George Allen, Director of The Whistler from 1944 on, had a solid group of actors and actresses to pull from for each episode. Many of them worked on the program so much, they became known as “Whistler’s Children” Because he had such a varied list to choose from, Allen found it very easy to rotate through those available to find just the right matches for every story. He also knew their skills and abilities so well that it made his job casting each episode very easy.
Of the actors and actresses known as “Whistler’s children,” director George Allen saw particular skills in each one that he used to his benefit. Allen utilized Gerald Mohr for either rather sophisticated characters or street level criminal goons. When he needed ‘a perfect blowtop’, someone who could express losing his cool just the right way, Allen brought in Wally Maher. Hans Conried also had his own place in Allen’s top choices for the show. Allen referred to him as “a marvelous straight lead with tangents, a lead with two faces, a split personality.”
The Whistler didn’t shy away from having women at the heart of the chilling crime stories it told. Betty Lou Gerson starred in several episodes because Allen felt she could play “parts that convey mental superiority, she’s perfect for women who have catty, fencing dialogue.” Likewise, Allen made great use of Lurene Tuttle, stating that she “can be anything: she may change her performance on the air as she finds another facet of the character; she picks out the parts of her characterization that didn’t ring right in rehearsal and corrects them.”
Follow The Whistler into the dark recesses of the human spirit, The Whistler Volume 20 from Radio Archives, featuring twelve broadcasts restored to sparkling digital quality.
#379 Smart Girl
Sunday, September 4, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#380 Brief Pause for Murder
Sunday, September 11, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#381 Poor Henry
Sunday, September 18, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#382 Incident at Arroyo Grande
Sunday, September 25, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#383 A Woman's Privilege
Sunday, October 2, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#384 A Rose for Pamela
Sunday, October 9, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#385 Best Man
Sunday, October 16, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#386 Debt of Honor
Sunday, October 23, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#387 Ticket to Murder
Sunday, October 30, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#388 The New Mrs Devlin
Sunday, November 6, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#389 Incident at Pebble Cove
Sunday, November 13, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
#390 Letters From Aaron Burr
Sunday, November 20, 1949 - 30:00 - CBS Pacific Network, sponsored by Signal Oil
