ESCAPE!

LOU KRUGMAN
PAUL FREES
WILLIAM CONRAD
ROY ROWAN

"Escape!" was a hosted horror / science fiction / action - 30 minute episode radio anthology series; which ran from 7 July 1947 until 25 September 1954; with three different actors hosting the series - William Conrad, Paul Frees and Lou Krugman. The announcer was usually Roy Rowan. The program's opening announcement - "Tired of the everyday grind?" WILLIAM CONRAD From IMDB: William Conrad was born on 27 September 1920 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA and passed away on 11 February 1994 in North Hollywood, LosAngeles, California, USA. Conrad became a television star relatively late in his career. In fact, the former Army Air Corps World War II fighter pilot began his screen career playing heavies. He was Max, one of The Killers (1946) hired to finish off Burt Lancaster in his dingy lodgings. He was the corrupt state inspector Turck working for the syndicate in The Racket (1951). He was a mobster in Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), the murderous gunslinger Tallman in Johnny Concho (1956) and sleazy nightclub owner Louie Castro who claimed to be 60% legitimate in Cry Danger (1951). When not essaying outright villainy, Bill played characters like the tough fight promoter Quinn in Body and Soul (1947) or the doom-laden province commissioner in The Naked Jungle (1954). The portly, balding, crumple-faced, self-confessed gourmand had an ever-present weight problem (at one time 260 lbs.) which proved to be a natural obstacle to progressing to more substantial leading film roles. That, however, didn't hinder a very successful career in radio. In fact, Bill himself estimated that he had played in excess of 7,000 radio parts. Even if that was an exaggeration, his gravelly, resonant voice was certainly heard on countless broadcasts from "Buck Rogers" to "The Bullwinkle Show", from portraying Marshall Matt Dillon in "Gunsmoke" on the radio (before James Arness got the part on screen) to narrating the adventures of Richard Kimball in the television program The Fugitive (1963). In "The Wax Works", an episode of the anthology series "Suspense" (1949) in 1956, he voiced each and every part. Since his corpulence effectively precluded playing strapping characters like Matt Dillon, Bill began to concentrate on directing and producing by the early 1960's. This, ironically, included episodes of Gunsmoke (1955). In 1963, he contributed to saving 77 Sunset Strip (1958) for yet another season. Later in the decade, he produced and directed several films for Warner Brothers, including the thriller Brainstorm (1965) with Jeffrey Hunter and Anne Francis. He returned to acting in 1971 to become the unlikely star of the Quinn Martin production Cannon (1971), for which he is chiefly remembered. Bill imbued the tough-talking, no-nonsense character of Frank Cannon with enough humanity and wit to make the series compelling but, despite the show's popularity, he made his views clear in a 1976 Times interview that he found himself poorly served by the scripts he had been given. A planned sequel, The Return of Frank Cannon (1980) failed to get beyond the movie-length pilot, but the actor's popularity resulted in anothe starring role in Jake and the Fatman (1987) as District Attorney McCabe, co-starring with Joe Penny) and a brief run as eccentric detective Nero Wolfe (1981). Conrad was one of the actors who played "The Hermit" on the hosted horror radio anthology "The Hermit's Cave". Conrad was also the narrator of the horror /science fiction television series "Tales of the Unexpected"; and the narrator of the horror television anthology series "Escape". A self-effacing man with a good sense of humor and never afraid to speak his mind, Bill Conrad died of heart failure in February 1994. He was elected to the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and (posthumously) to the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997. PAUL FREES From IMDB: Born Solommon Hersh Frees on 22 June 1920 in Chicago, Illinois, USA; Paul Frees died on 2 November 1986 in Tiburon, California, USA. Frees was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during the Golden Age of Animation, and for providing the voice of Boris Badenov in "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show". Frees was sometimes known as "The Man of a Thousand Voices", an appellation more commonly bestowed on Mel Blanc. Frees was also one of the hosts of the 1942 - 1962 radio anthology series "Suspense"; and host of the 1952 anthology radio series "The Black Book". LOU KRUGMAN From IMDB: Lou Krugman was born on 19 July 1914 in Passaic, New Jersey, USA and died on 8 August 1992 in Burbank, California, USA. Krugman was a character actor. During his career he participated in numerous episodes of television series such as guest star or secondary character and several feature films for the cinema, including "Sabaka - The Demon of Fire" (1954), in which he played the maharajah of Bakore, one of the protagonists; and "On the Sidewalks" (1950). He also worked on radio and collected hundreds of participations in television commercials as a voiceover. His last appearance on the small screen was in the episode "The House on Willis Avenue" of the television series "Agency Rockford", which aired on 24 February 1978, which saw him in the role of Sam Detonis, while for the big screen the last interpretation dates back to the film "Inchiesta Dangerous" (1968) in which he played the brief role of a reporter. ROY ROWAN From IMDB: Roy Rowan was born on 25 January 1920 in Paw Paw, Michigan, USA; and died on 10 May 1998 in Encino, California, USA. He became an announcer for CBS Radio, eventually leaving to freelance for CBS television starting with "I Love Lucy" (1951-57) and "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" (1957-60). After "I Love Lucy" ran its course of 179 shows, Rowan worked for Ball on 156 episodes of "The Lucy Show" (1962-68), and 144 segments of "Here's Lucy" (1968-74). When there was a voice coming from a television, radio, or loudspeaker, it generally belonged to Rowan. Rowan eventually became part-owner of radio stations in Las Vegas, Stockton and San Jose. In 1968 he joined the media brokerage firm Blackburn & Co. and headed its Beverly Hills office for 22 years, handling the sales of television stations and hundreds of radio stations. When Blackburn closed its West Coast offices, Rowan formed Rowan Media Brokers in Encino. Below is the episode "Three Skeleton Key" from the series:

LINKS

Internet Movie Data Base "William Conrad"	Wikipedia "Escape!"	Radio Horror Hosts "Escape!"
Screaming Eye Press "Escape!"	Internet Movie Data Base "Paul Frees"	Internet Movie Data Base "Lou Krugman"
Internet Movie Data Base "Roy Rowan"	Wikipedia "Lou Krugman"	OTR Network Library "Escape"
Paper Moon Loves Lucy "Roy Rowan"	Wikipedia "William Conrad"	Wikipedia "Paul Frees"

Back to the USA

Send mail to:
professor@hotkey.net.au  
with questions or comments about this web site.
Page Content Copyright 2016 Paul Gerard Kennedy