You can help make this page a
complete and comprehensive list of all the radio and television programs in which Basil
Rathbone participated. If you know of any programs which are missing from these lists,
please e-mail me. THANKS!
Look for the speaker button
below to hear sound clips from various radio shows. An asterisk (*) after
the listed show or episode indicates that it is available to purchase. See
the bottom of the page for links.
"Radio is
unquestionably a superior medium to television because it makes us use our imaginations. .
. . In the days of radio, The Theatre Guild of the Air . . . was ever striving for
quality, intelligence, and good taste. I have played many times for them and every time I
was invited it was a worthwhile experience."
(Basil Rathbone, In and Out of Character, page 176)
|
1936
June (?) -- The Shell Chateau (NBC), (with Alice Faye, Edward G. Robinson and George Jessel)
1937
February 22 -- Lux Radio Theatre (CBS): "Captain Blood," (with Errol Flynn & Olivia
deHavilland)**
December 8 -- Your Hollywood Parade (NBC). Rathbone was an opening
night guest.
1938
Jan. 10 -- Lux Radio Theatre (CBS): "Enter Madame," (with Grace Moore, Sharon Lynn and
William Frawley)**
May -- "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (a broadcast of Erich Korngold's
music for the film, with Basil Rathbone narrating the story), NBC
June 6 -- Lux Radio Theatre (CBS): "A Doll's House,"
(with Joan Crawford)*
Sept. 27 -- Information Please (Blue Network); Rathbone was
on the panel of this intellectual quiz program.*
 |
In
this sound clip from Information Please, Rathbone answers a series of
Shakespeare questions correctly. (file size: 528 KB) |
Oct. 31 -- Lux Radio Theatre (CBS): "That Certain Woman,"
(with Carole Lombard & Jeffrey Lynn)*
|
 |
1939
Jan. 22 -- Screen Guild Theater (the CBS Gulf Oil Program):
"Can We Forget?" (with George Murphy, Louise Beavers, Bette Davis
and Robert Montgomery)
Feb. - July 9 -- The Circle (NBC, sponsored by Kelloggs). The following stars
appeared on this hour-long discussion/entertainment program and talked about
literature, drama, and current events: Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard,
Lawrence Tibbett, Groucho Marx, Chico Marx and Basil Rathbone. The stars took turns being
emcee, and they also acted, played music, and
told jokes. The Circle debuted on January 15, 1939, without Rathbone. Ronald
Colman quit the program after five weeks and Rathbone replaced him.
June 11 -- A special tribute to the British King and Queen, who were
visiting the USA. Many British performers took part in the program,
performing a song or a dramatic reading. Rathbone read the poem "How Do I
Love Thee."
 |
Vivien
Leigh and Basil Rathbone reading love poems by Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett Browning. (file size: 820KB) |
 |
Nigel
Bruce, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and C. Aubrey Smith singing "Three Little
Fishies" (file size: 970 MB) |
Dec. 17 -- Screen Guild Theater: "Smilin' Through" (with Norma Shearer & Louis Hayward)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
WJZ-NBC ("NBC Blue"), October 2, 1939, to March 11, 1940
Sherlock Holmes: Basil Rathbone
Dr. Watson: Nigel Bruce
Sponsor: Bromo Quinine
Oct. 2 --- The
Sussex Vampire
Oct. 9 --- Silver Blaze
Oct. 16 -- The Speckled Band
Oct. 23 -- The Man with the Twisted Lip
Oct. 30 -- The Devil's Foot
Nov. 6 --- The Bruce Partington Plans*
Nov. 13 -- The Lion's Mane
Nov. 20 -- The Dying Detective
Nov. 27 -- The Creeping Man
Dec. 4 --- Charles Augustus Milverton
Dec. 11 -- The Musgrave Ritual
Dec. 18 -- Wisteria Lodge
Dec. 25 -- The Three Garridebs
Jan. 1 --- The Blue Carbuncle
Jan. 8 --- The Priory School
Jan. 15 -- The Greek Interpreter
Jan. 22 -- The Cardboard Box
Jan. 29 -- The Second Stain
Feb. 5 --- Abbey Grange
Feb. 12 -- Shoscombe Old Place
Feb. 19 -- The Blanched Soldier
Feb. 26 -- The Reigate Squires
March 4 -- The Beryl Coronet
March 11 -- The Retired Colourman*
1940
Oct. 4 -- Lux Radio Theater. "Wuthering Heights" (with Ida Lupino)*
Oct. 20 -- Screen Guild Theater:
"Variety" (with Jack Benny, Claudette Colbert, Edward Arnold and
Ernest Lubitsch)*
"I have been told by
literally hundreds of people that when we were doing the Sherlock Holmes series they would
turn out the lights or if they had a fire sit round it and let their imaginations go fancy
free."
(Basil Rathbone, In and Out of Character, page 176)
|
Sherlock Holmes
WJZ-NBC, September 29, 1940 to March 9, 1941
Sherlock Holmes: Basil Rathbone
Dr. Watson: Nigel Bruce
Sept. 29 -- The Empty House
Oct. 6 -- The Copper Beeches
Oct. 13 -- The Noble Bachelor
Oct. 20 -- The Engineer's Thumb
Oct. 27 -- The Red-Headed League
Nov. 3 -- Thor Bridge
Nov. 10 -- The Crooked Man
Nov. 17 -- The Norwood Hills Mystery
Nov. 24 -- The Three Students
Dec. 1 --- The Dancing Men
Dec. 8 --- Black Peter
Dec. 15 -- The Lost Naval Treaty
Dec. 22 -- The Boscombe Valley Mystery
Dec. 29 -- The Missing Three-Quarter
Jan. 5 --- The Mazarin Stone
Jan. 12 - Feb. 16 -- The Hound of the Baskervilles (Parts 1-6)
Feb. 23 -- The Resident Patient (The Chess Club Murders)
March 2 -- The Speckled Band
March 9 -- Shoscombe Old Place
1941
Jan. 28 -- The Bob Hope Show (NBC): Basil Rathbone made a guest appearance
to promote his new movie "The Mad Doctor," and to help Hope
find his "Yehoodi."*
Oct. 26 -- Screen Guild Theater (CBS):
"Good-bye Mister Chips" (with Greer Garson)
Nov. 2 -- The Jack Benny Show (NBC): "Halloween with Basil
Rathbone"*
 |
On
Halloween Jack Benny has just thrown a rock through Basil Rathbone's
window. Basil finds Jack hiding behind a bush. (file size: 486 KB)
|
Year? (sometime between 1941 and 1945) -- Stars Over Hollywood
(CBS), a Saturday morning original drama. Featured such stars as Alan
Hale, Brenda Marshall, Brenda Joyce, Ann Rutherford, and Basil Rathbone.
Sherlock Holmes
WEAF-NBC, October 5, 1941 to March 1, 1942
Sherlock Holmes: Basil Rathbone
Dr. Watson: Nigel Bruce
Oct. 5 --- The Illustrious Client
Oct. 12 -- The Six Napoleons
Oct. 19 -- The Devil's Foot
Oct. 26 -- The Solitary Cyclist
Nov. 2 --- The Walking Corpse
Nov. 9 --- The Stockbroker's Clerk
Nov. 16 -- The Missing Papers
Nov. 23 -- The Magician
Nov. 30 -- A Case of Identity
Dec. 7 --- Mrs. Warren's Key
Dec. 14 -- The Dark Gentleman
Dec. 21 -- Donald's Death
Dec. 28 -- The Gloria Scott
Jan. 4 --- The Second Stain
Jan. 11 -- The Haunted Bagpipes
Jan. 18 -- The Three Gables
Jan. 25 -- The Lion's Mane
Feb. 1 --- The Five Orange Pips
Feb. 8 --- The Voodoo Curse
Feb. 15 -- The Dark Tragedy of the Circus
Feb. 22 -- The Sussex Vampire
March 1 -- The Giant Rat of Sumatra
1942
Jan. 6 -- The Burns and Allen Show
(NBC)
April 13 -- Cavalcade of America (NBC), heroic war stories
presented by DuPont
Chemical Co. to support the country and the war. Rathbone starred as Benedict
Arnold in "A Continental Uniform," with Rosemary DeCamp, Lou Merrill, Eric
Rolf, Gale Gordon, Jerry Mohr, Eliott Lewis and Hans Conreid.*
Nov. 9 - June 21, 1943 -- Ceiling Unlimited (CBS), a patriotic
wartime drama program describing aviation's role in the war. Rathbone was on
this program at least once--exact dates are unknown.
Nov. 16 -- Screen Guild Theater:
"Good-bye Mister Chips" (with Merle Oberon)

A wartime radio broadcast for NBC, with British
stars Greer Garson, Leslie Howard, Vivien Leigh, Brian Aherne,
Ronald Colman and Basil Rathbone |

More British stars who performed on NBC radio
on behalf of wartime Britain |
Year? -- Elza Schallert Reviews. Schallert interviewed
five guests: Max Reinhardt, Thornton Wilder, Richard Hageman, Don E.
Gilman and Basil Rathbone. Rathbone discussed theater, art, film and
radio. (Since Max Reinhardt died in 1943, the year of this radio
broadcast was no later than 1943.)
1943
Jan. 4 -- Screen Guild Theater (CBS):
"Suspicion," with Joan Fontaine and Nigel Bruce. (Brian
Aherne was originally scheduled, but due to illness was replaced at the
last minute by Basil Rathbone.)
April 1 -- The Rudy Vallee Show, guest appearance along with Joan Davis
Aug. 9 -- Screen Guild Theater (CBS):
"Spitfire," with Reginald Gardner and Heather Angel.
September 13 -- Lux Radio Theatre (CBS): "The Phantom of the Opera," with
Nelson Eddy and Susanne Foster **
September 27 -- Cavalcade of America, NBC (heroic war stories
presented by DuPont
Chemical Co. to support the country and the war), "The Hated Hero of
1776"*
December 24 -- "A Christmas Carol," as Scrooge, with Cynthia Rathbone
(broadcast to troops overseas)
1944
Jan. 23 -- The Silver Theater (CBS): "Quite an Order"
(Hosted by Conrad Nagel and John Loder)
March 27 -- Screen Guild Theater (CBS): "Why Jack is not Going
to Appear on the Show" (with Jack Benny, Barbara Stanwyck and John
Hersholt)
April 9 -- The Jack Benny Show (NBC): "Repairing Jack's Sidewalk"
April 13 -- Three of a Kind, guest appearance
June 6 -- Duffy's Tavern (Blue Network): Guest appearance on
episode #133
June 24 -- Dari-Rich broadcast, guest appearance
Aug. 21 -- Screen Guild Theater (CBS): "The Ghost Goes
West" (with Eugene Palette, Marsha Hunt and Charles Irwin)
Oct. 25 -- Which is Which? (CBS), a quiz program in which people
from the audience try to guess from the voice alone if someone behind a
curtain is a real celebrity or an impersonator. Rathbone appeared as a
real celebrity on the opening show.
1944? -- Yarns for Yanks (a program for the Armed Forces Radio Service):
"The Canterville Ghost"
SHERLOCK HOLMES
WOR-MBS (The Mutual Network), April 30, 1943, to May 28, 1945
Sherlock Holmes: Basil Rathbone
Dr. Watson: Nigel Bruce
Sponsor: Petri Wine
Apr 30, 1943 -- (?)
May 7 -- The Copper Beeches
May 14 -- The Man with the Twisted Lip
May 21 -- The Devil's Foot
May 28 -- The Red-Headed League
June 4 --- The Engineer's Thumb
June 11 -- Silver Blaze
June 18 -- The Dying Detective
June 25 -- Wisteria Lodge
July 2 --- The Priory School
July 9 --- The Creeping Man
July 16 -- The Musgrave Ritual
July 23 -- The Greek Interpreter
July 30 -- Murder in the Waxworks
Aug. 6 --- The Missing Leonardo da Vinci
Aug. 13 -- The Syrian Mummy
Aug. 20 -- The Missing Dancer
Aug. 27 -- The Cardboard Box
Sept. 3 --- The Retired Colourman
Sept. 10 -- The Bruce-Partington Plans
Sept. 17 -- The Dying Rosebush
Sept. 24 -- The Missing Black Bag
Oct. 1 --- The Speckled Band
Oct. 8 --- The Dundas Separation Case
Oct. 15 -- The Old Russian Woman
Oct. 22 -- (?)
Oct. 25 -- Ricoletti of the Club Foot
Nov. 1 --- The Brother's Footsteps
Nov. 8 --- The Shocking Affair of the S.S. Friesland
Nov. 15 -- The Apparition at Sadler's Wells
Nov. 22 -- Murder at the Park
Nov. 29 -- Mrs Farintosh's Opal Tiara
Dec. 6 --- The Camberwell Poisoning Case
Dec. 13 -- The Jumping Jack
Dec. 20 -- The Missing Black Dog
Dec. 27 -- The Tired Captain
 |
 |
1944 (Sherlock Holmes)
Jan. 3 -- The Incredible Mystery of Mr. James Philmore
Jan. 10 -- The Unlucky White Horse
Jan. 17 -- The Departed Banker
Jan. 24 -- The Amateur Mendicant Society
Jan. 31 -- The Dog that Howled in the Night
Feb. 7 --- Death at Cornwall
Feb. 14 -- The Red Leeches
Feb. 21 -- Dr. Moore Agar
Feb. 28 -- The Missing Bullion
March 6 -- Death on the Scottish Express
March 13 -- The Peculiar Persecution of John Vincent Hardin
March 20 -- The Man who Drowned in Paddington Station
March 27 -- The Haunted Bagpipes
Apr. 3 --- The Fingerprints that Couldn't Lie
Apr. 10 -- The Man who Was Hanged
Apr. 17 -- The Singular Contents of the Ancient British Barrow
Apr. 24 -- The Dentist who Used Wolfbane
May 1 --- Holmes and the HalfMan
May 8 ---The Phantom Iceberg
May 15 -- The Missing Bloodstains
May 22 -- The Superfluous Pearl
May 29 -- Skull and Bones
June 5 -- The Corpse in a Trunk
June 12 -- The Monster of Gyre
June 19 -- The Man with the Twisted Lip
June 26 -- The Dissimilar Body
July 3 -- The Amateur Mendicant Society
July 10 -- The Devil's Foot
July 17 -- The Bruce-Partington Plans
July 24 -- The Strange Case of the Aluminium Crutch
July 31 -- The Giant Rat of Sumatra
Aug. 7 --- The Lighthouse, the Frightened Politician and the Trained Cormorant
Aug. 14 -- Murder by Remote Control
Aug. 21 -- The Missing Corpse
Aug. 28 -- The African Leopard Man
Sept. 4 --- Dimitrios, the Divine
Sept. 11 -- Guardian of the Dead
Sept. 18 -- The Invisible Necklace
Sept. 25 -- The Vampire of Cadiz
Oct. 2 --- 200 Year-Old Murderer
Oct. 9 --- The Third Hunchback
Oct. 16 -- The Missing Treaty
Oct. 23 -- League of Unhappy Orphans
Oct. 30 -- The Haunted Chateau
Nov. 6 --- Murder under the Big Top
Nov. 13 -- The Strange Case of the Veiled Horseman
Nov. 20 -- The Secret of Glaive
Nov. 27 -- The Steamship Friesland
Dec. 4 --- The Telltale Bruises
Dec. 11 -- The Island of Uffa
Dec. 18 -- The Wandering Miser
Dec. 25 -- The Blue Carbuncle
"On one occasion
Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce appeared as guests on a comedy
radio show and swapped their regular parts, with Rathbone as a
bumbling Watson and Bruce as a sharp decisive Holmes. It is
reported that Rathbone's imitation of Nigel Bruce stopped the
show. But then Rathbone was such a talented actor that he could
deal with that sort of situation with ease."
(Michael Pointer, The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes, p.
89) |
1945 (Sherlock Holmes)
Jan. 1 --- Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot?
Jan. 8 --- The Play's the Thing
Jan. 15 -- Dr. Anselmo
Jan. 22 -- The Elusive Umbrella
Jan. 29 -- The Werewolf of Vair
Feb. 5 --- The Dead Adventuress
Feb. 12 -- The Newmarket Killers
Feb. 19 -- The Surrey Inn
Feb. 26 -- Lady Frances Carfax
March 5 -- The Doomed Sextet
March 12 -- The Erratic Windmill
March 19 -- The Secret of Stonehenge
March 26 -- The Book of Tobit**
Apr. 2 --- The Amateur Mendicant Society**
Apr. 9 --- The Viennese Strangler**
Apr. 16 -- The Remarkable Worm
Apr. 23 -- The Notorious Canary Trainer**
Apr. 30 -- The Unfortunate Tobacconist**
May 7 --- The Purloined Ruby**
May 14 -- In Flanders Field**
May 21 -- The Paradol Chamber**
May 28 -- Dance of Death
1945
March 1 -- Command Performance (a weekly program for WWII servicemen),
#164, Rathbone
Theatre Group (with Roy Rogers, Jack Carson, Helen Forrest, Alexis Smith,
Andy Russell, Arthur Treacher, Charlie Cantor and Hoosier Hot Shots)
1945 -- "Ham for Sale," 30 minute program on Front Line Theater, starring
Jack Benny, Basil Rathbone and Barbara Stanwyck
September 27 -- Village Store, guest appearance
November 4 -- Request Performance (a CBS comedy/variety program):
"Sherlock Holmes". Guest appearance
together with Nigel Bruce, Dick Powell, June Allyson and Lee de Forrest.
"I love Radio, but
then I am an awful ham!"
Basil Rathbone, comment written in a radio recording
studio's guestbook. |
SHERLOCK HOLMES
WOR-MBS, September 3, 1945, to May 27, 1946
Sherlock Holmes: Basil Rathbone
Dr. Watson: Nigel Bruce
Sept. 3 --- The Limping Ghost**
Sept. 10 -- Colonel Warburton's Madness**
Sept. 17 -- The Case of the Out of Date Murder**
Sept. 24 -- The Eyes of Mr. Leyton**
Oct. 1 --- The Problem of Thor Bridge**
Oct. 8 --- The Vanishing White Elephant**
Oct. 15 -- The Manor House Case**
Oct. 22 -- The Great Gandolfo**
Oct. 29 -- Murder by Moonlight**
Nov. 5 --- The Gunpowder Plot*
Nov. 12 -- The Adventure of the Speckled Band*
Nov. 19 -- The Double Zero*
Nov. 26 -- The Accidental Murderess**
Dec. 3 --- Murder in the Casbah*
Dec. 10 -- A Scandal in Bohemia (The Woman)*
Dec. 17 -- The Daughter of Irene Adler (The Second Generation)*
Dec. 24 -- The Night before Christmas (The Christmas Eve Show)*
Dec. 31 -- The Iron Box**
Jan. 7 --- The Strange Case of the Murderer in Wax (The Hampton Heath Killer)*
Jan. 14 -- Murder in the Himalayas (Murder Beyond the Mountains)*
Jan. 21 -- The Telltale Pigeon Feathers*
Jan. 28 -- Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber**
Feb. 4 --- The Indiscretion of Mr. Edwards (The Cross of Damascus)**
Feb. 11 -- The Guileless Gypsy**
Feb. 18 -- The Camberwell Poisoning Case*
Feb. 25 -- Murder at the Opera (The Terrifying Cats)**
March 4 --- The Submarine Caves**
March 11 -- The Living Doll**
March 18 -- The Blarney Stone**
March 25 -- The Girl with the Gazelle**
Apr. 1 --- The April Fool's Adventure**
Apr. 8 --- The Vanishing Scientists**
Apr. 15 -- The Headless Monk**
Apr. 22 -- The Tankerville Club**
Apr. 29 -- The Waltz of Death*
May 6 --- The Man with the Twisted Lip*
May 13 -- The Uneasy Easy Chair*
May 20 -- The Haunting of Sherlock Holmes*
May 27 -- The Singular Affair of the Baconian Cipher*
1947
Jan. 19 -- Theatre Guild on the Air, "A Doll's House"
(with Dorothy McGuire)
Jan. 27 -- Cavalcade of America (NBC), "A Chance for Jimmy"
Jan. 21 - Dec. 29 -- Scotland Yard, a series for the Mutual Network. Rathbone played
Inspector Burke.
Feb. 16 -- The Fred Allen Show (NBC), guest appearance
April 21 -- Cavalcade of America, NBC, (heroic war stories
presented by DuPont
Chemical Co. to support the country), "The President and the
Doctor," with Thomas Mitchell
June 8 -- Theatre Guild on the Air, "A Church Mouse"
(with Pamela Brown)
Oct. 5 -- Theatre Guild on the Air, "The Admirable
Crichton" (with Ruth Duprez)
1947 -- The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show (NBC): "Charlie
The Detective"
1947 -- The Burns and Allen Show
1947 -- The Jack Benny Show
1947 -- The Fitch Bandwagon (a.k.a. The Phil Harris/Alice
Faye Show), NBC: "Cass Daley meets Basil Rathbone"
| 1948 |
March 22 -- Cavalcade of America, NBC (heroic stories presented by DuPont
Chemical Co. to support the country), "The President and the
Doctor," with Thomas Mitchell
April 11 -- The Fred Allen Show (NBC): "One Long Pan Skit" (guest
appearance).* Here are four sound clips
from that show: |

Fagel's Frozen Watermelon jingle
(91.4 KB) |

Basil's "Half-safe" joke
(244 KB) |

sapsucker bit from the "One Long Pan" skit
(133 KB) |

sunglasses joke from the "One Long Pan" skit
(117 KB) |
June 28 -- Cavalcade of America (NBC), "The Common Glory"*
October 3 -- The Electric Theater (CBS), a dramatic program
presenting film adaptations and other stories. The October 3 episode starred
Henry Fonda, Basil Rathbone and Margaret Sullavan. |
| |
|
|
|
1949
Tales of Fatima (sponsored by Fatima Cigarettes)
CBS, January 8 - October 1, 1949
Radio mystery series starring Basil Rathbone |
|
Jan. 8 -- "The Strange Mr.
Smith"
Jan. 15 -- "Mystery at Mirador"
Jan. 22 -- "The Fires at Schuyler Square"
Jan. 29 -- "The Frozen Forest"
Feb. 5 -- "The Cairo Curse"
Feb. 12 -- "The Twisted Talisman"
Feb. 19 -- "The Jilted Juvenile"
Feb. 26 -- "The Invisible Caballero"
March 5 -- "The Cry for a Cat"
March 12 -- "The Tower of Ice"
March 19 -- "Design for Death"
March 26 -- "Murder on Stage"
April 2 -- "The Biggest Game"
April 9 -- Murder at the Circus"
April 16 -- "Duet and Death"
April 23 -- "Country Killing"
April 30 -- "The Cautious Corpse"
May 7 -- "Murder at the Ball Game"
May 14 -- "Over My Dead Body"
May 21 -- "A Much Expected Murder"
May 28 -- "Time to Kill"
June 4 -- "On Foot in the Grave"
June 11 -- "Murder in Pig Latin"
June 18 -- "Death Sits With the Baby"
June 25 -- "Dead or Alive"
July 2 -- "The Dark Secret"
July 9 -- "The Sleeping Dog"
July 16 -- "Cargo of Death"
July 23 -- "Memory of Murder"
July 30 -- "Next of Kin"
Aug. 6 -- "Portrait of Death"
Aug. 13 -- "Dead and Buried"
Aug. 20 -- "Prescription for Death"
Aug. 27 -- "Intent to Kill"
Sept. 3 -- "A Dose of Death"
Sept. 10 -- "The Men in the Shadows" (guest: Bela Lugosi)
Sept. 17 -- "The Bend Sinister" (guest: Lili Palmer)
Sept. 24 -- "The Most Dangerous Game" (guest: Rex Harrison)
Oct. 1 -- "Study in Suspicion" |

Listen to three sound clips from "A
Time to Kill" (May 28, 1949):

( 426 KB)
In the backseat of his car Rathbone discovers a beautiful woman named
Bunny.

(262 KB)
Rathbone does a commercial for Fatima cigarettes.

(372 KB)
Rathbone makes bad jokes. |
Jan. 30 -- Spike Jones (guest appearance)
April 24 -- The Fred Allen Show (NBC): "One Long
Pan" (guest appearance)
Oct. 16 -- The Jack Benny Show (CBS): "Nasal Rathbone"
(aka "Recovering from a Cold")
Dec. 1 -- Duffy's Tavern (NBC): Guest appearance on episode #340
Dec. 4 -- Theatre Guild on the Air: "The Amazing Dr.
Clitterhouse" (with Madeleine Carroll)
Year? -- The Radio Detective, comedy skit on a public
service program with Basil Rathbone and Kenny Delmar.
Year? -- Inside Hollywood, a 5 minute interview with Basil
Rathbone
Year? -- The World's Greatest Mysteries: Spike Harrigan. Rathbone
appeared as host of the series, introducing the stories, but is not heard
in the stories.
1950
Feb. 17 -- The MGM Theatre of the Air: "Queen Christina"
(with Lilli Palmer)
May 23 -- Cavalcade of America (NBC), heroic stories presented by DuPont
Chemical Co., "A Portrait of the Author"*
July 14 -- Bill Stern's Sports Newsreel (NBC), Basil Rathbone
substitutes as host for vacationing Bill Stern.
Aug. 29 -- Cavalcade of America (NBC), "John Yankee"
? -- The Cass Daley Show (guest appearance)
1951
Sept. 4 -- Cavalcade of America (NBC), "Towards a New World."
Rathbone played Joseph Priestly, the discoverer of oxygen.
Sept. 9 -- Theatre Guild on the Air: "The Heiress"
(with Cornell Wilde and Betty Field)
Oct. 19 -- Dream World, a radio tribute to the United Nations,
broadcast from New England Mutual Hall, Boston. Performers were Basil
Rathbone, Cynthia Rathbone, Luise Rainer, Leonard Lyons and Mrs. Franklin
D. Roosevelt.
1952
Feb. 24 -- Theatre Guild on the Air, "Oliver Twist"
(with Boris Karloff and Leween McGrath)
May 19-31 -- Wayne Howell's Favorites of the Famous classical disk
jockey show. Guests are interviewed by Wayne and talk about their
classical music interests and their lives. The interview with Rathbone was
broadcast between May 19 and May 31.
Oct. 24 -- United Nations Radio (messages for United Nations Day, 1952)
Nov. 2 -- Theatre Guild on the Air: "Lo and Behold"
(with Ann Blyth and Jeffrey Lynn)
Nov. 23 -- Theatre Guild on the Air: "That Winslow Boy"
(with Alan Webb and Margaret Philips)
1953
June 7 -- Theatre Guild on the Air*: "Julius Caesar"
(with Maurice Evans)
*final show of the series
June -- National Blood Program #2, with John Lund, Phil Rizzuto, and
Cornelia Otis Skinner
1954
January -- One minute spot to promote the
March of Dimes (the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis).
Broadcast between Jan. 2-31. Several other celebrities also recorded one
minute spots.
1957
September -- Helen Hayes Story Circle (guest appearance)
1959
October-Feb. 1960 -- Basil Rathbone, Word Detective
1960s
Monitor (NBC radio series that was broadcast from June 12,
1955 to January 26, 1974). Rathbone
read poetry on this program. The exact dates he appeared on it are unknown.
1964? -- Readings by Basil Rathbone. Reading for Library Week selected
from Certain Precepts for the Well Ordering of a Man's Life by
William Cecil, Lord Burghlay
Year? -- Celebrity Talk with Maggie McNallis (celebrity interview
program), guest appearance.
1966
Beyond the Green Door, (short spooky or bizarre tales
written by Robert Scheckley, and
read by Basil Rathbone on NBC's Monitor)

* These Sherlock Holmes radio episodes
have been available on audiocassette from Choices
Direct (in the UK) and Amazon.com
(search by author Anthony Boucher for a complete listing). You may be
fortunate enough to find the ones you want in stock. Try this link
to go directly to the search results page at Amazon: Sherlock Holmes Radio Shows
I wish to express my deep appreciation to Jerry Haendiges, whose
comprehensive Radio Logs helped fill
in the blanks in my list of Basil Rathbone's appearances on radio. Jerry
also has some titles available to order.
*
Radio Revisited has several Rathbone radio programs on CD available to
purchase, including some of the Lux Radio Theater and Cavalcade of America
programs.
*
If you'd rather download radio programs in mp3 format, visit
RUSC.COM Old Time Radio. A
low monthly fee entitles you to unlimited downloads. RUSC has several
radio shows with Basil Rathbone.
|