Jim French Productions to Close

Sorry to hear that Jim French Productions will be ending after providing so many hours of entertainment to so many for such a long time.

I hope that Jim recovers fully and maybe has some time for himself and his family for a change. His schedule up to now between writing shows, as well as the production end of it, I'm sure wouldn't have left a lot of personal time.

While Imagination Theatre and Jim French productions will be missed, so too will the characters he created.

"The Adventures Of Harry Nile" aired for the first time on national radio on 1976-01-01 with the episode West For My Health. That's over 41 years that Harry has been with us. Quite a record !

Thanks for the memories Jim.

Best regards

Art

I have known Jim French since the mid-1970's when his shows aired locally in the Seattle area as part of KVI's Old-Time and Contemporary Radio drama and comedy offerings that were collectively known as KVI's Theater Of The Mind.  

I started researching and compiling broadcast logs of Jim French Productions series in 1998.  I asked for and received permission from Jim French to do them.  Jim asked me why I wanted to take on such an activity.  I told him that I believed in his goal of keeping the Theatre of the Mind alive on American Radio and that I wanted to make sure accurate information on his shows was preserved for future generations.  So much information about the shows from the Golden Age of Radio had been lost and I didn't want that to happen to Jim's shows.

I started with a log of The Adventures of Harry Nile which at the time consisted of 125 episodes. In January, I posted the 47th update for this series for which 291 episodes have been aired.

Over the years I added more broadcast logs and kept them updated.  These broadcast logs are more than just a listing of show titles and broadcast dates.  All include detailed background information about each series and a listing of sources consulted.  

Jim French and his production manager, Larry Albert, have been most supportive of this ongoing project.  They have provided me with production information and have answered many questions.


Jim French's Legacy
There are many portions to Jim French's legacy; I will focus on just two.

Jim produced his first shows for Seattle Radio in 1965.  When the final broadcast airs on February 26th, Jim French will have written and or produced over 1,000 shows for the Theater Of The Mind.

The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is noteworthy in radio drama history for several reasons.

It is the first time the entire Conan Doyle Canon was produced and aired as a single series for North American radio.

It was also the initial time that the Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John H. Watson, Mrs. Hudson and Inspector Lestrade characters were played throughout the entire series by the same actors: John Patrick Lowrie as Sherlock Holmes and Lawrence Albert as Dr. John H. Watson, with the late Lee Paasch as Mrs. Hudson and Rick May as Inspector Lestrade.

Another first for The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is that it is the first time that a single writer, M. J. Elliott, adapted the entire Conan Doyle Canon for radio.

Every episode was produced with the full authorization of the Estate of Dame Jean Conan Doyle, the daughter of Sir Arthur.


Broadcast Logs
You will find the following broadcast logs of Jim French Productions series in Adobe Acrobat PDF format at:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Crisis
Dameron aka The Adventures of Dameron
Harry Nile
Hilary Caine Mysteries
Imagination Theatre
Jim French Shows (Seattle)  aka Initial Airing of Jim French Shows on Seattle Radio
Kerides, The Thinker
Raffles, The Gentleman Thief
Sherlock Holmes, The Classic Adventures of
Sherlock Holmes, The Further Adventures of
Strange Seeker, The aka  Kincaid, The Strange Seeker
Tower Playhouse

It is amazing to see all that he has done to help preserve OTR in today's environment.

Thanks otrwashh

Best regards

Art