Jul 30, 2013
On the show this week we are going to take a look at yet another American Icon. First, we went to the jungles of Africa to meet Tarzan. Then we rode into the Wild West to follow The Lone Ranger. This week we will look at what lurks in the hearts of men and talk about The Shadow.
I will present a short history of the origin of the old-time radio series. You will hear some on how the character was developed and finally, I will tell you about the creator of The Shadow, Walter B. Gibson (AKA: Maxwell Grant). Maxwell Grant was a pen name used by the authors of The Shadow pulp magazine stories. Street and Smith Publications asked Gibson to chronicle the Shadow's adventures and to create a pen name for the Shadow's author. This was done so that numerous authors could be used to write the stories without confusing the readers.
On September 26, 1937, The Shadow premiered on the radio with the story "The Death House Rescue". Our tale stars the great Orson Wells is that very first episode of the show and kicked off the birth of an American icon.