B O X 1 3 ----- --- 1948 - 1949 First Show: Aug 22, 1948 Last Show: Aug 14, 1949 Number Shows: 52 Audition Show: none known Series Description: In BOX 13, Dan Holiday, newspaper reporter turned fiction writer, puts an ad in his old paper in search of story ideas. His ad states he's looking for adventure. The replies come to the newspaper's Box 13 and always brings trouble for Dan Holiday. BOX 13 was a syndicated series, heard Sunday evenings on the Mutual network. Episode titles were not announced at the beginning of the shows until a few weeks into the series. The part of Dan Holiday was played by Alan Ladd. Sylvia Picker played Suzzy, and a host of guest stars rotated through the program. There were many writers who co-wrote Box 13, but Ladd was the main writer. BOX 13 was the product of Alan Ladd and Richard Sandville, two owners of the famous Mayfare Restaurant in Los Angeles during World War II. Mr. Ladd's ambition to get on radio in his own series was thwarted in part because he was under contract to Paramount. Paramount did not allow him to appear on radio, except occasionally for guest shots such as Lucky Jordan on the Screen Guild Program. At the end of the war, Ladd and Sandville sold the Mayfare Restaurant and formed Mayfare Productions. The two mainstay shows of Mayfare were BOX 13 and THE UNEXPECTED starring Hollywood stars such as Lurene Tuttle and Marsha Hunt. Sandville and Ladd parted company but shows like THE UNEXPECTED, BOX 13, and THE DAMON RUNYON THEATRE remain as Mayfare's legacy. Log Comments: BOX 13 was transcribed so the broadcast dates varied from station to station. These shows frequently appear in catalogs without dates. When catalogs did list dates, they varied widely from catalog to catalog. Quite a few catalogs show a broadcast date of 08-22-48 for the first show, which agreed with Jay Hickerson's "Ultimate Guide" (see "References" section). The majority of catalogs used listed episode numbers. Chronological Log: Date Num Title ------------ --- ---------------------------- Aug 22, 1948 1 "The First Letter" Aug 29, 1948 2 "Insurance Fraud" Sep 05, 1948 3 "Blackmail Is Murder" Sep 12, 1948 4 "Actor's Alibi" Sep 19, 1948 5 "Extra Extra" Sep 26, 1948 6 "Shanghaied" Oct 03, 1948 7 "Short Assignment" Oct 10, 1948 8 "Double Mothers" Oct 17, 1948 9 "A Book Of Poems" Oct 24, 1948 10 "The Great Torino" Oct 31, 1948 11 "Suicide Or Murder" Nov 07, 1948 12 "Triple Cross" Nov 14, 1948 13 "Damsel In Distress" Nov 21, 1948 14 "Diamond In The Sky" Nov 28, 1948 15 "Double Right Cross" Dec 05, 1948 16 "Look Pleasant Please" Dec 12, 1948 17 "The Haunted Artist" Dec 19, 1948 18 "The Sad Night" Dec 26, 1948 19 "Hot Box" Jan 02, 1949 20 "The Better Man" Jan 09, 1949 21 "The Professor & The Puzzle" Jan 16, 1949 22 "The Dowager & Dan Holiday" Jan 23, 1949 23 "Three To Die" Jan 30, 1949 24 "The Philanthropist" Feb 06, 1949 25 "Last Will & Nursery Rhyme" Feb 13, 1949 26 "Delinquent's Dilemma" Feb 20, 1949 27 "Flash Of Light" Feb 27, 1949 28 "Hare & Hound" Mar 06, 1949 29 "Hunt & Peck" Mar 13, 1949 30 "Death Is S Doll" Mar 20, 1949 31 "113.5" Mar 27, 1949 32 "Dan And The Wonderful Lamp" Apr 03, 1949 33 "Tempest In A Casserole" Apr 10, 1949 34 "Mexican Maze" Apr 17, 1949 35 "Sealed Instructions" Apr 24, 1949 36 "Find Me, Find Death" May 01, 1949 37 "Much Too Lucky" May 08, 1949 38 "One Of These Four" May 15, 1949 39 "Daytime Nightmares" May 22, 1949 40 "Death Is No Joke" May 29, 1949 41 "Treasure Of Hang Lee" Jun 05, 1949 42 "Design For Danger" Jun 12, 1949 43 "The Dead Man Walks" Jun 19, 1949 44 "Killer At Large" Jun 26, 1949 45 "Speed To Burn" Jul 03, 1949 46 "House Of Darkness" Jul 10, 1949 47 "Double Trouble" Jul 17, 1949 48 "The Bitter Bitten" Jul 24, 1949 49 "The Perfect Crime" Jul 31, 1949 50 "Archimedes & The Roman" Aug 07, 1949 51 "The Clay Pigeon" Aug 14, 1949 52 "Round Robin" Alphabetical Listing: Title Date Num ---------------------------- -------- --- 113.5 49-03-20 31 Actor's Alibi 48-09-12 4 Archimedes & The Roman 49-07-31 50 Better Man, The 49-01-02 20 Bitter Bitten, The 49-07-17 48 Blackmail Is Murder 48-09-05 3 Book Of Poems, A 48-10-17 9 Clay Pigeon, The 49-08-07 51 Damsel In Distress 48-11-14 13 Dan And The Wonderful Lamp 49-03-27 32 Daytime Nightmares 49-05-15 39 Dead Man Walks, The 49-06-12 43 Death Is No Joke 49-05-22 40 Death Is S Doll 49-03-13 30 Delinquent's Dilemma 49-02-13 26 Design For Danger 49-06-05 42 Diamond In The Sky 48-11-21 14 Double Mothers 48-10-10 8 Double Right Cross 48-11-28 15 Double Trouble 49-07-10 47 Dowager & Dan Holiday, The 49-01-16 22 Extra Extra 48-09-19 5 Find Me, Find Death 49-04-24 36 First Letter, The 48-08-22 1 Flash Of Light 49-02-20 27 Great Torino, The 48-10-24 10 Hare & Hound 49-02-27 28 Haunted Artist, The 48-12-12 17 Hot Box 48-12-26 19 House Of Darkness 49-07-03 46 Hunt & Peck 49-03-06 29 Insurance Fraud 48-08-29 2 Killer At Large 49-06-19 44 Last Will & Nursery Rhyme 49-02-06 25 Look Pleasant Please 48-12-05 16 Mexican Maze 49-04-10 34 Much Too Lucky 49-05-01 37 One Of These Four 49-05-08 38 Perfect Crime, The 49-07-24 49 Philanthropist, The 49-01-30 24 Professor & The Puzzle, The 49-01-09 21 Round Robin 49-08-14 52 Sad Night, The 48-12-19 18 Sealed Instructions 49-04-17 35 Shanghaied 48-09-26 6 Short Assignment 48-10-03 7 Speed To Burn 49-06-26 45 Suicide Or Murder 48-10-31 11 Tempest In A Casserole 49-04-03 33 Three To Die 49-01-23 23 Treasure Of Hang Lee 49-05-29 41 Triple Cross 48-11-07 12 References: * "The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide To All Circulating Shows", by Jay Hickerson, 27436 Desert Rose Ct., Leesburg, FL 34748 * OTR club and vendor catalogs or web sites: * AVPRO, Don Aston, PO Box 1392, Lake Elsinore, CA 92531-1392 (http://www.avpro-otr.com) * Crabapple Sound, Henry Hinkel, 254 Florida Ave., Amsterdam, NY 12010 (http://www.crabapplesound.com) * Edward J. Carr, 216 Shaner Street, Boyertown, PA 19512 (http://www.old-time.com/carr.html) * Jerry Haendiges Productions, Jerry Haendiges, 13808 Sunset Dr., Whittier, CA 90602 (http://www.otrsite.com) * McCoy's Recordings Inc., Pat McCoy, PO Box 1069, Richland, Wash. 99352 (http://www.old-time.com/mccoy.html) * North American Radio Archives, 134 Vincewood Dr., Nicolasville, KY 40356 * Radio Historical Association of Colorado, PO Box 1908, Englewood, CO 80150 * Radio Memories, Ted Davenport, 1600 Wewoka St., North Little Rock, AR 72116 (http://www.old-time.com/radiomemories/index.html) * Radio Showcase, Steve Kelez, PO Box 4357, Santa Rosa, CA 95402 (http://www.radio-showcase.com) * Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety And Comedy, PO Box 7177, Van Nuys, CA 91409-7177 (http://www.pe.net/~rnoval/sperdvacx.htm) * Vintage Broadcasts, Andy Blatt, PO Box 50065, Staten Island, NY 10305 (http://www.old-time.com/sponsors/vintageaudio.html) Other Logs or Books: * BOX 13 log, Jerry Haendiges Productions, 13808 Sunset Dr., Whittier, CA 90602 (http://www.otrsite.com) Reader Feedback: * Ronald Staley provided an excellent history of Box 13 which I used for the "Description" section. Last Update: Jul 25, 2007 This log is informational only. It does not imply that I or my references have these shows for trade or sale. The shows may still be protected under copyright law and should be obtained only from authorized dealers. The log may be freely reproduced and published on a no-profit basis. Please send error corrections or additional information to Frank M. Passage, 109 Elmwood Road, Verona, NJ 07044 (email: wb2ntp@arrl.net).