Road Of Life


Road of Life was a popular radio soap opera, produced by Procter and Gamble, featuring the story of Dr. Jim Brent. While on rounds, the intercom would sound "Dr. Brent... call surgery... Dr. Brent... call surgery..." The series began in 1937 and ended on radio in 1959. A concurrent television run began in 1954. Irna Phillips developed the program. Its appeal was its more natural dialogue compared to other soap operas, and that the characters aged over the years. Listeners heard Brent as an intern, as a physician and surgeon, and through all of the life challenges he faced through friendships and marriages. These episodes from the Hehn collection are new to circulation and represent most all of the episodes from the final days of December 1944 to the first two days of March 1945. Most of these recordings are direct from the original transcriptions. Based on newspaper research and program content, Brent was played by Ken Griffin at this time, and his wife, Carol, was played by Maybelle Prindaville. The announcer is Clayton Collyer, better known as "Bud" Collyer, radio's Clark Kent / Superman. Many remember Collyer as the host of the TV game show To Tell The Truth . In support of the efforts of the Joe Hehn Memorial Collection to preserve these Road of Life episodes, the 501(c)(3) non-profit Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy ( SPERDVAC ) magazine Radiogram featured a four-part series of articles about the program. The organization has gathered these articles and has made a PDF file that can be downloaded from this page in the regular manner or by using this link : https://archive.org/download/RoadOfLifeJHMC/Road%20of%20Life%20SPERDVAC%20Radiogram%202021.pdf The Joe Hehn Memorial Collection thanks the SPERDVAC organization and the author of the articles, Mr. Larry Maupin, for making this important background information available to visitors of this Road of Life page. * * * 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 includes 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.

Chapters

Musical Themes - file 1 6:50
Musical Themes - file 2 6:46
1944-12-27 1905 Dr. Brent Inquires About His Son 14:40
1944-12-28 1906 Dr. Frasier Refuses to Attend to Emergency Patient 14:47
1944-12-29 1908 Dr. Frasier Told Get Out of the Operating Room 14:43
1945-01-03 1911 Carol Argues With Her Aunt About Divorcing Jim 14:44
1945-01-04 1912 John Argues With Jim About the Emergency Surgery 14:38
1945-01-05 1913 John Speaks With Dr. Frasier About Jim's Expulsion 14:22
1945-01-08 1914 Carol Boards Train For Reno to Get Divorced 14:47
1945-01-15 1915 Jim Asks John Not to Interfere 14:45
1945-01-16 1916 Dr. Frasier Prepares a Cover-Up 14:31
1945-01-17 1917 A Chat Between Nurse Sylvia and Dr. Brent 14:54
1945-01-18 1918 Carol Arrives in Reno 14:39
1945-01-19 1919 Carol Has a Nightmare 14:36
1945-01-22 1920 Jim Has Dinner With Sylvia 14:38
1945-01-23 1921 Dr. Brent Not Worried About Ethics Board 14:31
1945-01-24 1922 Carol Speaks With a Divorcee 14:25
1945-01-25 1923 Ethics Committee Meeting Begins 14:41
1945-01-26 1924 Tom Parsons Testifies 14:43
1945-01-29 1925 Tom Parsons Testimony Thrown Out 14:26
1945-01-30 1926 Nurse Palmer Testifies 14:38
1945-01-31 1927 Ethel Lanear Testifies 14:25
1945-02-01 1928 Jim and John Wait For a Decision 14:28
1945-02-02 1929 Dr. Brent Found Guilty 14:37
1945-02-05 1930 Jim Tells John of the Guilty Verdict 14:31
1945-02-06 1931 Carol Reminisces 14:37
1945-02-07 1932 Jim Reflects On His Life 14:47
1945-02-08 1933 Ethel Lanear Confronts Dr. Frasier 14:48
1945-02-09 1934 Pauline Urges Carol to Get A Lawyer 14:38
1945-02-12 1935 Carol Sees a Lawyer 14:22
1945-02-13 1936 Carol's Jealousy 14:35
1945-02-14 1937 Judy Evans Visits Dr. Brent 14:33
1945-02-15 1938 Jim Visits Bill at the Sanitarium 14:39
1945-02-16 1939 Jim and Sylvia Discuss Bill's New Treatment 14:27
1945-02-19 1940 Bill Begins His New Treatment 14:41
1945-02-20 1941 Bill Better After Treatment 14:42
1945-02-21 1942 Preliminary Divorce Proceedings Begin 14:36
1945-02-22 1943 Carol Spends the Day With Her Lawyer 14:34
1945-02-23 1944 Jim Requests More Equipment for the Sanitarium 14:38
1945-02-26 1945 Dr. Brent Meets Madeleine Post 14:24
1945-02-27 1946 Dr. Brent Meets Madeleine's Mother 14:27
1945-02-28 1947 Dr. Brent Makes an Appointment With Augustus Post 14:26
1945-03-01 1948 Augustus Post Turns Down Dr. Brent's Request 14:41
1945-03-02 1949 Dr. Brent Finds a New Benefactor 14:38