Radio Tidbits

Who knows what evil lurks....in your mouth?

In the radio commerical for Listerine® Pocket Packs® (2001), there is a spoof of Orson Welles's version of the radio Shadow. (I've heard this in Toronto, but I'm not sure if it is broadcast all over North America. Please let me know).

The Shadow at 6:45am

The DJs on the WKYS 93.9 FM radio morning show in Potomac, Maryland, were discussing hilarious fictional horoscopes when The Master of Darkness popped up (2003).

They got into this conversation which I forgot what it was even about but one of the hosts actually said "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" and that just made my day already! Then the other host says "What you talkin' about!?" and he replies "Good times good times."

At least Sherlock Holmes had the right idea...

In the 1980s, there was a BBC Radio dramatization of the Sherlock Holmes story The Lion's Mane, starring Clive Merrison as Holmes and Michael Williams as Watson. The story itself takes place shortly before the First World War.
Here's an interesting excerpt:

"I still find it difficult to credit that one man could do something like that to another," says Watson.
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" Holmes moodily replies.

Introducing Mr. John Barclay, Blue Coal's Heating Expert

Remember the Blue Coal advertisements during the Shadow radio show in which John Barclay would give tips to homeowners about how to best use their coal for heating? Ever wondered who he really was? Mike Newton explains below:

If you have ever listened to some of the early Shadow broadcasts, you have heard of John Barclay, Blue Coal's heating expert. He would explain to the listeners how to properly bank their coal so that they could get maximum heat. He would tell them to send in for the instructional booklet that was available at local Blue Coal dealers. There was also a "heat regulator" ie theromastadt which helped control the heat.

The thing is...John Barclay was a fictional person. It is not known who played the part. In the Blue Coal ads, he looked like a technician. Blue Coal maintenance men were said to be "John Barclay trained." The actor who played the part sounded like a middle age professional man.

His real name was Tim Frawley, an older man who had done theatrical stock work. Later, the part was taken by Paul Huber. While Martin Grams lists both names in his Shadow book [The Shadow: The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930 - 1954, (self-published, 2011)] , he says that the actor who played John Barclay was never revealed. Both men however played parts in the early years of the show, prior to 1937.