Posted By Dan Greenfield on Jan 2, 2026 | 12 comments

FOUR COLOR RADIO: Old-time radio programs — and their comics connections…

By PETER BOSCH

Welcome to my inner sanctum for another adventure in time travel, back to when radio was king in the home. What TV is today, radio was in the 1930s and ’40s. And — just like today — the airwaves were filled with programs with ties to comics, pulps, and science fiction.

Superman #39 (Mar.-Apr. 1946, DC). Cover pencils by Jack Burnley. Unknown inker.

Since the above issue of Superman #39 appeared on the newsstands January 2, 1946 — 80 years ago — now would be a great time to discuss The Adventures of Superman radio show. After some trial episodes in 1938, the program ran from February 12, 1940, to March 1, 1951. It started out with three shows per week, then from 1943 to 1947, it was five. From there, it was back to three times a week, and two times, and even one show per week near the end.

Here are 13 THINGS you may not know about the program:

1. If anyone ever asks you who played Superman more times than any other actor, be sure to tell them it was Clayton “Bud” Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr.). On radio – as well as in the cartoons of the 1940s and the 1960s – he was the voice of Superman and Clark Kent approximately 2,000 times. And though he was very hesitant to do the show in the beginning, his lengthy career as Superman and as the host of the TV game show To Tell the Truth became his well-deserved legacy. (On old-time radio, he also played Pat Ryan on Terry and the Pirates.) In 1950, the roles of Superman/Clark Kent were taken over by Michael Fitzmaurice, who stayed until the end of the program.

Clayton “Bud” Collyer researching his roles as Superman and Clark Kent through a copy of Superman #40 (May-June 1946).

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2. There were three radio actresses who played Lois Lane: Rolly Bester, Helen Choate, and Joan Alexander. (Trivia time: Rolly’s husband, Alfred Bester, wrote Golden Age comic book adventures of Green Lantern, Starman, and Captain Marvel. He co-created Solomon Grundy as well as updated Alan Scott’s Green Lantern oath to, “In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, beware my power – Green Lantern’s light!” He was also a noted science-fiction writer.)

Left to right: Jackson Beck, Joan Alexander, and Collyer.

And many of us remember Jackson Beck as the narrator of various DC TV cartoons in the 1960s. He was also a narrator (and played minor characters) on the Superman radio program, starting in 1943. In addition to doing the same function for the Paramount 1940s cartoons, he was the voice of Perry White in them. His career was vast. However, his most famous role was providing the voice of Bluto in the Popeye cartoons from 1944 to 1957.

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3. A number of characters we associate with the Superman comic books were first introduced on the radio show. For example, Jimmy Olsen. Retroactively, DC tells us the unidentified office boy in Action Comics #6 (Nov. 1938) may have been Jimmy, but he was not officially called Jimmy by name until Superman #13 (Nov.-Dec. 1941). On The Adventures of Superman, Jimmy first appeared on April 15, 1940. He was played by Jack Grimes, who would also play Archie Andrews on radio (a program I will be discussing soon), and Jackie Kelk, best known as the voice of Homer Brown on The Aldrich Family. (Kelk and Collyer also starred together on radio’s Terry and the Pirates.)

(Left to right) Jimmy Olsen x 2: (left to right) Jackie Kelk and Jack Grimes.

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4. Other casting: Editor Perry White, played by Julian Noa, was introduced in the second episode, on February 14, 1940. In the comics, he would not appear until Superman #7 (Nov.-Dec., 1940). Great Caesar’s Ghost! Frank Lovejoy, who had starred as the Blue Beetle on radio, played a police inspector.

(Left to right) Julian Noa and Frank Lovejoy.

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5. Another great talent, Agnes Moorehead, provided the voice for Lara in the dying minutes of Krypton in the first episode. (You will remember from last month that Moorehead was also the voice of Margo Lane in The Shadow from 1937 to 1939.)

Agnes Moorehead

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6. Here’s a biggie: The Superman-Batman-Robin team started on radio in 1945, seven years before Superman #76 (May-June 1952). Actors who portrayed Bruce Wayne/Batman were Stacy (aka Stacey) Harris, Gary Merrill, and Matt Crowley. (In addition to Batman, Crowley played Inspector Henderson on The Adventures of Superman radio show – another first appearance – as well as portrayed comic strip characters Mark Trail, Dick Tracy, Jungle Jim, and Buck Rogers on other series. Robin was always portrayed by Ronald Liss.) Look for a special FOUR COLOR RADIO column on Batman and Robin soon.

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7. Five years before the second movie serial, Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950), was released, the villain appeared on the Superman radio program. In the 1945 radio episodes, the Atom Man was a Nazi; in the later serial, he was Luthor. Atom Man on radio was played by Mason Adams, who went on to appear as Charlie Hume, the boss of Ed Asner’s title character on Lou Grant.

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8. Kryptonite appeared for the first time on the radio program.

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9. “Look! Up in the sky!” etc. started on radio, as did “Up, up, and away!” (The sound of Superman flying was created by combining the recording of a wind tunnel and the sound of an artillery shell.)

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10. The radio program jettisoned the whole landing-on-Earth-as-a-small-child origin. On radio, Kal was sent from Krypton as a baby, but he was an adult when the rocket landed on Earth.

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11. At one point in the radio series, Clark Kent was inducted into the Secret Service as an undercover operative, Johnny Clark.

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12. The Adventures of Superman had several different sponsors in the early days, but Kellogg’s Pep cereal became synonymous with the program. Kellogg’s did well with radio premiums for listeners and excellent promotions in grocery stores.

Kellogg’s Pep cereal display poster for food stores. Circa 1940s.

1947 Superman Crusader Ring Pep premium.

For a time, Kellogg’s Pep cereal boxes had Superman adventures on the reverse. (Circa 1940s.)

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13. DC added its own promotion with a story in the aforementioned Superman #39. Here are a few pages from it. Pencils: Joe Shuster. Inker: George Roussos. (Unconfirmed writer.)

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Hopefully, all this has whetted your appetite for some of the original recordings. There are hundreds available online, and some sellers of old-time radio have over 1,200 episodes available. For now, though, here are the first several episodes of The Adventures of Superman for your enjoyment!

Until next time, don’t touch that dial!

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MORE

— FOUR COLOR RADIO Presents: The SHADOW. Click here.

— FOUR COLOR RADIO Presents: 1940’s THE BLUE BEETLE. Click here.

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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. (You can buy it here.) A sequel, American Movie Comic Books: 1930s-1970s — From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, is out now. (Buy it here.) Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.