CBS Radio Mystery Theater
The CBS Radio Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT) was an ambitious and sustained attempt in the 1970s to revive the great drama of old-time radio. Created by Himan Brown (who had by then become a radio legend due to his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries The Adventures of Nero Wolfe and other shows dating back to the 1930s), it aired on affiliate stations across the CBS Radio network. The series began its long run January 6 1974; the final episode ran December 31 1982.
The show was broadcast nightly and ran for one hour, including news and commercials. Typically, a week consisted of three to four new episodes, with the remainder of the week filled out with reruns. There were 1,399 original episodes broadcast. The total number of broadcasts, including reruns, was 2,969.
The format was similar to that of classic old time radio shows such as The Mysterious Traveler and The Whistler, in that there is a host, E.G. Marshall, who introduces each episode and provides pithy wisdom throughout; but, unlike the hosts of those shows, Marshall is fully mortal, merely someone whose heightened insight and erudition plunge the listener into the world of the macabre.
The show began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure, accompanied by Marshall's disturbing intonation of, "Come in! ... Welcome; I am E.G. Marshall." At the end of each show, the door would creak and slam shut, followed by Marshall's classic signoff, "Until next time, pleasant ... dreams?," segueing into the show's haunting woodwind theme music.
Marshall hosted the program every year but the final one, when actress Tammy Grimes took over, maintaining the format.
Scope
Despite the show's title, Brown expanded its scope beyond mysteries to include horror, science fiction, historical drama and comedy, along with seasonal dramas at Christmas. Nevertheless, as stated by Marshall at each show's finish, the show's focus was on "adventures into the macabre."
In addition to original stories, there were adaptations of classic tales by such writers as Edgar Allan Poe (no fewer than seven Poe stories were adapted in 1975 alone), O. Henry, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, Charles Dickens and others. Later in the series Brown experimented with five-episode adaptations of novels such as Les Misérables and The Last Days of Pompeii, as well as an original five-part story about Egyptian queen Nefertiti with Tammy Grimes in the title role.
Notable performers
Prominent actors from radio and screen performed on the series, including Morey Amsterdam, Mason Adams, Richard Crenna, Keir Dullea, Morgan Fairchild, Jack Grimes, Fred Gwynne, Joan Hackett, Larry Haines, Paul Hecht, Kim Hunter, John Lithgow, Mercedes McCambridge, Agnes Moorehead, Tony Roberts, Marian Seldes, Jerry Stiller, Roy Thinnes and a young Sarah Jessica Parker. Parker was credited as Sarah Parker, for the show "The Child Cat's Paw", which ran originally on May 17 1977.
Actors were paid union scale at around $73.92 per show. Writers earned a flat rate of $350 per show. The production took place with assembly-line precision. Brown would meet with actors at 9:00 am for the first reading of the script. After he assigned roles, the recording began. By noon the recording of the actors was complete, and Brown handed everyone their checks. Post-production was done in the afternoon.
Awards
In 1975, CBSRMT won the prestigious Peabody Award, and in 1990 it was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. In 1998, the still-active Brown attempted a brief revival of the series, rebroadcasting selected old episodes with his own introductions replacing Marshall's.
Continuing popularity
CBSRMT remains perennially popular with collectors to this day, with numerous websites and discussion forums. A Usenet newsgroup is devoted to trading MP3 files of episodes. Himan Brown has explored selling copies of CBSRMT shows by asking on his website [1] whether or not people would be willing to purchase original recordings of his program.
One of the most interesting aspects for some collectors of CBSRMT is that some of the shows were taped with both news and commercials embedded, which provides an illuminating insight into the period in which the show ran.
While some fans of old-time radio may judge CBSRMT as inferior to similar shows from the past, such as Inner Sanctum Mysteries, Suspense and The Mysterious Traveler, which were produced in a 30-minute format, such comparisons must take into account the sheer prodigiousness of production by Himan Brown and his players. At the rate of one show per day, it would take nearly four years to listen to each of the 1399 hour-long episodes of CBSRMT.
On May 6, 1979, Himan Brown was presented a Broadcast Preceptor Award by San Francisco State University for his contributions with the CBSRMT.
In 1978, a paperback volume containing three short stories adapted from the series' radio scripts was published.
The episode "Children of Death", broadcast February 5, 1976, written by Sam Dann, served as the basis for Dann's novel, The Third Body, published in 1979 by Popular Library. Another of his stories for Mystery Theater, "Goodbye Carl Erich" from the 1975 Season, was also turned into a novel by the same name, first published in 1985.
From June 3, 1998 to November 27, 1998, CBSRMT was rebroadcast over NPR, with Himan Brown replacing the opening narrations of E.G. Marshall.
In January 1999, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, released a book documenting the history of the program, including an episode guide. The book, fully indexed, runs 475 pages. It was authored by Gordon Payton and Martin Grams, Jr. The book was released in both hardcover and trade paperback.
In October, 2006 a third book about Mystery Theater was published, examining the series value today in education and instruction: The CBS Radio Mystery Theater As An Educational Degree, published by Stahl Consolidated Manufacturing Corporation in Huntsville, Alabama. The book runs 180 pages and was released in hardcover.