Wisconsin Public Radio - Old Time Radio Drama

Orson Welles broadcasting Old Time Radio brings the best of 1930s, 40s, and 50s entertainment to Wisconsin every Saturday and Sunday night from 8pm to 11pm (CST).

Host Norman Gilliland explores some of the best comedy, drama, adventure, mystery, and science fiction of the Twentieth Century.

Where else can you get entertainment including comedy, suspense, alien invaders, and ads for products you haven't seen in decades all in three hours?

Old Cathedral Style Radio

See a complete listing of Program Rundowns including upcoming shows!

See Old Time Radio's Audio Archives - listen to them now!

WPR staffer Sarah Jacobs models the brand new 20th Anniversary Old-Time Radio Drama t-shirt, the prize for winners of the "Name That Sound" Contest.

And for a limited time, it's also available for a $120 pledge to OTRD at 1-888-202-2552 or online at wpr.org.

(Click on Sarah's photo for a closeup view)

Regular Programs

Photo of a Vintage Radio ad While there was a great variety of programs offered during the 30s, 40s, and 50s, some series were exceptional. While we do try to give a wide variety of programming, OTR does come back to many series again and again. Below are some of these series.

The Great Gildersleeve - a comedy about an old curmudgeon and his suburban adventures.

Suspense - the name says it all. Every program was a thriller, and you could never tell which side would win. Another strength of the program was how it got the listeners so involved. By the end of the programs the listener is cheering the villain half the time.

X Minus 1 - A science fiction program dealing with far-out topics. Involves extraterrestrials in a healthy number of plots, but also has plenty of possessed machinery and other wacky plot devices.

Burns & Allen - comedy with attitude. Gracie and George tirelessly rip on each other and their cast in dialogue and skits.

Nero Wolfe - This large man and his sidekick, Archie Goodwin, solve mysteries in order to finance Wolfe's obsession with orchids.

Johnny Dollar - the man with the action-packed expense account. Dollar, an insurance claims investigator, goes on adventures, often serialized, to try to get to the bottom of his cases. Romance, murder, and fraud are par for the course.

Ever wonder what the OTR theme music is? It's called 14th Street Blues from Leon Redbone's album Sugar released in 1990 and still available.