Night Beat: A World All of His Own

“Night Beat,” like “The Six Shooter,” is an Old Time Radio series that I had never really heard much about. Everyone knows about the Lone Ranger, Jack Benny, the Shadow, etc, but there are gems out there that are not as well known that we stumble upon accidently. In this case, I decided to seek out the series when I saw that Radio Archives released a book based on the show and written by several New Pulp authors. I’m glad I did, as the series has proved to be excellent. Frank Lovejoy, who had played radio super hero the Blue Beetle previously, stars as Randy Stone, a night reporter for the Chicago Star. The show originally ran on NBC from February 6 – November 10, 1950. It was brought back for a special broadcast in March 1951, and then returned from May 18, 1951 until September 25, 1952.

In this episode, William Conrad guest stars as a punch-druck former boxing champion. Besides being Matt Dillon on radio’s “Gunsmoke” (and the narrator for “Rocky & Bullwinkle”), Conrad guest-starred in many Old Time Radio series, and often multiple times in multiple roles. I’ve heard him in many shows over the years, but this performance is quite a standout. This episode has been called “heart-wrenching,” and I cannot argue that statement. I hope you enjoy it.

NIGHT BEAT
“A World All of His Own”
February 20, 1950
Cast: Frank Lovejoy, William Conrad, Lurene Tuttle, Larry Dobkin, Bill Lally, Leo Cleary
Writer: Russell Hughes
Director: Warren Lewis

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More “Night Beat” can be found here:
http://archive.org/details/NightBeat