Oscar-winner Paul Lukas takes his final bow on the podcast as a blind man who witnesses a murder in "A World of Darkness" (originally aired on CBS on January 20, 1944). Then, he recreates the performance that won him his Best Actor prize in "Watch on the Rhine" on Academy Award (originally aired on CBS on August 7, 1946).

He made a name for himself in swashbuckling, sword and sandal movies, but Tyrone Power wanted to be more than a romantic hero. After his military service, he sought to leave the fencing of Zorro behind and embraced darker, more complex roles in movies like Nightmare Alley and Witness for the Prosecution. We'll hear him as a man accused of a murder he didn't commit in "The Guilty Always Run" (originally aired on CBS on March 29, 1954). Then, he joins Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone for an evening at a Paris nightclub in The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on CBS on December 4, 1949).

Robert Ryan was a classic big screen heavy, a memorable menace in Crossfire, Bad Day at Black Rock, and more. He was a terrific tough guy, but offscreen, he was a pacifist who supported the civil rights movement and opposed McCarthyism. We'll hear him opposite Ruth Warrick in the sixty-minute Suspense drama "Beyond Reason" (originally aired on CBS on February 21, 1948).

The worlds of Ray Bradbury jump from the page to the airwaves with four old time radio adaptations of his stories. First, a ventriloquist's dummy holds the key to a murder case in "Riabouchinska" (originally aired on CBS on November 13, 1947). Next, a little girl tries to save a woman in danger, but no one believes "The Screaming Woman" is real (originally aired on CBS on March 1, 1955). Finally, we'll hear a pair of Bradbury's classic sci-fi tales adapted for the airwaves. First, his novel "The Martian Chronicles" is presented on Dimension X (originally aired on NBC on August 18, 1950). And a group of astronauts wonder if "Mars is Heaven" on X Minus One (originally aired on NBC on May 8, 1955).

Best known today as humanity's last hope in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Kevin McCarthy lent his voice to a pair of Suspense thrillers in the later years of the program. First, he plays a juror whose wife has been kidnapped to sway his vote in "After the Movies" (AFRS rebroadcast from September 6, 1959). Then, he fights for his life in a sinking ship in "Dead Man's Story" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 15, 1960). Finally, we'll hear him in the dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a production of The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, part of the brief revival of network radio dramas (originally aired on CBS on June 18, 1974).

The wonderful character actor Everett Sloane steps back into the spotlight in three stories from "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear him as a highway patrol cop in a dangerous mountain chase in "Speed Trap" (AFRS rebroadcast from December 8, 1957). Then, Sloane is a scientist with doubts about working on a weapon of war in "The Voice of Company A" (originally aired on CBS on August 3, 1958). Finally, he plots a murder at sea and plans to disguise it as a boating accident in "Blood is Thicker" (AFRS rebroadcast from July 5, 1959).

Paul Douglas came out of the world of announcing and sportscasting to a successful career on the stage and screen. He went from announcing a World Series to starring in movies like It Happens Every Spring and Angels in the Outfield before his untimely passing. We'll hear him as a postmaster hunting for a mail bomb in "Fragile - Contents Death" (originally aired on CBS on February 1, 1951). Then, he's a newspaper columnist caught up in the middle of a spy hunt in "Man Alive" (originally aired on CBS on November 24, 1952).

The "first lady of Suspense" returns to the podcast! We'll hear Agnes Moorehead in another production of the series' most famous drama "Sorry, Wrong Number" (originally aired on CBS on September 6, 1945). Then, she stars in an adaptation of Charles Dickens' eerie story "The Signalman" (originally aired on CBS on March 23, 1953).

Before he sang his way through 1776 as Benjamin Franklin, Howard Da Silva was a busy screen and stage actor earning raves for his villainous turns on Broadway and on the big screen. We'll hear him as a cop on the trail of a cocky killer in "You Take Ballistics" (originally aired on CBS on March 13, 1947). Then, he recreates his screen role as a tyrannical ship's captain as the Lux Radio Theatre presents Two Years Before the Mast (originally aired on CBS on September 22, 1947).

Whether she's making us laugh or keeping us in Suspense, we love Lucille Ball. In this spotlight episode, we'll hear my three favorites from her six visits to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." First, she's a dance hall girl trying to stay out of the clutches of a serial killer in "Dime a Dance" (originally aired on CBS on January 13, 1944). Then, she's a hold-up artist who accidentally preys on a deadlier predator in "A Little Piece of Rope" (originally aired on CBS on October 14, 1948). Finally, she co-stars with her then-husband Desi Arnaz in "The Red-Headed Woman" (originally aired on CBS on November 17, 1949).

In his final appearances on Suspense, Victor Mature played an infamous Mexican outlaw and an undercover cop who falls for a gangster's girlfriend. We'll hear the star of My Darling Clementine and Kiss of Death in "The Love and Death of Joaquin Murrieta" (originally aired on CBS on February 16, 1953). Then, he gets too close to a beautiful - and dangerous - woman in "The Girl in Car Thirty-Two" (originally aired on CBS on March 15, 1954).

June Duprez broke out as a star in her native England in films like The Four Feathers and The Thief of Bagdad. Unfortunately, when she crossed the pond to Hollywood, mismanagement by a producer and her agent kept her from landing big roles. We'll hear her recreate one of her screen performances in "The Brighton Strangler" (originally aired on CBS on December 21, 1944). Then, she's a reclusive actress sharing her life story in "A Thing of Beauty" (originally aired on CBS on December 28, 1944). Finally, she is a woman on a dangerous train trip with her unstable husband in "Your Devoted Wife" (originally aired on CBS on June 20, 1946).

Actor, Rat Packer, and one-time presidential brother-in-law Peter Lawford made his final visit to Suspense in an adaptation of Wilkie Collins' "A Terribly Strange Bed" (originally aired on CBS on June 7, 1954) - the final episode of the show to be sponsored by Autolite. We'll also hear him co-star with Shirley Temple and Arthur Treacher in "First Love" from the Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on May 14, 1945). Click here to read the original Collins short story.

Marsha Hunt began her career in Hollywood in the 1930s, but she was blacklisted after she took a stand against McCarthyism and the Communist witch hunt in Hollywood. Though she continued to act in films and television, she rededicated her life to philanthropy and activisim, and she's still with us today. We'll hear her as a long-suffering niece who sees an opportunity to get rid of an abusive (and wealthy) aunt in "Pink Camellias" (originally aired on CBS on December 27, 1945). Then, she's a woman with no shortage of lovers, a husband she doesn't love, and a murder plan in "Self Defense" (originally aired on CBS on October 16, 1947).

Charles Ruggles was best known to audiences for his comedic roles in Bringing Up Baby and It Happened on Fifth Avenue, but he was also the guest star on the very first episode of Suspense. We'll hear the star in "The Burning Court" (originally aired on CBS on June 17, 1942), an adaptation of the mystery novel by John Dickson Carr. Then, he stars in Dorothy L. Sayers' "Suspicion" (originally aired on CBS on February 10, 1944).

In his final Suspense appearance, big screen baddie Dan Duryea plays a hold-up man turned murderer who has to dispose of a very inconvenient eyewitness in "Remember Me?" (originally aired on CBS on April 7, 1952). We'll hear him in that old time radio thriller, plus an episode of his radio police procedural The Man from Homicide. Duryea stars as Lt. Lou Dana in a radio mystery originally aired on ABC on July 16, 1951.

Stage and screen John Hodiak returns to the podcast in two more old time radio thrillers. First, he's a fast-talking hustler who joins a group of bank robbers in "The Big Heist" (originally aired on CBS on December 1, 1952). Then, he's a deep sea diver on a treasure hunt for a lost Spanish galleon in "Gold of the Adomar" (originally aired on CBS on January 19, 1953).

In this bonus episode, we're celebrating the life and career of the late, great Betty White. The legendary Emmy-winning actress started her showbusiness career in radio, and we'll hear one of her on-air performances. She co-stars with Fibber McGee and Molly in "Advice to the Lovelorn," a romantic comedy from Family Theatre (originally aired on Mutual on October 30, 1947).

In his only appearance on Suspense, sharp-tongued satirist Henry Morgan showed off his dramatic chops. He plays a man who suspects a neighbor is a murderer in "Dream Song" (originally aired on CBS on November 6, 1947). Then we'll hear his trademark comedy in The Henry Morgan Show (originally aired on ABC on February 19, 1947).

For our annual bonus holiday episode, we'll hear Robert Mitchum reprise his big screen role as The Lux Radio Theatre presents Holiday Affair (originally aired on CBS on December 18, 1950). Laraine Day co-stars in this romantic Christmas comedy about the sparks that fly when a department store clerk with big dreams meets a single mom and secret shopper.

For our final regular episode of 2021, we welcome Joseph Cotten back to "Stars on Suspense" for two old time radio thrillers, including a Christmas story from "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." First, he's a sideshow performer who's grown tired of his boss's tyrannical behavior in "Carnival" (originally aired on CBS on January 28, 1952). Then, Cotten is first mate on a ship bound for the Canadian Arctic to find a pair of ships lost in the ice in "Arctic Rescue" (originally aired on CBS on December 22, 1952).

Note: No intro for this show; I'm still battling back from a cold and my voice isn't radio-ready. We're revisiting the performances of Peter Lorre in this bonus show, and I've selected my favorites of his six visits to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." First, he's a jealous husband with a devious plan for dealing with his young wife and the man she loves in "Till Death Do Us Part" (originally aired on CBS on December 15, 1942). Then - just in time for the holidays - Lorre plots a murder but a surprise gift from his victim may thwart his plans in "Back for Christmas" (originally aired on CBS on December 23, 1943).

Note: No intro for this episode, as I'm fighting a cold and a froggy throat. Mexican-American actress, dancer, and activist Margo returns to the podcast for her final visit to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." It's an episode where she shares the stage with Elsa Lanchester and Janet Beecher. They star in "Finishing School" (originally aired on CBS on December 30, 1943). Then, Margo takes Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on a tour of Mexico in an episode of the ventriloquist's NBC variety show (originally aired on NBC on March 16, 1947).

Fay Bainter made Hollywood history in 1938 when she became the first performer nominated for two acting Oscars in the same year - winning the Best Supporting Actress award for Jezebel. But before that, she was a Broadway star whose performances on the stage paved the way to her work on the big screen. We'll hear her in "The Lucky Lady" (originally aired on CBS on February 14, 1946) and "Life Ends at Midnight" (originally aired on CBS on May 8, 1948).

After he introduced stories on Suspense as the "Man in Black," Joseph Kearns moved into starring roles on radio's outstanding theater of thrills. We'll hear him in "The Case for Dr. Singer," a tale of atomic espionage ripped from the headlines (originally aired on CBS on June 28, 1951). Then, he's one of history's most notorious murderers in "A Story of Poison" (originally aired on CBS on September 13, 1955). And as a bonus, we'll hear him as an arrogant murderer who concocts a less than perfect alibi in "The Sheriff's Assistant" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on April 7, 1947).

During a wartime break in her acting career, Sarah Churchill worked on the planning of the British invasion of North Africa, and she served as an unofficial advisor to her father Winston - who just happened to be prime minister. After the war, she returned to the stage and screen, but struggles with alcoholism cut short what should have been a long career on both sides of the pond. We'll hear her in her one and only visit to Suspense - an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "The Signalman" (originally aired on CBS on November 4, 1956). Then, she saddles up and heads west with Jack Benny in an episode of his comedy program (originally aired on CBS on March 5, 1950). Finally, she leads us an audio tour of her home in "Portrait of London" from The CBS Radio Workshop (originally aired on CBS on July 20, 1956).

Over the course of his long career, character actor Jerome Cowan prosecuted Santa Claus and took a bullet to kick off The Maltese Falcon. We'll hear him in his only visit to Suspense as a crooked lawyer out to frame his law partner in "Mortmain" (originally aired on CBS on July 31, 1947). Then, he co-stars with Madeleine Carroll in Noel Coward's "Tonight at 8:30" from Best Plays (originally aired on NBC on August 30, 1953).

In this bonus episode, we're saying goodbye to Dean Stockwell, the Oscar-nominated star whose career stretched over seven decades in Hollywood who passed away on November 7th. From his earliest days as a child star in the 40s to his work with David Lynch, his Golden Globe-winning turn on Quantum Leap and his many memorable screen turns, Stockwell was always a compelling presence in a film or TV show. While he never made a visit to Suspense, Stockwell did appear on other radio anthologies, and we'll hear two of them: "Hans Brinker" from Family Theatre (originally aired on Mutual on November 8, 1950) and "Home's Not a Place" from Stars Over Hollywood (originally aired on CBS on June 7, 1952).  

Ann Sothern's career on the stage and screen stretched six decades from bit parts in the 20s to an Oscar nomination for her final performance in 1987. She was most famous for her ten B-picture comedies as brash but lovable showgirl Maisie and for a pair of TV sitcoms that earned her four Emmy nods. We'll hear her in her only Suspense appearance - "Beware the Quiet Man" (originally aired on CBS on August 12, 1948). Then, she recreates her signature screen role in Maisie Was a Lady on The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on November 24, 1941).

Richard Widmark takes on the role of Iago, one of Shakespeare's most complex characters, in this ambitious two-part adaptation of Othello (originally aired on CBS on May 4th and 11th, 1953). Widmark is joined by Suspense director Elliott Lewis as Othello and Cathy Lewis as Desdemona in this production featuring Verdi operas and an all-star cast of radio character actors.

For this year's final bonus Halloween show, we're taking a trip to Transylvania. Orson Welles and The Mercury Theatre On the Air present a spine-tingling adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (originally aired on CBS on July 11, 1938).

With Halloween right around the corner, we welcome Herbert Marshall back to the podcast in a pair of old time radio chillers. First, he has the title role in an adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (originally aired on CBS on November 3, 1952). Then, Marshall stars in a one-man show - the tale of terror called "The Waxwork" (originally aired on CBS on March 1, 1959).

Late at night, Jeanette Nolan takes the long way home all by herself as a killer stalks her town. Ray Bradbury's terrifying short story becomes a classic radio horror tale in "The Whole Town's Sleeping" (originally aired on CBS on June 14, 1955).

Before he was a big screen character actor in Psycho and Cloak and Dagger and a steady hand on network TV dramas like Naked City and Wagon Train, John McIntire was a busy radio performer. We'll hear him co-starring with real-life wife Jeanette Nolan in a sixty-minute adaptation of Curt Siodmak's sci-fi horror classic "Donovan's Brain" (originally aired on CBS on February 7, 1948).  For tickets to the livestream of my original Halloween old time radio comedy this Saturday, 10/23 at 7:00 pm, visit https://www.ashlandtheatre.org/event/terror-on-the-tracks

We head into the mountains with William Conrad in this week's Halloween bonus episode. Here, he's part of a hunting party searching the Himalayas for the mythical yeti. It's a terrifying tale from Escape - "The Abominable Snowman" (originally aired on CBS on September 13, 1953).

Frank Lovejoy returns to the podcast in two of the mot intense stories to ever air on Suspense. First, Lovejoy and real-life wife Joan Banks run out of gas right in the middle of a classic radio horror story - "On a Country Road" (originally aired on CBS on January 4, 1954). Then, he tries to talk an inexperienced pilot down to the ground safely in "The Long Night" (originally aired on CBS on November 18, 1956).

This week's bonus scary story comes from the mind of science fiction master Ray Bradbury. It stirred up controversy when it aired on CBS, and it still provides chills nearly 70 years later. It's "Zero Hour" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1955), a tale of a child's backyard game with catastrophic consequences.

Character actor and comedian Jack Carson closes out his run on Suspense with three old time radio thrillers. First, he's an ambitious circus employee with the gift of gab in "Death Pitch" (originally aired on CBS on March 29, 1951). Then, Carson narrates a tense tale of a malfunctioning atomic bomb at a test site in "Misfire" (originally aired on CBS on October 6, 1957). Finally, he arrives at his psychiatrist's office with some shocking news in "Analytical Hour" (originally aired on CBS on June 28, 1959).

Our countdown to Halloween kicks off with one of the scariest shows to air on Suspense! The great William Conrad stars in "The Waxwork" (originally aired on CBS on May 1, 1956) - a psychological horror story where he plays every role.

Suave and silver-haired, Otto Kruger made a name for himself as debonair villains on screen. He memorably ran a deadly domestic spy ring in Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur, menaced Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet, and many more. We'll hear him in his only Suspense appearance - the Cornell Woolrich story "After Dinner Story" (originally aired on CBS on October 26, 1943). Then, he joins the cast of Laura in a recreation on The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on February 5, 1945).

In this bonus episode, I'll share my picks for the best Suspense installments starring the legendary Orson Welles. We'll hear him first on a cross-country trip into a nightmare in "The Hitch-Hiker" (originally aired on CBS on September 2, 1942). Then, in a rare Suspense two-parter, Welles plays a scientist whose innovation could bring about the end of the world in "Donovan's Brain" (originally aired on CBS on May 18 and May 25, 1944).

Though he was born into Hollywood fame - the son of one of the movies' first major stars - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. hadn't intended on becoming an actor. Ultimately, his screen successes were just one chapter in a rich and colorful life including wartime service in counterintelligence. We'll hear the star of Little Caesar and Gunga Din in "Deep Into Darkness" (originally aired on CBS on July 22, 1948). Plus, he stars in the espionage drama "The Big Kill" from The Silent Men (originally aired on February 3, 1952).

Stage and screen star Victor Jory makes his final appearances on Suspense in a pair of episodes that didn't belong on "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear the actor from Gone With the Wind and A Midsummer Night's Dream in "Old Army Buddy" (originally aired on CBS on September 8, 1957) and "Death Notice" (originally aired on February 8, 1959). Plus, he stars as a dogged detective in "You Take Ballistics," a Cornell Woolrich story adapted for the audition recording of The Hunters (from November 29, 1948).

Dorothy McGuire jumped from the Broadway stage to the big screen with acclaimed performances in Claudia and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. She earned an Oscar nod for her turn as a woman confronting her bigotry in Gentleman's Agreement and she'd later gain Disney fame as memorable moms in Old Yeller and Swiss Family Robinson. We'll hear her as a woman trying to reconstruct the night of a murder in "Last Confession" (originally aired on CBS on September 15, 1949). Then, she recreates her screen role in a radio adaptation of The Spiral Staircase on The Screen Directors' Playhouse (originally aired on NBC on November 25, 1949).

In his final visits to Suspense, Charles Boyer played two legendary lawmen from his native France. First, the four-time Oscar nominee plays Eugene Vidocq, the master thief who switched sides and became the head of the Sûreté. We'll hear "Vidocq's Final Case" (originally aired on CBS on September 29, 1952). Then, Boyer stars as Alphonse Bertillion, a policeman who used anthropology to develop a system of identifying criminal suspects. Boyer plays the innovative cop in "The Bertillion Method" (originally aired on CBS on April 26, 1954).

Stan Freberg was a master of satire and memorably sent up politics, history, and popular culture over his 70 years in show business. His spoofs of Dragnet, popular music, and history still hold up today, and he put his unique sense of humor to work as a successful advertising director. We'll hear the legendary performer in a rare dramatic radio turn as a murderer in "Alibi Me" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 20, 1958). Plus, we'll hear his signature wit in The CBS Radio Workshop (originally aired on CBS on August 31, 1956) and an episode of his classic radio comedy The Stan Freberg Show (originally aired on CBS on October 6, 1957).

Our annual birthday salute to Alfred Hitchcock isn't just a celebration of the legendary director and big screen master of suspense. It's also a tribute to his daughter, Patricia Alma O'Connell, who passed away on August 9th. We'll hear Patricia recreate her screen role in Strangers on a Train, recreated for the Lux Radio Theatre (rehearsal for the December 3, 1951 broadcast). Then, we'll hear Alfred Hitchcock as host and narrator in the audition recording of Once Upon a Midnight, a series that would have been a Hitchcock-led anthology series before his classic television show.

Actor and singer Robert Horton broke out with his stint on Wagon Train, where he spent several years on one of the top-rated TV shows in the country. But Horton left the show at the peak of its popularity to avoid typecasting and to pursue his singing career. During his years on the television frontier, Horton made two visits to Suspense. He played the titular condemned killer immortalized in song in "Tom Dooley" (originally aired on CBS on December 7, 1958) - featuring the ballad performed by the Kingston Trio! Then, he starred as an actor whose agent pressures him into taking on the real-life role of a murderer in "Spoils for Victor" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 24, 1959).