Arch Oboler was one of the great guiding lights of the Golden Age of Radio. He wrote, directed and produced everything from contemporary comedies to anti-fascist morality plays. However, he is best remembered for his work in the horror genre. Oboler was the creator of one of my favorite OTR series, Quiet, Please, and the architect of one of the most fondly remembered shows of the era, Lights Out!
In 1962, Oboler resurrected some of his old scripts for a record album, Drop Dead! Presented as an exploration of the various styles of horror, the selections include two of the author's most infamous stories. "The Chicken Heart", a SF thriller about an ever-growing lump of flesh, was later immortalized in a Bill Cosby routine. "The Dark" was memorably spoofed on a "Treehouse of Horror" episode of the The Simpsons; you'll recognize it right away when you hear it.
Drop Dead! features a roster of radio greats including Harold "Gildersleeve" Perry and the wonderful Bea Bendaret. Two of the cast, Virgina Gregg and Mercedes McCambridge, are of special interest to horror fans as they provided the voices of Norma Bates and Pazuzu, respectively.
I first encountered Drop Dead! in the mid-70's. The CBS Radio Mystery Theater had sparked my interest in radio drama, and I spent hours pouring through the audio collections of local libraries looking for more. Despite my love of comic books, I never warmed up to The Shadow or The Green Hornet. But Lights Out! and Inner Sanctum gripped me from the start. There's just something about listening to spooky stories in the dark, and I have to admit that several tracks really unsettled me at the time.
While I don't expect modern listeners to experience the same jolts I did when I first heard it, I do hope they'll get a kick out of Drop Dead!
1. INTRODUCTION TO HORROR
2. I'M HUNGRY (Movie-type Horror)
3. TAKING PAPA HOME (Suspense-type Horror)
4. THE DARK (Radio-type Horror)
5. A DAY AT THE DENTIST'S (Comedy-type Horror)
6. THE POSSE (TV-type Horror)
7. CHICKEN HEART (Science Fiction-type Honor)
8. THE LAUGHING MAN (the Ultimate in Horror)
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