Jackie Cooper began his career in Our Gang shorts and earned an Oscar nomination at the age of nine. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he continued acting on screen and embarked on a successful Emmy-winning career as a director. During his years in front of and behind the camera, he endeared himself to generations of movie fans as irascible editor Perry White in the Superman films. We'll hear him in three old time radio thrillers from Suspense: "The Clock and the Rope" (originally aired on CBS on December 5, 1947); "Remember Me?" (AFRS rebroadcast from August 24, 1958); and "The Amateur" (originally aired on CBS on May 3, 1959).

After making her first visits to Suspense in 1945, Joan Lorring returned to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" in 1960. By then, both the series and star had left Hollywood behind. The Oscar-nominee had transitioned to Broadway and television, and production of the show moved to CBS' New York studios. We'll hear Lorring in three 60s Suspense stories: "The Daisy Chain" (originally aired on CBS on June 26, 1960); "The Man Who Knew How to Hate" (originally aired on CBS on June 16, 1961); and "Witness to Murder" (originally aired on CBS on October 22, 1961).

It was ironic that Helmut Dantine broke out in Hollywood playing Nazis in wartime dramas; he'd been part of the anti-Nazi resistance in his native Austria and was imprisoned in a concentration camp because of those efforts. Fortunately, he secured his release and escaped to California, where he pursued acting on the stage and screen. We'll hear him plotting an assassination in "Russian New Year" (originally aired on CBS on January 13, 1957). Then, he co-stars with Nina Foch in "Headshrinker" (originally aired on CBS on October 26, 1958).

Michael O'Shea dropped out of school at the age of 12 and wound up on stages in the vaudeville circuit and in speakeasies before he arrived on Broadway. Hollywood came calling after an acclaimed stage performance and soon he was co-starring with Barbara Stanwyck. His film career waned in the early 1950s, but he continued to work on television and make headlines for his off-screen antics. We'll hear him in "Photo Finish" (originally aired on CBS on July 18, 1946) and "The Twist" (originally aired on CBS on September 11, 1947).

Actress and singer Virginia Bruce introduced a Cole Porter classic and starred as the quintessential showgirl in The Ziegfeld Follies, but studio politics hurt her career just as it was getting started. We'll hear her in an international manhunt for a missing heir in "The Cross-Eyed Bear" (originally aired on CBS on September 16, 1943). Then, Virginia Bruce is an amateur sleuth looking into a baffling robbery and murder in "The Locked Room" from John Dickson Carr (originally aired on CBS on January 27, 1944).

Through the 40s and 50s, Margaret Whiting was one of America's most popular singing stars. She recorded and performed through the 90s, but she took on relatively few dramatic acting roles. Whiting did, however, lend her powerful voice to four episodes of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear her star (and sing) in the dramatic recreation of the popular ballad "Frankie and Johnny" (originally aired on CBS on February 3, 1957). Then, she's a glamorous woman with murder on her mind in "The Well-Dressed Corpse" (originally aired on CBS on October 13, 1957).

Warren William, one of the kings of pre-Code Hollywood, won over audiences with his powerful portrayals of slightly unscrupulous characters. He was the first actor to play Perry Mason on screen, and he made nine films as The Lone Wolf, a reformed thief turned sleuth. For his one appearance on Suspense, William reprised the role of the Lone Wolf in "Murder Goes for a Swim" (originally aired on CBS on July 20, 1943).  Then we'll hear him as an attorney and investigator in "Midnight on the Moor" from the syndicated drama Strange Wills.

Character actor Keenan Wynn returns for his final appearances on Suspense in a pair of shows that show of the silly and serious sides of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." First, Wynn co-stars with Hume Cronyn in a comedic tale of embezzlement - "Double Entry" (originally aired on CBS on December 20, 1945). Then, he stars in "The Night Reveals," Cornell Woolrich's tale of an arson investigator hunting a firebug (originally aired on CBS on April 18, 1946). Plus, Wynn and Anne Baxter visit Charlie McCarthy and friends (originally aired on NBC on September 23, 1945).

Phil Silvers broke out on Broadway before he became a household name as the scheming Sgt. Bilko on TV's The Phil Silvers Show. The funny man showed off another side of himself in "The Swift Rise of Eddie Albright" on Suspense (originally aired on CBS on April 3, 1947). Plus, we'll hear him welcome his buddy Frank Sinatra to an episode of radio's The Phil Silvers Show (originally aired on NBC on February 9, 1946).

The star of Shadow of a Doubt and The Third Man returns for more old time radio thrillers. Joseph Cotten stars in two tales of Suspense and plays three different characters. First, he plays a pair of twin brothers with a deadly case of sibling rivalry in "The Pasteboard Box" (originally aired on CBS on January 17, 1946). Then, Cotten may hold the key to the survival of an old enemy in Dorothy L. Sayers' "Blood Sacrifice" (originally aired on CBS on March 30, 1950). 

With her powerful, belting voice and inimitable stage presence, Ethel Merman became one of the biggest stars on Broadway and the queen of musical comedy. Her performances were acclaimed, and the songs she introduced onstage became standards - tunes like "I Got Rhythm" and "There's No Business Like Show Business." She made one visit to Suspense as a singer paired with a homicidal partner in "Never Follow a Banjo Act" (originally aired on CBS on February 1, 1954). Then, she's the emcee for a November 1, 1944 broadcast of Command Performance.

Jeff Chandler returns to the podcast in another pair of old time radio thrillers. First, he stars in a story set to the lyrics of a haunting ballad in "My True Love's Hair" (originally aired on CBS on October 19, 1953). Then, Chandler is on trial for crimes committed to preserve the anti-Nazi underground in "Death at Skirkerud Pond" (originally aired on CBS on February 8, 1954). Then, he shows off his comedy chops in Our Miss Brooks as Miss Brooks and Mr. Boynton join the Conklins for a weekend getaway (originally aired on CBS on August 21, 1949).

Two-time Oscar nominee John Garfield broke out of the New York theatre scene, and his star burned brightly until he ran afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Known for his intense performances and his battles with his studio to find stronger scripts, Garfield made memorable impressions in movies like The Postman Always Rings Twice and Body and Soul before his career - and his life - came to abrupt ends. We'll hear his two appearances on Suspense - "Reprieve" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 10, 1945) and "Death Sentence" (originally aired on CBS on November 4, 1948). Plus, George Burns writes him a bad check and Gracie Allen tries to fix it when Garfield visits their sitcom (originally aired on CBS on December 28, 1943).

In his final Suspense appearance, Brian Donlevy played a doctor coming to the aid of a man recently returned from the dead. The Oscar nominee stars in "Lazarus Walks" (originally aired on CBS on October 31, 1946). Then, we'll hear him recreate his role as a derelict who winds up in the governor's mansion from The Great McGinty on Academy Award (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1946).

Irish-born actor Dan O'Herlihy broke out on the big screen when he earned an Oscar nod for the title role in Robinson Crusoe. Over the course of his career, he worked steadily on in films and on television, including his memorable role of "The Old Man" in Robocop and a recurring part on Twin Peaks. We'll hear him in two starring turns on Suspense - "Strange for a Killer" (originally aired on CBS on June 15, 1958) and Rudyard Kipling's "The Man Who Would Be King" (originally aired on CBS on May 31, 1959). Plus, O'Herlihy plays a pair of roles opposite Vincent Price in "Greed Causes Murder," an adventure of The Saint (originally aired on Mutual on August 14, 1949).

Katina Paxinou came to the United States at the outset of World War II, unable to return to her native Greece. The theatre star made a big Hollywood debut with her Oscar and Golden Globe-winning performance in For Whom the Bell Tolls, but her film career was short-lived as she returned to her homeland to continue her work on the stage. We'll hear her in the wartime espionage drama "The Woman in Red" (originally aired on CBS on April 6, 1944). Then, she pays a visit to Bing Crosby and The Kraft Music Hall (originally aired on NBC on June 1, 1944).

Dane Clark prided himself on playing average joes on the big screen, and in the two episodes we'll hear this week he plays a pair of men caught up in murder. One falls into a trap, and the other plots the perfect crime, but both are in tales well calculated to keep you in Suspense. We'll hear Clark in "A Guy Gets Lonely" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1945) and "This Will Kill You" (originally aired on August 23, 1945).

When Suspense was revamped as an hour-long series, two-time Academy Award nominee and director Robert Montgomery was on hand as producer, host, and occasional star. He took the lead role in the program's first sixty-minute installment - an adaptation of Cornell Woolrich's "The Black Curtain" (originally aired on CBS on January 3, 1948).

Hitchcock leading man, sitcom star, wartime flight instructor, and godson of a Wright Brother - Robert Cummings wore many hats during his life and career. The Emmy-winning actor made a pair of visits to Suspense ten years apart playing both an innocent man caught up in a crime and its cover-up and a seasoned criminal trying to stay out of the clutches of the police. We'll hear him in "The Dead of the Night" (originally aired on CBS on November 16, 1944) and "Want Ad" (originally aired on CBS on January 25, 1954).

For his final appearances on Suspense, Vincent Price starred in an encore production of one of the scariest shows of the series, as well as an adaptation of a classic short story.  We'll hear him in "Three Skeleton Key" (originally aired on CBS on October 19, 1958) and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (originally aired on CBS on July 19, 1959). Plus, Price stars in a terrifying tale of life and death in the jungle from Escape - "Blood Bath" (originally aired on CBS on June 30, 1950).

Hailed as the "Queen of the B-movies," Marie Windsor carved out a career playing tough femme fatale roles in noir dramas like The Narrow Margin and The Killing. Her brassy, sultry aura made her a natural fit for those characters, and she put her talents to work in her one visit to Suspense as a woman caught in a love triangle with deadly results. We'll hear her in "Script by Mark Brady" (originally aired on CBS on March 22, 1959). Plus, we'll hear her alongside Frank Lovejoy and Ted de Corsia in an all-star production of Escape, "Danger at Matacumbe" (originally aired on CBS on March 24, 1950).

Before his Oscar-nominated turn in The Defiant Ones and before he wore a dress and wooed Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, Tony Curtis made his one and only visit to Suspense. Curtis starred as a college basketball player approached to throw a game in "The McKay College Basketball Scandal" (originally aired on CBS on September 24, 1951). Plus, Curtis clowns around with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in an episode of their comedy show (originally aired on NBC on February 29, 1952).

Burly character actor Alan Hale was a regular presence in films through the 30s and 40s, lending support to stars like Barbara Stanwyck, Basil Rathbone, Humphrey Bogart, and - in over a dozen films - Errol Flynn. Hale made one visit to Suspense as a colorful con man in "The Leading Citizen of Pratt County" (originally aired on CBS on May 30, 1946). Plus, we'll hear Hale and Flynn in "Allergic to Ladies," a presentation of the Gulf Screen Guild Theatre co-starring Jane Wyman (originally aired on CBS on November 24, 1940).

B-movie leading man Dennis O'Keefe grew up in a vaudeville family and embarked on a screen career - both starring in films and writing them. We'll hear the star of T-Men, Brewster's Millions, and Cover Up in a pair of Suspense shows that find him playing both hero and heel: "The X-Ray Camera" (originally aired on CBS on October 13, 1947) and "Very Much Like a Nightmare" (originally aired on May 25, 1950).

For her final visit to Suspense, Dame May Whitty recreated a performance she'd memorably played on stage and screen. In this hour-long adaptation of Emlyn Williams' play Night Must Fall (originally aired on CBS on March 27, 1948), Whitty reprises her Oscar-nominated role opposite Robert Montgomery.

Bonita Granville's screen career was short, but she made the most of it. She earned an Oscar nomination at age 14, and she starred in four films as junior detective Nancy Drew before she switched gears to produce projects alongside her husband. We'll hear her only visit to Suspense - "Bank Holiday" (originally aired on CBS on July 19, 1945). Then, she's plotting a murder for money in an episode of the syndicated anthology drama Obsession.

Lloyd Bridges' final appearances on Suspense took him from the gym to his Sea Hunt haunts on the ocean floor. But no matter where he went, murder was close at hand. We'll hear the star of High Noon and Airplane! in "Rub Down and Out" (AFRS rebroadcast from July 6, 1958) and "Deep, Deep is My Love" (AFRS rebroadcast from April 26, 1959).

Known to old time radio fans everywhere as Sam Spade, Howard Duff was one of the biggest names of the radio era. Not only was he a skilled dramatic and comedic actor in front of the microphone, he also worked in the Armed Forces Radio Service and - through his job - helped preserve hundreds of the shows we know and love today. The blacklist and Red Scare paranoia dinged his career, but he emerged and continued to work in film and television through the 1980s. We'll hear him in "A Murderous Revision," an unaired recording of a show that was scrapped when he was branded a Communist (recording dated October 13, 1951) and "Eyewitness" (originally aired on CBS on December 16, 1956).

We'll kick off a new year with the "First Lady of Suspense!" Agnes Moorehead returns in a pair of old time radio thrillers, including her very first visit to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." She co-stars with Ray Collins in the first production of "The Diary of Saphronia Winters" (originally aired on CBS on April 27, 1943). Then, we'll hear her in "Death and Miss Turner" (originally aired on November 17, 1952).

For our final podcast episode of 2020, we welcome Frank Lovejoy back to the podcast for two more old time radio thrillers. He stars as one of the west's most infamous outlaws in "The Shooting of Billy the Kid" (originally aired on CBS on April 28, 1952). Then, he's on trial for a crime he didn't commit in "Public Defender" (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1953). Plus, we've got the first episode of Lovejoy's radio drama series Night Beat (originally aired on NBC on February 6, 1950).

Christmas is almost here, and to celebrate here's a bonus episode light on suspense but heavy on the stars. We'll hear David Niven, Jane Greer, and Tyrone Power in the holiday favorite The Bishop's Wife, recreated for The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on December 19, 1949).

Raymond Burr was doing double duty when he starred in these installments of Suspense. He could be seen every week on television in the earliest seasons of Perry Mason, but he continued to lend his voice to radio dramas. We'll hear him in H.G. Wells' "The Country of the Blind" (originally aired on CBS on October 27, 1957). Plus, just in time for the holidays, Burr plays a gun-toting St. Nick looking for revenge in "Out for Christmas" (originally aired on CBS on December 21, 1958).

Paul Lukas started his career in his native Hungary, but he found more stage and screen stardom when he journeyed to Hollywood. Lukas won an Oscar for his portrayal of a German anti-fascist in Watch the Rhine, and he remained a regular presence on films and in television through the 1970s. We'll hear him in "Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble" (originally aired on CBS on April 6, 1943) and "Mr. Markham, Antique Dealer" (originally aired on CBS on May 11, 1943).

Susan Hayward earned five Oscar nominations and one win for her dynamic performances in stories pulled from real life. Hayward took home her Academy Award for her work as a woman sentenced to die for murder in I Want to Live! and she brought that intensity to her two appearances on Suspense. We'll hear her in  "The Dead Sleep Lightly," a mystery by John Dickson Carr (originally aired on CBS on March 30, 1943). Then she plays a wealthy woman with a shady past and a plan to secure her own future in "Dame Fortune" (originally aired on CBS on October 24, 1946). Finally, Hayward pays a visit to Edgar, Charlie, Mortimer Snerd, and the rest of the gang at The Charlie McCarthy Show (AFRS rebroadcast from December 16, 1945).

Before he spent four seasons on a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Richard Basehart was a rising Hollywood star and made a visit to the Suspense microphone. His performance elevates "The Perfectionist," a far-fetched episode about a killer forced to improvise during his perfect crime (originally aired on CBS on January 21, 1952). Then, Basehart stars as Joyce Kilmer, the poet and writer who met his end on a battlefield during World War I in Family Theater (originally aired on Mutual on August 17, 1949).

Leading man Robert Taylor made his Suspense debut as a reporter who stumbles into the story of the century in "The Argyle Album" (originally aired on CBS on December 13, 1945). Then we'll hear him join Mary, Phil, Dennis, and Don when he guest hosts The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on NBC on May 16, 1948).

Actress Lynn Bari enjoyed a long career on the big and small screens, and though she never really broke into the starring sphere she appeared in hundreds of films opposite some of the major stars of the era. Her specialty was playing "the other woman" - the man-hungry femme fatale who was always ready with a seductive look or a gun - and she won the admiration of GIs as one of the most popular pinup girls of World War II. We'll hear her in her only visit to Suspense - "Murder By an Expert" (originally aired on CBS on July 24, 1947). Then, she joins Bud and Lou in a wild west comedy on The Abbott and Costello Show (originally aired on NBC on December 16, 1943).

Before he solved TV crimes as Cannon, William Conrad was one of the titans of the golden age of radio. With his booming voice, Conrad gave life to the tough marshal of Dodge City Matt Dillon and hundreds of other characters - from historical figures like Nero, Blackbeard, and King Arthur to the ominous voice that introduced Escape. We'll hear him star in a pair of Suspense thrillers: "The Shot" (originally aired on CBS on December 2, 1954) and "A Study in Wax" (originally aired on CBS on August 16, 1955). Plus, we'll hear him in his signature role on Gunsmoke in "Matt Gets It" (originally aired on CBS on October 2, 1954).

John Lund's big screen career started with a bang but faded by the mid-1950s. Still, he was able to display his versatility during his appearances on Suspense. We'll hear him as a writer who finds inspiration in a real-life crime  in "The Man in the Room" (originally aired on CBS on May 11, 1950). Then, Lund plays a cop on the trail of a drug ring in "Melody in Dreams" (originally aired on CBS on December 19, 1952).

I've saved the best - and scariest - for last. In our final Halloween Haunts bonus episode, we'll hear my pick for the most terrifying tale to ever air on "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." Robert Taylor and Cathy Lewis receive the housewarming gift from hell in "The House in Cypress Canyon" (originally aired on CBS on December 5, 1946).

Ray Bradbury brought science fiction into the mainstream with stories like The Martian Chronicles, and his works were adapted for some of the best radio anthologies of the era. Stories from the author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Illustrated Man inspired episodes of Escape, X Minus One, and Suspense. We'll hear two of his terrifying tales from radio's outstanding theater of thrills: "Zero Hour" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1955) and "The Whole Town's Sleeping" (originally aired on CBS on June 14, 1955). Plus, we'll hear "The Veldt," a story about addictive technology years before smart phones, from Dimension X (originally aired on NBC on August 9, 1951).

A car out of gas, a frightened couple, and a homicidal maniac on the loose - they all come together in "On a Country Road," still one of the most terrifying stories ever produced on Suspense seventy years after it first aired. Cary Grant stars in this radio play designed for listening with the lights out (originally aired on CBS on November 16, 1950).

Lee J. Cobb was still a rising star in Hollywood - years before his Oscar-nominated turns in On the Waterfront and The Brothers Karamazov and his powerful performances in 12 Angry Men and The Exorcist - when he made his only visit to Suspense. We'll hear him as an artist in a deadly love triangle in "The Bet" (originally aired on CBS on November 8, 1945). Then he recreates his big screen performance opposite Dick Powell in a Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of Johnny O'Clock (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 1947).

This week's scary story from Suspense was made to be enjoyed with the lights out. Join Ralph Edwards as a DJ who spends a night in a haunted house for a radio show stunt and gets more than he bargained for in "Ghost Hunt" (originally aired on CBS on June 23, 1949).

Hungarian-born actor and director Cornel Wilde displays his versatility at the microphone in a pair of old time radio thrillers. First, he's a pyromaniac fighting his fascination with fire in "The Flame" (originally aired on CBS on October 15, 1951). Then, he's a murderer who charms his victim into taking a fatal ride in "Somebody Help Me" (originally aired on CBS on March 29, 1954).

Our month-long Halloween celebration continues with another Friday bonus episode. We'll hear another one of my picks for the scariest Suspense episodes of all time. This week's installment pits Vincent Price, Ben Wright, and John Dehner against a horde of ravenous rats in "Three Skeleton Key" (originally aired on CBS on November 11, 1956).

Ezio Pinza sang on the stages of the greatest opera houses in the world, and he played nearly 100 characters over the course of his long career. When he left the Metropolitan Opera after 22 seasons, he moved to the Broadway stage where he took home a Tony for his role in South Pacific. Sadly, he did very little dramatic radio acting, but he was terrific in his one and only visit to Suspense. We'll hear him as a singer who gives a murderous performance in "Aria From Murder" (originally aired on CBS on January 25, 1951). Then, we'll hear him sing along with Al Jolson in an appearance on The Kraft Music Hall (originally aired on NBC on June 3, 1948).

With Halloween right around the corner, I've picked five of the most frightening episodes of Suspense for bonus shows that are sure to get you in the trick-or-treating mood. Up first is Orson Welles in Lucille Fletcher's terrifying tale of horror on the highway - "The Hitchhiker" (originally aired on CBS on September 2, 1942).