T H E Z E R O H O U R ----- ------- ------- 1973 - 1974 First Show: Sep 3, 1973 Last Show: Jul 26, 1974 Number Shows: 130 Audition Show: none known Series Description: "The Zero Hour" was an attempt to revive radio drama in the United States in the 1970's. The series, a mystery / adventure series, aired Monday through Friday and was hosted by Rod Serling and directed by Elliot Lewis. It is frequently referred to as "The Hollywood Radio Theater" since the shows in circulation are introduced as "The Zero Hour presented by the Hollywood Radio Theater". Rod Serling is known and remembered as a prolific, award winning writer for TV. The pinacle of his TV career was his Twilight Zone TV series. It was followed by the short-lived Night Gallery TV series. After it was cancelled, Mr. Serling retired to upstate New York where he taught at Ithaca College. During this time, prior to his death in 1975, he hosted and wrote several scripts for "The Zero Hour". It would be his last major project. Unlike Mr. Serling, Elliot Lewis was strictly involved with radio. He acted in many radio series in radio's golden years but preferred writing and directing. He worked on such series as "Broadwasy is My Beat" and "Crime Classics", to name a few. Considered one of radio's top talents, he was involved with over 900 radio productions. The series itself can be divided into two, almost distinct, parts. The series first aired in September, 1943 and ran for only 13 weeks, ending in November. The stories were told in a 5-part, serial-like format, airing an episode of the story each day, Monday through Friday. It is believed that poor listener response was due to this format, that listeners didn't want to be forced to follow a serial. The series left the air in December and was sold to Mutual who brought it back in the end of April the following year with a different format, single, stand-alone shows each night, Monday through Friday, featuring a single actor or actress for the full week. This run also only ran for three months, ending July 26, 1974. The lack of success this time was blamed on a failure to advertise the show. Both attempts featured good stories and solid directing. The actors were both seasoned radio professionals, like Edgar Bergen, Howard Duff, and Lurene Tuttle, and new talent with known names, like John Astin, Patty Duke, and William Shatner. Where the CBS Radio Mystery Theater succeeded and enjoyed a long run, the Zero Hour failed and was soon forgotten. Log Comments: The 5-part series was syndicated by Mutual and the programs were allowed to be aired when convenient. Therefore, broadcast dates vary around the country. This section of the log is listed in Mutual's suggested ordering. Broadcast dates start on the premier date and continue until completion without break. The single-part show broadcast dates were more tightly defined by Mutual. (The above information is from Dick Judge). Highbridge Audio (see References section) has released a number of the 5-parters and are available in bookstores. Audio quality of their tapes is excellent, however, they use only the first opening and the last closing from the 5 shows. Chronological Log: 1973 Five-Part Show List Dates Num Title ------------------------ ----- ---------------------------------- Sep 03 thru Sep 07, 1973 1-5 "Wife Of The Red-Haired Man" Sep 10 thru Sep 14, 1973 6-10 "Someone's Death" Sep 17 thru Sep 21, 1973 11-15 "The Fourth Of Forever" Sep 24 thru Sep 28, 1973 16-20 "Face Of The Foe" Oct 02 thru Oct 06, 1973 21-25 "The Blessing Way" Oct 08 thru Oct 12, 1973 26-30 "Princess Stakes Murder Case" Oct 15 thru Oct 19, 1973 31-35 "Queen In Danger" Oct 22 thru Oct 26, 1973 36-40 "Desperate Witness" Oct 29 thru Nov 02, 1973 41-45 "If Two Of Them Are Dead" Nov 05 thru Nov 09, 1973 46-50 "But I Wouldn't Want To Die There" Nov 12 thru Nov 16, 1973 51-55 "The Heir Hunters" Nov 19 thru Nov 23, 1973 56-60 "A Die In The Country" Nov 26 thru Nov 30, 1973 61-65 "The Dead Man's Tale" 1974 Single-Part Show List Date Num Title ------ --- ----------------------------------------------- Apr 29, 1974 66 "Bye-Bye Narco" Apr 30, 1974 67 "Terror In The Night" May 01, 1974 68 "Scream Of The Hawk" May 02, 1974 69 "The Extortionist" May 03, 1974 70 "Price Of Admission" May 06, 1974 71 "Shortage Story" May 07, 1974 72 "Escape To Nowhere" May 08, 1974 73 "Fair's Fair You Know" May 09, 1974 74 "Housecall" May 10, 1974 75 "Violation" May 13, 1974 76 "Arm's Length" May 14, 1974 77 "Some People Die Only Once" May 15, 1974 78 "Reward" May 16, 1974 79 "Villainous Verdict" May 17, 1974 80 "Strange Odyssey Of Sandy Mitchell" May 20, 1974 81 "White Flame Burning Bright" May 21, 1974 82 "Mind Of The Beholder" May 22, 1974 83 "Why Is Ted Marcosi Driving Aunt Sally Insane?" May 23, 1974 84 "There Is A Man In 211" May 24, 1974 85 "Death Is A Puppeteer" May 27, 1974 86 "Doctor Rivington, Presumably" May 28, 1974 87 "Wanted: A Willing Companion" May 29, 1974 88 "Pigs Could Put You In The Pen" May 30, 1974 89 "SkyLab, Are You There?" May 31, 1974 90 "Favor You Can't Refuse" Jun 03, 1974 91 "Death At Half A Length" Jun 04, 1974 92 "Floating Down The River" Jun 05, 1974 93 "Once A Thief" Jun 06, 1974 94 "Other Sins Only Speak, Murder Shrieks Out" Jun 07, 1974 95 "Rehabilitation Of Citizen Fimple" Jun 10, 1974 96 "Bonnie And Clyde Are Alive And Well And Living As Mary And Bill" Jun 11, 1974 97 "Sisters Of Satan" Jun 12, 1974 98 "Mannequin" Jun 13, 1974 99 "Double Date To Destiny" Jun 14, 1974 100 "Clay Pigeons" Jun 17, 1974 101 "Past Is Always Present" Jun 18, 1974 102 "Woman In Black" Jun 19, 1974 103 "Come Light My Fire" Jun 20, 1974 104 "Riders Wanted: Share Expenses" Jun 21, 1974 105 "Death On Canvas" Jun 24, 1974 106 "House That Clemont Built" Jun 25, 1974 107 "Joint Account" Jun 26, 1974 108 "Tiger Cages" Jun 27, 1974 109 "Violence Takes A Curtain Call" Jun 28, 1974 110 "Children Are Dying" Jul 01, 1974 111 "Bend, Spindle and Mutilate" Jul 02, 1974 112 "Murder Is A Work Of Art" Jul 03, 1974 113 "Edwards Tug And Salvage" Jul 04, 1974 114 "Larceny On The Lake" Jul 05, 1974 115 "Olam" Jul 08, 1974 116 "Corpse Takes A Sleigh Ride" Jul 09, 1974 117 "Marionettes" Jul 10, 1974 118 "Ghose Of The Black Plague" Jul 11, 1974 119 "Trunkful Of Trouble" Jul 12, 1974 120 "Grand Prize" Jul 15, 1974 121 "Welcome Home Denny Shackelford" Jul 16, 1974 122 "Death Of A Genius" Jul 17, 1974 123 "Remember Me" Jul 18, 1974 124 "Lost In Time" Jul 19, 1974 125 "Once Upon A Truck" Jul 22, 1974 126 "Corpse Takes The Stand" Jul 23, 1974 127 "Carnival Of Menace" Jul 24, 1974 128 "Chicago John And The Glitter People" Jul 25, 1974 129 "Smoke Screen" Jul 26, 1974 130 "Holdout" Alphabetical Listing: This list is intended to be used with the chronological list above. Therefore, not all information from the log above is included in this list. Note that the date format is year-month-day. Title Num Dates --------------------------------------------- --- -------- Arm's Length 76 74-05-13 Bend, Spindle and Mutilate 111 74-07-01 Blessing Way, The (part 1) 21 73-10-02 Blessing Way, The (part 2) 22 73-10-02 Blessing Way, The (part 3) 23 73-10-02 Blessing Way, The (part 4) 24 73-10-02 Blessing Way, The (part 5) 25 73-10-02 Bonnie And Clyde Are Alive And Well And 96 74-06-10 Living As Mary And Bill But I Wouldn't Want To Die There (part 1) 46 73-11-05 But I Wouldn't Want To Die There (part 2) 47 73-11-05 But I Wouldn't Want To Die There (part 3) 48 73-11-05 But I Wouldn't Want To Die There (part 4) 49 73-11-05 But I Wouldn't Want To Die There (part 5) 50 73-11-05 Bye-Bye Narco 66 74-04-29 Carnival Of Menace 127 74-07-23 Chicago John And The Glitter People 128 74-07-24 Children Are Dying 110 74-06-28 Clay Pigeons 100 74-06-14 Come Light My Fire 103 74-06-19 Corpse Takes A Sleigh Ride 116 74-07-08 Corpse Takes The Stand 126 74-07-22 Dead Man's Tale, The (part 1) 61 73-11-26 Dead Man's Tale, The (part 2) 62 73-11-26 Dead Man's Tale, The (part 3) 63 73-11-26 Dead Man's Tale, The (part 4) 64 73-11-26 Dead Man's Tale, The (part 5) 65 73-11-26 Death At Half A Length 91 74-06-03 Death Is A Puppeteer 85 74-05-24 Death Of A Genius 122 74-07-16 Death On Canvas 105 74-06-21 Desperate Witness (part 1) 36 73-10-22 Desperate Witness (part 2) 37 73-10-22 Desperate Witness (part 3) 38 73-10-22 Desperate Witness (part 4) 39 73-10-22 Desperate Witness (part 5) 40 73-10-22 Die In The Country, A (part 1) 56 73-11-19 Die In The Country, A (part 2) 57 73-11-19 Die In The Country, A (part 3) 58 73-11-19 Die In The Country, A (part 4) 59 73-11-19 Die In The Country, A (part 5) 60 73-11-19 Doctor Rivington, Presumably 86 74-05-27 Double Date To Destiny 99 74-06-13 Edwards Tug And Salvage 113 74-07-03 Escape To Nowhere 72 74-05-07 Extortionist, The 69 74-05-02 Face Of The Foe (part 1) 16 73-09-24 Face Of The Foe (part 2) 17 73-09-24 Face Of The Foe (part 3) 18 73-09-24 Face Of The Foe (part 4) 19 73-09-24 Face Of The Foe (part 5) 20 73-09-24 Fair's Fair You Know 73 74-05-08 Favor You Can't Refuse 90 74-05-31 Floating Down The River 92 74-06-04 Fourth Of Forever, The (part 1) 11 73-09-17 Fourth Of Forever, The (part 2) 12 73-09-17 Fourth Of Forever, The (part 3) 13 73-09-17 Fourth Of Forever, The (part 4) 14 73-09-17 Fourth Of Forever, The (part 5) 15 73-09-17 Ghose Of The Black Plague 118 74-07-10 Grand Prize 120 74-07-12 Heir Hunters, The (part 1) 51 73-11-12 Heir Hunters, The (part 2) 52 73-11-12 Heir Hunters, The (part 3) 53 73-11-12 Heir Hunters, The (part 4) 54 73-11-12 Heir Hunters, The (part 5) 55 73-11-12 Holdout 130 74-07-26 House That Clemont Built 106 74-06-24 Housecall 74 74-05-09 If Two Of Them Are Dead (part 1) 41 73-10-29 If Two Of Them Are Dead (part 2) 42 73-10-29 If Two Of Them Are Dead (part 3) 43 73-10-29 If Two Of Them Are Dead (part 4) 44 73-10-29 If Two Of Them Are Dead (part 5) 45 73-10-29 Joint Account 107 74-06-25 Larceny On The Lake 114 74-07-04 Lost In Time 124 74-07-18 Mannequin 98 74-06-12 Marionettes 117 74-07-09 Mind Of The Beholder 82 74-05-21 Murder Is A Work Of Art 112 74-07-02 Olam 115 74-07-05 Once A Thief 93 74-06-05 Once Upon A Truck 125 74-07-19 Other Sins Only Speak, Murder Shrieks Out 94 74-06-06 Past Is Always Present 101 74-06-17 Pigs Could Put You In The Pen 88 74-05-29 Price Of Admission 70 74-05-03 Princess Stakes Murder Case (part 1) 26 73-10-08 Princess Stakes Murder Case (part 2) 27 73-10-08 Princess Stakes Murder Case (part 3) 28 73-10-08 Princess Stakes Murder Case (part 4) 29 73-10-08 Princess Stakes Murder Case (part 5) 30 73-10-08 Queen In Danger (part 1) 31 73-10-15 Queen In Danger (part 2) 32 73-10-15 Queen In Danger (part 3) 33 73-10-15 Queen In Danger (part 4) 34 73-10-15 Queen In Danger (part 5) 35 73-10-15 Rehabilitation Of Citizen Fimple 95 74-06-07 Remember Me 123 74-07-17 Reward 78 74-05-15 Riders Wanted: Share Expenses 104 74-06-20 Scream Of The Hawk 68 74-05-01 Shortage Story 71 74-05-06 Sisters Of Satan 97 74-06-11 SkyLab, Are You There? 89 74-05-30 Smoke Screen 129 74-07-25 Some People Die Only Once 77 74-05-14 Someone's Death (part 1) 6 73-09-10 Someone's Death (part 2) 7 73-09-10 Someone's Death (part 3) 8 73-09-10 Someone's Death (part 4) 9 73-09-10 Someone's Death (part 5) 10 73-09-10 Strange Odyssey Of Sandy Mitchell 80 74-05-17 Terror In The Night 67 74-04-30 There Is A Man In 211 84 74-05-23 Tiger Cages 108 74-06-26 Trunkful Of Trouble 119 74-07-11 Villainous Verdict 79 74-05-16 Violation 75 74-05-10 Violence Takes A Curtain Call 109 74-06-27 Wanted: A Willing Companion 87 74-05-28 Welcome Home Denny Shackelford 121 74-07-15 White Flame Burning Bright 81 74-05-20 Why Is Ted Marcosi Driving Aunt Sally Insane? 83 74-05-22 Wife Of The Red-Haired Man (part 1) 1 73-09-03 Wife Of The Red-Haired Man (part 2) 2 73-09-03 Wife Of The Red-Haired Man (part 3) 3 73-09-03 Wife Of The Red-Haired Man (part 4) 4 73-09-03 Wife Of The Red-Haired Man (part 5) 5 73-09-03 Woman In Black 102 74-06-18 References: * "The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide To All Circulating Shows", by Jay Hickerson, 27436 Desert Rose Ct., Leesburg, FL 34748 Other Logs or Books: * THE ZERO HOUR log, Jerry Haendiges Productions, 13808 Sunset Dr., Whittier, CA 90602 (http://www.otrsite.com) * HOLLYWOOD RADIO THEATRE ("The Zero Hour") Log, Dick Judge, PO Box 67800, Rochester NY 14617 Reader Feedback: * Jim Widner provided the list of single-part shows. * Max Schmid supplied corrections. * Herb Duniven mentioned that the show is also known HOLLYWOOD RADIO THEATER and supplied a corrected date for "Welcome Home, Denny S". * Dick Judge supplied information about show ordering and syndicated broadcasts. Last Update: Jul 28, 2008 This log is informational only and does not imply that I have these shows for trade or sale. The shows are still 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).