Running time 15 minutes Language(s) English | Country United States Syndicates CBS | |
Genre Science fiction radio serial, Aviation radio series. Home station Mutual Broadcasting System | ||
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was a radio drama series based on the popularity of the popular novel and comics series Buck Rogers. It aired from 1932 until 1947 and was notable for being the first science fiction radio show.
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Broadcasting history
Buck Rogers was initially broadcast as a 15-minute show on CBS Radio, from Monday through Thursday. It first ran from November 7, 1932, until May 22, 1936.
In 1936, it moved to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule and went off the air the same year. Mutual Broadcasting System brought the show back and broadcast it three days a week from April 5 to July 31, 1939, and from May 18 to July 27, 1940, a 30-minute version was broadcast on Saturdays. From September 30, 1946, to March 28, 1947, Mutual aired a 15-minute version on weekdays.
The show was directed by Carlo De Angelo and Jack Johnstone. De Angelo also produced it. Sound effects were provided by Ora Daigle Nichols. In 1988, Johnstone recalled how he worked with the sound effects of Ora Nichols to produce the sound of the rockets by using an air-conditioning vent. Dick Calkins, who also made the comic strip, wrote the scripts.
Actors Matt Crowley, Curtis Arnall, Carl Frank and John Larkin all voiced Buck Rogers at various times. Wilma Deering was portrayed by Adele Ronson, and the brilliant scientist-inventor Dr. Huer was played by Edgar Stehli.