Box 13
Encyclopedia
Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of newspaperman-turned-mystery novelist Dan Holliday, played by film star Alan Ladd
Alan Ladd
-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
. Created by Ladd's company, Mayfair Productions, Box 13 premiered in 1947. In New York City, it first aired December 31, 1947, on Mutual
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
's New York flagship, WOR
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
.
To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holliday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper where he formerly worked: "Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything -- write Box 13, Star-Times." The stories followed Holliday's adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.
Sylvia Picker appeared as Holliday's scatterbrained secretary, Suzy, while Edmund MacDonald played police Lt. Kling. Supporting cast members included Betty Lou Gerson
Betty Lou Gerson
Betty Lou Gerson was an American actress, predominantly in radio, but also in film and television, and as a voice actress.-Early life:...
, Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
, Lurene Tuttle
Lurene Tuttle
Lurene Tuttle was a character actress, who made transitions from vaudeville to radio, to films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's most versatile actresses...
, Alan Reed
Alan Reed
Alan Reed was an American actor and voice actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones and various spinoff series...
, Luis Van Rooten
Luis van Rooten
Luis van Rooten, was an American film actor. He was christened Luis d'Antin van Rooten.Van Rooten earned his BA at the University of Pennsylvania and worked as an architect before deciding to pursue film work in Hollywood during World War II...
and John Beal
John Beal (actor)
-Life and career:Beal was born James Alexander Bliedung in Joplin, Missouri. He originally went to New York to study art but a chance to understudy in a play made him change his mind. He began acting in the 1930s, opposite Katharine Hepburn , among others; one of his notable screen appearances was...
. Vern Carstensen, who directed Box 13 for producer Richard Sanville, was also the show's announcer.
Among the 52 episodes in the series were such mystery adventures as "The Sad Night," "Hot Box," "Last Will And Nursery Rhyme," "Hare And Hounds," "Hunt And Peck," "Death Is A Doll," "Tempest In a Casserole" and "Mexican Maze." The dramas featured music by Rudy Schrager. Russell Hughes, who had previously hired Ladd as a radio actor in 1935 at a $19 weekly salary, wrote most of the scripts, sometimes in collaboration with Ladd. The partners in Mayfair Productions were Ladd and Bernie Joslin, who had previously run the chain of Mayfair Restaurants.
Adaptation into other media
At least one attempt to convert the series for television was tried when Ladd appeared in an adaptation of "Daytime Nightmare" (retitled "Committed") on CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
(December 5, 1954).
Box 13 was also re-imagined (rather than a straight adaptation or continuation) as a comic book series in 2010 by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis
Steve Ellis
Steve Ellis may refer to:*Steve Ellis *Steve Ellis *Steven Ellis *Steve Ellis *Steve Ellis , World Managing Director of Bain & Company...
and published by Comixology
ComiXology
comiXology is a digital software and services media company that delivers comics and graphic novels through mobile applications and the Internet....
. It is published digitally by comiXology and published in print by Red 5 Comics
Red 5 Comics
Red 5 is an independent comic book publisher, known for producing a combination of creator-owned and internally developed titles, including their best known title, Atomic Robo...
:
http://www.red5comics.com/?p=668
Episodes
| # | Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Aug 22, 1948 | "The First Letter" |
| 02 | Aug 29, 1948 | "Insurance Fraud Scheme" |
| 03 | Sept 5, 1948 | "Suzi Quits Paper to Work for Dan" |
| 04 | Sept 12, 1948 | "'Time for Drama' Radio Show" (aka "'Actor's Alibi") |
| 05 | Sept 19, 1948 | "Extra, Extra" |
| 06 | Sept 26, 1948 | "The Boat 'Ruthie J'" (aka "'Shanghaied") |
| 07 | Oct 3, 1948 | "George Flit, Detective" (aka "'Short Assignment") |
| 08 | Oct 10, 1948 | "Rendezvous in the Park at Night" (aka "'Double Mothers") |
| 09 | Oct 17, 1948 | "A Book of Poems" |
| 10 | Oct 24, 1948 | "Maria Theater Ticket Murder" (aka "'The Great Torino") |
| 11 | Oct 31, 1948 | "Catherine Daily" (aka "'Suicide or Murder?") |
| 12 | Nov 7, 1948 | "Triple Cross" |
| 13 | Nov 14, 1948 | "Damsel In Distress" |
| 14 | Nov 21, 1948 | "Diamond in the Sky" |
| 15 | Nov 28, 1948 | "Double Right Cross |
| 16 | Dec 5, 1948 | "Look Pleasant, Please" |
| 17 | Dec 12, 1948 | "The Haunted Artist" |
| 18 | Dec 19, 1948 | "The Sad Night" |
| 19 | Dec 26, 1948 | "Hot Box" |
| 20 | Jan 2, 1949 | "The Better Man" |
| 21 | Jan 9, 1949 | "The Professor and the Puzzle" |
| 22 | Jan 16, 1949 | "The Dowager and Dan Holliday" |
| 23 | Jan 23, 1949 | "Three to Die" |
| 24 | Jan 30, 1949 | "The Philanthropist" |
| 25 | Feb 6, 1949 | "Last Will and Nursery Rhyme" |
| 26 | Feb 13, 1949 | "Delinquent Dilemma" |
| 27 | Feb 20, 1949 | "Flash of Light" |
| 28 | Feb 27, 1949 | "Hare and Hounds" |
| 29 | Mar 6, 1949 | "Hunt and Peck" |
| 30 | Mar 13, 1949 | "Death is a Doll" |
| 31 | Mar 20, 1949 | "113.5" |
| 32 | Mar 27, 1949 | "Dan and the Wonderful Lamp" |
| 33 | Apr 3, 1949 | "Tempest in a Casserole" |
| 34 | Apr 10, 1949 | "Mexican Maze" |
| 35 | Apr 17, 1949 | "Sealed Instructions" |
| 36 | Apr 24, 1949 | "Find Me, Find Death" |
| 37 | May 1, 1949 | "Much Too Lucky" |
| 38 | May 8, 1949 | "One of These Four" |
| 39 | May 15, 1949 | "Daytime Nightmare" |
| 40 | May 22, 1949 | "Death is No Joke" |
| 41 | May 29, 1949 | "The Treasure of Hang Lee" |
| 42 | June 5, 1949 | "Design for Danger" |
| 43 | June 12, 1949 | "The Dead Man Walks" |
| 44 | June 19, 1949 | "Killer at Large" |
| 45 | June 26, 1949 | "Speed To Burn" |
| 46 | July 3, 1949 | "House of Darkness" |
| 47 | July 10, 1949 | "Double Trouble" |
| 48 | July 17, 1949 | "The Biter Bitten" |
| 49 | July 24, 1949 | "The Perfect Crime" |
| 50 | July 31, 1949 | "Archimedes and the Roman" |
| 51 | Aug 7, 1949 | "The Clay Pigeon" |
| 52 | Aug 14, 1949 | "Round Robin" |