Frank Lovejoy portrays one of the most notorious outlaws in American history in the “true” story of Billy the Kid. The script is by Silvia Richards. Lovejoy was not the planned guest star; that was Donald O’Connor, who excused himself from the assignment.
The real Billy the Kid got involved in numerous altercations and feuds, killing sixteen men by the time he was 18 years old. He was offered a full pardon by the governor of New Mexico it he would stand trial and become law-abiding citizen. Billy turned it down because he was convinced that his enemies would murder him the moment he put aside his guns. He gives himself up later, however, to get a priest for a dying comrade, and is sentenced to hang. Billy makes a spectacular escape from jail, and from that moment on, he was hunted day and night.
Billy the Kid was the subject of numerous film and television characterizations, as well as radio. There often was a glamorization of his life in the media. He died at age 21, shot. An overview of his life can be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_the_Kid
The original star was planned and announced as Donald O’Connor. It was teased at the close of the prior week’s broadcast. Newspapers and press releases active, were still promoting O’Connor’s appearance, some appearing in newspapers on the day of broadcast. Lovejoy’s casting started to appear in some papers starting a few days before broadcast, but not all. The first time many listeners knew there was a change was when they heard the opening announcement of the show.
Usually, such cast changes would be attributed to a change in the announced guest performer's schedule. This time, it seemed different. Here, the replaced actor is quoted as saying the part was not right for him. This is how the 1952-04-28 North Hollywood Valley Times reported it:
Donald O’Connor pulled out of radio's Suspense in favor of Frank Lovejoy because “I just didn't feel the script was right for me.”
This is the first time research of Suspense newspaper clippings imply that the guest was withdrawing because of their artistic choice. If this ever happened before, it was usually early, and quiet. Suspense had a reputation for the creative casting of stars in roles that were against type or revealed a broader acting skill than the public and entertainment producers had known. Where did this quote come from and why was it different this time? Was the change decided before rehearsals or after a disappointing one? Was this meant to be an apology to Lewis and CBS via the papers? Did the news story start with O'Connor or his publicist or Lewis or CBS? We may never know.
Frank’s voice seems too mature to be “the Kid,” making it seem that the story is about “Billy the Adult,” something that “the Kid” did not live long enough to achieve. Lovejoy delivers his usual fine performance, but one wonders what an O’Connor rendition would have been like. He never appeared on Suspense again. Was a bridge burned?
Two nights earlier, CBS debuted Gunsmoke, and its first production was Billy the Kid. That was a much different presentation, authored by Walter Brown Newman. William Conrad was the only performer in both productions.
There are two surviving recordings. No network disc recording has survived, but there was a home disc recording that was quite the news when it was found. It was long believed to be a home wire recording, but as this note found in reels that the Old Time Radio Researchers has been transferring, it was a home disc recording. That often means it was made using office dictation equipment of that era.
Dictation discs were expensive, and they did not hold much, so it was common for users to skip the show introduction and commercial, and start recording when the drama began. They would flip the disc or switch to another blank at the mid-show commercial. Then the recording would end sometime during the closing announcement. It often became an issue to find a good player to transfer it. Sometimes an original model of the dictation equipment could be located, and that usually worked best. Some dictation recordings could be played on a regular record turntable. The other notes in the reel box were quite interesting. The collector who managed to get the recording noted he spent more than $100 in phone calls (this occurred in the late 1970s) arranging the deal and that the person had other recordings. He also warned that nothing could be shared until 1982, or the source would be upset and the relationship would end. This was a common condition of trading rare material in the hobby because the person who sourced the material often had to make an investment to acquire them, and sometimes had to purchase equipment.
Thankfully, a clean Armed Forces Radio Service transcription (AFRS#410) recording of this episode was found in 2018. This AFRS recording is the much better of the two and provides an enjoyable listening experience.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP520428
THE CAST
FRANK LOVEJOY (Billy Bonney), William Conrad (Pat Garrett), Parley Baer (Jack / Boyle), Jack Kruschen (Joe / Pete), Joe Kearns (Charlie), Russell Simpson (Wallace), Tony Barrett (Bob / Jose), Lillian Buyeff (Girl), Earl Lee (Poe / McSween), Charles Calvert (Man), Larry Thor (Narrator)
COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland, Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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