Mr Chameleon


(4 stars; 2 reviews)

Mr. Chameleon was produced by Frank and Anne Hummert, the highly successful pair who were responsible for the kids serial Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy , many daytime soap operas, and more than 100 series in radio's golden age. Their most famous detective program was Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons , and this series, Mr. Chameleon , shared much of the writers, directors, supporting cast, and others. This program starred Karl Swenson, one of the busiest and most talented actors in the era. He had a long career that included Broadway, movies, and television. Much like the TV character "Rollin Hand" played by Martin Landau in Mission: Impossible , Swenson's character used disguises to infiltrate situations to gather the knowledge and evidence needed to solve the crime. It may seem strange to have a character "wear a disguise" on the radio, but Swenson would change his voice and vocal demeanor to convey his disguise to listeners. Like most "Hummert Factory" programs, the series should not be taken as serious, but as light entertainment that allowed its loyal listeners to relax and escape their everyday problems with easy-to-follow plots and entertaining characters. * * * These recordings are part of the Joe Hehn Memorial Collection. Mr. Hehn (1931-2020) was a pioneering collector of radio recordings when the hobby emerged in the 1960s. Digitizing his collection of reel tapes and discs is the effort of a wide range of North American volunteers, and with the assistance of some international collectors. The groups supporting this effort with their funds, time, technology and skills are the Old Time Radio Researchers and a small group of transcription disc preservationists who refer to themselves as the "The Knights of the Turning Table."

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.