 37 "The Melancholy Dane" 38 "The Brakeman's Daughter" 39 "The Lacework Kid" 40 "Maybe A Queen" 41 "Joe Terrace" 42 "Lillian" 43 "Palm Beach Santa Claus" 44 "Tight Shoes" 45 "That Ever-loving Wife Of Hymie's" 46 "A Light In France" 47 "A Story Goes With It" 48 "Dark Delores" 49 "What, No Butler?" 50 "Neat Strip" 51 "Sense Of Humor" 52 "Dream Street Rose" Alphabetical List: Title Num -------------------------------- --- All Horseplayers Die Broke 19 Barbecue 22 Baseball Hattie 26 Big Umbrella, The 27 Blonde Mink 17 Blood Pressure 15 Bloodhounds of Broadway 29 Brain Goes Home, The 14 Brakeman's Daughter, The 38 Breach of Promise 10 Bred For Battle 33 Broadway Complex 24 Broadway Financier 32 Butch Minds The Baby 9 Cemetery Bait 36 Dancing Dan's Christmas 11 Dark Delores 48 Dream Street Rose 52 Earthquake 28 For A Pal 7 Hold 'em Yale 13 Hottest Guy In The World, The 20 Idyll Of Miss Sarah Brown, The 6 It Comes Up Mud 31 Joe Terrace 41 Lacework Kid, The 39 Lemon Drop Kid, The 4 Leopard's Spots 18 Light In France, A 46 Lillian 42 Lily of St. Pierre 30 Little Miss Marker 2 Lonely Heart 23 Madame La Gimp 25 Maybe A Queen 40 Melancholy Dane, The 37 Neat Strip 50 Nice Price, A 5 Old Em's Kentucky Home 13 Palm Beach Santa Claus 43 Pick A Winner 12 Piece Of Pie, A 21 Princess O'Hara 8 Princess O'Hara AUD Romance In The Roaring 40's 3 Sense Of Humor 51 So You Won't Talk 34 Social Error 35 Story Goes With It, A 47 That Ever-loving Wife Of Hymie's 45 Tight Shoes 44 Tobias The Terrible 1 What, No Butler? 49 Additional: Although not part of the series, there are a few other Damon Runyon related shows. Date Series Title Len -------- -------------------------------- ----------------------- --- 42-04-12 THE GULF SCREEN GUILD THEATER Tight Shoes 30m 45-04-08 THE HAROLD LLOYD COMEDY THEATER A Slight Case Of Murder 30m Aka: THE OLD GOLD COMEDY THEATER 46-03-30 THE COLUMBIA WORKSHOP A Very Honorable Guy 30m 46-10-10 THE RADIO READER'S DIGEST Doc Brackett 30m 50-05-12 SCREEN DIRECTOR'S PLAYHOUSE Butch Minds The Baby 30m 50-12-24 THE WHISTLER, Three Wise Guys 30m 51-12-10 THE LUX RADIO THEATRE The Lemon Drop Kid 60m 54-01-24 NBC STAR PLAYHOUSE A Slight Case Of Murder 30m ??-??-?? DAMON RUNYON SAYS A Very Honorable Guy 30m (Audition) ??-??-?? DAMON RUNYON SAYS A Piece of Pie 30m (Audition) References: * "The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide To All Circulating Shows", by Jay Hickerson, 27436 Desert Rose Ct., Leesburg, FL 34748 * GOLDINdex database, J. David Goldin, Box 542, Newtown, CT 06470 Internet Site: http://www.radiogoldindex.com * J. Jones' Newspaper Radio Logs, http://www.jjonz.us/RadioLogs * US Library of Congress web site, http://www.loc.gov * OTR club and vendor catalogs or web sites: * Crabapple Sound, Henry Hinkel, 254 Florida Ave., Amsterdam, NY 12010 * Edward J. Carr, 216 Shaner Street, Boyertown, PA 19512 * Jerry Haendiges Productions, Jerry Haendiges, 13808 Sunset Dr., Whittier, CA 90602 * Memories Of Radio, Dick Judge, PO Box 67800, Rochester NY 14617 * North American Radio Archives, 134 Vincewood Dr., Nicholasville, KY 40356 * Radio Historical Association of Colorado, PO Box 1908, Englewood, CO 80150 * Radio Memories, Ted Davenport, 1600 Wewoka St., North Little Rock, AR 72116 * Radio Showcase, Steve Kelez, PO Box 4357, Santa Rosa, CA 95402 * Vintage Broadcasts, Andy Blatt, PO Box 50065, Staten Island, NY 10305 Other Logs or Books: * DAMON RUNYON THEATRE log, Jay Hickerson, 27436 Desert Rose Ct., Leesburg, FL 34748 * DAMON RUNYON THEATRE log, Jerry Haendiges Productions, 13808 Sunset Dr., Whittier, CA 90602 (http://www.otrsite.com) * THE DAMON RUNYON THEATRE log, Memories Of Radio, Dick Judge, PO Box 67800, Rochester NY 14617 Last Update: Feb 12, 2008 This log is informational only. It does not imply that I or my references have these shows for trade or sale. The shows may still be protected under copyright law and should be obtained only from authorized dealers. The log may be freely reproduced and published on a no-profit basis. Please send error corrections or additional information to Frank M. Passage, 109 Elmwood Road, Verona, NJ 07044 (email: wb2ntp@arrl.net).