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The Adventures of Superman (radio)
Encyclopedia
The Adventures of Superman was a long running radio serial that originally aired from 1940 to 1951, adapted from the DC Comics
character. (See Superman
).
The serial came to radio
as a syndicated show on New York City
's WOR
on February 12, 1940. On Mutual, it was broadcast from August 31, 1942, to February 4, 1949, as a 15-minute serial, running three or, usually, five times a week. From February 7 to June 24, 1949 it ran as a thrice-weekly half-hour show. The series shifted to ABC
Saturday evenings on October 29, 1949, and then returned to afternoons, twice-a-week on June 5, 1950, continuing on ABC until March 1, 1951.
and Joe Shuster
, the Man of Tomorrow first appeared in Action Comics
#1 in 1938. The following year, the newspaper comic strip
began and four audition radio programs were prepared to sell Superman as a radio series. When Superman was first heard on radio less than two years after the comic book appearance, the character took on an added dimension with Bud Collyer
in the title role. During World War II
and the post-war years, the juvenile adventure radio serial, sponsored by Kellogg's
Pep
, was a huge success, with many listeners following the quest for "truth and justice" in the daily radio broadcasts, the comic book stories and the newspaper comic strip. Airing in the late afternoon (variously at 5:15pm, 5:30pm and 5:45pm), the radio serial engaged its young after-school audience with its exciting and distinctive opening, which changed slightly as the series progressed. Most familiar is the television opening, but the most oft heard radio opening through the mid-1940s was:
"Presenting the transcription feature, Superman." (followed by Superman's "flying" audio effect). Then,
"Yes, it's Superman--strange visitor from the planet Krypton
who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can leap tall buildings in a single bound, race a speeding bullet to its target, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great Metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth and justice."
By September 5, 1945, the opening, (repeated at the close), had morphed into:
"Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.'
Look! Up in the sky!
It's a bird!
It's a plane!
It's Superman!"
That well known signature opening, one of the most famous in radio history, was delivered by Jackson Beck
, the announcer-narrator for the program from 1943 to 1950. He also had recurring roles, voicing an occasional tough guy and also portraying Beany Martin, the Daily Planet
s teenage copy boy. On Superman episodes featuring Batman
, he played Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth
. Decades later, Beck portrayed Perry White
, Clark Kent
's boss, in Filmation
's The New Adventures of Superman animated series (1966–70) in addition to serving as the show's narrator.
magazine interview about that campaign.
Since there were no reruns at that time, the series often used plot devices and plot twists to allow Collyer to have vacation time. Kryptonite
allowed Superman to be incapacitated and incoherent with pain while the secondary characters took the focus instead. At other times, Batman (Stacy Harris
) and Robin (Ronald Liss) appeared on the program in Superman's absence.
The scripts by B.P. Freeman and Jack Johnstone were directed by Robert
and Jessica Maxwell, George Lowther
, Allen Ducovny and Mitchell Grayson. Sound effects were created by Jack Keane, Al Binnie, Keene Crockett and John Glennon.
Many aspects associated with Superman, such as kryptonite, originated on radio, as did certain characters, including Daily Planet
editor Perry White, copy boy Jimmy Olsen
and police inspector Bill Henderson. On March 2, 1945, Superman met Batman and Robin
for the first time.
Paramount's
animated Superman short films used voices by the radio actors, and Columbia's
Superman movie serials
(1948, 1950) were "adapted from the Superman radio program broadcast on the Mutual Network".
In Australia, Superman was portrayed on radio by Leonard Teale
(1922–1994).
's prospects in the northern USA. The human rights
activist Stetson Kennedy
infiltrated the KKK and other racist/terrorist
groups. Concerned that the organization had links to the government and police forces, Kennedy decided to use his findings to strike at the Klan in a different way. He contacted the Superman producers and proposed a story where the superhero battles the Klan. Looking for new villains, the producers eagerly agreed. To that end, he provided information—including secret codewords and details of Klan rituals—to the writers. The result was a series of episodes, “Clan of the Fiery Cross,” in which Superman took on the Klan. Kennedy intended to strip away the Klan's mystique. The trivialization of the Klan's rituals and codewords was perceived to have had a negative impact on Klan recruiting and membership.
Reportedly, Klan leaders denounced the show and called for a boycott of Kellogg's products. However, the story arc earned spectacular ratings, and the food company stood by its support of the show.
The amount of inside information about the KKK that was revealed on the show appears exaggerated. A review of all 16 episodes of the "Clan of the Fiery Cross" storyline reveals that no passwords were revealed on the air and only one ritual was portrayed.
The first 19 episodes had individual titles that told one overall story:
The series then moved to multi-part cliffhanger stories, beginning with "The Mystery of Dyerville". Some stories spanned just a few episodes; others, like "The Last of the Clipper Ships", went on for up to 20 parts.
Beginning August 25, 1941, a second series of transcriptions designed to air five days per week (although many stations continued the previous three-per-week schedule) aired. These concluded after 26 weeks with the final installment of "A Mystery for Superman" airing on February 20, 1942:
By the time the syndicated series ceased production, it was airing in 85 North American markets. In June, the Mutual Network discovered it would be losing its #1 juvenile show, "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy
" to NBC's Blue Network at the end of August. To counter, MBS decided to revive the show, now officially titled The Adventures of Superman, on August 31, 1942. The new series aired live, five days a week. The revival began with two individual episodes, and then returned to the cliffhanger serial format.
The stories were of varying lengths—some stories were only five parts, while others could go into the dozens. Some of the longer stories include "Looking for Kryptonite" (25 episodes), "The Hate Mongers' Organization" (25 episodes) and "Superman vs Kryptonite" (33 episodes).
Beginning February 7, 1949, The Adventures of Superman episodes expanded to 30 minutes each. All were transcribed. Each episode had an individual story title, including:
The series left MBS with the 60th half-hour show, "The Mystery of the Frozen Monster," on June 24, 1949. It returned as a mystery program targeted toward adults on Saturday, October 29, 1949 at 8:30pm over the ABC network. ABC aired this adult-themed version for 13 weeks, concluding with "Dead Men Tell No Tales" on January 21, 1950. This broadcast marked the final radio appearance of Bud Collyer as Clark Kent/Superman.
On June 5, 1950, ABC revived The Adventures of Superman as a twice-weekly afternoon half-hour series. This version reused the scripts for the 60 MBS half-hour episodes and the 13 "adult" ABC episodes but with new cast members. Michael Fitzmaurice replaced Collyer as Kent/Superman, Jack Grimes replaced Jackie Kelk as Jimmy Olsen, and Ross Martin replaced Jackson Beck as narrator. A total of 78 episodes were produced, with the final broadcast, "The Mystery of the Prehistoric Monster," on March 1, 1951. By then, producer Robert Maxwell was actively preparing Adventures of Superman
for television.
In the 1950s, an Australian version of the series had a different cast with Superman played by Leonard Teale
.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
character. (See Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
).
The serial came to radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
as a syndicated show on New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's 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...
on February 12, 1940. On Mutual, it was broadcast from August 31, 1942, to February 4, 1949, as a 15-minute serial, running three or, usually, five times a week. From February 7 to June 24, 1949 it ran as a thrice-weekly half-hour show. The series shifted to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Saturday evenings on October 29, 1949, and then returned to afternoons, twice-a-week on June 5, 1950, continuing on ABC until March 1, 1951.
History
Created by Jerry SiegelJerry Siegel
Jerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
and Joe Shuster
Joe Shuster
Joseph "Joe" Shuster was a Canadian-born American comic book artist. He was best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, first published in Action Comics #1...
, the Man of Tomorrow first appeared in Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#1 in 1938. The following year, the newspaper comic strip
Superman (comic strip)
Superman was a daily newspaper comic strip which began on January 16, 1939, and a separate Sunday strip was added on November 5, 1939. These strips ran continuously until May 1966. In 1941, the McClure Syndicate had placed the strip in hundreds of newspapers...
began and four audition radio programs were prepared to sell Superman as a radio series. When Superman was first heard on radio less than two years after the comic book appearance, the character took on an added dimension with Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer was an American radio actor/announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars...
in the title role. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the post-war years, the juvenile adventure radio serial, sponsored by Kellogg's
Kellogg Company
Kellogg Company , is a producer of cereal and convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles, and vegetarian foods...
Pep
Pep Cereal
Pep was a brand of whole-wheat breakfast cereal produced by the Kellogg Company, and introduced in 1923. Pep was a long-running rival to Wheaties, and also the sponsor of Mutual Radio's Superman radio series. One of Pep's advertising slogans was "the Sunshine cereal".Pep became one of the first...
, was a huge success, with many listeners following the quest for "truth and justice" in the daily radio broadcasts, the comic book stories and the newspaper comic strip. Airing in the late afternoon (variously at 5:15pm, 5:30pm and 5:45pm), the radio serial engaged its young after-school audience with its exciting and distinctive opening, which changed slightly as the series progressed. Most familiar is the television opening, but the most oft heard radio opening through the mid-1940s was:
"Presenting the transcription feature, Superman." (followed by Superman's "flying" audio effect). Then,
Up in the sky! Look!
It's a bird!
It's a plane!
It's Superman!
"Yes, it's Superman--strange visitor from the planet Krypton
Krypton
Krypton is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a member of Group 18 and Period 4 elements. A colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, krypton occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere, is isolated by fractionally distilling liquified air, and is often used with other...
who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can leap tall buildings in a single bound, race a speeding bullet to its target, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great Metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth and justice."
By September 5, 1945, the opening, (repeated at the close), had morphed into:
"Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.'
Look! Up in the sky!
It's a bird!
It's a plane!
It's Superman!"
Jackson Beck
Jackson Beck
Jackson Beck was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's The Adventures of Superman and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts.-Career:...
, the announcer-narrator for the program from 1943 to 1950. He also had recurring roles, voicing an occasional tough guy and also portraying Beany Martin, the Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
s teenage copy boy. On Superman episodes featuring Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, he played Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth is a fictional character that appears throughout the DC Comics franchise. The character first appears in Batman #16 , and was created by writer Bob Kane and artist Jerry Robinson. Alfred serves as Batman’s tireless butler, assistant, confidant, and surrogate father figure...
. Decades later, Beck portrayed Perry White
Perry White
Perry White is a fictional character who appears in the Superman comics. White is the Editor-in-Chief of the Metropolis newspaper the Daily Planet.White maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards...
, Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
's boss, in Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
's The New Adventures of Superman animated series (1966–70) in addition to serving as the show's narrator.
Bud Collyer
Just as Superman's true identity remained a secret, the identity of radio actor Collyer also remained a secret from 1940 until 1946, when the character of Superman was used in a promotional campaign for racial and religious tolerance and Collyer did a TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine interview about that campaign.
Since there were no reruns at that time, the series often used plot devices and plot twists to allow Collyer to have vacation time. Kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
allowed Superman to be incapacitated and incoherent with pain while the secondary characters took the focus instead. At other times, Batman (Stacy Harris
Stacy Harris (actor)
Stacy Harris was an American actor with hundreds of film and television appearances.Harris was best known for his role as agent Jim Taylor on ABC Radio's This is Your FBI and, later, for playing varied characters, often villains, on shows produced by Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited, such as Dragnet,...
) and Robin (Ronald Liss) appeared on the program in Superman's absence.
The scripts by B.P. Freeman and Jack Johnstone were directed by Robert
Robert Maxwell (producer)
Robert Maxwell Joffe was an American radio and television producer, screenwriter, and entertainment executive...
and Jessica Maxwell, George Lowther
George Lowther (writer)
George F. Lowther was a writer, producer, director in the earliest days of radio and television. During the 1940s, he was a scriptwriter for the Superman radio programs on the Mutual Radio Network and the author of The Adventures of Superman .Born in New York City, Lowther broke into radio at 13...
, Allen Ducovny and Mitchell Grayson. Sound effects were created by Jack Keane, Al Binnie, Keene Crockett and John Glennon.
Many aspects associated with Superman, such as kryptonite, originated on radio, as did certain characters, including Daily Planet
Daily Planet
The Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
editor Perry White, copy boy Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
and police inspector Bill Henderson. On March 2, 1945, Superman met Batman and Robin
Robin (comics)
Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
for the first time.
Paramount's
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
animated Superman short films used voices by the radio actors, and Columbia's
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
Superman movie serials
Superman (serial)
Superman is a 15-part black-and-white Columbia film serial based on the comic book character Superman. It stars an uncredited Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill as Lois Lane. It is notable as the first live-action appearance of Superman on film and for the longevity of its distribution...
(1948, 1950) were "adapted from the Superman radio program broadcast on the Mutual Network".
In Australia, Superman was portrayed on radio by Leonard Teale
Leonard Teale
Leonard Teale AO , born Leonard George Thiele in Brisbane, was a well-known Australian actor of radio, television and films....
(1922–1994).
“Clan of the Fiery Cross”
The series delivered a powerful blow against the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
's prospects in the northern USA. The human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist Stetson Kennedy
Stetson Kennedy
William Stetson Kennedy was an American author and human rights activist. One of the pioneer folklore collectors during the first half of the twentieth century, he is remembered for having infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s, exposing its secrets to authorities and the outside world...
infiltrated the KKK and other racist/terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
groups. Concerned that the organization had links to the government and police forces, Kennedy decided to use his findings to strike at the Klan in a different way. He contacted the Superman producers and proposed a story where the superhero battles the Klan. Looking for new villains, the producers eagerly agreed. To that end, he provided information—including secret codewords and details of Klan rituals—to the writers. The result was a series of episodes, “Clan of the Fiery Cross,” in which Superman took on the Klan. Kennedy intended to strip away the Klan's mystique. The trivialization of the Klan's rituals and codewords was perceived to have had a negative impact on Klan recruiting and membership.
Reportedly, Klan leaders denounced the show and called for a boycott of Kellogg's products. However, the story arc earned spectacular ratings, and the food company stood by its support of the show.
The amount of inside information about the KKK that was revealed on the show appears exaggerated. A review of all 16 episodes of the "Clan of the Fiery Cross" storyline reveals that no passwords were revealed on the air and only one ritual was portrayed.
Stories
The syndicated series, titled simply Superman, first aired via pre-recorded transcription disks over 11 stations beginning on February 12, 1940, with an origin story, "The Baby from Krypton". The series aired in 15-minute episodes three times a week until May 9, 1941, with the conclusion of the "Nitrate Shipment" storyline. By that time, it had expanded to 63 stations.The first 19 episodes had individual titles that told one overall story:
- "The Baby from Krypton" (Feb 12, 1940)
- "Clark Kent, Reporter" (Feb 14, 1940)
- "Keno's Landslide" (Feb 16, 1940)
- "Kent Captured by the Wolfe" (Feb 19, 1940)
- "Locomotive Crew Freed" (Feb 21, 1940)
- "The Silver Clipper" (Feb 23, 1940)
- "The Atomic Beam Machine" (Feb 26, 1940)
- "Fuel" (Feb 28, 1940)
- "Threat to the Planet Building" (March 1, 1940)
- "Fire in the Sterling Building" (March 4, 1940)
- "The Stabbing of June Anderson" (March 6, 1940)
- "North Star Mining Company" (March 8, 1940)
- "The Steamship Madison" (March 11, 1940)
- "Plane to Canyon City" (March 13, 1940)
- "Left to be Killed" (March 15, 1940)
- "The Prison Riot" (March 18, 1940)
- "The Steam Plant" (March 20, 1940)
- "The Wolf vs the Yellow Mask" (March 22, 1940)
- "The Yellow Mask Escapes" (March 25, 1940)
The series then moved to multi-part cliffhanger stories, beginning with "The Mystery of Dyerville". Some stories spanned just a few episodes; others, like "The Last of the Clipper Ships", went on for up to 20 parts.
- "The Mystery of Dyerville" (March 1940)
- "The Emerald of the Incas" (April 1940)
- "Donelli's Protection Racket" (April 1940)
- "Airplane Disasters at Bridger Field" (April - May 1940)
- "Buffalo Heights" (May 1940)
- "Alonzo Craig, Arctic Explorer" (May - June 1940)
- "Horace Morton's Weather Machine" (June 1940)
- "Hans Holbein's Doll Factory" (June - July 1940)
- "Happyland Amusement Park" (July 1940)
- "Lighthouse Point Smugglers" (July - August 1940)
- "Pillar of Fire at Graves' End" (August 1940)
- "The Mayan Treasure" (August 1940)
- "Professor Thorpe's Bathysphere" (August - September 1940)
- "The Curse of Dead Man's Island (September - October 1940)
- "The Yellow Mask and the 5 Million Dollar Jewel Robbery" (October - November 1940)
- "The Invisible Man" (November 1940)
- "The 5 Million Dollar Gold Heist" (November - December 1940)
- "The Howling Coyote" (December 1940 - January 1941)
- "The Black Pearl of Osiris" (January - February 1941)
- "The Dragon's Teeth" (February - March 1941)
- "Last of the Clipper Ships" (March - April 1941)
- "The Nitrate Shipment" (April - May 1941)
Beginning August 25, 1941, a second series of transcriptions designed to air five days per week (although many stations continued the previous three-per-week schedule) aired. These concluded after 26 weeks with the final installment of "A Mystery for Superman" airing on February 20, 1942:
- "The Grayson Submarine" (August 1941)
- "Dr. Deutsch and the Radium Mine" (September 1941)
- "The White Plague" (September 1941)
- "Fur Smuggling" (September - October 1941)
- "Dr. Roebling and the Voice Machine" (October 1941)
- "Metropolis Football Team Poisoned" (October - November 1941)
- "Crooked Oil Association" (November - December 1941)
- "The Silver Arrow" (December 1941)
- "The Pan-Am Highway" (December 1941 - January 1942)
- "The Mechanical Man" (January 1942)
- "Lita the Leopard Woman" (January - February 1942)
- "The Ghost Car" (February 1942)
- "A Mystery for Superman" (February 1942)
By the time the syndicated series ceased production, it was airing in 85 North American markets. In June, the Mutual Network discovered it would be losing its #1 juvenile show, "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy was a radio adventure series which maintained its popularity from 1933 to 1951. The program originated at WBBM in Chicago on July 31, 1933, and was later carried on CBS, then NBC and finally ABC....
" to NBC's Blue Network at the end of August. To counter, MBS decided to revive the show, now officially titled The Adventures of Superman, on August 31, 1942. The new series aired live, five days a week. The revival began with two individual episodes, and then returned to the cliffhanger serial format.
The stories were of varying lengths—some stories were only five parts, while others could go into the dozens. Some of the longer stories include "Looking for Kryptonite" (25 episodes), "The Hate Mongers' Organization" (25 episodes) and "Superman vs Kryptonite" (33 episodes).
- "Superman Comes to Earth" (August 31, 1942)
- "Eben Kent Dies in Fire, Clark Goes to Metropolis" (September 1, 1942)
- "The Wolfe" (September 1942)
- "The Tiny Men" (September 1942)
- "Mystery in Arabia" (September - October 1942)
- "The Black Narcissus" (October 1942)
- "The Headless Indian" (October - November 1942)
- "The Midnight Intruder" (November - December 1942)
- "The Lost Continent of Atlantis" (December 1942)
- "The Mystery Ship" (December 1942)
- "The Tin Men" (January 1943)
- "Trouble in Athabascus" (January - February 1943)
- "The Island of Ghost Ships" (February 1943)
- "The Model Plane Mystery" (February - March 1943)
- "Dr. Cameron's Helicopter" (March 1943)
- "The Vulture and the Thunderbolt Express" (March - April 1943)
- "The Bainbridge Disaster" (April 1943)
- "Master of the Dream World" (April - May 1943)
- "The Ghost Squadron" (May - June 1943)
- "The Meteor from Krypton" (June 1943)
- "Society of the Flamingo" (June - July 1943)
- "Mr. Prim and the Dragonfly Adventure" (July 1943)
- "The Genie in the Bottle" (July - August 1943)
- "The World of the Future" (August 1943)
- "The Civil Air Patrol" (August - September 1943)
- "Penrose Salvage Company" (September 1943)
- "The Mystery of the Death Plane" (September 1943)
- "Adventures in the Capitol City" (September - October 1943)
- "The Nazi Spy Ring" (October 1943)
- "The Mystery of Prince Philip" (October - November 1943)
- "Military Espionage" (November - December 1943)
- "Stolen War Information" (December 1943 - January 1944)
- "Lois and Jimmy Disappear" (January 1944)
- "The Green Death" (January 1944)
- "The Mystery of the $100,000 Stamp" (January - February 1944)
- "The Mystery of the Transport Plane" (February 1944)
- "Lighthouse Point" (February - March 1944)
- "The Rocket Plane" (March 1944)
- "The Mystery of Clifftown" (March 1944)
- "The Golden Homing Pigeon" (March - April 1944)
- "The Mystery of Desert Springs and the Birdmen" (April - May 1944)
- "The Hurdy-Gurdy Man" (May - June 1944)
- "The North Woods Story" (June 1944)
- "The Seagull, North Pacific Adventure" (July 1944)
- "The Mystery of the Aviation Freight Lines" (July 1944)
- "The Society of the Crimson Robe" (July - August 1944)
- "Ghosts of the Air" (August 1944)
- "The Scorpion" (August - September 1944)
- "Der Teufel's Atomic Pistol" (September 1944)
- "The Mystery of the Mummy Case" (September - October 1944)
- "Dr. Roebling and the Voice Machine" (October - November 1944)
- "Planet Utopia" (November - December 1944)
- "Lois' Phony Uncle John" (December 1944)
- "The Missing Santa Claus" (December 1944)
- "The Man in the Velvet Shoes" (December 1944 - January 1945)
- "The Mystery of the Sleeping Beauty" (January - February 1945)
- "The Space Shell" (February 1945)
- "The Mystery of the Waxmen" (March 1945)
- "The Mystery of the Golden Nail" (March 1945)
- "The Ghost Car" (April 1945)
- "The Boy King of Moravia" (April 1945)
- "Lair of the Dragon" (May 1945)
- "The Mystery of the Counterfeit Money" (May 1945)
- "Valley of the Giants" (May - June 1945)
- "The Desert Adventure" (June - July 1945)
- "The Underseas Kingdom" (July - August 1945)
- "The Flood" (August 1945)
- "The Black Market" (August - September 1945)
- "Dr. Blythe's Confidence Gang" (September 1945)
- "The Meteor of Kryptonite" (September 1945)
- "The Scarlet Window" (September - October 1945)
- "The Atom Man" (October - November 1945)
- "Atom Man in Metropolis" (November - December 1945)
- "Looking for Kryptonite" (December 1945 - January 1946)
- "The Talking Cat" (January 1946)
- "Is There Another Superman?" (January - February 1946)
- "The Radar Rocket" (February - March 1946)
- "The Mystery of the Dragon's Teeth" (March 1946)
- "The Story of the Century" (April 1946)
- "The Hate Mongers' Organization" (April - May 1946)
- "Al Vincent's Corrupt Political Machine" (May - June 1946)
- "Clan of the Fiery Cross" (June - July 1946)
- "Horatio F. Horn, Detective" (July 1946)
- "The Secret Menace Strikes" (August 1946)
- "Candy Meyer's Big Story" (August - September 1946)
- "George Latimer, Crooked Political Boss" (September 1946)
- "The Dead Voice" (September - October 1946)
- "Counterfeit Money" (October - November 1946)
- "The Disappearance of Clark Kent" (November 1946)
- "The Secret Letter" (November - December 1946)
- "The Phony Song Publishing Company" (December 1946)
- "The Phony Housing Racket" (December 1946)
- "The Phony Restaurant Racket" (December 1946 - January 1947)
- "The Phony Inheritance Racket" (January 1947)
- "Drought in Freeville" (January - February 1947)
- "The Monkey Burglar" (February 1947)
- "Knights of the White Carnation" (February - March 1947)
- "The Man Without a Face" (March - April 1947)
- "Mystery of the Lost Planet" (April 1947)
- "The Phantom of the Sea" (April - May 1947)
- "Superman vs.Kryptonite" (May - June 1947)
- "The Secret Rocket" (September - October 1947)
- "The Ruler of Darkness" (October - November 1947)
- "Pennies for Plunder" (November - December 1947)
- "Hunger Inc." (December 1947 - January 1948)
- "Dead Man's Secret" (January - February 1948)
- "Batman's Great Mystery" (February 1948)
- "The Kingdom Under the Sea" (February - March 1948)
- "The Mystery of the Stolen Costume" (March - April 1948)
- "The Skin Game" (April 1948)
- "The Crossword Puzzle Mystery" (April - May 1948)
- "The Ghost Brigade" (May 1948)
- "The Mystery of the Sleeping Beauty" (May - June 1948)
- "The Secret of Meteor Island" (June - July 1948)
- "The Voice of Doom" (July 1948)
- "The Secret of the Genie" (August 1948)
- "The Mystery of the Letter" (August 1948)
- "The Mystery of the Silver Buffalo" (August - September 1948)
- "The Secret of Stone Ridge" (September - October 1948)
- "The Mystery of the Unknown" (October - November 1948)
- "Murder Scores a Touchdown" (November 1948)
- "The Riddle of the Mystery Message" (November - December 1948)
- "The Vanishing Killers" (December 1948)
- "Superman's Secret" (December 1948)
- "The Return of the Octopus" (December 1948 - January 1949)
- "The Mystery of the Spellbound Ships" (January - February 1949)
Beginning February 7, 1949, The Adventures of Superman episodes expanded to 30 minutes each. All were transcribed. Each episode had an individual story title, including:
- "Mystery of the $10,000 Ghost" (March 4, 1949)
- "Mystery of the Flying Monster" (March 7, 1949)
- "Case of Double Trouble" (March 9, 1949)
- "Mystery of the Walking Dead" (Oct 29, 1949)
- "One Minute to Death" (Nov 19, 1949)
- "Puzzle of the Poison Pomegranate" (Nov 26, 1949)
- "Death Rides the Roller Coaster" (Dec 3, 1949)
- "Diamond of Death" (Dec 17, 1949)
The series left MBS with the 60th half-hour show, "The Mystery of the Frozen Monster," on June 24, 1949. It returned as a mystery program targeted toward adults on Saturday, October 29, 1949 at 8:30pm over the ABC network. ABC aired this adult-themed version for 13 weeks, concluding with "Dead Men Tell No Tales" on January 21, 1950. This broadcast marked the final radio appearance of Bud Collyer as Clark Kent/Superman.
On June 5, 1950, ABC revived The Adventures of Superman as a twice-weekly afternoon half-hour series. This version reused the scripts for the 60 MBS half-hour episodes and the 13 "adult" ABC episodes but with new cast members. Michael Fitzmaurice replaced Collyer as Kent/Superman, Jack Grimes replaced Jackie Kelk as Jimmy Olsen, and Ross Martin replaced Jackson Beck as narrator. A total of 78 episodes were produced, with the final broadcast, "The Mystery of the Prehistoric Monster," on March 1, 1951. By then, producer Robert Maxwell was actively preparing Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
for television.
Cast
- SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
/Clark KentClark KentClark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
:- Bud CollyerBud CollyerBud Collyer was an American radio actor/announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars...
(1940-1950) - Michael FitzmauriceMichael FitzmauriceMichael Fitzmaurice was a radio actor, best known for his portrayal of Superman.Born in Chicago, the baritone-voiced Fitzmaurice was heard often on radio dramas during the 1940s as both announcer and actor. From 1944 to 1947, he was the host of Mutual's Quiz of Two Cities...
(1950-1951)
- Bud Collyer
- Lois LaneLois LaneLois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
:- Joan AlexanderJoan AlexanderJoan Alexander was an American actress known for her role as Lois Lane on radio's The Adventures of Superman from the early 1940s to 1951.-Early life and career:...
- Rolly BesterRolly BesterRolly Goulko Bester was an American actress, and later an advertising executive. She was the wife of science fiction author Alfred Bester.-Career:...
- Helen Choate
- Joan Alexander
- Perry WhitePerry WhitePerry White is a fictional character who appears in the Superman comics. White is the Editor-in-Chief of the Metropolis newspaper the Daily Planet.White maintains very high ethical and journalistic standards...
:- Julian Noa
- Jimmy OlsenJimmy OlsenJimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
:- Jack GrimesJack Grimes (actor)Jack Grimes was an American voice and radio actor who played Jimmy Olsen in the last three years of The Adventures of Superman radio program, the 1966 Filmation TV series The New Adventures of Superman, and the 1967 anime, Speed Racer.-Biography:Grimes was born in New York City...
- Jackie KelkJackie KelkJackie Kelk is an American radio actor and stand-up comedian, born in Brooklyn, NY. He played Jimmy Olsen in the first seven years of the radio show The Adventures of Superman and Homer, best friend of Henry Aldrich on the teenage radio comedy of the same name. He starred as Young Mr...
- Jack Grimes
- BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
:- Matt Crowley
- Stacy Harris
- Gary MerrillGary MerrillGary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
- RobinRobin (comics)Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
:- Ronald Liss
- Inspector HendersonInspector William HendersonInspector William Henderson is a supporting character in Superman comics published by DC Comics.Inspector Henderson first appeared in the 1940s radio series The Adventures of Superman, in which he was Superman's police contact. He was subsequently introduced in a similar role in the 1950s...
:- Matt Crowley
- Earl George
- Jor-EL:
- Ned Wever
- Lara:
- Agnes MooreheadAgnes MooreheadAgnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. Although she began with the Mercury Theatre, appeared in more than seventy films beginning with Citizen Kane and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than thirty years, Moorehead is most widely known to modern audiences...
- Agnes Moorehead
- Beany Martin (Daily PlanetDaily PlanetThe Daily Planet is a fictional broadsheet newspaper in the , appearing mostly in the stories of Superman. The building's original features were based upon the AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio...
copyboy):- Jackson BeckJackson BeckJackson Beck was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's The Adventures of Superman and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts.-Career:...
- Jackson Beck
- Alfred PennyworthAlfred PennyworthAlfred Pennyworth is a fictional character that appears throughout the DC Comics franchise. The character first appears in Batman #16 , and was created by writer Bob Kane and artist Jerry Robinson. Alfred serves as Batman’s tireless butler, assistant, confidant, and surrogate father figure...
:- Jackson BeckJackson BeckJackson Beck was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's The Adventures of Superman and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts.-Career:...
- Jackson Beck
- NarratorNarratorA narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
:- George Lowther (1940-1942)
- Jackson BeckJackson BeckJackson Beck was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's The Adventures of Superman and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts.-Career:...
(1943-1951) - Ross MartinRoss MartinRoss Martin was a Polish-born American Emmy-nominated actor known for playing Artemus Gordon in the western TV series The Wild Wild West, starring Robert Conrad, and Andamo on Mr...
(1951)
In the 1950s, an Australian version of the series had a different cast with Superman played by Leonard Teale
Leonard Teale
Leonard Teale AO , born Leonard George Thiele in Brisbane, was a well-known Australian actor of radio, television and films....
.
Listen to
- "Clan of the Fiery Cross" episodes at the Internet Archive
- Botar: Adventures of Superman (27 1940 episodes)
- The Old Time Superman Show (Podcast with Commentary by Adam Graham)