Project Audion: Classic Audio Dramas for Modern Times

Just the facts, ma'am: DRAGNET is one of the few programs from the classic age of audio drama which is still recognized by most people today - for the iconic four-note theme, at least. But even Dragnet didn't hit the airwaves at the start in its fully-realized familiar form. Episode number one, which aired on June 3, 1949, survives only via a script, not a recording. That script reveals a compelling cop show, but one which doesn't quite match our memories of Jack Webb's LAPD detective formed from years of radio, television, and movie versions. All of which makes Project Audion's new reconstruction of that very first episode such a fascinating show worth listening to. Even the Dragnet theme isn't yet there. But Joe Friday is, along with his partner Ben Alexander, and the true-life crime stories where "only the names have been changed - to protect the innocent." But wait -- there's more (as they used to say on the commercials accompanying Dragnet TV reruns). R. L. Mills, that senior scriptwriting script and storyteller from the days of Bob Hope, has penned a parody of Dragnet called "Hairnet" - and THAT plays back right AFTER our lost premiere. The same cast is heard (and seen) in both shows...only of the parts were changed, to protect the actors... Denise and Norman Cline, Kentucky Pete Fernbaugh, West Virginia Caleb Fisher, Virginia Chris Hart, Florida Ed Herman, New York Sean Massey, Texas Bob Mills, California Craig Whichman, New York ...with production, direction, sound & music by Larry Groebe in Texas

Even the greatest creative people had to start somewhere. For Rod Serling, whose "Twilight Zone" series is one of the landmarks of television, it was the radio series "Doctor Christian." Project Audion is proud to recreate his very first professionally-sold script for that show, which hasn't been heard since it originally aired back on November 9, 1949. Doctor Christian, which starred Jean Herscholt, was a popular and long-running light drama series about a small town doctor and the wide range of people he helped. While completing college, Rod Serling submitted a script about a boxer who was facing the fight of his life - titled "To Live a Dream." Entered into the annual Dr. Christian scriptwriting contest, it came in second place, and gave Serling his first income from writing, his first national broadcast...and the first step of Rod Serling's own dream. It's a surprisingly polished and intense first step, at that! Audion's far-flung voice actors included. Ken Raney in Texas Andy Hartson-Bowyer in Virginia Sheree Wichard in Pennsylvania Pete Lutz in Texas Hunter Adkins in Maryland Dana Gonsalves in Texas and Tim Burns in Kansas Music, Sound, production and direction from Larry Groebe in Texas.

Arch Oboler was one of radio's most accomplished writer/producers. Although he may be best known for his creepy horror scripts, he cared deeply about the human condition and regularly tackled weighty topics. "Special To Hollywood" was an indictment of the vacuousness of Hollywood celebrity, told in a sort of proto-"Twilight Zone" form. The story was performed on three occasions, and the 1945 script (from the series "Arch Oboler's Plays") became the core of Project Audion's second-ever show back in 2020. Six years later, we've gone back to our old Zoom files and remixed them because - well, just because it's a yarn that's worth re-hearing with a message that is still relevant today. Our cast: Patte Rosebank, Canada Tim Burns, Kansas Larry Jurrist, Florida Trevor Rines, Canada Paul Arbisi, Illinois Directed by Patte Rosebank, & Produced by Larry Groebe

Project Audion presents a special Christmas audio drama recorded before a live audience at the Grapevine (TX) Public Library on December 14, 2025 as part of "Christmas On The Air." This half hour recreates a "A Christmas Carol" as it was traditionally heard on on the radio networks in the days before television. For nearly two decades spread across across the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, actor Lionel Barrymore definitively portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge for eager American radio listeners. We recreated his 1949 production with a full cast, right down to Tiny Tim, plus music and live sound effects. It's the voices of Christmas past, here as your Christmas present... Kim Titus Mitch Carr Reg Platt Susan Platt Brian Hoffman Gary Layton Sheela Bailey A. J. Glendenning Pierce Morgan Chase Morgan Produced and directed by Larry Groebe

Project Audion presents a special Christmas audio comedy, recorded before a live audience at the Grapevine (TX) Public Library on December 14, 2025 as part of "Christmas On The Air." This show recreates a special Christmas episode of the beloved British radio sitcom "The Men From the Ministry" which was extremely popular during the 1960s and 1970s (and still re-run on the BBC today). The show satirized governmental bureaucracy, but it only aired a single Christmas episode, in December 1964. That recording was subsequently lost or wiped, so Project Audion, performing from the delightfully funny original script, is bringing back to life something which NO ONE has heard in over 60 years! Listen as two bumbling bureaucrats attempt to spread a little Christmas cheer with their plans to deliver "A Present for Norman." A. J. Glendenning Gary Layton Kim Titus Mitch Carr Brian Hoffman Reg Platt Susan Platt Sheela Bailey Produced and directed by Larry Groebe

Bob Hope was one of the 20th century's greatest entertainers: in vaudeville and movies, and especially his radio (and later TV) comedies, so often performed in front of appreciative US servicemen, kept America smiling for better than six decades. He became an icon of American humor, and it is a special task to bring the Hope style back to life. But now Project Audion premieres a "new" 1940s-era Bob Hope radio show, thanks to the pen of former Hope writer Robert L. Mills, the vocal wizardry of Bill Johnson, and Project Audion's versatile voice actors. In this new Christmas creation, Bob's guest star is Lana Turner, who joins him to spoof the classic movie "Double Indemnity." It's a show to make you smile! Our cast: Bill Johnson in Nevada Stephanie Johnson in Virginia Les Marsden in California Jacob Palka In Illinois Bethany Baldwin in South Carolina Dane Allred in Utah The show was written by Bob Mills in California and produced and directed by Larry Groebe from Texas

If you love audio drama, then you will appreciate Project Audion's November episode, which is NOT an audio drama but a podcast ABOUT audio drama - and why we make it, particularly in a time when Artificial Intelligence may be able to impact this art form. youcan "Meet The Creators" of some of best, longest-running modern radio-drama groups in North America, as they discuss why they find value in creating new audio fiction in the 21st century. What's the point in revisiting and continuing this old storytelling art form? The 45-minute discussion was at different times lively, nostalgic, angry, funny, feisty, thoughtful, enthusiastic, even emotional. Our panelists included Jeff Billard, Doug Fain, Larry Groebe, Tom Konkle, Pete Lutz, Robert L. Mills, Patte Rosebank, Jack Ward...and ChatGPT. As Artificial Intelligence seems to be replacing human efforts in so many different aspects of life, how should we define the roles of both people and AI in creating twenty-first century audio stories.

From the early days of the classic era of audio drama, Project Audion recreates a unique ghost-story/murder-mystery taken from a radio drama which is now so forgotten that it, too, might well be a ghost. But in the early 1930s "Eno Crime Clues" was a major radio hit, following the adventures of detective Spencer Dean (known as "The Manhunter") and his partner, Dan Cassidy. Our lost script from 1936 took the show in a new direction. You know how Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" made such an impact by making the story sound like a genuine on-the-spot broadcast? Well, he wasn't the first. This Crime Clues episode tried the same trick over two years earlier, using a real location, the show's genuine announcer and director, and a remote broadcast which -- well, you'll just have to listen... Our cast: TOM KONKLE in California PAUL ARBISI in Illinois HOLLY ADAMS in NY DOUGLAS HERMAN in California PAUL PATTERSON in Georgia DAVID RIES also in Georgia KEN RANEY in Texas PAUL KOVIT in New York and LARRY GROEBE, directing from Texas

Gunsmoke! The show that created the "adult western" drama genre...the show that moved westerns from the kid-centered "Lone Ranger" into darker, more mature themes... the show that ran for 10 years and nearly 500 radio episodes, and 20 years and 600 more chapters on television. A handful of Gunsmoke audio recordings have been lost for seven decades, but Project Audion now recreates one of those missing episodes - in fact, Gunsmoke's second-ever show from May 3, 1952. Listen to our-country cast bring back Marshall Matt Dillon, Doc Adams, Chester and others in this live Zoom recording of the dark drama titled "Ben Thompson." Denny Thompson, Colorado Glenn Hascall, Kansas Norman Cline, Kentucky Kim Titus, Texas Jane Beverley, New Jersey Pete Fernbaugh, West Virginia Duane Noch, New Jersey Caleb Fisher, Virginia Production supervised by Larry Groebe, Texas

You know Jimmy Durante, even if you think you don't -- the fellow was so famous for so many decades that just a caricature of his face was once enough to elicit a smile. His outsized "Schnozz" matched the outsized personality from the 1920s through the 1970s. Even today his catchphrases and songs endure. You can hear Durante singing in the "Joker" movie of 2019, imitated in the "Lion King," in Warner Bros cartoons, and every year in beloved animated Christmas specials. In this Audion Original, Pete Lutz revisits this unique talent, imagining a brand-new late-1940s episode of the Jimmy Durante Comedy Caravan with his on-air partner (and future TV host) Garry Moore, plus guest stars Sydney Greenstreet and Rose Marie. It's a half-hour of the kind of variety show that radio once did so often and so well. "Everyone wants ta' get inta de act!" and here they do, for a marvelous half-hour of mirth and music with: Pete Lutz, in Texas, as Jimmy Durante Bob Beaumont, in California, as Garry Moore Scott McKinley, in New Jersey, as Sidney Greenstreet Jessica Matthews, in Texas, as Rose Marie Laura Mirsky in New Jersey, as Vera Vague Sheree Whichard, in New York, as Florence Halop Trevor Rines, in Ontario Canada, as Candy Candido Andy Hartson-Bowyer, in Virginia, as Verne Smith

"Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" (actually called "The Challenge of the Yukon" for most of its 16 years on the radio) was one of the greatest juvenile adventure radio series ever - part of a trinity of kids' shows that originated from Station WXYZ in Detroit. (The others were "The Green Hornet" and "The Lone Ranger".) It chronicled the never-ending adventure of the noble Mountie and his wonder dog Yukon King, maintaining law and order in the wilds of the frozen Northwest. While there are nearly 700 surviving recordings of this classic show, Project Audion located a MISSING episode's script that originally aired on May 25, 1955 -- just two weeks before show ended its run. What's more, we are delighted to feature 94-year-old Chuck Daugherty, who was actually heard in some of the original Preston series episodes during his time at WXYZ over 70 years ago. He's part of a terrifically talented coast-to-coast cast for this exciting episode with original commercials for Quaker cereals. In the cast: Vincent Caruso in New York Chuck Daugherty in Detroit Michigan Hunter Adkins in Baltimore Maryland Kyle Bonn in the wilds of Oregon Frank Guglielmelli in Philadelphia Glenn Hascall in Dodge City Kansas Craig Wichman in New York Larry Groebe in Dallas Texas

What makes "The Great Gildersleeve" a great radio comedy? Historically, it was the first-ever spinoff series, and its classic sitcom characters were more deeply and warmly drawn than its parent show "Fibber and McGee and Molly," but no less funny. Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve was the unforgettably blustery Water Commissioner of Summerfield, portrayed with a famous laugh full of innuendo by Hal Peary (and later Willard Waterman). Gildy's interactions with his nephew Leroy and nNiece Marjorie; friends like Judge Hooker, Peavey the druggist, and Floyd the barber; and his romantic entanglements with Leila Ransom's and others delivered laughs every week. All the regulars are here in this new script penned by Robert L. Mills and recreated by some of Audion's most talented voices: Trevor Rines, in Ontario Canada Julie Hoverson in Washington State Pete Lutz in Texas Mel Rose in Pennsylvania and Randy Kerdoon in Washington State The script was penned by Robert L. Mills in California and the production was supervised by Larry Groebe in Texas

To begin Project Audion's sixth season, we're once again returning to that all-time classic audio drama, Suspense. Once again, we've accessed a script from one of the very few lost episodes of the show, and are bringing back many of the actors from Audion's very first episode in 2020 to recreate it. This 1950 episode, "Deadline," is a powerhouse story of a newspaper editor whose fast-breaking stories on the Chicago underworld increase his paper's circulation beyond his wildest dreams... but which may also prove to be the stuff of his nightmares. It is indeed a classic tale "well-calculated to keep you in..." SUSPENSE! Pete Lutz in Texas Doug Fain in Kentucky Richard Huitema in Florida Scott McKinley in New Jersey Patte Rose-bank in Toronto Canada Craig Wichman in New York Production, direction, music and sound patterns by Larry Groebe

What's more exciting than premiering a recreated lost episode of a classic audio drama? Premiering a completely unknown and lost show! Such is "Wayfaring Men," Project Audion's latest offering. "Wayfaring Men" was a dramatic summer 1933 CBS serial about the lives of the hoboes, tramps, and bums who were numerous during the Great Depression. Not a single recording of the show exists, and almost no background information either, but Project Audion came into a handful of original mimeographed scripts, and has selected one episode from June 1933 to bring back to life. But wait - there's more! Not only will you join the men (and women) who wandered over America's rails and roadways as they try to survive without money or jobs... Because this is the finale of our fifth season, we're first going to first take you behind the scenes for an extended look at how our shows are created, from script to rehearsals, from sound effects to recording and post-production, you'll discover what goes into each Project Audion episode. Heard (and seen) in THIS episode: Trevor Rines in Toronto canada Donna Patton in Tennessee Kim Titus in Texas Jack Ward in Nova Scotia David Ries in Georgia Larry Groebe produced and directed from Texas

Project Audion brings back another iconic mid-century situation comedy classic: "Our Miss Brooks." In the 1950s, the character of Connie Brooks was everyone's favorite English teacher - sassy and smart, but starry-eyed in her unrequited desire for biology teacher Mr. Boyton. Actress Eve Arden's portrayal was so iconic she made the jump to television four years after the radio version launched in 1948 - and even filmed a movie adaptation in 1956. Robert L. Mills, writer for Bob Hope, has crafted a fresh episode of the show for Project Audion that matches the originals, laugh for laugh. So - step back in time to when school days were simpler! Rachel Pulliam in Missouri Robert L. Mills in California Pete Lutz in Texas Bob Beaumont in California Ken Jefferies also in California Mel Rose in New Jersey Robert L. Mills penned the script, and Larry Groebe produced, directed, and played the part of the studio audience.

Project Audion brings you "The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," recreating an episode which has remained unheard for eighty years. There's no more famous detective, real or imagined, than Holmes. His creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, pretty much defined the mystery-detective story, and 138 years later Holmes and Watson are still part of popular culture. In 1945, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce portrayed them weekly on the Mutual Radio network. Our selected script (which aired only once, on January 15, 1945) "The Curse of Doctor Anselmo," carries its own mystery - the secret identity of the man who co-wrote it pseudonymously. Will you discover whodunnit? Will Holmes fall under Anselmo's curse? Will the Petri family take the time to bring you good wine? All will be revealed in this delightful half hour audio drama, faithful to the original series' sound and spirit. Our cast: Craig Wichman in New York Paul Arbisi in Illinois Glenn Hascall in Kansas Jeff Billard in Massachusetts Jane Beverley in New Jersey Richard Durrington in Idaho and Vincent Caruso in New York while Production and direction were handled by Larry Groebe in Texas

Long, long before George Burns became the senior citizen movie star of films like "The Sunshine Boys" and "Oh God!" he was familiar to radio and television audiences across the country as the grounded half of the comedy couple Burns and Allen, with real-life wife (and vaudeville partner) Gracie Allen playing the ditzy dame of the duo. Theirs was a 25-year run on the airwaves, and now for Project Audion, Pete Lutz has penned a fresh new Burns and Allen script that recalls the best of their radio work during World War II, right down to their sponsor of the time, Swan Soap. Much like Bob Hope and Jack Benny did, we find the two of them at a naval base entertaining the troops, along with guest stars Henry Fonda and Chico Marx. You'll be entertained by Audion's transcribed-live transcontinental cast of delicious, delirious vocal talents: John Bell in Alabama Mel Rose in Pennsylvania Dana Gonsalves in Texas Les Marsden in California Scott R. McKinley in New Jersey Pete Lutz in Texas Robert L. Mills in California Larry Groebe supervised the production

Our Christmas present for you is a lost episode of the classic detective drama "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe" with a holiday theme! Because Audion's previous Philip Marlowe restoration became its most popular episode ever, we returned to our archives to unearth a Marlowe script which hasn't been performed or heard since December 19, 1948 -- "The Three Wise Guys." "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe" ran for three years on network radio, with new noir-ish tales from author Raymond Chandler's detective. In this episode, it was the night before Christmas and (as Marlowe says) "a sweet girl was in trouble. But that didn't mean a thing to the second-story man, the four-flusher in spats, and the ex-Chicago cabbie -- until, one way or the other, they all got into the spirit of the thing..." Our cast, which recorded this episode live in the classic radio drama style, included: Andy Hartson-Bowyer in Virginia Tom Konkle in California Hunter Adkins in Maryland Gregg Mcafee in California Jessica Matthews in Texas Rhiannon Mcafee in California Donna Patton in Tennessee Paul Kovit in New York Music, sounds, production, direction by Larry Groebe

The Jack Benny Program returns with a delightful all-new radio episode penned by former Bob Hope staff writer Robert L. Mills just for Project Audion. Jack and his regular gang - Mary Livingston, Phil Harris, Dennis Day, and Rochester - send up the movie classic "Casablanca" with some of the movie's original cast in guest starring roles. Jack takes the Humphrey Bogart part, inevitably. Join project Audion's talented transcontinental voice actors as they perform together in real time (like the old radio-drama days) this brand-new episode of the Jack Benny Program that sounds like it came from the 1940s! Our cast: John Bell in Alabama Paul Patterson in Georgia Julie Hoverson in Washington Mel Rose in Pennsylvania Pete Lutz in Texas Scott McKinley in New Jersey Bob Beaumont in California Ken Jeffries in California Written and directed by Robert L. Mills in California Produced by Larry Groebe in Texas