Lyle Sudrow stars in a George Bamber story about a test pilot’s reactions during the first flight into outer space. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin would not make his trip until 1961, and US astronaut John Glenn’s would not be until 1962. Bamber’s story is highly speculative at this point, and simplistic, and listeners would absorb what he scripted with little skepticism. The program can best be enjoyed by having that same context. Bamber can’t be blamed for what was not yet known, of course, since the space flight experts didn’t know that much yet, either. He was influenced by his favorite genres, science fiction (especially X Minus One) and The Twilight Zone, and it coalesces in an entertaining story. There are scenes that seem so odd now, like the pilot leaving home for the flight and his wife making sure he has his briefcase, deciding which car he should drive that morning, and that he’ll see the kids at dinner time. We know astronauts are sequestered in work and preparation for quite a while before they are allowed to board their spacecrafts.
The story follows his radio communications with ground control and reveals his reactions at various stages until the re-entry trip begins. The pilot becomes euphoric while on the flight. He doesn’t want to return to Earth because the experience of space is so exhilarating. His mind is racing with existential thoughts of possibilities and opportunities to unlock mysteries of life. Bamber has an ending that would have pleased Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling.
No script can be found to identify all of the actors and their roles with specificity. The program recording date and related information is not available.
Two recordings have survived. The network recording is an aircheck from WROW in Albany, New York and includes CBS news at its conclusion. It is in very listenable sound. The Armed Forces Radio Service recording (AFRS#759) is the much better of the two. It has a rich, clean sound. The recording is new to circulation among hobbyists.
Lyle Sudrow was a well-known New York radio actor for many soap operas, especially The Guiding Light. He was on many of the prime time shows such as Mysterious Traveler, Columbia Workshop, The Big Story, and in X Minus One. His work expanded into television in the early 1960s in occasional supporting roles.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP591101
THE CAST
Lyle Sudrow (Pappy), Margaret Draper (Erin), Les Damon (General Brighton), Bob Readick (Ground Control), Frankie Thomas, Jr. (technician), Bob Donley (Sergeant), Mason Adams (Dave Miller), Jim Boles (Dr. May), Frank Butler (E3 = Telemetrics), Whitfield Connor (Ed = aircraft commander)
###
