Most NBC University Theater programming aired on NBC's
Red Network, but the
Blue Network (later to become ABC) also participated. and directed by Homer Heck. It presented adaptations of
classic novels, often described as "Anglo-American literature." The show was born '''''The World's Great Novels'''
on WMAQ, Chicago, and NBC from 1944 to 1948, and adopted its better known name when it relocated to Hollywood in July 1948.It initially aired Saturdays at 7:00 pm CST during the first 1944–45 season and then moved to Fridays at 11:30 pm. Music for the series was composed by Emil Soderstrom (né
Emil Otto Edvard Söderström; 1901–1972) and conducted by Bernard "Whitey" Berquist (né'' Bernard H. Berquist; 1903–1962). The series began October 28, 1944, with
Henry Fielding's
Tom Jones, followed by
Voltaire's
Candide and
Jane Austen's
Emma. Over the next four years, it aired adaptations of such novels as
Kidnapped,
The Last of the Mohicans,
Thomas Hardy's
The Mayor of Casterbridge,
Moby-Dick,
A Tale of Two Cities and
War and Peace. Since this was a half-hour program, many of the novels were serialized in multi-part adaptations of two to six 30-minute episodes.
Chicago actors The group of Chicago actors heard on the series included Larry Alexander, Ernie Andrews, Everett Clarke, Johnny Coons, Maurice Copeland, Harry Elders, Sidney Ellstrom, Charles Flynn, Donald Gallagher, Hilda Graham, Ken Griffin,
Jonathan Hole, Geraldine Kay,
Eloise Kummer, Jack Lester (
né Jack Lester Swineford; 1915–2004),
Ken Nordine,
Hope Summers and Lee Young. Some episodes were narrated by Nordine. The announcers were Charles Chan, John Conrad and
Dave Garroway. and moved from Chicago to Hollywood. That series was heard from July 30, 1948, to February 14, 1951. In the new format, the program also included adaptations of short stories and plays in addition to novels and occasionally featured commentary on the original work by distinguished writers and critics. The new series won a
Peabody Award in
1948 and was considered one of the most distinguished radio programs of its day; all the episodes from this period still survive. The NBC University of the Air also produced a summer replacement series,
American Novels, which was broadcast when ''The World's Great Novels'' was off during the summers of 1947 and 1948. Some sources give the title of the 1944–48 series as ''The World's Greatest Novels'', but there is no evidence this title was ever used. == List of NBC University Theater series ==