Episode 509: The Whistler: The Croupier’s Wife

[00:00:00]Welcome to the good old days of radio show. This is John Teftteller, your host. And like we do every so often, I will be turning the program over mostly to someone who knows far more about the subject of the next few weeks episodes than I do. And so, um, if you follow this podcast, you know that I know quite a bit about radio, but there's quite a bit I don't know. And I kind of wing it when I do these. I'm not really prepared and sometimes I say things that are a little bit off from what they are, but they're coming from the deep recesses of my memory from 40 years ago. In any case, every once in a while it's good to bring in a professional who actually knows this stuff far more than me in a lot of cases. And in this case, we are going to feature 10 episodes. I think 10, maybe 11, I don't know, but 10 or 11 episodes of a very famous show from vintage radio called The Whistler. Now, I'm not a particular fan of this show.

[00:01:09]And listening to the 10 or so episodes that I've had to listen to in preparation for this, it has changed my mind a bit. There are some that are a little bit better than I thought and my memory told me. Um, it's just not exactly my cup of tea. But that doesn't matter. We have an expert who can tell us why it was important. And the shows that we have chosen from the series are definitely some of the best of the series. So, for those of you who remember The Whistler, this is your chance to hear all about it from start to finish. For those of you who've never heard it before, this is your chance to make your own judgments and see if you like it or don't like it. Um, anyway, we have with us for the next episodes, many episodes, Dr. Joe Webb, who's been with us before on suspense and Mr. District Attorney and maybe something else that I'm forgetting, but at least I know those two. And Dr. Joe is going to educate me along with all of you on what was important about the Whistler and a lot of little interesting tidbits around it. I like the concept. I think the concept is fabulous. The idea of a narrator and a whistle and the music that they use, I think that's great.

[00:02:28]Where I run into some trouble is they just seem to be the same kind of man's got to figure out how to dispose of his wife over and over [laughter] again. But that's my complaint. Welcome to the good old days of radio show, Dr. Joe Webb.

[00:02:44]>> It's good to be back. Thank you for having me once more.

[00:02:47]>> Yes.

[00:02:48]>> One of the things that the Whistler does after a while, you start looking at people differently and wondering, hm, does that person have a really big insurance policy that I could somehow get?

[00:03:00]>> Yeah, there there is a repetition to that theme. Yes, >> there there is a formula to it. There's there's always greed and envy and a cover up and somebody thinking that they're going to be able to get away with it and and they breathe a sigh of relief and then some something really stupid happens to get them in [clears throat] the end. Yeah. No, it's it's a it's a marvelous concept. It's a marvelous series. Uh but this particular episode that we're doing today >> Oh, the first one for the series. Yes.

[00:03:30]For us.

[00:03:30]>> Yes. For us.

[00:03:32]>> Yes. is is a very very rare program from a part of the series that not many collectors know about and that was a special 54-week series that aired on WBBM in Chicago with Chicago actors and orchestra and direction and production uh of which only three programs have existed. Two of them were uh recordings of the broadcast. One was an AFRS recording, but now we have a fourth one and it's your fault about how this episode >> it's my fault. Yeah, Daniel was >> your fault.

[00:04:15]>> Producer Daniel was rumaging through my shelving of discs and found these 12-in discs and said, "Well, here's a Whistler. Let's let's see what this is."

[00:04:24]And I guess he he sent the image off to you and you said, "Whoa, that's one we don't have. That's an important one." So anyway, >> yes, absolutely. Well, you you found this at a record show.

[00:04:37]>> I'm pretty sure. I'm trying to stretch my memory because it's been some years, but I go to record shows, as those of you who know me know, and I also go all across the country looking in basement and barns and attics and whatever, for vintage records, not radio programs, although I certainly take those whenever I find them, but regular records from the 1920s to the 1970s. Basically, that's my business. And every once in a while at a record show or record convention, whatever you want to call it, somebody will come up with uh some radio broadcast transcriptions that they found at some yard sale or flea market or whatever, and they bring them there usually with me in mind because they know I'm one of the few people that actually buy those things at a record show. Most people are there looking for Beatles records or some other kind of rock and roll music from the 50s to the present day. But every once in a while they come up with one. And that's my memory as to where this came from. We started a little series on this podcast a few months back of exclusive shows that had not been heard previously uh since they were broadcast that uh we are slowly releasing onto the collector's market uh market, collectors, whatever you call it. Anyway, uh things that had never been heard since broadcast, rare things. and we we were trying to feature at least one of those every month. So this this came up and once it came up the idea came well okay let's play some other shows by the Whistler and let's invite Dr. Joe Webb in to tell us all about him because I don't know very much. So there we go. So, so, uh, when when I saw the envelope that had this name of the of the episode, the crew's wife and WBBM on it, and then I I found out from um, exchanging emails with Daniel that you you have had this for possibly 10 years on >> probably. Yes.

[00:06:33]some somewhere that just it it was just a reminder that uh there's a lot of times where where people don't don't realize uh what they have because it's either mislabeled or or poorly labeled or they you just knew it was Whistler and you saw an episode title and and say, "Okay, it's just another one."

[00:06:52]>> And to me, it's just another one because I don't know that much about the series.

[00:06:55]And as I kind of opened the program here with it was never one that I was a go-to for me. It was always like, "Oh, okay.

[00:07:02]I'll listen to one." But never enthusiastically.

[00:07:06]>> Well, well, this this one may be another situation where the backstory is more interesting than the actual recording.

[00:07:12]Uh, this is an interesting recording to to listen to. Uh but but let me uh uh on the first first part uh thing one thing I want to really make sure is that uh I want to thank Carl Shadow, Keith Scott, and Elizabeth Tankersley for helping me with this particular episode because it was so different. Well, when I got the recording, I I said, "What's going on here?" Because there are actors I recognize. Uh there's a studio audience.

[00:07:43]Uh the music is different. I know it's from the Chicago WBBM series, but there's a lot of things going on here that just seem a little a little strange, and I need other folks help uh on this. And and they they were just as floored by this episode as I was. It's um it's number six of the 54 uh WBBM episodes. And a real important question is how did WBBM start producing their own episodes of the Whistler? So, if we go back on the Whistler timeline up to this point, the Whistler went on the air in May of 1942. So, went on the air about a month before suspense. Um, programs like Inner Sanctum and Lights Out have been already been on. That's one of the reasons why The Whistler, everybody thought they needed a narrator for these kinds of programs. That's why Suspense had a the man in black for a few of its opening seasons. Uh so the the concept of the Whistler uh being a narrator uh uh was was a natural for this. Someone in um the CBS script department seems to have come up with the idea. We used to think it was um Jay Donald Wilson uh but uh it it appears that the idea came from inside CBS and Wilson of course made it uh started to make it into what it became. So that was May 1942. Uh, the Whistler came on the air without any kind of fanfare or publicity. It just started to show up on the CBS Pacific network, which was only 13 or 14 stations at that time. It covered a large geography, but only 10% of the of the population of the US. And and that's one of the things that makes the Whistler franchise so interesting is that for most of its time, it was only heard on the 13 or 14 stations that were part of that that network. But the idea of of the Whistler uh got the attention of Hollywood and there were some Whistler movies which all starred Richard Dicks. Now, it didn't always follow the formula of the radio program, but those did very well.

[00:09:58]they were uh be movies, so it was on uh on the the bill with other uh movies that people were seeing, but they started to get a lot of traction for the name of the character and the style of story. So, at that time, uh WBBM was noticing this and and not having it. they were having a serious problem of people tuning out after 9:30 uh on in the evenings and they realized that the only way that they could turn that around was to have uh some kind of different show produced there because they were picking up everything off the network that they could and that's how they got the idea of doing the Whistler.

[00:10:45]Uh CBS um agreed to let them do it, but CBS was also befuddled by the Whistler because um at the end of 1943, Signal Oil sponsored the Whistler and paid an incredible amount of money for it. Um in a few weeks when we do a Signal Oil broadcast, I'll go into the background of how that came about and and why why that they got the sponsorship and held on to it. uh it was so lucrative for them that they did not want any anybody to take it from them. But there their market was limited to basically the same geography that the CBS Pacific network had. So CBS National, if you want to call it that, realized that they had a hot property on their hands and they wanted to do do everything that they could to try and get the rest of the country to have a Whistler program. So WBBM comes along and says, "Well, we'd like it for the Midwest." WBBM being located in Chicago had a signal that could be heard over much of the of the Midwest. and um they agreed to let them do it so long as they agreed that CBS upon securing a national sponsor or let's call it a non-Pacific sponsor that WBBM would have to give up the Midwest version of the Whistler. So that's how we got here. Uh and this the series did very well. again. Uh this is number six of of that series and they had a Chicago cast for it. Uh the Whistler was played by someone named Everett Clark who um was well known in Chicago uh for theatrical work and other radio work. Uh there were three uh radio actors whom everyone would recognize as Hollywood actors, but they were still in Chicago. They hadn't moved to Hollywood yet. So, this particular episode has Wilms Herbert, Betty Lug Gerson, and Lou Krugman. Um, this is just months before they they moved away.

[00:12:54]And this is this is post-war US. Uh, during the war, people basically stayed where where they were unless they were going to the service. So when uh the the war was over and the economy started to recover and people started to feel more positive, Hollywood started to open up a lot more and that's where they went for for their particular opportunities. So uh you're catching them early early in their career. Um the there are differences in the production that you're going to hear. We can go over some of them at the end, but they don't have the kind of orchestra that um that CBS and Hollywood had. They they still had a good orchestra. WBBM could field a a 45 uh instrument uh 45 uh music musician orchestra um when they needed to do that and it was a very well-known orchestra in in the radio industry at at the time. Um the uh other aspects of the production is that the there is a studio audience and you don't think of a studio audience for a dramatic program. You think of studio audiences for comedies of something like Lux Radio Theater where the emphasis was more on the Hollywood stars than it was on the actual production of a of of a of a welldone radio drama. Uh, so that having the audience there means that you're going to have to account for whatever reaction they have. And this episode when especially when Betty Lou Gerson does a French accent and the others play along, there's some chuckling in the audience. There are some lines delivered in the script where people listening at home to the Pacific version would have just smirked when they heard it, but the audience erupts in laughter here. You can't control the a studio audience, but you can play to them and and have them react in a manner that's that's more controllable as long as you manage their reactions.

[00:15:03]>> Well, I remember years ago listening to the [laughter] just a quick note listening to the Wrath Bone and Bruce Sherlock Holmes shows and figuring out that there was an audience at the end of that because you don't hear them at all during the performance. the Casey Crime Photographer shows uh for Anchor Hawking had a had a studio audience.

[00:15:22]>> Oh.

[00:15:22]>> And and St. Cutsworth hated it with a passion.

[00:15:27]>> Okay.

[00:15:27]>> And so when there that contract expired, he wrote a very pointed piece for the New York Times about how studio audiences were not necessary in radio drama should be avoided.

[00:15:43]>> Okay.

[00:15:45]But he didn't he probably said it in private to the anchor hawking people when they were sponsoring the show.

[00:15:54]>> Arch Obler should have had him for lights out. That would have been fun.

[00:15:58][laughter] >> That's that's one thing I was I was wondering about with with some of the studio audiences. There are times when the sound effects people play to the audience and do something outrageous, [snorts] but when on lights out where they throw a watermelon off a ladder or a plate of spaghetti off a ladder.

[00:16:15]>> Yeah, that's why I was saying that. I thought it would be very fun to do that in front of a live audience and see what reaction you get.

[00:16:21]>> Yes.

[00:16:23]So, the director and the producer of of of the uh Whistler in Chicago had to decide the best way to control uh the audience was actually to play to it so you could manage their reactions and actually have them react appropriately to what was going on in the script. So, one thing uh that the four of us, you know, going back to Carl, Keith, and Elizabeth uh wondered is how much playing to the audience the actors were doing, especially during some romantic type scenes and and the like what what they were doing to get a reaction from from the audience. So, it's it's an interesting program. The script is well done written by a very very interesting person. We'll go in into that at the end. And then the story of Everett Clark is a very tragic one and we'll also discuss that after the program is over.

[00:17:20]It's um it's good. The takes place in the French Riviera. It's about corruption in the casino. So >> corruption casino.

[00:17:30]>> Yes. There's gambling going on here.

[00:17:32]>> What is there? I'm shocked. Shocked.

[00:17:36]>> Yeah. [laughter] It's about a fixed fixed roulette table.

[00:17:39]>> Doing my best.

[00:17:40]>> Who knew it was my best?

[00:17:41]Claude Reigns here.

[00:17:43]>> Yes.

[00:17:44]>> Okay. [laughter] It's called The Croo's Wife. What's the date on this one, Dr. Joe?

[00:17:48]>> The It's from March 10th, 1946. And it's sponsored by a beer. Meister Brow.

[00:17:57]>> Okay. Meister Brow Beer presents the Whistler. Here we go.

[00:18:03]>> Meister Brow means the master brew.

[00:18:17]>> [music] >> That whistle is your invitation to the Meister Brow Mystery Drama, The Whistler.

[00:18:37]>> [music] >> I am the Whistler, and I know many things, [music] for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who [music] have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak.

[00:19:01]Meister Brow Beer, the Master Brew, served more often in Midwest homes than any other beer, brings you another curious story by the Whistler.

[00:19:12][music] Tonight, the Kier's wife.

[00:19:18][music] He was a meek man, mild and harmless, the kind of man who is recorded in history [music] simply as a statistic in the column of births and deaths. Yes, Antoine L. Clerk wouldn't hurt a fly.

[00:19:32]So, he spent his nights working at the French Riviera Gambling Club, turning the roulette wheel, spinning the ball that fell on red or black. No, he never gambled himself. Not Antoine. He merely did his job, [music] collected his 100 franc at the end of the week, and hurried home to his wife, Florette.

[00:19:48]But Fuette, beautiful Fuette, was different.

[00:19:51]>> Antoine, you are a wor ma. You are no man. And does it matter to you if I must stay home alone in these this? But did we not call it our dream house?

[00:20:02]>> Dreamhouse. And I suppose the shabby dress is a rich girl. And I am a douche.

[00:20:06]And you you are a friend.

[00:20:08]>> Oh my pigeon.

[00:20:10]>> Pigeon. For 17 years you work at the casino. Millions of fries pass through your hands. But these in your videos.

[00:20:17]No. You have a spine of jelly and if I were a man. Oh, thank given you are not.

[00:20:28]>> I would be at least a manager or a director of the casino after 17 years. I tell you, I will not stand for this life any longer. I am still young and pretty >> ravishing flate.

[00:20:42]Come here.

[00:20:46]>> Get out. YOU YOU GET A PILLOW. Get out before I hit you with this bus.

[00:20:51]>> I don't throw it. I go fluette.

[00:21:03]Fluette.

[00:21:08][music] [music] Your throat. Your little dove doesn't think very much of you, does she, Antoine? No, she wants a house and cars and money. You're afraid she'll leave you, Antoine. And you love her. You really do. So, resolve to see the manager of the casino about a raise the next night.

[00:21:33]>> What is it, Llair? I am very busy.

[00:21:35]>> Oh, busy. I I >> I I I I I don't stutter. Llair out with it.

[00:21:40]>> It is a salary, M. I do not complain.

[00:21:42]You understand? Still one thing. I only only 100 Frank. For me, it is enough.

[00:21:48]put one as a wife.

[00:21:50]>> Ah yes, a wife and very attractive to Mlair.

[00:21:53]>> Mercy Mugo, you are too generous.

[00:21:55]>> Oh, but no. One has a heart. Is it not so? Hello. About the matter of this raise and salary.

[00:22:01]>> Yes. Yes. The salary. M.

[00:22:02]>> You have been with us 17 years, huh?

[00:22:04]>> 17 years.

[00:22:05]>> You have been an excellent group. I have seen it myself.

[00:22:08]>> You have seen it yourself.

[00:22:10]>> Still.

[00:22:11]>> Still.

[00:22:12]>> No.

[00:22:14]>> No.

[00:22:15]>> No.

[00:22:16]>> Have we? Yes, miss you. Yes, that is that is to say no.

[00:22:23][music] But he listened very attentively to the rate. He said I was an excellent group PA, but still no race.

[00:22:36]>> Well, what did you expect? Did you demand? No. Did you threaten to return?

[00:22:42]No. Did you take him by the throat and insist? No. So we are poor. I should have married anyone but you. I should have married you.

[00:22:50]>> Wait, what are you saying? Oh, >> Andre, not Andre.

[00:22:54]>> Not Frana.

[00:22:55]>> Oh, Michelle.

[00:22:56]>> Not Michelle. Who's he? [laughter] [cheering] >> Instead, I have you. What have you accomplished? What have you learned?

[00:23:04]Huh?

[00:23:05]>> What have I learned?

[00:23:07]>> What have you learned?

[00:23:08]>> But I have learned something.

[00:23:10]>> We ate me for 17 years.

[00:23:13]>> We ate me. For 17 years, I have practiced to spin the roulette wheel and to throw the ball >> so that may play, but never weak.

[00:23:22]>> But you don't understand my petite. I can throw the ball and make it stop where I choose. You can throw.

[00:23:29]>> What is this you are saying?

[00:23:31]>> Which is the truth. I can make it stop on the red or on the black. Wherever I choose.

[00:23:37]>> On the red. On the black. Wherever you choose.

[00:23:41]And one, you are not lying. Yeah. You have not said it. Now, what do you think of your husband?

[00:23:48]>> What do I think?

[00:23:49]>> We >> I think that tonight >> we >> I shall play at the casino at your table.

[00:23:56]>> At my table? But >> we little And for tonight, I shall bring with me every sue we both have saved.

[00:24:02]>> Every sue? And I shall play at your table.

[00:24:10]>> [music] [music] >> With the prologue of tonight's story, the kier's wife, Master Brow brings you another absorbing tale by the Whistler.

[00:24:25]Little Antoine, the Kier of our story, has a substantial group of followers in everyday life. Folks who trust implicitly to luck in making a choice.

[00:24:35]How different are those whose constant choice is Meister Brow, the Master Brew?

[00:24:40]Yes, folks who select Meister Brow day in day out as their preferred beer leave nothing to luck. For in Meister Brow, top quality ingredients combined with Master Brewing to bring you the very best in refreshing enjoyment.

[00:24:54]So friends, when your own thirst suggests beer, call for the proved favorite, the beer served more often in Midwest Homes than any other beer. Ask for Meister Brow, the master brew.

[00:25:11][whistles] Now back to the Whistler.

[00:25:16][music] Well, Antoine, so your beautiful fuette is coming to the casino to play at your table with every last sue of your savings. Better be careful, Antoine. The manager is watching you. Yes, Mr. Ugo the manager is watching you.

[00:25:35]>> Madame, make your bed.

[00:25:39]Good evening.

[00:25:40]>> Good evening. Oh, good evening, madam.

[00:25:43]>> I shall play 200 on the black.

[00:25:47]>> 200 on the black.

[00:25:50]Very well, madame.

[00:25:56]>> The ball is on the black.

[00:25:58]>> You have one.

[00:26:00]>> You have one, madam.

[00:26:02]You must leave. Mr. Hugo is coming out more. He will recognize you.

[00:26:07]>> Oh, good evening, Mr. Hugo.

[00:26:10]>> Is it?

[00:26:11]>> You mean it is not?

[00:26:13]>> Clair. You are paid not to express opinions, but to spin the wheel. A law spin.

[00:26:21][music] [music] Please you beat me.

[00:26:34]>> I bet 500 Frank on the black.

[00:26:37]>> 500 Frank you 500 Frank the black. The black has won,000 Frank on the black.

[00:26:59]You You have one again, madame.

[00:27:03][music] Look, Claire, are you able to attend your table?

[00:27:11]>> 2,000 punk on the block.

[00:27:13]>> No. No.

[00:27:14]>> What is this? You're not able to attend to it?

[00:27:17]>> I'm sure I mean Yes.

[00:27:23]>> Place your bets.

[00:27:24]>> 3,000 on the black.

[00:27:27]Oh, how nice. How nice. I have won again. [music] 6,000 on the black.

[00:27:35]>> Oh, this is fantastic. She wins again.

[00:27:38]>> 8,000 on the black.

[00:27:43]Black wings. Black wins again.

[00:27:49]>> Oh, I uh bet 20,000 Frank on the black.

[00:27:57]What is this? Speak of llair. What has happened?

[00:28:00]>> I think I am not feeling very well. But I will finish. I am Juan L. Cler who for 17 years have never before fainted in the casino.

[00:28:11]I will finish.

[00:28:15][music] [music] So you finished, Antoine. Or rather, Fuette finished, for she didn't leave until she had won 90,000 frunk. 90,000 frunk. You could hardly wait for the gaming rooms [music] to close so that you could rush home. It was almost 4 hours after Flet left the casino that you arrived at your cottage, your dreamhouse. Remember, Antoine?

[00:28:40]No. My fingers have minds of their own.

[00:28:44]Voila.

[00:28:45]Fret.

[00:28:50]Fluette.

[00:28:55]Fuette.

[00:28:56]Where is she?

[00:29:01]Fluette. She's gone. Flet [music] disappeared. Antoine. Yes, Fuette has disappeared. And the 90,000 trunk have disappeared, too. Perhaps she was held up on her way back from the casino.

[00:29:21]Robbed, beaten, perhaps. Maybe, maybe Antoine. She's dead. [music] So, you spend the whole night searching for Fuette, but there's no trace of her.

[00:29:33]You're frightened. Frightened for Fuette, but you don't want to go to the police. That would be risky. But by morning, your anxiety for Fuette forces you, Anton, takes you [music] to the prefecture of police, and the Jean Dam looks up as you enter. Bonjour. Bonjour.

[00:29:51]>> You wish. Miss >> I I ah >> I see you are lost. Hh.

[00:29:57]>> No m I am not lost. I >> ah >> then you have lost something.

[00:30:02]>> Yes. How did you know?

[00:30:03]>> Oh miss it is very simple. In this world one has either found something or lost something. In your case you cannot have found something or you would have it with you. One perceives that you have nothing with you. Hello dear. You have lost something.

[00:30:17]>> Helas, it is true.

[00:30:19]>> Ah, and uh what is it which you have lost, miss?

[00:30:22]>> I have lost in effect my wife.

[00:30:26]>> How is this?

[00:30:27]>> My wife, she has disappeared.

[00:30:29]>> Oh.

[00:30:31]Oh, that is most undesirable.

[00:30:34]You uh you have been married long, miss.

[00:30:37]>> 12 years.

[00:30:38]>> Oh. Oh, 12 years. Well, >> but but you do not understand Mr. Leantam. She is very beautiful.

[00:30:49]>> Beautiful. Your wife is very beautiful.

[00:30:52]>> We you know it happens so sometimes.

[00:30:59]>> And she had written 90,000 Frank.

[00:31:02]>> 90,000 Frank and proceed.

[00:31:04]>> Yes, she won it last night at the casino.

[00:31:06]>> Come on. This is a serious matter. We must make a report at once. 90,000 Frank. [clears throat] Your name >> occupier at the casino.

[00:31:17]>> You are what must you?

[00:31:19]>> I am employed as a kier at the casino.

[00:31:22]>> At the casinoh we >> Mhm. And your wife won 90,000 Frank last night also at the same casino.

[00:31:32]>> We strange is it not?

[00:31:40]Strange.

[00:31:41]>> Tell me, does Mia Anatol, the director of the casino, know this?

[00:31:45]>> I don't think so.

[00:31:47]>> So, so then perhaps we better tell him.

[00:31:50]Don't you think so?

[00:31:51]>> But my wife, whatever. I want my FL.

[00:31:55]>> M. Do you think the perfect of police of the 12 terismo of the principality of Monaco will allow a woman to remain disappeared? Especially a beautiful woman with 90,000 fhan [music] cler as chief director of the casino I demand an explan or you will go to jail to jail. But why? Because you have conspired to defraud the casino. That's why >> I want my fluores >> and I'm assure want my 90,000 Frank.

[00:32:40]>> Hello this is Matu speak >> and this M is the prefecture of police of the 12 of the principal.

[00:32:47]>> Yes. Yes. What have you discovered?

[00:32:51]>> We have discovered Mr. Lractor the woman.

[00:32:56]>> Good. And the money the 90,000 Frank >> that too we have found.

[00:33:01]>> Excellent. Excellent. But why do you sound so sad?

[00:33:04]>> Because Mir Oh, how can I say it?

[00:33:07]>> Say it.

[00:33:08]>> When we apprehended Madame Pl.

[00:33:10]>> Yes.

[00:33:10]>> While she was trying to carry the money across the border into Italy.

[00:33:14]>> Yes. Yes.

[00:33:15]>> There was someone with her.

[00:33:16]>> Who?

[00:33:17]>> YOUR ASSISTANT. THE MANAGER OF THE RELUCT ROOM. MR. HUGO.

[00:33:22][music] So the police found [music] Antoine with Mishu go the manager. But you don't know that, do you? You just sit in the cell of the village jail worrying about your wife completely forgotten until suddenly someone remembers and you are brought to the office of Mr. Anatol where Fuette and Yugo and Mattor are waiting.

[00:33:47]>> Voila, Antoine. There she is. There is your wife. You are safe. You are well.

[00:33:55]>> A how I missed you. My little chicken.

[00:33:59]>> Your little chicken cler has flown the coupe. Hh. She was arrested by the Je Marie while trying to cross the Italian border.

[00:34:06]>> What is this?

[00:34:07]>> With my 90,000 Frank which you both tricked OUT OF ME.

[00:34:11]>> WE BOTH WE OH, NO. NO. NO. MICHELLE, it was not Fuette. No.

[00:34:16]>> No. She had nothing to do with it.

[00:34:17]Nothing. It was I. Only I. When she bit on the red, I made the red turn.

[00:34:24]>> We When she bit on the black, it was I I who made the bolster on the black only I.

[00:34:29]>> You control THE TABLE INDEED. WHERE else could one hear such rubbish? It is impossible to control the table LIKE CLAR AND YOU KNOW IT.

[00:34:37]>> BUT MR. HUGO, I did not expect this from you. It is not you he defend but himself. Hugo is equally guilty.

[00:34:45]>> Mr. Hugo is guilty.

[00:34:46]>> But of course, did he not see you help to win? Yes. Did he have anything to stop you? No. Why? Why? Because he knew that Fuette would be waiting for him.

[00:34:56]Him with the 90,000 prank. Hugo. We Hugo would leave the country with Fuette. We precisely. And that is how the police came to find them together. Hugo and Fuette.

[00:35:07]>> Oh, no. It is not true. Fuette say it is not true. No. No. Mr. Leon, tell me it is not so.

[00:35:15]>> I'm sorry, Antoine. And you, Hugo, have ruined my life. You watched me cheat at the table and you did nothing TO STOP ME.

[00:35:23]>> YOU ARE NOT CHEATING. It is impossible to cheat at the will.

[00:35:27]>> No. No, Hugo. He cheated and you look the other way. You are both guilty.

[00:35:32]Hugo, you are caught. I cannot accept this insults. I TELL YOU THIS IMPOSTOR CONTROL WILL.

[00:35:39]>> Very well, Monami. I shall give you the chance to prove it.

[00:35:44]>> All right, you go. You will sell your house and your automobile. That should bring about 90,000 Frank.

[00:35:50]>> But why should I do that?

[00:35:51]>> Because in order to save yourself from jail, Hugo, you are going to prove that Antoine cannot control the wheel. In short, Monomy, tonight you will play roulette at the table of Antoine.

[00:36:10][music] Poor little Antoine. If you let Dugo win, it'll prove that you're not able to control the wheel and he'll go free with Fuette.

[00:36:21]If you make him lose, it will prove that [music] you can control the wheel. And you'll convict Hugo and yourself, too.

[00:36:28]Yes, it's quite a problem, isn't it, Antoan? And when you go to the casino to play against Hugo, you take the problem with you on that.

[00:36:39]>> Place your bet, Mr. Ho. Remember, if I go to jail, you go with me.

[00:36:45]>> Place your bet. I will bet little weasel 500 on the black.

[00:36:57]It It is on the black. You You have won.

[00:37:00]Splend it. And now 500 more and the black.

[00:37:05]What do if he wins I shall lose flat is black and I have won again.

[00:37:17][music] Careful Antoine. If he wins you will lose Fuette.

[00:37:24]And now you know that you'll do anything to save Fuette. So Antoine if ever you've been able to control the ball now's the time to do it. He is bet on the black again. [music] So you twist the ball. Thinking think red must be red.

[00:37:42]The ball is on red. You have lost, mister.

[00:37:47]You cannot make it red every time. I will leave my money on the black and I double my bet. 1,000 on the black.

[00:37:59]Red. Red. Red. Red.

[00:38:05]It is uh redh and they have lost againh.

[00:38:10]So [laughter] but the law of red is still with me. You cannot make it come red forever. I stay on the black and double my bet 2.

[00:38:21]Red red red.

[00:38:27]It would seem sir that you have lost. I have lost.

[00:38:33]Very well. If you will trick me, you will have to work for it. I bet one Frank on the black.

[00:38:46]You know that was a mistake. M. You should have bet more. See, for one Frank, you have one.

[00:38:55]2,000 Frank and the black.

[00:38:59]Red. Red. Red. Red. Red.

[00:39:03]It is red. I have lost 1,000 on the black.

[00:39:10]Red, you have lost.

[00:39:13]2,000 on the black.

[00:39:16]4,000 more on the black.

[00:39:20]8,000 on the black.

[00:39:24]Never win. 16,000 more on the black.

[00:39:29]Look, M. You have made a bad guess again.

[00:39:32]>> Oh, you torture me. But this time I will not lose. See, I have 60,000 Franks left. Very well. I shall play it. All 60,000 Frank on the black. And now the home m play.

[00:39:55][music] [sighs] >> Is it not strange mir how many times a man can lose clever? You have ruined me. I have lost everything >> and I have won. One fluorite is mine. Fl >> and one dear. What have I done? I have sentenced myself to jail.

[00:40:25][music] >> [music] >> The strange thing about the Whistler stories is that they often pull a new surprise out of the hat just as you feel the surprises have been exhausted. I think you'll find that true with this story. And you know, the claim of surprise upon surprise might also be made for Meister Brow Beer. Yes, just as you feel that Meister Brow has worked all of its winning surprises on you, you suddenly discover a totally new and thoroughly pleasing surprise.

[00:41:05]Your first taste of Meister Brow, for example, offers a pleasant surprise in flavor. But you think, I might get as tired of this flavor in time as I have with other beer flavors.

[00:41:16]Well, based on the experience of thousands of other Meister Brow fans, you're due for another and a very pleasing surprise. for you'll find the Meister Brow flavor is one that sticks with you and remains fresh and refreshing from first sip to last and as long as your thirst dictates.

[00:41:34]So friends, try Meister Brow, the bear with a surprise of goodness in every sip. Whether you're at home or stepping out for the evening, rely on good taste and say, "Make mine Meister Brow."

[00:41:49]Mister Brow. And now back to the Whistler.

[00:42:01]>> [music] >> Well, Anton, the game is over and Hugo has lost his 90,000 franc to the casino.

[00:42:10]You seem to have kept Fuette. But what about you?

[00:42:15]Played yourself right into jail, didn't you?

[00:42:19]So, you stand at your table waiting for the summons and [music] it comes. It's one of the casino guards to tell you that the director wants to see you right away.

[00:42:31]The clerk, you have been with the casino for 17 years. Is it not so?

[00:42:39]It is so, M.

[00:42:41]Your record has been very good. Always good. We we miss you. All the years I have spun the wheel so faithfully.

[00:42:51]Always I have tried to behave toward the guests with appropriate courtesy. For the commoner I have nodded my head. So >> for the baron the slight bow.

[00:43:03]>> For the duke >> the deeper bow.

[00:43:08]>> Yes. 17 years and now I will be discharged.

[00:43:13]Oh miss. It is to weep. To weep.

[00:43:18]Antoine.

[00:43:20]If I do not prefer charges, they will not send you to jail. Is it not so?

[00:43:26]>> It It is heaven's own truth, Missy.

[00:43:30]>> Still, for you to continue as a groupier would be, shall we say, not advisable?

[00:43:39]>> No, Mu. Not not advisable. Still on the other hand, now that Mu Hugo is no longer in the employee of the casino, well, there is a vacancy for the post of manager.

[00:43:55]Antoine, I want you to have it. You want me to be the manager?

[00:44:04]>> Only you, Antoine.

[00:44:07]>> Oh, sure. What can I say? How can I thank you? Do not thank me, Antoine.

[00:44:12]Merely do your best.

[00:44:14]>> Oh, I will. I will. I will. But but one thing, there is one thing I must tell you.

[00:44:21]>> What is it, Andan?

[00:44:22]>> Oh, you will never forgive me.

[00:44:24]>> Oh, come come of you. Surely it is not so serious.

[00:44:29]>> But it is very serious.

[00:44:32]>> It is this Mir. I told everyone you that I could control the ball. Yes.

[00:44:38]>> That I could make a stop wherever I wish.

[00:44:40]>> Yes.

[00:44:41]>> It It is not true, Mu.

[00:44:44]>> No, I I do not know how to do it. When my wife won that first night, when when Mr. Hugo lost tonight, it was not I not I who controlled the ball. No, I I have nothing to do with it.

[00:45:02]It was It was some destiny of which I know nothing.

[00:45:07]>> Destiny? Yes.

[00:45:08]>> Yes. A strange destiny indeed. Antoine, look.

[00:45:15]Press buttons. Precisely. Antoine. Press buttons. I have been trying to get rid of Hugo for a long time.

[00:45:25]Oh, still one does not wish to hurt the feelings of a fellow man. spa.

[00:45:31]>> No.

[00:45:32]>> So when I learned that Hugo was planning to run away with Fuette, I used the magnetic ball to let her win.

[00:45:40]>> Ah, voila, man. It is not for nothing that we are a civilized nation. Nespa, we we miss you.

[00:45:57]>> [applause] [applause] [applause] >> For your listening pleasure, the Peter Han Brewery Company of Chicago brings you the strange tales of the Whistler and the station every Sunday night at 9:30. Next week, an exciting story titled Decision.

[00:46:25]If you would like to be in the studio audience, address your request for tickets to radio station WBBM, Department A, Chicago 11, Illinois.

[00:46:34]Consult your newspaper for time and station of Meister Brow's other great daytime and evening shows.

[00:46:42]Tonight's story was produced by Sherman Marx with music conducted by Hunter Kaylor, starred Wilms Herbert as Antoine and Betty Lou Gerson as Fuette. All characters portrayed in tonight's episode are imaginary and any similarity to person living or dead is purely coincidental.

[00:47:02]Let's remember to give to the Red Cross.

[00:47:05]Give now.

[00:47:07][music] Remember [music] [music] masterbrow means the master brew.

[00:47:35][music] >> [applause] >> This is the WBMR theater, Wrigley Building, Chicago. [applause] >> All right. Um, I have a question already now that we've heard that. Um, earlier in the intro to the podcast uh, presentation of that show, you mentioned that the these were for WBBM Chicago and that they were only for that area um, at that time. And yet this is 1946 with the Whistler going on the air in 42 and uh, Signal Oil coming on at some point not too far after that. How are we still in Chicago in 1946?

[00:48:30]Well, [laughter] they Chicago WBM.

[00:48:35]Yeah.

[00:48:35]>> No, you're not confused. WBBM did a lot of local programming and uh they just wanted this one to help improve their ratings at at night, but we still weren't connected by a national sponsor.

[00:48:50]>> Oh, even in 46.

[00:48:52]>> Even in 46.

[00:48:54]>> Okay. So, Sigma Oil came on when? Let let's let's get this [laughter] the timeline here. Right.

[00:49:00]>> Okay.

[00:49:01]>> Signal Signal Oil was limited in their geography.

[00:49:04]>> Ah okay.

[00:49:05]>> The audience that they wanted to cover.

[00:49:07]Right.

[00:49:07]>> Okay.

[00:49:07]>> So those those particular states.

[00:49:10]>> Okay.

[00:49:10]>> And the other states the non-Pacific network uh CBS was working desperately to to try to find a sponsor. And one of the things that they did and we'll have a show coming up from this period. They they ran a summer series as a replacement for the Jack Carson show that was done on a sustaining basis and they didn't pick up a sponsor from that. But in 1947, Household Finance decided they were going to sponsor the show uh from uh the non-Pacific uh limitations or or geography to the rest of the country and also Canada.

[00:49:56]Now, HFC has its own interesting backstory, which we will discuss at that that time when we get to it, but that was the only time that the Whistler had a national sponsorship group, if you want to call it, for its entire run. After Signal left and HFC ended very very quickly, um the Whistler went back to just being a Pacific only program >> until um 19 February 1955 when it became a national program, but it was still >> that late. Okay.

[00:50:32]>> That [snorts] late, but it was still never heard on the same day. The non-Pacific network had a sustaining version and the Pacific network from February February 1955 to the end of the series that September was sponsored by Rinso on a different day.

[00:50:52]>> Rinso. Okay.

[00:50:54]>> Rinso. Yes. So during its entire run of 1942 to 1955, it never uh was heard on the same night across the country or had a single sponsor, which makes the [snorts] reputation of the series uh for the Pacific area understandable. But for the non-Pacific area, it came from the movies. And then later there was a syndicated TV version that was uh only lasted a year, but that helped uh perpetuate or or increase knowledge of of the character. But we as collectors, everybody knows what the Whistler is.

[00:51:38]And in a strange way, we may have more people who've listened to the Whistler than didn't in the entire time that it was on the air on the West Coast.

[00:51:48]>> That I can believe because it's so well known amongst people who collect and listen to vintage radio shows and yet from the way you're describing all this, only a small portion of the United States could hear it at any one time.

[00:52:03]>> Right.

[00:52:04]>> Interesting. All right. Sorry to drag you off into those weeds. Now, now go ahead and tell us about what you were going to tell us about this one we just listened to.

[00:52:13]>> Okay. The script writer was a person named Stuart Novens. Um, he had worked for CBS in the news department up until uh World War II. He was called into service and he came back um and wrote this script. He also wrote another script for the Whistler called Dear Roger uh which some of your listeners may be familiar with and he um he was really a news reporter and uh one of the programs that he did was on the Pacific Network about medical quackery called Menison White and um he got a lot of uh coverage and recognition for that but his career grew through the 1950s and he became a moderator for Face the Nation when it was on TV uh starting in 1953 and he became so prominent that he was able to interview Nikita Kruev in the late 50s and pre-revolutionary Fidel Castro and was one of the reporters on the panel of the first Kennedy Nixon debate. So he became an extremely well-known uh news reporter uh in uh for CBS. Um you can also hear him on an escape program Mars is heaven where it opens up with like a little bit of a you are there kind of thing. So uh you can hear him there. So, um, it was this was quite a surprise for us to find this out because no recording of Kier's wife had existed in the hobby before this one um, came up. The Pacific version is is missing and we were able to get a script to to look at it and that's how we found out about Steuart Noven's. Um but it's um it this it's really quite interesting that there are two programs in the WBBM collection for which there are no specific recordings available. So it has kind of a double value. It gives us an insight into the nature of radio at that particular time but it also uh finds us another Whistler uh program or story that we can enjoy.

[00:54:34]>> Okay. So now to Everett Clark and this is a really really sad story. Um um some of the actors uh in in the uh broadcast did go to Hollywood. Uh one of the persons there uh Bob Venibals the announcer had a very very very long career as an announcer for multiple Chicago radio stations. Um, and then there's Ever Clark whose um whose acting career started to eb as radio left um and um some of the uh television productions started to leave Chicago as well. He was always interested in doing stage work which which he did but um uh to to stay in Chicago he had to find something else. So he became an acting teacher and um he had a very good following with a lot of uh young uh performers who went through his classes.

[00:55:31]And one day he has a uh class he would had he would have one-on-one classes and group classes.

[00:55:39]This was a one-on-one class. And uh this was September 9th, 1980.

[00:55:46]Um, he has a young man in there named Paul Dwit and he starts screaming, "No, Paul, God, no Paul."

[00:55:57]Much better than than I did. And the people in the building, which was the Chicago uh arts building, thought that it was an acting class, but Paul Dit was actually stabbing Everett Clark with a scissor and went out through a window and police could not find him once they realized that that it was him. But they eventually did did get him and identify him and he was a a student and he had mental issues.

[00:56:28]Well, uh, he did go to trial. He was 20 years old when, um, he murdered Ever Clark. And so, he's 21 by the time he gets to to trial. And, um, the way the Chicago Tribune describes it is that the trial became a battle of psychiatrists.

[00:56:47]His mother said that um, he believed that Ever Clark was a member of the mafia who wanted to kill him and destroy his career.

[00:56:57]And um eventually uh Dwit was incarcerated and they were convinced that he was high on drugs at the time he committed the act. Um he was did not take criticism well which and this kind of thing can happen. And um they the jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to 22 years. He served 10 and then um moved to California. I could believe had an uneventful life after that and he passed away in 2004.

[00:57:31]But when they when the stories hit the AP and other newswires um it was reported in 1980 that the man who played the Whistler had died and um Ever Clark played the Whistler only 54 times. Uh, the Whistler had uh 838 broadcasts, but uh because the story was coming from Chicago, people still knew Everett Clark as the Whistler and um that's why it got picked up in that that particular way.

[00:58:04]So, um it is a a very very sad story.

[00:58:08]Ever Clark was thought very highly of.

[00:58:10]There are lots of recordings of uh Chicago programs that included uh him and um it's a strange close to the WBBM series many years later.

[00:58:25]>> Okay. I also noticed Betty Lucerson in that show. Um she was the voice of Kella Deville in 101 Delmations for those who are a little bit younger.

[00:58:36]>> Um she was married to a guy named Lou Lauria. So when I used to talk to her, she was known as Betty Louia. But yes, anyway, go ahead. [gasps] >> Well, that that's about it for for this.

[00:58:49]The show notes will have a link to a book about the Chicago Fine Arts building and other strange things that uh that happened there.

[00:58:55]>> There's a whole book written about all this.

[00:58:57]>> There's a book about that building, >> the Ever Clark ever Clark is a chapter >> and probably the most gruesome part of that that chapter. So if you really want to go into the weeds, you can order that book, I guess.

[00:59:11]>> Yes, you can. And the link will be in the show notes.

[00:59:14]>> Okay. We don't miss here.

[00:59:17]>> No. In the show notes, we'll even have a link to the author of the book.

[00:59:22]>> Okay. Thorough. Thorough. All right.

[00:59:24]Well, anything else on this one or do we say goodbye and come back again next week?

[00:59:29]>> I think we say goodbye to this one. Uh and uh next week we will start a chronological approach to the series and this one is will almost remind you of Donovan's brain.

[00:59:45]>> Oh, okay. All right. Well, I'm very big fan of Orson Wells and Donovan's brain.

[00:59:52]And I won't I won't spoil it, so it's not going to be that good of a reminder.

[00:59:58]Okay. [laughter] >> No, it's not. But it was interesting.

[01:00:02]All right, next week. Thank you, Dr. Joe Webb, for appearing on the podcast with me. As always, you always come forth with all this great information that I know nothing about. And it's great because we get it all documented here on the good old days of radio show. So, thank you for uh this and we will see you and the audience will hear you next week for more episodes of the Whistler.