The Big Story

Dorothy Kilgalin, wife of Boston Blackies Richard Kollmar, stars. Game show regular who's death was considered mysterious after she said she was going to blow the lid off the Kennedy assassination case.

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Today's file name is
Big Story 47-10-15 (029) Bobby Soxer Kid From Bayonne [Dorothy Kilgallen, Journal American].mp3

There's no indication of the particular news event this story was created from.


Wikipedia [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks to bojim1 and greybelt
Best regards

Art

The Unfinished Love Song......

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Thanks bojim1

Best regards

Art

THIS ONE ... has a lot of detail...
Big Story 47-11-26 (035) Unfinished Love Song [Howard Beaufait, Cleveland News]

Here are the show summaries that were in the newspapers....


And now here's the REAL story...


Read the full story -- but download ASAP as this link will expire in a few days - there are two PDF files
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The story was also done on the TV version of The Big Story as the series' 25th episode on August 18, 1950. A video file is not available.

This is the cast of today's recording...

Wow, thanks for the great research, Greybelt.

Is it really......The Final Curtain?

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The file name is...
Big Story 47-12-10 (037) Final Curtain [Aubrey Maddock, Hartford Daily Courant] UPGRADE.mp3

THIS... is a story of a serial killer that went on to become a famous comedic play!
... and the reporter on the story worked in newspapers for only four years before abandoning his career and becoming a prominent and successful realtor!

The newspaper listings...


and the most important one that identifies the foundation of the episode...

...and now the story....

Our hero reporter...


Residents at a home for "the aged and infirm" were dying at a very high rate. They were being poisoned for the insurance money. Maddock began his investigation and it resulted in the finding, and exclusive story, that about 20 deaths were caused... but the killer was convicted of only one, and outlived many of the people involved in her prosecution the a home for the mentally ill.

The story was well known in Connecticut and was recounted many times in the years following. This is a 1974 article about it. Note the spectacular headline presentation on the reproduced front page when the story broke.


And yes, the story became the inspiration of Arsenic and Old Lace which became a popular play and movie.

Here is the full story as a PDF from the "A Justice Story" syndicated news feature as it was published in the Honolulu Advertiser in 1962. The link will expire in a few days [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This is the Wikipedia summary [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Maddock would leave his reported position to become a successful Hartford CT area realtor and active on many civic and business boards and committees. In 1937, he penned a reminiscence of his brief reporting career, and this is what he wrote about this case...

Unfortunately, our hero reporter died about eighteen months after the show's airing. Maddock was a very prominent local person and his obituary was very long, so only the portions related to the case are presented below.

Thanks bojim1 and greybelt

Best regards

Art

Thanks! That is really interesting background on that episode!

The story of a hobo with a twist, he has a goal!!! Presenting "The Ambitious Hobo".

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Big Story 47-12-17 (038) Ambitious Hobo [Russ Wilson, Des Moines Tribune] UPGRADE.mp3

The newspaper listings...

Now the real story...
Please note that racial references are those of that time, and are the original news stories from 80 years ago.

John LeClair is shot.

The family asks that a reward for the killer be offered: $250.
If that sounds small, it's a little more than US$4,600 today.


The killer, John Lammey, is arrested and pleads guilty.

Who is the story's "Ambitious Hobo"? It's John Kennedy, 56 years old, who wanted the dental work needed to play his cornet the way it's supposed to be played.


Lammey was a problem prisoner, escaping twice, and finally losing his life in Arizona when shot by police, fifteen years later.

Thanks Greybelt & bojim1
Best regards

Art

Manhunt In Manhattan Upgrade 2

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Today's episode is Manhunt in Manhattan from early in 1948. The reporter involved was a legend in police reporting in the City, but the real events happened near the beginning of his career when he was just another news hound.


Newspaper clippings


The real story goes back to May 1928. Interestingly, there are no bylines for Prager in the newspapers at this time! He was probably too low in the reporting staff to warrant one, or was behind the scenes in support of other reporters. Yet, it is clear he became well-known for this event and his participation in it.

A restaurant-bar was held up by a group of criminals. Actor's Inn was described as a "Jewish restaurant" (I am so longing for good pastrami, but I'll get back to the story), but it was actually a speakeasy. The confusion of the holdup in progress inside and outside with what was believed to be was a getaway car led to the shooting of two innocent people by a policeman. What's not reported in some of these early clips is that Ted Prager was at the restaurant and saw it all unfold, first hand. He would play a role in bringing the criminals to justice.


I have posted a PDF of the full retrospective page at a link that will expire in a few days.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Prager wrote a book, published in 1957, that is still greatly admired by those studying the mob activities in New York City. Daily News columnist Ben Gross loved it. There are still used copies available at various online places.

It's amazing how much print material is available

Thanks again to you both

Best regards
Art

Art.....I too am amazed by what Joe turns up. As I've said before, I wouldn't want Greybelt running a background check on me!

Big Story 48-05-05 (058) Pillars Of Society [William Miller, Cleveland Press] UPGRADE-2

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May 5, 1948 -- Pillars of Society
The foundation real-life story of today's episode can't be found
I'll explain below... but first...

Newspaper listings


Where's the story?

William Miller worked at the Cleveland Press, a now defunct newspaper, for which there are no online archives that I could locate. There is an Ohio historical site that claims to offer access, but searches there were fruitless.

One of the ways these glimpses behind The Big Story curtain have been possible was by stumbling (most research involves stumbling and luck) upon obituaries of the reporters where a highlight of their career was spotlighted. Usually the fictionalized Big Story episode source could be found starting with that information, especially if the year was mentioned. Sometimes the reporter's newspaper would make a big deal about their story being highlighted on the show and mentioning the source story and the year it occurred.

William Miller died in 1989 and his obituary, at least in the New York Times, was brief, and highlighted a body of work that expanded greatly from his newspaper beginnings into high positions in magazine publishing. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Perhaps the trail of electronic breadcrumbs will get picked up later!

Thanks to you both
Best regards

Art

Today we have only a partial. It goes without saying, but if anyone has the complete show, it would be greatly appreciated. Here's COT Lucky Long Shot [Indianapolis Star, Robert Early]....part 2

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Grabbed this from the late Dave Siegel's collection over 15 years ago. There were so few The Big Story in circulation that even partial shows were welcome.

BUT... we do have the script that lets us read the missing part of the story. It's at this address [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] which expires in a few days.

The newspaper clippings...



The original events...

This link is a 1931 summary of the case that might be worth reading before listening to the program and reading the script. Link expires in a few days
Case summary Daily_News_Sun__Jul_12__1931_.pdf
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Be sure to read the summary of the case at this point in 1931
Case summary Daily_News_Sun__Jul_12__1931_.pdf
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The closing of the broadcast makes no mention of Schroeder being paroled after such a short time served.

Thanks to you both

Best regards

Art

If you read the post of the Schroeder case earlier, I did add additional items to it regarding the release of Schroeder after only a short time served.

Deadline Murder [Rolf K Mills, Minneapolis Morning Tribune] UPGRADE-2

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