Blue Beetle Actresses


Ryan Ellett
 

In updating some documents for our Blue Beetle set I came across a couple newspaper blurbs mentioning two actresses who appeared in the series. I don't have Dunning handy, so maybe they're mentioned there. But I can't tell who exactly they might be: newspaper info was not always accurate and the spelling of names was frequently inaccurate. Or maybe these ladies went by different names on the air. One is Virginia Coyle, who is IDed as a stage actress primarily in the piece. The second is Jane Darrell, who I can't find a record of either. I do find a Jane Darwell on Goldin's site, and her radio work would fit the timeline of the Blue Beetle (1940). Do these names ring a bell for anyone? 
Ryan


James Decker
 

Virginia Coyle from the newspaper article is this woman: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/oklahoman/name/virginia-ketcham-obituary?id=29207777


Jane Darrell appears to be the name of a fictional character in Blue Beetle: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/jane-darrell/4005-81101/


Other stuff:


Harry S. Goodman is advertising 27x 30-minute shows or in 15-minute segments in 1944: https://archive.org/details/variety155-1944-08/page/n159/mode/1up?view=theater


A Hawaiian newspaper lists the series in radio logs from 1940-07-12 through 1941-01-10, starting twice weekly on 1940-10-16.  This adds up to 27 x 30-minute shows.


Titles specifically mentioned in newspaper articles include:

  • The Asylum of Dr. Drear

  • Cleaning Up Unfinished Business (?)

  • Dancing Ghosts

  • Finesse in Diamonds

  • The Invisible Ghost

  • The Jewel Mystery of Channel Island

  • Murder for Profit

  • The Reservoir of Death (?)

  • Sabotage and Liquidation

  • Sabotage, Inc.

  • Smashing the Dope Racket

  • Smashing the Dynamite Ring

  • Smashing the Poison Ring (?)

  • Two Rackets in One

  • The Underworld Goes Underground

  • The Whale of the Pirates Folly


Ryan Ellett
 

Thanks, James, I can see that now about Jane. Here's the article I referenced. I can read it either way, as a character or performer. I wonder if she was played by Coyle. That is an interesting note about the 27 episodes since, as far as I know, only 24 have ever been in circulation. But it certainly wouldn't be the first show to not have survived in full, but that is a very unusual number of eps. I'll have to compare those titles to ones attached to extant episodes.
Ryan

www.RyanEllett.com


The Old Time Radio Researchers
"Saving the Past for the Future"




On Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 06:03:21 PM CST, James Decker <jamesdeckerotr@...> wrote:


Virginia Coyle from the newspaper article is this woman: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/oklahoman/name/virginia-ketcham-obituary?id=29207777


Jane Darrell appears to be the name of a fictional character in Blue Beetle: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/jane-darrell/4005-81101/


Other stuff:


Harry S. Goodman is advertising 27x 30-minute shows or in 15-minute segments in 1944: https://archive.org/details/variety155-1944-08/page/n159/mode/1up?view=theater


A Hawaiian newspaper lists the series in radio logs from 1940-07-12 through 1941-01-10, starting twice weekly on 1940-10-16.  This adds up to 27 x 30-minute shows.


Titles specifically mentioned in newspaper articles include:

  • The Asylum of Dr. Drear

  • Cleaning Up Unfinished Business (?)

  • Dancing Ghosts

  • Finesse in Diamonds

  • The Invisible Ghost

  • The Jewel Mystery of Channel Island

  • Murder for Profit

  • The Reservoir of Death (?)

  • Sabotage and Liquidation

  • Sabotage, Inc.

  • Smashing the Dope Racket

  • Smashing the Dynamite Ring

  • Smashing the Poison Ring (?)

  • Two Rackets in One

  • The Underworld Goes Underground

  • The Whale of the Pirates Folly