SherbyNet - /page/wikibook/entry.mu

Micron Document

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`*`!Crime Classics`!`* is a United States `F33f`_`[radio`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Radio]`_`f `F33f`_`[docudrama`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Docudrama]`_`f which aired as a `F33f`_`[sustaining`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Sustaining_program]`_`f series over `F33f`_`[CBS Radio`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=CBS_Radio]`_`f from June 15, 1953, to June 30, 1954.`:cite-ref-rcf-1-0[`F5bf`_`[1`#cite-note-rcf-1]`_`f]

>>Contents

• `F0af`_`[Production`#production]`_`f

• `F0af`_`[References`#references]`_`f

• `F0af`_`[External links`#external-links]`_`f

-─

>>Production

Produced and directed by radio actor and director `F33f`_`[Elliott Lewis`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Elliott_Lewis_(radio)]`_`f, the program was a historical `F33f`_`[true crime`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=True_crime_(genre)]`_`f series, examining crimes and murders from the past.`:cite-ref-t-2-0[`F5bf`_`[2`#cite-note-t-2]`_`f] It grew out of Lewis' personal interest in famous murder cases and took a `F33f`_`[documentary`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Radio_documentary]`_`f-like approach to the subject, carefully recreating the facts, personages and feel of the time period. Comparatively little `F33f`_`[dramatic license`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Dramatic_license]`_`f was taken with the facts and events, but the tragedy was leavened with humor, expressed largely through the narration.

The crimes dramatized generally covered a broad time and place frame from ancient `F33f`_`[Greece`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Greece]`_`f to late 19th-century `F33f`_`[America`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=United_States]`_`f. Each episode in the series was co-written by `F33f`_`[Morton Fine`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Morton_S._Fine]`_`f and `F33f`_`[David Friedkin`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=David_Friedkin]`_`f,`:cite-ref-rcf-1-1[`F5bf`_`[1`#cite-note-rcf-1]`_`f] in consultation with Lewis, although the scripting process was more a matter of research, as the stories were from "the records of newspapers of every land from every time."`:cite-ref-rpoc-3-0[`F5bf`_`[3`#cite-note-rpoc-3]`_`f]

The cases ranged from famous assassinations (of `F33f`_`[Abraham Lincoln`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Abraham_Lincoln]`_`f, `F33f`_`[Leon Trotsky`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Leon_Trotsky]`_`f, and `F33f`_`[Julius Caesar`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Julius_Caesar]`_`f) and the lives (and often deaths) of the likes of `F33f`_`[Cesare Borgia`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Cesare_Borgia]`_`f and `F33f`_`[Blackbeard`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Blackbeard]`_`f to more obscure cases, such as `F33f`_`[Bathsheba Spooner`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Bathsheba_Spooner]`_`f, who killed her husband Joshua Spooner in 1778 and became the first woman tried and executed in `F33f`_`[America`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=United_States_of_America]`_`f.

The only continuing character was the host/ and narrator, Thomas Hyland, played by `F33f`_`[Lou Merrill`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Lou_Merrill]`_`f.`:cite-ref-t-2-1[`F5bf`_`[2`#cite-note-t-2]`_`f] Hyland was introduced by the announcer as a "connoisseur of crime, student of violence, and teller of murders." Merrill's deadpan portrayal of Hyland provided the welcome note of tongue-in-cheek humor to the proceedings. Unlike the ghoulish weird storytellers of `*`F33f`_`[The Whistler`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=The_Whistler_(radio_series)]`_`f`* and `*`F33f`_`[The Mysterious Traveler`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=The_Mysterious_Traveler]`_`f`*, Hyland was an ordinary fellow who, in a dry, droll manner, would present a tale from his files, his wry comments interspersed between dramatized scenes. The episodes would typically begin with Hyland inviting the audience to listen to a sound, from drops of rain to horses' hooves, and then introducing the main players and events of his report. The titles also contributed to the series' light tone, as they were intentionally pompous and usually laced with irony. Typical titles included "Your Loving Son, `F33f`_`[Nero`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Nero]`_`f," "If a Body Needs a Body, Just Call `F33f`_`[Burke and Hare`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=West_Port_murders]`_`f," and "The Axe and the Droot Family... How They Fared".

A roster of Hollywood radio actors filled the various historical roles. `F33f`_`[William Conrad`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=William_Conrad]`_`f was one of the more frequently heard performers, in such diverse parts as `F33f`_`[Nero`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Nero]`_`f, Blackbeard, `F33f`_`[Pat Garrett`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Pat_Garrett]`_`f and `F33f`_`[King Arthur`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=King_Arthur]`_`f. Other performers, and the villains and victims they portrayed, included `F33f`_`[Jack Kruschen`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Jack_Kruschen]`_`f (as `F33f`_`[William Burke`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Burke_and_Hare_murders]`_`f and Trotsky assassin `F33f`_`[Ramón Mercader`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Ramón_Mercader]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Jay Novello`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Jay_Novello]`_`f (as `F33f`_`[William Hare`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=William_Hare_(murderer)]`_`f and `F33f`_`[Dr. William Palmer`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=William_Palmer_(murderer)]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Mary Jane Croft`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Mary_Jane_Croft]`_`f`:cite-ref-rp-4-0[`F5bf`_`[4`#cite-note-rp-4]`_`f] (as Bathsheba Spooner and `F33f`_`[Madame de Brinvilliers`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Madame_de_Brinvilliers]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Betty Lou Gerson`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Betty_Lou_Gerson]`_`f (as `F33f`_`[Agrippina`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Agrippina_the_elder]`_`f and `F33f`_`[Lucrezia Borgia`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Lucrezia_Borgia]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Edgar Barrier`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Edgar_Barrier]`_`f (as Julius Caesar), `F33f`_`[Harry Bartell`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Harry_Bartell]`_`f (as `F33f`_`[Brutus`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Marcus_Junius_Brutus]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Hans Conried`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Hans_Conried]`_`f (as `F33f`_`[Ali Pasha`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Ali_Pasha_of_Ioannina]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Herb Butterfield`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Herb_Butterfield]`_`f`:cite-ref-rp-4-1[`F5bf`_`[4`#cite-note-rp-4]`_`f] (as Lincoln, Trotsky, and `F33f`_`[Thomas Edwin Bartlett`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Pimlico_Mystery]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Jack Edwards`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Jack_Edwards_(actor)]`_`f (as `F33f`_`[John Wilkes Booth`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=John_Wilkes_Booth]`_`f and `F33f`_`[Cole Younger`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Cole_Younger]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Irene Tedrow`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Irene_Tedrow]`_`f (as `F33f`_`[Lizzie Borden`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Lizzie_Borden]`_`f), `F33f`_`[William Johnstone`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=William_Johnstone_(actor)]`_`f`:cite-ref-rp-4-2[`F5bf`_`[4`#cite-note-rp-4]`_`f] (as `F33f`_`[Robert Knox`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Robert_Knox_(surgeon)]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Betty Harford`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Betty_Harford]`_`f (as `F33f`_`[Madeleine Smith`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Madeleine_Smith]`_`f and `F33f`_`[Ripper`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Jack_the_Ripper]`_`f victim `F33f`_`[Mary Jane Kelly`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Mary_Jane_Kelly]`_`f), `F33f`_`[Eve McVeagh`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Eve_McVeagh]`_`f as Madame `F33f`_`[Marie Lafarge`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Marie_Lafarge]`_`f, Clayton Post (as `F33f`_`[Jesse James`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Jesse_James]`_`f), and `F33f`_`[Sam Edwards`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Sam_Edwards]`_`f`:cite-ref-rp-4-3[`F5bf`_`[4`#cite-note-rp-4]`_`f] (as `F33f`_`[Billy the Kid`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Billy_the_Kid]`_`f and `F33f`_`[Bob Younger`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Bob_Younger]`_`f). `F33f`_`[Georgia Ellis`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Georgia_Ellis]`_`f and `F33f`_`[Tudor Owen`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Tudor_Owen_(actor)]`_`f also were heard regularly on the program.`:cite-ref-rp-4-4[`F5bf`_`[4`#cite-note-rp-4]`_`f]

Composer `F33f`_`[Bernard Herrmann`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Bernard_Herrmann]`_`f returned to radio to score all but one of the series episodes (with `F33f`_`[Wilbur Hatch`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Wilbur_Hatch]`_`f substituting for that entry), capturing the sound and feel of the various time periods simply but elegantly, often with the use of only two or three instruments per episode. During the fall of 1953, the show was scheduled back to back with `*`F33f`_`[On Stage`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=On_Stage_(radio_show)]`_`f`*, another dramatic anthology created by Lewis. He decided to connect the two by presenting "The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln" on `*Crime Classics`* while `*On Stage`* featured `*`F33f`_`[Our American Cousin`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Our_American_Cousin]`_`f,`* the play Lincoln had attended the night of his death. The experiment was unsuccessful, and according to radio historian John Dunning, earned Lewis a rebuke from network head `F33f`_`[William S. Paley`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=William_S._Paley]`_`f, who advised him to never attempt anything like it again.`:cite-ref-dunning-5-0[`F5bf`_`[5`#cite-note-dunning-5]`_`f]

Episodes included "Good Evening, My Name Is Jack the Ripper" on June 30, 1954, with Betty Hartford portraying Mary Jane Kelly.`:cite-ref-6[`F5bf`_`[6`#cite-note-6]`_`f]

Roy Rowan, `F33f`_`[Larry Thor`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Larry_Thor]`_`f,`:cite-ref-rcf-1-2[`F5bf`_`[1`#cite-note-rcf-1]`_`f] and `F33f`_`[Bob Lemond`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Bob_LeMond]`_`f were the announcers.`:cite-ref-rpoc-3-1[`F5bf`_`[3`#cite-note-rpoc-3]`_`f] Ken McManus was the director.`:cite-ref-rcf-1-3[`F5bf`_`[1`#cite-note-rcf-1]`_`f]

The trade publication `*`F33f`_`[Billboard`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Billboard_(magazine)]`_`f`* reported in 1956 that Tomado Productions would begin filming `*Crime Classics`* for television. Merrill was to continue as host, with Lewis as executive producer and `F33f`_`[Robert Florey`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Robert_Florey]`_`f as director.`:cite-ref-bb-7-0[`F5bf`_`[7`#cite-note-bb-7]`_`f] The episode was not broadcast.`:cite-ref-8[`F5bf`_`[8`#cite-note-8]`_`f]

>>References

`:cite-note-rcf-1`!1.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-rcf-1-0]`_`f `:citerefcox2015`aCox, Jim (2015). `*Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age`*. McFarland. pp. 86–87. `F33f`_`[ISBN`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=ISBN_(identifier)]`_`f 978-1476612270. Retrieved December 26, 2022.

`:cite-note-t-2`!2.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-t-2-0]`_`f "New Series Dramatizes Old Crimes". `*The Times`*. Louisiana, Shreveport. June 21, 1953. p. 7 F. Retrieved December 11, 2022 – via `F33f`_`[Newspapers.com`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Newspapers.com]`_`f.

`:cite-note-rpoc-3`!3.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-rpoc-3-0]`_`f `:citerefterrace2015`aTerrace, Vincent (2015). `*Radio Program Openings and Closings, 1931–1972`*. McFarland. p. 58. `F33f`_`[ISBN`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=ISBN_(identifier)]`_`f 978-1476612232. Retrieved December 26, 2022.

`:cite-note-rp-4`!4.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-rp-4-0]`_`f `:citerefterrace2015`aTerrace, Vincent (2015). `*Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows`*. McFarland. p. 86. `F33f`_`[ISBN`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=ISBN_(identifier)]`_`f 978-1476605289. Retrieved December 26, 2022.

`:cite-note-dunning-5`!5.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-dunning-5-0]`_`f `:citerefdunning1998`a`F33f`_`[Dunning, John`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=John_Dunning_(detective_fiction_author)]`_`f (1998). `*On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio`* (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 184–185. `F33f`_`[ISBN`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=ISBN_(identifier)]`_`f 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved September 18, 2019.

`:cite-note-6`!6.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-6]`_`f `:citerefcovillelucanio2015`aCoville, Gary; Lucanio, Patrick (2015). `*Jack the Ripper: His Life and Crimes in Popular Entertainment`*. McFarland. p. 169. `F33f`_`[ISBN`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=ISBN_(identifier)]`_`f 978-1476607375. Retrieved December 26, 2022.

`:cite-note-bb-7`!7.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-bb-7-0]`_`f "Tomado to Film 2 New Series". `*Billboard`*. March 24, 1956. p. 2. Retrieved December 26, 2022.

`:cite-note-8`!8.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-8]`_`f `:citerefterrace2018`aTerrace, Vincent (2018). `*Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945–2018`*. McFarland. p. 48. `F33f`_`[ISBN`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=ISBN_(identifier)]`_`f 978-1476672069. Retrieved December 26, 2022.

>>External links

• Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: `*Crime Classics`*

• Popmatters: The Seven-Layered Arsenic Cake of Madame LaFarge and Other Crime Classics (archived)

• `*Crime Classics`* in the `F33f`_`[Internet Archive`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Internet_Archive]`_`f's `F33f`_`[Old-Time Radio Collection`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Old-time_radio]`_`f

`c`F0af`_`[↑ Back to top`#top]`_`f`a