Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)

Eighty years ago this week - on May 25, 1943 - listeners first heard "Sorry, Wrong Number" on Suspense. The terrifying tale from Lucille Fletcher starred Agnes Moorehead as a woman who overhears a murder plot over crossed phone lines. It would be performed on Suspense seven more times over the next seventeen years - each time starring Ms. Moorehead - and it was adapted by Ms. Fletcher for a big screen adaptation starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster. We'll hear two of the productions of this classic radio drama from November 18, 1948 and October 20, 1957.

Though her screen career never quite took off, Ellen Drew turned in memorable performances in movies like Christmas in July, Johnny O'Clock, and Isle of the Dead. We'll hear her co-starring with Agnes Moorehead in "Uncle Henry's Rosebush" (originally aired on CBS on June 29, 1943). Then, she stars in an adaptation of Charles Dickens' terrifying tale "The Signalman" (originally aired on CBS on February 15, 1959).

Edward Arnold put his frame and booming voice to good use as heavies in classic films. He was a go-to bad guy for Frank Capra in pictures like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Meet John Doe, where he played colorfully corrupt characters. We'll hear him as a long-suffering employee who's finally had enough of his abusive boss in "Account Payable" (originally aired on CBS on October 13, 1949). Then, he stars in a tale from the life of one of America's commanders-in-chief in Mr. President (originally aired on ABC on November 7, 1948).

Actress and activist Marsha Hunt returns to Suspense in a pair of radio thrillers. First, she's a racecar driver's wife on a collision course with death in "The Last Kilometer" (originally aired on CBS on June 22, 1958). Then, she's convinced a murderer has escaped from prison with revenge on his mind in "The Night Man," a tale of terror from Lucille Fletcher (AFRS rebroadcast from July 26, 1959). Finally, we'll hear Ms. Hunt in "Birthday Present," a story from the syndicated series The Unexpected. Click here for Marsha Hunt's previous appearances on "radio's outstanding theater of thrills."

For this month's bonus episode, I'm sharing my favorite Suspense shows starring Oscar-nominee Richard Widmark. First, he's an innocent man on the run in his bare feet in "Too Hot to Live" (originally aired on CBS on October 26, 1950). Next, Widmark plays a pitchman who has to make his biggest sale yet in order to stay alive in "Tell You Why I Shouldn't Die" (originally aired on CBS on April 30, 1951). Then, Widmark stars in the bloody true story of a Texas feud - a tale set to song - in "The Hunting of Bob Lee" (originally aired on CBS on October 29, 1951). Finally, he's a demented radio writer who plans to record a killing in "A Murderous Revision" (originally aired on CBS on December 3, 1951).

Master mystery writer John Dickson Carr was a key figure in the first year of Suspense. The creator of Dr. Gideon Fell and godfather of locked room puzzles penned nearly two dozen episodes of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" between 1942 and 1943. We'll hear two of those thrillers - "The Devil in the Summer House" (originally aired on CBS on November 3, 1942) and "Will You Make a Bet with Death?" (originally aired on CBS on November 10, 1942). Plus, we'll hear "The Bride Vanishes," written by Carr for his own anthology series Cabin B-13 (originally aired on CBS on December 12, 1948).

John Lund returns to the podcast in a pair of radio thrillers. First, he's an ordinary man drawn into a dangerous adventure during Mardi Gras in "The Man Who Stole the Bible" (originally aired on CBS on November 25, 1956). Then, Lund narrates a Pacific wartime drama as soldiers prepare to hit the beachhead in "Tarawa was Tough" (AFRS rebroadcast from May 12, 1957). And as a bonus, we'll hear Lund as Johnny Dollar - America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator - in "The Kay Bellamy Matter" (originally aired on CBS on January 30, 1953).

Gene Lockhart wore many hats in his career: Oscar-nominee, stage star, acting teacher at Julliard, and songwriter. He played everyone from Bob Cratchit to villains to the judge trying to decide Kris Kringle's fate in Miracle on 34th Street. We'll hear him as an office worker who kills a workplace rival in "Statement of Employee Henry Wilson" (originally aired on CBS on November 2, 1943). Then, Lockhart stars in an adaptation of Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" from Family Theatre (originally aired on Mutual on April 22, 1953).

For his final appearance on the podcast, Cornel Wilde stars as C. Auguste Dupin - the master detective created by Edgar Allan Poe - in "The Mystery of Marie Roget" (originally aired on CBS on December 14, 1953). Inspired by a real-life unsolved murder case, it finds Dupin investigating the killing of a beautiful young woman in Paris. Then, Wilde dons the famous mask and cape in a Hollywood Star Time adaptation of The Mark of Zorro (originally aired on CBS on February 17, 1946).

The Cheshire Cat, Kaa the snake, and Winnie the Pooh. Sterling Holloway voiced them all and became a Disney legend for his years of work bringing beloved characters to life with his instantly recognizable voice. He lent that voice to one episode of Suspense as a mild-mannered cruise passenger who stumbles into an exotic adventure in "The Second Class Passenger" (AFRS rebroadcast from January 20, 1957). Plus, we'll hear him narrate the tale of a very special piece of currency in "The Story of Danny Dollar Bill" from Family Theater (originally aired on Mutual on November 7, 1951).

For this month's bonus episode, I'm sharing my favorite episodes of Suspense starring Oscar-winner Claire Trevor. First, she's trapped in her home with a madman in "The Plan" (originally aired on CBS on May 16, 1946). Then, she's a dancer trying to solve her boyfriend's murder and find a priceless diamond he was hiding in "The Blue Hour" (originally aired on CBS on September 25, 1947). Finally, she cooks up an explosive revenge plan on her cheating husband in "The Light Switch" (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 1949).

Hitchockian heavy and Third Man hero Joseph Cotten returns for more "tales well calculated to keep you in Suspense!" We'll hear him first as a corrupt prosecutor who plans a murder to keep his dirty dealings a secret in "A Watery Grave" (originally aired on CBS on March 10, 1952). Then, he stars as the titular murderer as the ballad of "Tom Dooley" comes to life on radio (originally aired on CBS on March 30, 1953).

After achieving stardom in her native Australia, Ann Richards traveled to Hollywood. Unfortunately, studios never quite figured out what to do with her, and she retired after making just 12 movies in the States. But during her short stint in Hollywood, she co-starred with the likes of Brian Donlevy, Burt Lancaster, and Barbara Stanwyck. We'll hear her as a young woman who conspires to stay in high society by any means necessary in Marie Belloc Lowndes' "The Story of Ivy" (originally aired on CBS on June 21, 1945). Plus, she co-stars in a Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of "Disputed Passage" (originally aired on CBS on March 5, 1945).

Lee Bowman enjoyed a brief run of success on the big screen during World War II, but when film roles dried up he turned to television and eventually to a second career as a corporate and political media consultant. We'll hear him as a man who comes home from his bachelor party to discover a murder mystery in "Five Canaries in the Room" (originally aired on CBS on June 8, 1943). Then, Bowman plays a man saved from death only to wind up framed for murder in "Sell Me Your Life" (originally aired on CBS on February 15, 1945).

Academy Award-nominated actress Joan Lorring returns in two more Suspense thrillers from the early 1960s. First, it's "The Luck of the Tiger Eye," a tale of greed and graverobbing set in a mansion on a dark and stormy night (originally aired on CBS on December 3, 1961). Then, a pair of newlyweds might be parted by death sooner than anticipated in "Please Believe Me" (originally aired on CBS on January 28, 1962). Plus, we'll hear Joan Lorring as a woman who discovers a dead body in a taxi in "The Corpse Nobody Loved" from Inner Sanctum Mysteries (AFRS rebroadcast from September 21, 1952).

For this month's bonus show, I'm sharing my three favorite Suspense episodes starring Shane himself - Alan Ladd. First, he's an ex-con framed for murder in "The Defense Rests" (originally aired on CBS on March 9, 1944). Then, Ladd plays a detective facing his toughest case yet - his wife is accused of killing a man - in "Motive for Murder" (originally aired on CBS on March 16, 1950). Finally, he's in cowboy country for the western revenge drama "A Killing in Abeline" (originally aired on CBS on December 14, 1950).

Herbert Marshall returns to the podcast with two more old time radio thrillers. The star of Foreign Correspondent and The Man Called X is running for his life after he takes a shot at Hitler in "Rogue Male," an adaptation of Geoffrey Household's 1939 novel (originally aired on CBS on December 31, 1951). Then, he's the celebrated explorer Robert Scott in the harrowing tale of his doomed expedition to the South Pole in "The Diary of Captain Scott" (originally aired on CBS on April 21, 1952).

Sonny Tufts was the Hollywood discovery of 1943 and seemed primed for a huge career. Unfortunately, a battle with alcohol and some tawdry headlines soon overshadowed his screen performances. His dubious reputation in his later years also led to a rumor surrounding his one and only visit to Suspense. We'll hear him as a ham radio operator investigating something suspicious on the other end of the line in "Cat and Mouse" (originally aired on CBS on March 30, 1944). And we'll hear him visit Duffy's Tavern, where Ms. Duffy has her eye on Sonny as a date for a Valentine's Day dance (originally aired on NBC on February 2, 1945). Click here to learn more about the legend of Sonny Tufts on Suspense!

Macdonald Carey starred on television for nearly 30 years in Days of Our Lives, and his voice still introduces each episode of the long-running soap opera. But before he was a daytime TV star, he played a detective in love in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt and was one of Hollywood's B-movie kings. We'll hear him as a reporter searching for "The Missing Person" (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 1952). Plus, Carey stars as a New Orleans bar owner and boat captain in the drama series Jason and the Golden Fleece (originally aired on NBC on January 11, 1953).

At the height of his career, Francis X. Bushman received over one thousand fan letters a week and was hailed as the "king of the movies." Bushman was a screen idol of the silent film era and he starred in hundreds of films in the earliest years of Hollywood. We'll hear him narrate a tale of romance and murder from classic Tinseltown in "The City That Was" (an AFRS rebroadcast from November 17, 1957). Plus, we'll hear him as Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe in the radio mystery "The Shakespeare Folio" (originally aired on Mutual on November 30, 1945).

In this bonus episode, I'm sharing my favorite Suspense shows starring the great Edward G. Robinson. Best known for his tough guy turns in movies like Little Caesar and Key Largo, Robinson played against type to great effect on "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear him as a man accused of his imaginary wife's murder in "My Wife, Geraldine" (originally aired on CBS on March 1, 1945). Then he plays both himself and a very starstruck fan in "The Man Who Wanted to Be Edward G. Robinson" (originally aired on CBS on September 30, 1948). Finally, Robinson is a man coerced into an insurance fraud in "You Can't Die Twice" (originally aired on CBS on March 31, 1949).

Before Humphrey Bogart played tortured writer Dix Steele on the big screen in In a Lonely Place, Robert Montgomery played the man with a deadly secret in an adaptation of the novel on Suspense. The actor and director of Lady in the Lake and Ride the Pink Horse is star, producer, and host of this sixty-minute version of Dorothy B. Hughes' novel (originally aired on CBS on March 6, 1948).

Lurene Tuttle was the "first lady of radio" and one of the most-heard women in America during the 1940s and 50s. No matter where you turned your dial, you'd probably hear her on the air. She was Sam Spade's secretary, the Great Gildersleeve's niece, and the mom of Red Skelton's "mean widdle kid" Junior, just to mention a few. We'll hear her in a pair of radio thrillers - first as a woman held hostage by a gunman waiting to kill her husband in "The Tip" (originally aired on CBS on July 6, 1954). Then, she co-stars with Rosalind Russell in "The Sisters," a dark tale of sibling rivalry (originally aired on CBS on December 9, 1948).

Agnes Moorehead contends with a shipwreck and armed robbers in two more old time radio thrillers starring "the first lady of Suspense." First, she stars in a tale pulled from the history books as a sea captain's wife who is marooned along with her husband and his crew in "The Wreck of the Maid of Athens" (originally aired on CBS on November 30, 1952). Then, she's trapped in a closed grocery store with a pair of gun-toting thieves who want to rob the safe and eliminate any witnesses in "Weekend Special - Death" (originally aired on CBS on May 24, 1954).

We kick off 2023 with Frank Lovejoy, star of radio (Night Beat), screen (I Was a Communist for the FBI, In a Lonely Place), and television (Meet McGraw). He co-stars with his wife Joan Banks as a married pair of entertainers caught in the path of a hurricane in "The Storm" (originally aired on CBS on March 2, 1953). Then, he's trapped in a carnival fun house with a dead body in "The Giant of Thermopalye" (originally aired on CBS on May 3, 1954). Plus we'll hear Lovejoy in "The Hangtree Affair" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on December 19, 1948).

In our annual holiday bonus episode, we'll hear the film's original cast reunite for a radio recreation of It Happened on 5th Avenue. Charles Ruggles, Victor Moore, Gale Storm, and Don DeFore reprise their roles in this Christmas comedy about a hobo who makes his winter home in the New York mansion of the second richest man in the world, the evicted ex-GI who moves in, and the wealthy man's daughter who falls in with these friendly trespassers. This is an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of a show that originally aired on CBS on May 19, 1947.

Before she was ten years old, Evelyn Rudie earned an Emmy nomination for her performance as Eloise in a TV adaptation of Kay Thompson's classic children's book. She also made two appearances on Suspense, including a holiday offering from "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear her as a little girl who wants a dog for Christmas in "Dog Star" (originally aired on CBS on December 22, 1957). Then, she's got a new imaginary friend and a new game in an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's "Zero Hour" (originally aired on CBS on May 18, 1958). Plus, as a bonus, we'll hear "The Cave," another Suspense Christmas story about two boys who discover a world of adventure when they go exploring on Christmas Day (originally aired on CBS on December 20, 1955).

The Oscar-winning star of The Lost Weekend takes center stage in this bonus episode as I share my favorite episodes of Suspense starring Hitchcock villain and Columbo killer Ray Milland. First, he's a cop who crosses the line in "Night Cry" (originally aired on CBS on October 7, 1948). Next, he lands in hot water when he leaves the house without so much as a nickel in "Chicken Feed" (originally aired on CBS on September 8, 1949). Then, Milland is a gumshoe in an adaptation of Raymond Chandler's "Pearls are a Nuisance" (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1950). And finally, he's a juror who discovers a plan to swing the verdict in "After the Movies" (originally aired on CBS on December 7, 1950).

At one time, Madeleine Carroll was the world's highest-paid actress, but she gave up Hollywood stardom to devote her life to helping children displaced by war and servicemen wounded on the battlefield. The English-born star appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and co-starred with the likes of Gary Cooper, Ronald Colman, and Bob Hope before she committed herself to her charitable works. We'll hear Ms. Carroll in her one and only Suspense show "The Morrison Affair" - a story of a woman who steals a baby and tries to pass the child off as her own (originally aired on CBS on September 2, 1948). Plus, she co-stars with Charles Boyer in a Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (originally aired on CBS on December 1, 1947).

Radio legend, TV detective, and Rocky and Bullwinkle narrator William Conrad returns in a pair of thrillers well calculated to keep you in Suspense. First, he plays a man who confesses to murders he never committed. Charlotte Lawrence co-stars in "Case Study of a Murderer" (originally aired on CBS on January 20, 1955). Then, Conrad stars in an unusual - but excellent - episode of Suspense. It's an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's science fiction story "Kaleidoscope" (originally aired on CBS on July 12, 1955). Plus, we'll hear Conrad as a private eye long before Cannon hit the small screen. He plays Philip Marlowe in "The Anniversary Gift" (originally aired on CBS on April 11, 1950). And finally we'll hear him in his best-known radio role - US Marshal Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke (originally aired on CBS on November 21, 1953).

With a tough face, a gravelly voice, and a demeanor that meant business, Charles McGraw made memorable impressions on screen as both cops and criminals in movies like The Narrow Margin and The Killers. McGraw starred on the big and small screens as well as the stage over the course of his long career. We'll hear him in a pair of "tales well calculated to keep you in Suspense" plus the audition recording for a hardboiled police procedural drama. First, he's trying to avert a disaster in the sky in "Two Hundred and Twenty Seven Minutes of Hate" (an AFRS rebroadcast from February 24, 1957). Then, he's fresh out of prison with a plan to get revenge on the prosecutor who sent him there in "The Silver Frame" (originally aired on CBS on February 2, 1958). Finally, McGraw stars as Lt. Lou Dana in the audition recording for The Man from Homicide (recorded on or around September 16, 1950). Coming up next: A bonus episode featuring the best of Ray Milland on Suspense and on Sunday, 12/11 William Conrad returns to the podcast!

Note: No intro; is cold season over yet? We say goodbye to Tony-winner and Oscar-nominee Nancy Kelly this week as the star of The Bad Seed and the Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? takes her final bow on the podcast. We'll hear her in a pair of thrillers from Suspense plus an episode of Escape for even more old time radio excitement. First, Ms. Kelly co-stars with Suspense MVP Cathy Lewis in "Dark Journey" - a script penned by the great Lucille Fletcher (originally aired on CBS on April 25, 1946). Then, she plays a lawyer who saves her client from conviction only to realize it may fall to her to make sure justice prevails in "Trial by Jury" (originally aired on CBS on June 16, 1957). Finally, we'll hear her in "The Rim of Terror," where she plays a woman helping her fiance on the lam from spies. This episode of Escape originally aired on CBS on May 12, 1950.

June Havoc wore many hats during her long showbiz career - actress, singer, playwright, director, and more. The sister of legendary burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee, Havoc found her biggest successes on Broadway with appearances on the big and small screens in between acclaimed stage runs. In 1948, she married William Spier - "the Hitchcock of the airwaves" and longtime producer and director of Suspense - and she starred in several episodes of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." We'll hear her today in "Stand-In" as she plots to steal the spotlight from an aging movie star (originally aired on CBS on June 12, 1947) and "Subway," where she plans to dispose of a longtime rival on the way home from work (originally aired on CBS on October 30, 1947). Plus, we'll hear her opposite Howard Duff as Sam Spade's latest client in "The Hot Hundred Grand Caper" (originally aired on CBS on September 19, 1948).

For this bonus episode, we're celebrating "Noirvember" with five tales from crime fiction master Cornell Woolrich. His stories inspired movies like Rear Window and Phantom Lady and dozens of old time radio shows. First, Nancy Kelly is out to save her husband from a date with the executioner in "Eve" (an AFRS rebroadcast from October 19, 1944). Then, Lee Bowman stars in the search for a missing woman in "I Won't Take a Minute" (originally aired on CBS on December 6, 1945) and Robert Young hunts for his missing wife in "You'll Never See Me Again" (originally aired on CBS on September 5, 1946). Finally, Henry DeSilva and Jack Webb play cop and criminal in "You Take Ballistics" (originally aired on CBS on March 13, 1947) and Fredric March is an arson investigator whose latest case strikes close to home in "The Night Reveals" (originally aired on CBS on May 26, 1949).

Lloyd Nolan makes his final podcast visit in "Vial of Death" - the tale of a missing sample of cholera that threatens a city. This tense and timely thriller originally aired on CBS on May 18, 1953. We'll also hear the character actor in a radio adaptation of The House on 92nd Street. Nolan reprises his role as an FBI agent hunting Nazi spies in America in this broadcast from The Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on CBS on June 10, 1946).

**Note: Intros aren't back yet. Thanks for your patience! In his final appearance on the podcast, Charles Laughton menaces June Havoc and recreates one of his classic screen roles. First, he co-stars with Ms. Havoc in "Blind Date" (originally aired on CBS on September 29, 1949). Then, Laughton is back in the uniform of the infamous Captain Bligh. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Bligh in the 1935 big screen adaptation of Mutiny on the Bounty, and he returns to the role for the story of what happened after the captain was set adrift. We'll hear "The Revenge of Captain Bligh" (originally aired on CBS on May 17, 1954). And finally, we'll hear Laughton in another of his memorable screen performances as Academy Award presents Ruggles of Red Gap (originally aired on June 8, 1946).

We close out this Halloween season of bonus spooky shows with an encore production of "The Hitchhiker" - Lucille Fletcher's harrowing account of horror on the highway that was later adapted for television by Rod Serling as an episode of The Twilight Zone. We've heard Orson Welles in the 1942 Suspense production of the story; today, we'll hear Welles return to the role of cross-country driver Ronald Adams - the man who encounters the sinister stranger thumbing a ride on the side of the road - in this episode of The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air (originally aired on CBS on June 21, 1946).

Note: No intro - 'tis the season for colds, congestion, and froggy voices. The name Edgar Allan Poe is synonymous with suspense and horror, and his tales of terror continue to give readers thrills and chills today. We'll hear a pair of Poe's stories adapted for "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." First, Henry Hull stars in the Inquisition-era tale of torture "The Pit and the Pendlum" (originally aired on CBS on January 12, 1943). Then, Poe's brilliant detective C. Auguste Dupin (played by Jackson Beck) solves "The Mystery of Marie Roget" (originally aired on CBS on February 17, 1960). Finally, we'll close with a trilogy of Poe stories presented on The NBC University Theatre - "Nose-ology," "The Cask of Amontillado," and "The Fall of the House of Usher" (originally aired on NBC on March 6, 1949).

H.P. Lovecraft's classic chiller comes to life on radio in this week's bonus scary story. Ronald Colman stars in the Suspense adaptation of "The Dunwich Horror" (Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast from November 1, 1945).

On radio, Stacy Harris chased crooks as a G-man, menaced Jack Webb on Dragnet, and lent his voice to Batman. Harris was a great actor who could be heard all over the dial and - later - seen on the big and small screens. We'll hear him in three old time radio thrillers, beginning with a terrific radio adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (originally aired on CBS on June 7, 1955). Then, he stars in a what-if drama about the first atomic submarine in "Report on the X-915" (originally aired on CBS on November 8, 1955). Finally, Harris is a jewel thief whose trouble really begins when he tries to dispose of the merchandise in "The End of the String" (originally aired on CBS on January 17, 1951).

In this week's bonus scary story, we catch a ride with The Mysterious Traveler as the sinister storyteller relates the tale of an archeological expedition gone horribly wrong. It's "Behind the Locked Door" (originally aired on Mutual on November 6, 1951).

The son of radio actor Frank Readick, Robert Readick made his first radio appearances when he was a child, and he'd racked up nearly 7,000 broadcasts by his early 20s. He starred in shows like 21st Precinct, The Cavalcade of America, and as Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. We'll hear Readick in four old time radio thrillers from the sixties Suspense era: "Two Came Back" (originally aired on CBS on June 5, 1960); "Bon Voyage" (originally aired on CBS on July 3, 1960); "The Green Lorelei" (originally aired on CBS on November 6, 1960); and "The Black Door" (originally aired on CBS on November 19, 1961).

Our annual countdown to Halloween begins with the great Peter Lorre as a man haunted by an unseen presence. Lorre stars in "The Horla," an adaptation of the short story by Guy de Maupassant from Mystery in the Air (originally aired on NBC on August 21, 1947).

We're digging into the classics with a two-part Suspense adaptation of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the novel left unfinished by Charles Dickens when he passed away in 1870. Herbert Marshall stars in this production (originally aired on CBS on January 5 and January 12, 1953) that presents a possible ending to Dickens' murder mystery. We'll also hear an adaptation of Dickens' eerie story "The Signal Man" presented on Lights Out (originally aired on NBC on August 24, 1946).

On September 30, 1962, Suspense aired its final episode and the golden age of radio drama came to an end. In honor of the 60th anniversary of that last broadcast, we'll hear four of the final episodes of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" - "Run Faster" (originally aired on CBS on August 5, 1962); "The Lost Ship" (originally aired on CBS on August 26, 1952), "The Death of Alexander Jordan" (originally aired on CBS on September 2, 1962); and "A Strange Day in May" (originally aired on CBS on September 9, 1962). Click here to listen to Episode 100 - Beginnings and Endings, featuring "Devilstone," the final episode of Suspense.

A frequent collaborator of Orson Welles, Edgar Barrier appeared with the Mercury Theatre onstage and on radio and he played Banquo in Welles' film version of Macbeth. Elsewhere, Barrier hunted the Phantom of the Opera on the big screen and voiced Simon Templar on radio. We'll hear him as a scientist trying to prevent an outbreak of plague in "Black Death" (originally aired on CBS on August 2, 1955) and as a man hunting for his ancestor's pirate booty in "The Treasure Chest of Don Jose" (originally aired on CBS on June 26, 1956). We'll also hear Barrier in "The Projective Mr. Drogan" from Lights Out (originally aired on CBS on January 26, 1943) and as Julius Caesar in "Twenty-Three Knives Against Caesar" from Crime Classics (originally aired on CBS on February 10, 1954).

Van Heflin bids goodbye to the podcast with his final three appearances on Suspense. First, he's a man who waits years to finish a duel in "The Shot" (AFRS rebroadcast from October 12, 1953). Then, Heflin plays the infamous Public Enemy #1 in "The Last Days of John Dillinger" (originally aired on CBS on May 10, 1954). Finally, he stars as a drifter who wanders into a town and a murder frame in "Too Hot to Live" (originally aired on CBS on April 12, 1959). And as a bonus, we'll hear him as Philip Marlowe in a radio adaptation of Raymond Chandler's "Red Wind" (originally aired on NBC on June 17, 1947).

Jack Benny sets down his violin and trades mirth for mystery in my three favorite Suspense episodes starring the legendary comedian. First, he finds a bag of money and a pile of trouble in "Murder in G-Flat" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1951). Then, he's an embezzling retiree who adjusts his pension plan in "A Good and Faithful Servant" (originally aired on CBS on June 2, 1952). Finally, we head to Mars where Benny's average Martian is recruited to welcome visitors from Earth in "Plan X" (originally aired on CBS on February 2, 1953).

Geraldine Fitzgerald was an Oscar nominee and a rising star in Hollywood in the late 1930s, But battles with studio executives began to cost her roles and derailed her career just as it was taking off. She enjoyed a revival in the 1960s, and she continued to work on stage and screen in everything from Arthur to The Golden Girls. We'll hear her as a woman whose husband is obsessed with one of history's most infamous duels in "A Friend to Alexander" (originally aired on CBS on June 15, 1944). Then, she co-stars with Orson Welles in Agatha Christie's "Philomel Cottage" (originally aired on CBS on October 7, 1943). Finally, we'll hear Geraldine Fitzgerald in "Artist to the Wounded," a wartime romantic drama from The Cavalcade of America (originally aired on NBC on May 7, 1945).

Many's the time John Dehner was gunned down in a classic TV western. With his deep, smooth voice, he was a natural to play heavies on screen but on radio, the versatile Dehner could play almost anybody - from Scotland Yard inspectors to murderers, from refined reporters to gunslingers. We'll hear the radio legend and character actor in "The Man with the Steel Teeth" - a story he wrote (originally aired on CBS on February 17, 1955). Then he stars in a Suspense show pulled from the history books - "The Mystery of the Mary Celeste" (originally aired on CBS on December 27, 1955). Finally, we'll hear Dehner as reporter J.B. Kendall - the Frontier Gentleman - in "The Powder River Kid" (originally aired on CBS on April 6, 1958).