On Ron’s Amazing Stories we have a strange but true OTR story for you. It is the dramatized account of the early life of legendary journalist H.L. Mencken newspaperman, and is based from his own journal notes. It was produced by CBS Radio Workshop. The story is called, Bring on the Angels, and first aired on June 8th 1956, Just a few months after his death at age 76.
Also on this program, we share one of Mencken’s commentaries on Zoos , a poem he wrote and we top it all off with the RAS news and a five minute mystery. Does that sound like a pretty good show? It think so, but I might be a bit bias.
On this episode of Ron’s Amazing Stories we present one the golden age of radio’s best plays, The Scarlet Pimpernel.
The tale is set in 1792, during the early stages of the French Revolution. Marguerite St. Just is the wife of wealthy English fop Sir Percy Blakeney, a baronet. Before their marriage, Marguerite took revenge upon the Marquis de St. Cyr, who had ordered her brother to be beaten for his romantic interest in the Marquis’ daughter. This all ended with the unintended consequence of the Marquis and his sons being sent to the guillotine. When Percy found out, he became estranged from his wife. Marguerite, for her part, has become disillusioned with Percy’s shallow, dandyish lifestyle.
This where our story begins and it is handled quite well by Lux Radio Theater. This production brings back one its stars from the original 1934 movie cast, The Scarlet Pimpernel himself, Leslie Howard. Playing the role of his estranged wife is Olivia de Havilland. Quite the cast, and two of hollywood’s greatest, to be sure. The film was adapted to radio by Lux in 1938 and played in December of that year.
We throw the Ron’s Amazing Spotlight on actress Olivia de Havilland. She was born July 1, 1916 and her career spanned from 1935 to 1988. Here is the amazing part, she is one of the last surviving stars at age one-hundred, from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Olivia de Havilland one of Hollywood’s brightest stars.
Olivia appeared in forty-nine feature films. She is best known for her early screen performance in one of my favorite films of all time, The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938. She was also in a tiny little film in 1939 called Gone with the Wind. That film only won twelve academy awards including best actress in a supporting role – Olivia de Havilland. Oh, in case you were wondering, best actress in a leading role was won by Vivien Leigh star of Gone with the Wind.
Olivia was born in Tokyo to English parents. She and her younger sister, actress Joan Fontaine, moved to California in 1919. They were raised by their mother Lillian, a former stage actress who taught them dramatic art, music, and elocution. De Havilland made her acting debut Reinhardt’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1935. She began her career playing demure innocent women opposite popular leading men, including Errol Flynn, with whom she made nine films. They became one of Hollywood’s most popular romantic on-screen pairings.
After romantic relationships with Howard Hughes, James Stewart, and John Huston, Olivia married author Marcus Goodrich, with whom she had a son, Benjamin. In 1953, she moved to Paris and married Pierre Galante with whom she had a daughter, Gisèle. Olivia and Joan Fontaine are the only sisters to have won Academy Awards in a lead acting category. A lifelong rivalry between the two resulted in an estrangement that lasted over three decades. Joan died in 2013 and won her Academy Award for best actress for her role in Suspicion in 1941.
This Week’s Podcast:
On this week’s podcast we present Olivia de Havilland in one the golden age of radio’s best plays, The Scarlet Pimpernel. You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.
On this amazing episode we have three different stories. Debra Yates join us to update us about her book release and read a passage from, Woman of Many Names. Then we have one from Suspense, and we follow that up with a skit from me called ‘A Simple Sunday Morning’. So press that play button, you know you want to.
On our OTR story for this episode of Ron’s Amazing Stories – A timid, henpecked husband dreams of being a tough-guy gangster, and when his idol comes to town, he seeks him out to help him deal with his domineering wife. You might be saying what the heck kind of story is that? Well, one that is actually pretty good!
A few months ago we had Debra Yates on the podcast. She came on and told us some amazing stories about her 7x great grandmother Nancy Ward (Nanyehi). Her book, Woman of Many Names is now available on Amazon in hardcopy and paperback. It will soon be coming to the Kindle.
Cover art for the book Woman Of Many Names created by Dawn Fisher.
Nanyehi was a Beloved Woman of the Cherokee, which meant that she was allowed to sit in councils and to make decisions, along with the chiefs and other Beloved Women. She believed in peaceful coexistence with the European-Americans and helped her people as peace negotiator and ambassador. She also introduced them to farming and dairy production bringing substantial changes to the Cherokee society.
Debra’s book is a deeper look into a woman who helped shaped the history of our Nation. Nancy Ward had ties to Daniel Boone and George Washington, including having saved the latter’s life. She has been memorialized in Benton, Tennessee, by a federal historical marker.
This Week’s Podcast:
Suspense! Yes we have another one from that classic show. Also, Debra Yates will join us and update us about her book release and read a passage from, Woman of Many Names. You can listen to this podcast this Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from iTunes, stream it on TuneIn Radio or listen on your radio Friday night at 8pm Eastern time. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.
On Ron’s Amazing Stories we have a strange but true OTR story for you. It is the dramatized account of the early life of legendary journalist H.L. Mencken newspaperman, and is based from his own journal notes. It was produced by CBS Radio Workshop. The story is called, Bring on the Angels, and first aired on June 8th 1956, Just a few months after his death at age 76.
On this episode of 
On this amazing episode we have three different stories. 
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