Showing results by publisher "Brilliance Audio" in Arts & Entertainment

Created by Blake Edwards (of Pink Panther fame), Richard Diamond, Private Detective came to NBC radio in 1949 starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell had recently played Philip Marlowe in the popular RKO film Murder My Sweet and jumped at the chance to play a suave detective on radio. Richard Diamond was a light-hearted New York-based private eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionairess girlfriend, Helen Asher (played by Virginia Gregg). Its theme “Leave it to Love” was whistled by Powell at the beginning of each episode.

The Whistler was one of radio’s top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. Sponsored by the Signal Oil Company, The Whistler (Joseph Kearns, Gale Gordon, and Bill Forman) was an ominous narrator who knew the killer’s every move even before they did. The stories followed an effective formula in which a person's criminal acts were typically undone by their own missteps. The Whistler often commenting directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective.

Produced by Louis G. Cowan, Command Performance aired between 1942 and 1949 over the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFRS) with a direct shortwave transmission to American troops overseas. Performed before a live audience in Hollywood, the weekly listening military audience was estimated at 95.5 million. Troops sent in requests to hear their favorite celebrities, and they also suggested unusual ideas or situations for them to be put into. Top stars of the day appeared, including Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Shirley Temple, Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and many more.

Reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart’s character “Rick Blaine” from the classic film Casablanca, Rocky Jordan was banished by enemies from St. Louis and relocated to Cairo, Egypt. Now living in Northern Africa, Rocky Jordan owns and operates his gin joint (the Café Tambourine) and finds an assortment of mystery and intrigue while unwillingly moonlighting as a crime fighter. Cairo‘s Police Chief, Sam Sabaaya, is an Egyptian Muslim who strictly adheres to the law. Often times, when a crime is committed, Jordan is the prime suspect - forcing him to solve the crime so he can clear his name and save his neck.

Fibber McGee & Molly had a long and successful run on radio (1935-1959). The program showcased terrific comic and musical talent, headlined by its creators and stars, married couple Jim and Marian Jordan. Living in the fictional Midwestern town of Wistful Vista, Fibber was an American teller of tall tales and a braggart, usually to the exasperation of his long-suffering wife Molly. Fibber's weekly schemes would be interrupted, inspired by, and often played upon the people of Wistful Vista, a set of regular players and characters.

The Columbia Workshop aired on CBS radio from 1936 until 1947. Created by Irving Reis, it was an experimental platform with no boundaries for what radio had to offer. Broadcast from New York, it featured the biggest stars from stage, screen and radio including Orson Welles, Burgess Meredith, Agnes Moorehead, Art Carney, Charles Laughton, Vincent Price and Laurence Olivier. Stories were by William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, John Keats, Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, Lucille Fletcher, Carl Sandburg and Herman Melville with music by Bernard Herrmann.

Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll made their radio debut January 12, 1926, as the comedic, blackface characters Sam 'n' Henry. On March 19, 1928 they introduced Amos 'n' Andy, which went on to become one of the most popular and longest-running programs in radio history. During the height of its popularity, almost the entire country listened to the 15-minute, Monday through Friday adventures of Amos 'n' Andy. Department stores open in the evening piped in the broadcasts, so shoppers wouldn't miss an episode.

Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was a popular character appearing regularly on The Fibber McGee & Molly Show. On August 31, 1941, the character landed his own situation comedy show, The Great Gildersleeve, becoming radio’s first spin-off. Gildy moved from the town of Wistful Vista to Summerfield, where he raised his orphaned niece and nephew, Marjorie (originally played by Lurene Tuttle and followed by Louise Erickson and Mary Lee Robb) and Leroy (Walter Tetley). The household also included a cook named Birdie (Lillian Randolph).

"The Falcon" radio series premiered in 1943, and continued until 1954. The Falcon was an alternate identity for detective Michael Waring. Like the Falcon movies, the radio plots mixed danger, romance and comedy in equal parts. Each show began with a telephone ringing and Michael Waring, The Falcon, answering the phone. Speaking with a woman whose voice was never heard, Waring would explain that he had an urgent situation in which he had to deal with. This led into the standard opening, followed by the week's tale of adventure.

Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high adventure, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947, until September 25, 1954. The series' well-remembered opening combined Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with this introduction, as intoned by Paul Frees and/or William Conrad: Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you...Escape!

The CBS Radio Workshop aired from January 27, 1956, through September 22, 1957, and was a revival of the prestigious Columbia Workshop which aired from 1936 to 1943. Creator William Froug launched the series with the powerhouse two-part adaptation of Brave New World and booked author Aldous Huxley to narrate his famous novel. Enjoy 12 of the greatest episodes from this award-winning drama series.

In Breaking van Gogh, James Grundvig investigates the history and authenticity of van Gogh's iconic Wheat Field with Cypresses. Relying on a vast array of techniques from the study of the painter's biography and personal correspondence to the examination of the painting's style and technical characteristics, Grundvig proves that the "most expensive purchase" housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is a fake.

What songs have made up your life's soundtrack? Which have captured your every mood and deepest sentiments? Pop music, like no other form of entertainment or art, is capable of articulating our feelings, desires, joy, and pain. In a few soul-grabbing minutes, artists from every genre - from Little Richard to Lou Reed, Willie Nelson to Wu-Tang Clan, Sly and the Family Stone to the Rolling Stones - can help us understand our place in our own lives.

Gloria Gaynor’s number-one hit single "I Will Survive" debuted in 1978 to overwhelming success. Shortly thereafter, the single went double platinum. Over three decades later, it still strikes a chord among men and women everywhere. Over the years, the disco legend has received thousands of personal messages from adoring fans whose lives have been transformed by this timeless song. Here, she shares 40 of those inspirational, true stories.

>Born into the violence of South Bronx ghetto life, the comic pioneer of TV’s Good Times fame offers a hilarious and politically charged review of his career as one of television’s first hugely successful Black stars. From opening for the Black Panthers and getting his first Tonight Show spot to becoming the first “Black” TV sitcom star, having comedians David Letterman and Jay Leno writing jokes for him, recording number-one comedy albums, and opening for rock n’ roll bands in 50,000 seat stadiums, Walker’s career hit all the highs.

Our Miss Brooks was a situation comedy show heard on radio and seen on television and films. It starred Hollywood film and New York stage veteran Eve Arden, who had specialized in playing the wisecracking friend to the heroine. The series centered on Connie Brooks, a smart, sharp-witted, lovable English teacher at fictional Madison High School. Between gentle wisecracks, Miss Brooks doted on nerdish student Walter Denton (Richard Crenna) and frequently locked horns with crusty, cranky Principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon).

Lucille Ball was an accomplished actress, comedian, model, entertainment studio executive and producer. She was the star of the self-produced TV sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life with Lucy, as well as television specials aired under the title The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. This collection contains 10 of her popular radio performances, and we hope you will Love Lucy all over again.

The character of Jack "Flashgun" Casey was first penned by former newspaper and advertising executive George Harmon Coxe, Jr. in the March 1934 issue of Black Mask, the legendary Pulp Magazine. Casey was a cameraman who took photographs that accompanied reporter's newspaper stories. His keen eye for detailed served him well at solving the crimes he was assigned to photograph. "Flashgun" Casey was an instant success with the Black Mask readers and soon made the leap to the silver screen and to radio.

This collection contains 12 of the greatest shows ever broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio – including episodes of The Jack Benny Program, Burns & Allen, Gunsmoke, The Amos ‘n' Andy Show, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Suspense, Dimension X, The Whistler, Sherlock Holmes and more. Radio’s finest actors perform before the microphones, including: Jack Benny, Tom Conway, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nigel Bruce, Chester Morris, Dick Powell, Howard Duff, George Burns, Gracie Allen, William Conrad, John Dehner and many more.

The future of our cities is not what it used to be. The modern-city model that took hold globally in the twentieth century has outlived its usefulness. It cannot solve the problems it helped to create - especially global warming. Fortunately, a new model for urban development is emerging in cities to aggressively tackle the realities of climate change. In Life After Carbon, urban sustainability consultants Pete Plastrik and John Cleveland assemble this global pattern of urban reinvention from the stories of 25 "innovation lab" cities across the globe.