8/3/2008 3:29:37 AM

Bill Johnstone looks nothing like`I thought. I picture him younger and clean cut.

Tim Mincey

8/3/2008 5:24:47 AM

ty greg for the pics

is ezra stone still alive

charles from nj

8/3/2008 5:30:13 AM

i will answer my own quiestion ;)

he passed away in 1994




Ezra Stone, who played the comically trouble-prone teen-ager Henry Aldrich on radio as a young man and then became a successful theater and television director, died on Thursday in an automobile accident near Perth Amboy, N.J. He was 76 and lived at Stone Meadows Farm, near Newtown, Pa.

For 15 years, first on Broadway and then on radio, Mr. Stone was known to millions as the youth who answered, in a high-pitched, put-upon voice, "Coming, Mother," when summoned by the cry "Hen-REE! Henry Aldrich." He originated the role in 1938 in the Broadway show "What a Life," which ran for more than 600 performances and was later translated into an enormously popular weekly radio program, "The Aldrich Family."

Mr. Stone was born in New Bedford, Mass., and grew up in Philadelphia, where he broke into show business at the age of 7 doing radio recitations and acting in local productions. Directed Army Shows

After receiving a diploma from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1935, he appeared in a farce called "Three Men on a Horse," produced by George Abbott, who then cast him in the 1936 hit comedy "Brother Rat." It was while he was an assistant casting director in Mr. Abbott's office, working under Garson Kanin, that he was given the lead role in the Clifford Goldsmith play "What a Life," about a comically troublesome teen-ager. In 1939, after being presented as a sketch on the Rudy Vallee radio show, "The Adrich Family" was programmed as the summer replacement for Jack Benny. After picking up the sponsorship of General Foods, "The Aldrich Family" was off and running as a weekly half-hour program.

During World War II, Mr. Stone served as a producer, director and actor with the Army's Special Services, staging many productions, most notably the Irving Berlin show "This Is the Army." Although an understudy took over for him for a period, he was able to combine military service with regular appearances on the program, which ran until 1953. From 1950 to 1952, he was director of program development at CBS-TV.

After retiring as Henry Aldrich, Mr. Stone worked steadily as a producer and director on Broadway and in television. He directed the Broadway plays "See My Lawyer," "Me and Molly," "At War With the Army" and "January Thaw." His television directing credits include episodes of "Julia," "The Flying Nun," "Lassie," "The Munsters," "Lost in Space," "Love American Style" and "The Debbie Reynolds Show."

In 1979, he became director and president of the David Library of the American Revolution, in Washington Crossing, Pa., which was founded by his father, Solomon Feinstone.

He is survived by a son, Josef, of Newtown; a daughter, Francine Lida Stone, of Wallingford, England; a sister, Miriam Golub, of Washington Crossing, Pa., and four grandchildren.

charles from nj

8/3/2008 11:41:08 AM

Thank you for the photos. It's nice to put faces to the actors.

Donna

8/3/2008 7:09:06 PM

yw greg

i was shocked mr stone was killed close to me

charles from nj

8/3/2008 9:07:12 PM

Please post more photos. I love putting faces to the actors that I hear. It is really great that you have brought back the old time radio shows. When a friend of mine said that a room of hers looked like Fibber Mc Gee's closet,it was great to understand what she was talking about.

Thelma

8/4/2008 4:56:01 AM

Great Pictures. I too pictured Bill Johnstone a lot different than he really was. Of course when I listened to William Conrad in the various radio shows he did and more especially Gunsmoke, I wouldn't have picture him as he really was either.

Thanks you!

Chris

8/4/2008 5:41:16 AM

Thanks for the pictures! I can't help but get the feeling that Walter Tetley was really as mischievous in real life was he was on the radio! I love him as Julius! Even though I can know what's coming, it gets me every time!

Jeremiah

8/4/2008 4:43:26 PM

Tetley really was mischievious. I once heard him during a "live" Gildy show (interrupted for war news) and behind-the-scenes, the "kid" seemed to be wild (but not in a bad way).

Peary seemed a bit wild too and definately played-off Tetley in real life, from what I heard.

Jimbo

8/6/2008 5:55:32 AM

Greg
Thanks for the pics. I was listening to Phil and Faye today and during the intro the announced somebody and his orchestra. Did Phil give up the band when he got his own show?

Glen

8/8/2008 2:59:49 AM

Thank you for the pictures. I am new to the station and just learning all the programs and characters. I was only born in 1977, but I am obsessed with these old radio shows now.

Thanks Again ~ Hollie, TX

Hollie B.

8/12/2008 4:30:38 PM

I love seeing these pictures and putting faces to these voices that I'm enjoying so much. I'm a big fan of the comedies and The Great Gildersleeve is my favorite. It's nice to see what Richard (Peevey) Le Grand really looks like. I always pictured someone looking more like Wally Cox!

Fernando Ruiz

8/18/2008 10:41:46 PM

Thanks for the Johnstone picture. The Shadow is one of my favorites, and Johnstone's portrayal was the best. Listening to the stories makes me want to go buy copies of The Shadow Magazine on eBay, but they're pretty expensive! Do you collect that sort of stuff, Greg?

Henry