Death After Dessert

Available at www.ptix.bm in June, 2024

by Nathaniel Butterfield

In the early 1950s, America was beginning to really discover television.  Many radio programs were moved to the new medium leaving a gap that was hard to fill.  By the 1960s, networks had ceased producing entertainment programs for radio.

It is 1956 and our Radio Station, WWIL 1020 AM from Wilhelmville, Wisconsin, is feeling the pinch.  Shows which had been staples for years have upped stakes and moved to television and advertisers are following as the viewership rises.

George Hawkins thinks he may have a solution.  His nephew, Andrew, has been working part time for a radio station while at University in Chicago.  He knows Andrew spent some time working in a studio that produced radio plays and this gives him an idea.

George writes a play and convinces his fellow members of the local drama club, the Wilhelmville Players, to help him put it on the air.  Maybe if they can do this once a week, they can fix a hole in the schedule.

This is the only production ever done by the “Whippoorwill Theatre of the Air.”  We are lucky to have discovered this recording, cut directly onto vinyl as the show was performed.