The Damon Runyon Theater


The Damon Runyon Theater was a 52 show series that was syndicated across the USA beginning in early 1949. Damon Runyon was a gifted sports writer in New York City as well as being a great journalist and great short story writer. His stories were humorous ones, written in the "dem" and "dose" vernacular of the city's loveable and not so loveable characters of Broadway, the prize ring and the underworld. His most famous collection of short stories, Guys and Dolls, was on Broadway and later made into a movie. Many of his stories were filmed including Sorrowful Jones, A Pocketful of Miracles, Lady for a Day, Blue Plate Special, The Lemon Drop Kid (twice) and Little Miss Marker (four times). In addition to this The Damon Runyon Theater was syndicated for television in the mid 1950s. Since the series was syndicated, the radio stations began the show on various dates: Jan 2, 1949, Jan 11, 1949, Jun 22, 1950 and Aug 8, 1950, just to name a few. For this reason no dates are listed below, only the order in which the series was to play - and even then the first two were switched at least one time. Each program was hosted by actor John Brown who introduced the story and its characters. THE DAMON RUNYON THEATRE brought the works of Damon (Alfred) Runyon (1884-1946) to radio, remaining true to his stylized, idiomatic way of telling tales of New York's underworld. The series was syndicated nationwide after it premiered on the West Coast (under Mayfair Syndication). The story teller in Mr. Runyon's original works was unnamed. In this adaptation, he was given the name "Broadway". Broadway not only recounts the tale, but in many of the shows, is directly involved in the action. Broadway's stories had plenty of warmth and appeal and were told in his thick Brooklyn accent. This series utilized the audio art of dialect humor. Broadway was played by John Brown. Supporting members of the cast were frequently actors well known to the radio audience, such as Frank Lovejoy, Allen Reed, Gerald Mohr, Eddie Mar, Louis Van Rooten and William Conrad.
49/01/02 1 Tobias the Terrible 49/01/09 2 Little Miss Marker 49/01/16 3 Romance in the Roaring Forties 49/01/23 4 The Lemon Drop Kid 49/01/30 5 A Nice Price 49/02/06 6 The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown 49/02/13 7 For a Pal 49/02/20 8 Princess O'Hara 49/02/27 9 Butch Minds the Baby 49/03/06 10 Breach of Promise 49/03/13 11 Dancing Dan's Christmas 49/03/20 12 Pick a Winner 49/03/27 13 Hold `Em Yale 49/04/03 14 The Brain Goes Home 49/04/10 15 Blood Pressure 49/04/17 16 Old Em's Kentucky Home 49/04/24 17 Blonde Mink 49/05/01 18 Leopard's Spots 49/05/08 19 All Horse Players Die Broke 49/05/15 20 The Hottest Guy in the World 49/05/22 21 A Piece of Pie 49/05/29 22 Barbecue 49/06/05 23 Lonely Heart 49/06/12 24 Broadway Complex 49/06/19 25 Madame La Gimp 49/06/26 26 Baseball Hattie 49/07/03 27 The Big Umbrella 49/07/10 28 Earthquake 49/07/17 29 The Bloodhounds of Broadway 49/07/24 30 The Lily of St Pierre 49/07/31 31 It Comes up Mud 49/08/07 32 Broadway Financier 49/08/14 33 Bred for Battle 49/08/21 34 So You Won't Talk 49/08/28 35 Social Error 49/09/04 36 Cemetery Bait 49/09/18 38 The Brakeman's Daughter 49/09/25 39 The Lacework Kid 49/10/02 40 Maybe a Queen 49/10/09 41 Joe Terrace 49/10/16 42 Lillian 49/10/23 43 Palm Beach Santa Claus 49/10/30 44 Tight Shoes 49/11/06 45 That Ever-Lovin' Wife of Hymie's 49/11/13 46 A Light in France 49/11/20 47 A Story Goes with It 49/11/27 48 Dark Dolores 49/12/04 49 What, No Butler 49/12/11 50 Neat Strip 49/12/18 51 Sense of Humor 49/12/25 52 Dream Street Rose