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What are the best places to visit in Luzerne County? The survey results are in.

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Remember When: Looking back a century

<p>Over and over, I pondered the problem. How would they show an invisible man on TV?</p><p>It was the early 1950s, and we had just bought our first television. Some of my favorite radio shows had made the leap to the new medium, and I was eager for the rest of them to come over as well.</p><p>An avid fan of the radio mystery drama &#8220;The Shadow,&#8221; I couldn&#8217;t wait to see Lamont Cranston &#8220;cloud men&#8217;s minds&#8221; as he morphed into his alter ego and turned bad guys into gibbering wrecks.</p><p>My waiting was in vain. &#8220;The Shadow&#8221; (sponsored by our local company Blue Coal) vanished into thin air, never getting a run on television.</p><p>The show thereby joined a stellar group of my beloved radio programs that for one reason or another never managed to translate to TV. For every blockbuster like &#8220;Dragnet&#8221; or &#8220;Our Miss Brooks&#8221; that successfully transitioned, there seemed to be another that just faded into entertainment history.</p><p>&#8220;The Shadow,&#8221; which began as a magazine series, enjoyed an amazing run on radio. Starting in the 1930s, it plowed onward for nearly 20 years. The main character was private investigator Cranston, who in his world travels had discovered a means of casting a spell that prevented people from seeing him. Aided by good friend Margo Lane (the only person in on the secret), he would bring to justice criminals who had bamboozled police.</p><p>Locally, it ran late Sunday afternoon, a point in the schedule then considered prime time. Like a lot of radio shows, it had eagerly awaited tag lines. I was captivated by &#8220;The weed of crime bears bitter fruit&#8221; and &#8220;Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?&#8221;</p><p>Then you&#8217;d hear &#8220;The Shadow knows,&#8221; followed by an almost maniacal laugh.</p><p>I&#8217;ve read that one producer made a pilot episode for TV, but apparently no sponsors signed on.</p><p>Plenty of my other favorites made it. &#8220;The Lone Ranger,&#8221; &#8220;Gunsmoke,&#8221; &#8220;Truth or Consequences,&#8221; &#8220;The Life of Riley&#8221; all had great television runs.</p><p>Yet, others didn&#8217;t. Does anyone remember &#8220;Duffy&#8217;s Tavern&#8221;? This was a very funny show, set in a bar populated by Archie the bartender, Finnegan the lovable hanger-on and a half-dozen more regulars.</p><p>The list goes on. &#8220;Fibber McGee and Molly&#8221; never made the move to TV. Neither did the hilarious comedian Phil Harris. &#8220;Gang Busters&#8221; added an expression to our language, but couldn&#8217;t add itself to the TV listings.</p><p>I wish I could have settled down with a soda and a bag of chips to actually see the NBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted in radio broadcasts from 1937 to early 1954 by the great Arturo Toscanini.</p><p>Whatever happened to &#8220;Mr. Keen &#8211; Tracer of Lost Persons&#8221;? Could no one track it down once TV came in? Looks like &#8220;Nick Carter &#8211; Master Detective&#8221; ran into &#8220;the case of why they didn&#8217;t want me on television.&#8221;</p><p>Of course, there could be some good reasons why these shows vanished. I liked Fred Allen, but his acerbic style of comedy might not have worked visually. Also, there were some actors who just didn&#8217;t want to go before the cameras.</p><p>Well, the mystery goes on. Those of us who enjoyed those old shows will have to make do with museum or online presentations</p><p>In the meantime, fans of old-time radio can only speculate on whatever it was that lurked in the hearts of network execs of 60 or 70 years ago.</p><p>Tough task! That&#8217;s something that probably not even The Shadow knows. </p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Tom Mooney Remember When </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TOM_MOONEY-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Tom Mooney Remember When </caption1><photoCredit1>Associated Press </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Tom Mooney</p><p>Remember When</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history columnist. Reach him at tommooney42@gmail.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Remember When: Wishing ‘invisible man’ would have jumped to TV