Arch Oboler: Old Time Radio Shows Writer and Producer Par Excellence
Best known for his radio script work, Arch Oboler was a Chicago native who enjoyed many facets of his career. His career covered a range of different entertainment styles, from his main focus on old-time radio script writing, through to producing and directing, and even writing novels. Arch’s career transcended across the growing range of media of the day, graduating from radio to film star and television star too. Oboler was born in 1909 in Chicago, Illinois. He began his writing career very early by selling radio scripts while he was still a high school student. The first time he was widely noticed was when he wrote a script that had Don Ameche and Mae West portraying Adam and Eve with a somewhat suggestive twist.
It may have been that the show was broadcast on Sundays, or that it had a somewhat humored depiction of the Bible, but you can imagine how annoyed listeners would have been to hear that. The show caused quite a stir in old time radio. In fact, it caused Mae West to be banned from radio for many years. By today’s standards, the sketch would have certainly been classified as mild material, but this was not the case in that time. Not for the faint-hearted, the scary stories show ‘Lights Out’ soon made it to the airwaves, with Oboler running the show. His namesake show ‘Arch Oboler’s Plays’ was where he continued to scare everyone out there with a range of spooky chilling tales, from 1939.
Aside from his central radio work, Oboler starred in films and theater shows. Gangway for Tomorrow and Escape were just some of the movies that he starred in. He even directed films like Twonky and Bwana Devil. His political activism grew significantly in the 1940s. Returning to script writing, he wrote many shows and productions with an anti-nazi theme as the core focus. These pieces were so well-received that major Hollywood stars offered to act in his plays for union scale pay.
‘Night of the Auk’ and ‘House on Fire’ were evidence of Oboler’s transition to large scale scripting, the former being a successful Broadway show, and the latter a novel. His performances were always perfect, and this added to his growing popularity and reputation, plus he brought in his interests of science fiction and horror into the mix. Oboler soon had a following of millions of fans, but some still categorized his work as too gruesome or unnecessary. The work of Arch Oboler stood out in his time. It was typically delivered in quite the creative fashion and would even cover controversial issues. Over his expansive career, his work was incredibly popular, from the early 1930s onwards. ‘Lights Out’ was one of Oboler’s old radio shows that stood out beyond the others, and can even be heard on some old time radio channels to this day. Though he died on March 19, 1987, his work has continued long after his passing. He is a giant in old time radio shows and fans continue to love the terrifying tales he spun.
Angkasapuri Drift ……beside of old mosque