Saturday, May 30, 2009


The Investigator Turns 55

Fifty-five years ago the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) broadcast the controversial radio play The Investigator.`

Written by suspected Canadian communist Reuben Ship after the Immigration and Naturalization Service threw him out of the United States in 1953, this satire on McCarthyism sent shockwaves south of the border, where recordings gained an "underground" following and the admiration of Dwight Eisenhower and The New York Times in addition to the condemnation of Ed Sullivan.

John Drainie
, a radio actor greatly admired by Orson Welles, is perfect in the title role. Star Trek's James Doohan and The Fugitive's Barry Morse are also in the cast.

I encourage you to listen to (and read about) The Investigator via The Journal for MultiMedia History. Stick with it—I think it gets better as it goes along.

Please spread the word about this Internet treasure! I am grateful to a wonderful Long Islander named Connie for bringing the recording to my attention.

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