Product ID: TDRTDR
Control Number: 7497922
The Damon Runyon Theater 54 Episodes
The Damon Runyon Theater was a colorful and richly written radio anthology series that brought the vivid characters and streetwise charm of Damon Runyon’s short stories to life. Known for his unique blend of New York slang, sentimental storytelling, and quirky underworld figures, Runyon’s tales were ideally suited for radio dramatization. Airing in the late 1940s, the series adapted his most beloved stories about gamblers, hustlers, showgirls, and small-time crooks — all narrated in the distinctive, first-person style that made Runyon’s prose so memorable.
The show combined humor, pathos, and a nostalgic look at a romanticized version of Broadway’s underbelly, earning praise for its faithful adaptations and engaging performances.
The Stars
John Brown starred as "Broadway," the series’ narrator and frequent observer of the action. Speaking in Runyon’s trademark present-tense vernacular, Broadway guided listeners through tales involving characters with colorful names like Harry the Horse, Nathan Detroit, Dave the Dude, and Miss Adelaide.
The supporting cast included a talented ensemble of radio actors, many of whom were veterans of other OTR dramas and comedies. These performers brought Runyon’s fast-talking, sharply drawn characters to life with flair and authenticity.
Key Dates
• The Damon Runyon Theater premiered in 1948 and aired through 1949.
• The series was syndicated by Mayfair Productions and produced 52 half-hour episodes.
• It was adapted from Damon Runyon’s short stories, many of which had already been popularized through film and stage — including the source material for Guys and Dolls.
Other Information
Each episode of The Damon Runyon Theater was a self-contained story featuring the highs and lows of life among Broadway’s lovable rogues and dreamers. The show’s tone was light and humorous, but often with an undercurrent of melancholy or irony. Themes included luck, loyalty, love, redemption, and the hustle of everyday life.
Runyon’s distinctive writing style — characterized by the absence of contractions, present-tense narration, and colorful phrasing — was preserved in the radio scripts, maintaining the literary voice that made his stories famous. The narrator, Broadway, served not just as a storyteller, but as a philosophical lens through which the strange logic and heart of Runyon’s world were filtered.
The show’s appeal lay in its ability to make audiences root for unlikely heroes — bookies with a heart of gold, down-on-their-luck swindlers, or tough guys with secret soft spots — and to present a world where sentimentality and street smarts coexisted.
Today, The Damon Runyon Theater is remembered as one of the most literary and stylistically faithful programs of the OTR era. It remains a favorite among collectors and fans of American storytelling for its rich language, colorful characters, and timeless tales of the human condition as seen from a barstool near Times Square.
This collection comes preloaded on a USB stick, allowing you to easily transfer all episodes to the device of your choice. Enjoy seamless playback a perfect blend of vintage charm and modern convenience.
Suggested Retail Price: $14.99
Mice Price: $11.59
Length: 15
Width: 54
Weight: 0.0500 pounds
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