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Posted by Unknown | in Blue Beetle, Frank Lovejoy, Night Beat, Old Time Radio, This is Your FBI

When you listen to old radio shows, do you ever hear an actor's voice and think that you know the name?

http://franklovejoysite.blogspot.com/2015/05/who-is-frank-lovejoy.html

There are many, many character actors like that. Frank Lovejoy fits into that category. As well as a film star, he appeared on many radio shows beginning in the 1930s as a member of the cast or as a guest star as well as starring in several shows such as the Blue Beetle and Night Beat.

The thing that set Lovejoy apart from a lot of other actors is that he was believable as a regular Joe. He used his voice to convey emotion in a real and convincing way regardless of the type of character he was playing. That reputation for playing sympathetic characters followed him to movies where he played mostly supporting roles and television where he starred in two series and guest starred in several.

At Old Time Radio, you can find radio shows featuring Lovejoy like Night Beat, Blue Beetle, and This is Your FBI. Listen to a sample then add to your collection.

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Old Time Radio

Posted by Unknown | in Box 13, Charles Nicholas, Dan Garrett, Escape, Frank Lovejoy, Gang Busters, Lucky Stone, Mystery Men, Night Beat, Old Time Radio, Randy Stone, Suspense, The Blue Beetle, This is Your FBI

When a radio actor is really good, you can find his name on the cast list of, sometimes, hundreds of radio episodes across all genres. Frank Lovejoy was that kind of actor and it carried over into his film career. If you pay attention, you can hear him on shows like Box 13, Suspense, Escape, Gang Busters and so many more shows.

He also had his opportunities as starring roles. He played police officer turned superhero, The Blue Beetle, he was also the narrator on This is Your FBI. His most famous starring turn, however, was as the never-give-up reporter Randy Stone on Night Beat.

THE BLUE BEETLE

The Blue Beetle radio show started as a comic book in 1939. He was created for the Mystery Men comic books by Charles Nicholas and appeared in the first book in the series. Eventually, Blue Beetle got is own comic book, newspaper comic strip and radio show. Blue Beetle is actually Dan Garrett, a young policeman who saw a need to put more fear into the criminals he pursued by day. As Blue Beetle, Garrett wore a strange suit of blue chain mail that was "smooth as silk" and took a super vitamin to give him super powers.

The radio show first aired in 1940 with Lovejoy starring as the Beetle for the first 13 episodes. The first show debuted in April 1940 and continued twice weekly until July 1940. After Lovejoy left the role, an uncredited actor completed the series.

NIGHT BEAT

Night Beat is Lovejoy's best known radio show. Set in downtown Chicago, the main character is newspaperman Randy Stone (sometimes Lucky Stone) who writes for the Chicago Star on the night beat. The beginning of each show always starts the same way, "Stories start in many ways...." followed by an introduction to the story.

Stone always starts the night not knowing what he is going to write about or where the night will take him. During the course of the night he meets someone and gets pulled into a mystery. One of the best things about Night Beat is sometimes Stone doesn't solve the mystery in time and he is fallible. He also gets personally involved with the subjects of his stories when reporters are supposed to report the news as a disinterested observer.

Lovejoy played all of these situations with real emotion. You can hear the anger, the anguish and the amusement in every situation. That ability is what made Lovejoy a great character actor.

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Posted by Unknown | in Aimee McPherson, Boston Blackie, Candy Matson, CBS Radio Mystery Theater, Charlie McCarthy, Christmas Radio Shows, Cinnamon Bear, Dragnet, Dummy Puppets, Edward R. Murrow, Errol Flynn, Eve Arden, Old Time Radio