+ Daredevils Of Hollywood aired in 1938 and was a show that featured the true life thrilling experiences of those men behind the scenes; the daredevils (Or stunt doubles as they are now known). The show would feature a different Hollywood stuntman each week and profile his work in this dangerous and deth-defying job. Hanley Stafford was involved in American network Radio from it's very inception as a viable commercial medium. From 1928 until his death in 1969, Hanley Stafford lived breathed and slept American Radio in one form or another. Indeed, long after the Golden Age of Radio had all but waned permanently, Hanley Stafford kept his hand in Radio in one fashion or another, in spite of his increasing success in Film and Television. One of Radio's most versatile--and ubiquitous--voices, there were precious few genuinely popular Radio programs during the entire thirty year span of The Golden Age of Radio that didn't feature Hanley Stafford's voice talent in some fashion or another. Indeed, though most often cited for his long association with Baby Snooks, Hanley Stafford was even more regularly involved with many of the action/adventure programs from the earliest days of network Radio. Programs such as The Count of Monte Cristo, The World Adventurers' Club, The Last of The Mohicans, Tarzan, The Origin of Superstition, Chandu the Magician, Calling All Cars, Flash Gordon, and Speed Gibson, all featured Hanley Stafford's voice in lead and recurring supporting roles for a full ten years before his notable success in both Baby Snooks and Blondie. From Lord Tennington in Tarzan (1933) t0 heart-tugging characterizations in The Court of Human Relations (1936) to classical Shakespearan roles opposite John Barrymore in Barrymore's Streamlined Shakespeare (1937) to his signature roles in both Baby Snooks and Blondie, Hanley Stafford was never an actor that could be pinned down, nor typecast. That was his genius. Stafford was also a member of the famous cast of The Cinnamon Bear (1937), virtually all of whom went onto extraordinary individual successes in their own careers. Stafford portrayed as many as five different characters in The Cinnamon Bear, in yet another display of his extraordinaty versatility. Stafford would often portray as many as five or six different characters in a radioplay, while either uncredited or taking credit for only one character. From comedy to action to adventure to who-dun-its to classic drama, Hanley Stafford became one of Radio's most time-tested, reliable, and ubiquitous voices in Radio. Indeed, Hanley Stafford's Radio career alone shows a versatility and breadth of character roles unmatched by all but a handful of Radio--and Film--history's most versatile talents. But Stafford later built on that extrordinary Radio success with infrequent, though memorable, performances in Television and Film. Credited with an estimated 7,000+ appearances over Radio, it goes without saying that Hanley Stafford was one of The Golden Age of Radio's giants. Some might say Stafford stayed too long in Radio. He was clearly attractive enough to pursue Television even further than he had. But one must also consider what it often meant to a true Radioman to be a Radioman throughout the Golden Age of Radio. And Hanley Stafford was unquestionably a Radioman, from virtually the moment he gained his United States citizenship, until the moment he passed away from a heart attack. Stafford put his heart and soul into Radio and it showed. Indeed, with literally thousands of surviving representative recordings of his appearances, he might arguably be acquiring new Radio fans in greater numbers today than he ever had during The Golden Age of Radio. A more than fitting epitaph to a life devoted to versatile, quality family entertainment. Text from Digital Deli Too Click here to read more about Daredevils Of Hollywood
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Please enjoy these 33 old time radio episodes:
Air Date | Title | Synopsis | Rating |
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07.04.1938 | frank mcgrath |
+ Stuntman Frank McGrath (played by Buddy Edwards) describes his first stunt: jumping out of a falli... | |
07.08.1938 | kansas moehring |
+ Stuntman Kansas Moring skids his car on a wet street and nearly hits a trolley, another stuntman i... | |
07.08.1938 | kansas mooring |
+ Stuntman Kansas Moring describes his 1926 stunt: a walk along the top of a runaway train. | |
07.11.1938 | aileen goodwin |
+ Stuntwoman Eileen Goodwin describes her spectacular car chase and crash. | |
07.11.1938 | eileen goodwin | ||
07.15.1938 | cecil kellogg |
+ Stuntman Cecil Kellogg jumps from one moving train to another. | |
07.18.1938 | matt gilman |
+ Stuntman Matt Gilman describes a 1935 stunt: getting shot off a castle's drawbridge, breaking his ... | |
07.22.1938 | ione reed |
+ Portraits of the famous stuntmen and stuntwomen of Hollywood and their famous "stunts" Miss Ione R... |
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DAREDEVILS OF HOLLYWOOD
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