CBS Radio Mystery Theater Christmas Edition

 Three Christmas-themed episodes of The CBS Radio Mystery Theater, created by Himan Brown and hosted by E.G. Marshall (one of the grandfathers on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation). The first two episodes are presented exactly as aired on WBBM, Chicago in December 1978 complete with original commercials, news and even weather reports!

Merry Christmas to you!

This Christmas, our hope is that despite the hustle and bustle you are able to take a few moments for yourself and enjoy some of the best that Old Time Radio has to offer. Linked below is a collection of vintage radio programs ranging from downright hilarious to genuinely heart-warming. We hope you enjoy!

Best Wishes for a very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you! Thank you for your continued support.

Bing Crosby Christmas Show - December 24, 1947.



Fibber McGee and Molly - Best Christmas Decorations - December 20, 1949.



Abbott and Costello - Christmas Program - December 25, 1947.





Dragnet - Twenty-Two Rifle for Christmas - December 20, 1951.



Suspense - Twas The Night Before Christmas - December 21, 1953.



Lux Radio Theater - Miracle on 34th Street - December 20, 1948.



If you listen to any Old Time Radio Christmas program this year, listen to this one. Easily the best. The Amos 'n' Andy Christmas Program. In the Annual Christmas Radio Show, Amos (played by Freeman Gosden) explained the Lord's Prayer to his daughter Arbadella (played by radio actress, Barbara Jean Wong). This heart-warming script was so overwhelmingly popular, it was repeated every Christmas Eve for 14 years, from 1940 to 1954.

Christmas Eve Favorites!

Most of the programs during the Golden Age of Radio did special shows near the holidays. One of the funniest most enjoyable of these are the Christmas shows Jack Benny and his troupe performed every year.

"One extremely popular scenario that became an annual tradition on The Jack Benny Program was the "Christmas Shopping" episode, in which Benny would head to a local department store. Each year, Benny would buy a ridiculously cheap Christmas gift for Don Wilson from a store clerk played by Mel Blanc. Benny would then have second (then third, and even fourth) thoughts about his gift choice, driving Blanc (or, in two other cases, his wife and his psychiatrist, as well) to hilarious insanity by exchanging the gift, pestering about the Christmas card or wrapping paper countless times throughout the episode: in many cases, the clerk would commit suicide, or attempt and fail to commit suicide ("Look what you done! You made me so nervous, I missed!") as a result.
In the 1946 Christmas episode, for example, Benny buys shoelaces for Don, and then is unable to make up his mind whether to give Wilson shoelaces with plastic tips or shoelaces with metal tips. After Benny exchanges the shoelaces repeatedly, Mel Blanc is heard screaming insanely, "Plastic tips! Metal tips! I can't stand it anymore!" A variation in 1948 concerned Benny buying an expensive wallet for Don, but repeatedly changing the greeting card inserted—prompting Blanc to shout: "I haven't run into anyone like you in 20 years! Oh, why did the governor have to give me that pardon!?" – until Benny realizes that he should have gotten Don a wallet for $1.98, whereupon the put-upon clerk immediately responds by committing suicide. Over the years, in these Christmas episodes, Benny bought and repeatedly exchanged cuff links, golf tees, a box of dates, a paint set, and even a gopher trap." -via Wikipedia
Enjoy this collection of Jack Benny Christmas shows and have a very Merry Christmas!


"Christmas Shopping" - December 5, 1954.



"Gopher Trap for Don" - December 14, 1952.



"Setting Up Christmas Tree" - December 21, 1952.



"Christmas Party at Birmingham General Hospital" - December 22, 1946.




When Benny transitioned to TV, the tradition continued. Benny’s December 18, 1960 Christmas shopping episode is a TV classic. Mel Blanc reprising his role as a harried clerk who goes the extra mile to please his very finicky customer.