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