The Whistler

"The Whistler" was one of American radio's most popular mystery dramas, with a 13-year run from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955."The Whistler" was the most popular West Coast-originated program with its listeners for many years. It was sponsored by the Signal Oil Company: "That whistle is your signal for the Signal Oil program, "The Whistler"."

Episodes of "The Whistler" began with the ominous narration::"I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes ... I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."

Those opening words were spoken along with the echo of footsteps and Wilbur Hatch's 13-note theme, whistled weekly by Dorothy Roberts for 13 years. Bill Forman had the title role of host and narrator. Others who portrayed the Whistler at various times were Gale Gordon (Lucille Ball's future television nemesis), Joseph Kearns (the first Mr. Wilson on TV series Dennis the Menace), Marvin Miller (the announcer for "The Whistler" and soon the announcer for "The Bickersons" and, later, television's Michael Anthony on "The Millionaire"), Bill Johnstone (who played The Shadow on radio from 1938 to 1943) and Everett Clarke.

The stories followed an effective formula in which a person's criminal acts were typically undone by either an overlooked but important detail or their own stupidity, except on some rare occasions when a curious twist of fate caused the story to end happily for the episode's protagonist. Ironic twist endings were a key feature of each episode of the series. The Whistler himself narrated, often commenting directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective.

"The Whistler" seldom featured any major Hollywood stars, but the quality of writing and performance made it a radio mainstay. Regular member of the show's ensemble cast included Gerald Mohr, William Conrad, Joseph Kearns, Bill Johnstone, Hans Conried, Elliot Lewis and Betty Lou Gerson. Mercedes McCambridge, Jeanette Nolan, John Dehner, Virginia Gregg, Howard Duff, Lurene Tuttle, Frank Lovejoy, Willard Waterman and Jack Webb also made frequent appearances on the series.

Writer-producer J. Donald Wilson established the tone of the show during its first two years, and he was followed in 1944 by producer-director George Allen. Other directors included Sterling Tracy and Sherman Marks with final scripts by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton. A total of 692 episodes were produced, of which over 200 no longer have copies in existence. In 1946, a local Chicago version of "The Whistler" with local actors aired Sundays on WBBM, sponsored by Meister Brau beer.

atires

Spike Jones provided a musical satire of the opera "Aida" on his 25 June 1949 radio program, featuring the character "Aida Plenty" ("She's supposed to fill out the role of a soprano. She not only fills it, she overflows it!"), which included a parody of The Whistler's whistle and opening lines done by Earl Bennett (aka "Sir Frederick Gas"):

:"I am the Whistler, and I walk by night... I have to. How can I sleep with all that durn whistlin' goin' on?"

"The Whistler" was also the target of a parody on the 20 October 1946 edition of "The Jack Benny Program". In this parody, Benny cast members Mary Livingstone and Dennis Day played an ostensibly happily married young couple, Phil Harris played the secret lover of the young wife, and Benny himself played The Fiddler – complete with scraping the theme on his infamous violin to punctuate his periodic ghostly observations and interventions ("I am the Fiddler... I play by night. I influence the lives of innocent people. And sometimes I even drive them to murder... mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"), as he manipulated the clandestine lovers into murdering the young husband. Along with Fred Allen's parody of "Queen for a Day" the same year, these were two of the most successful parodies of contemporarily popular radio shows. The Whistler himself appeared just as the sketch was to begin, complete with the famous whistling theme and a short version of his usual opening remark.

Films

"The Whistler" was adapted into a film noir series from Columbia Pictures. The first seven featured actor Richard Dix (playing a different character in each).
*"The Whistler" (1944) (Directed by William Castle)
*"The Mark of the Whistler" (1944) (Directed by William Castle and based on Cornell Woolrich's story, "Dormant Account")
*"The Power of the Whistler" (1945)
*"Voice of the Whistler" (1945) (Directed by William Castle)
*"The Secret of the Whistler" (1946)
*"Mysterious Intruder" (1946) (Directed by William Castle)
*"The Thirteenth Hour" (1947)
*"Return of the Whistler" (1948)

The "Voice of the Whistler" was provided by an uncredited Otto Forrest.

ee also

*Audio theatre
*Old-time radio

Listen to

* [http://www.otr.net/?p=whis OTR Network Library: "The Whistler" (79 episodes)]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/TheWhistlerOTRKIBM The Internet Archive: The Whistler - download for free]

External links

*imdb title|id=0037461|title=The Whistler
*imdb title|id=0037049|title=The Mark of the Whistler
*imdb title|id=0037997|title=The Power of the Whistler
*imdb title|id=0038230|title=Voice of the Whistler
*imdb title|id=0038917|title=The Secret of the Whistler
*imdb title|id=0038766|title=Mysterious Intruder
*imdb title|id=0039127|title=The Thirteenth Hour
*imdb title|id=0040733|title=The Return of the Whistler
*The Whistler at http://www.radio-showcase.com/