“...designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half-hour of high adventure...”
Quite a few of the West Coast character actors from Radio’s Golden Age that frequently appeared as guest cast members in Escape went on to be the leads in their own radio shows. Among Escape’s guest stars who went on to be the leads in their own radio shows were: Gerald Mohr as Phillip Marlowe; William Conrad as Sheriff Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke; Jack Webb as Sgt. Friday in Dragnet; and John Dehner as Paladin in the radio version of Have Gun – Will Travel.
One of radio’s most prolific actors and an Escape regular, appearing in 54 episodes, John Dehner was cast in the lead role of Escape’s two-part adaptation of ‘Earth Abides’ - a classic and sweeping post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by George R. Stewart. Dehner also starred as Paladin in the radio version of Have Gun – Will Travel, and in Frontier Gentleman, a western series about a British journalist that opened with a trumpet theme by Jerry Goldsmith.
Harry Bartell was Escape producer Norman MacDonnell’s favorite voice actor. Bartell had a commanding youthful voice that captured the attention with its strength and vitality. Like William Conrad and Paul Frees, Bartell also worked as an announcer for radio programs and acted in a variety of shows.
With her cello-voice, actress Peggy Webber was a regular performer on Escape. Like her fellow radio actors, Webber’s acting career cut a wide path across radio, television, and movies.
Escape allowed many voice actors to flex their creative talents in many unexpected ways. John Dehner, Anthony Ellis, Ben Wright, and Tony Barrett were more than enticing and appealing voices bringing life to potentially doomed characters on the written page, also writing original scripts that aired on Escape.
Here is the complete content of this 5 CD collection of Escape, Volume 14 fully restored by Radio Archives.
The Second Shot
Thursday, March 25, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Return
Thursday, April 1, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Scarlet Plague
Thursday, April 8, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Affair at Mandrake
Thursday, April 15, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Adversary
Thursday, May 6, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
An Ordinary Man
Thursday, June 3, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Benchillina and the Fisherman
Thursday, June 10, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Blood Waters
Thursday, June 17, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Judgement Day at Crippled Deer
Thursday, June 24, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Dark Wall
Thursday, July 1, 1954 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
