Those Were The Days Encore
We invite you to listen to a complete 4-hour program from the 39-year run of Those Were The Days (1970—2009) hosted by Radio Hall of Famer Chuck Schaden. The encore programs that run on this page are exactly as first broadcast over the air. They contain vintage radio shows, special guests and commercials and messages as originally presented on WLTD, Evanston (May 2, 1970 thru July 31, 1975); on WNIB, Chicago (September 6, 1975 thru February 10, 2001) and on WDCB, DuPage County (February 3, 2001 thru June 27, 2009). Encores are selected by us and are available on demand 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week. Program selections are added every week on Wednesday, 6 a.m. Central Time.
Be sure to visit our Archives of TWTD Encores. If you’re a subscriber to this website, we’ll keep you posted. (See our Home Page to subscribe, free.) Thanks for listening.
NOW PLAYING
31ST ANNIVERSARY BROADCAST
Originally broadcast on WNIB
Saturday, April 28, 2001
GREAT GILDERSLEEVE (8-31-41) First show in the series. Harold Peary stars as Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, owner of the Gildersleeve Girdle Works in Wistful Vista, who goes to Summerfield to visit his nephew and niece and become administrator of his brother’s estate. He gets off on the wrong foot with Judge Hooker, who rules that Gildy must stay in Summerfield. Lurene Tuttle as Marjorie, Walter Tetley as Leroy, Earle Ross as Judge Hooker. Kraft Foods, NBC. (29 min)
GREAT GILDERSLEEVE (6-14-50) Harold Peary’s last appearance as Gildersleeve. The mayor of Summerfield asks the Water Commissioner take his vacation right away. Gildy rounds up the family for a cruise on a houseboat. Mary Lee Robb as Marjorie, Walter Tetley as Leroy, Cathy Lewis as Catherine Milford, Dick LeGrande as Peavy. Kraft Foods, NBC. (29 min)
GREAT GILDERSLEEVE (9-650) Willard Waterman’s first appearance as Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve. After a long vacation, Gildy returns to find Marjorie’s husband Broncho (Richard Crenna) sporting a black eye. Lillian Randolph as Birdie, Mary Lee Robb as Marjorie, Walter Tetley as Leroy, Arthur Q. Brian as Floyd Munson, the barber. Kraft Foods, NBC. (30 Min)
SPEAKING OF RADIO (11-6- 93) Willard Waterman, Shirley Mitchell and Mary Lee Robb, former stars of the Great Gildersleeve series, talk about the program and its cast in a conversation with Chuck Schaden recorded before a live studio audience at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in the Chicago Cultural Center. Willard Waterman died in 1995 at age 80.
GREAT GILDERSLEEVE (11-6-93) A re-enactment of a Gildersleeve program originally broadcast on March 28, 1943: “Gildy has Spring Fever” starring Willard Waterman, Shirley Mitchell, Mary Lee Robb and members of our Those Were The Days Radio Players, directed by Jed Skillman.
Updated: 4/28/26 9:55 P.M. C.S.T.
June 5, 2011 at 3:43 pm
This site is great, it brings back what I enjoyed listening to every Saturday at 1pm. Thanks Chuck! I’ll be a returning visitor.
June 28, 2011 at 2:39 pm
I am so happy to be able to hear Chuck’s shows again. Just listening to the first rerun made me remember what a great guy he is with a really funny scene of humor he had. The begining of the theme music show with Ken playing the wrong theme over and over was so funny! What a great team he had with Ken Alexander. How often will new reruns be on. The first one has been on for a couple of weeks now. I need a new Chuck fix.
July 6, 2011 at 11:52 am
Chuck –
Its wonderful to hear your voice and anecdotes/memories of the golden days of radio again.
I know you didn’t say you’re looking for requests for future programs, but I’ll try some anyway 🙂
1. In the 1970’s, one Saturday TWTD fell on Christmas Eve, and I distinctly remember listening to the normal 4-hour show, and being very presently surprised to hear you extend the show an extra 2 hours (between 5-7 PM);
2. I went to college out of the area in the early 1990’s and missed your retrospective on WWII. Would you consider adding some of those recordings to the TWTD Encore playlist?
Again, thanks so much for setting up this site!
Chris
July 6, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Chris, — I’m not sure about repeating the 6-hour Christmas show, but we’ll be beginning our WW II retrospective all over again in December, 2011 — the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. — Chuck
July 28, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Chuck,
I have listened to you off and on since your WLTD days when I was stationed at Fort Sheridan. Whenever I returned to the Chicago area for however long I looked up TWTD. The Internet changed all of that and so from Seoul, to Baghdad to Munich I have been able to “tune in”.
Thanks for your interest in the medium and keeping it alive for the rest of us – young and old. Speaking of Radio is the perfect encore – it is so good to hear you again.
October 6, 2011 at 9:34 am
I didn’t realize that the John Brown spotlight show was done the week that George Burns died. I was caught off guard when I heard you telling of George’s passing. I did remember listening to the show and the emotion that could be heard in your voice. Brings back memories of that day – loved hearing his version of “Ain’t Misbehavin'” again 🙂 I also realized how much I miss those “Metro Golden Memories” commercials – and the store!
November 18, 2011 at 7:17 pm
I have been listening to your radio show since I was a young child with my father. We would fall asleep listening to the great radio shows. I’m 29 now, with a child of my own and am so happy to find this website so I can carry on this tradition!
It’s a comfort to hear your voice, Chuck. Thank YOU for the memories!
December 3, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Hi Chuck,
Listener since 1981. Followed you around the dial and introduced my then 4 year old daughter to “Old Time” through you. She has been a fan ever since and is sharing with her 4 year old now via the Cinnamon Bear. So happy to have ‘found’ you again. Love listening to the rebroadcasts. Many great memories. Thanks Thanks Thanks for sharing.
December 7, 2011 at 9:07 am
Chuck, this is not my first E-mail to you, the first was back in 97 or so when the Internet was relatively new to most of us. Of course, I’m another longterm listener, from your first broadcast (goodness, the quality of the recordings certainly improved over the years!) until I left Chicagoland in April of 73, and then again much later after I found out about your Internet transmitted programs/broadcasts. As with all others (if its not all, something is radically wrong with them!) I and my brother Dan, who still resides in the Chicagoland area and heard your broadcasts forever, are sooooo grateful for you interest, dedication, and efforts. What more can be said – thank you very much.
December 20, 2011 at 11:41 am
Hi Chuck,
While I’m not old enough to remember listening to these great shows when they originally aired,I do remember spending so many Saturday afternoons
listening to your TWTD broadcasts back then, and falling in love with “old time radio”. Even more enjoyable is to be able to hear them in the context of the whole broadcast, with the inclusion of your narration and comments,the banter with Ken, and even the station breaks and commercials. In particular though,the concept of following the war timeline in a “real- time” sense was such a wonderful idea. You’re choice of shows and news related material really helps transport one back to those times, and to my mind, brings these TWTD broadcasts to a level equally as praise-worthy and special as the individual shows themselves. Thank you for helping create my own special memories back then, and the chance to enjoy them again. Think I need to go dig up my old copies of Nostalgia Digest to really complete the experience. Thank you ever so much, Jim
January 19, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Somewhere, I still have a record album of a Fred Allen Show from Christmas Day, 1932. The comedy skit is almost 80 years old, yet just as funny now as then. That says a lot for the writers.
March 5, 2012 at 11:11 pm
Is it correct that the [Those Were The Days] show was on 2 stations for 2 weeks? February 3rd and 10th, according to the note regarding the archives.
COMMENT FROM CHUCK: Yes. When WNIB was about to close (after being sold) we moved to WDCB and did a simulcast of our first two Those Were The Days programs on both WDCB and WNIB in order to help listeners find our new station.
May 17, 2012 at 3:30 pm
Recently, an “Inner Sanctum” show entitled “Death Demon” gave the broadcast date of July 19, 1948. Checking a reliable website that offers free listening to this and other “old time” radio shows, it was listed as July FIFTH of that year. As there was a commercial for Bromo Seltzer mentioning the Fourth of July, it does seem like the air date would be closer to the holiday.
May 18, 2012 at 9:50 am
COMMENT FROM CHUCK: You are right. The correct date of this Inner Sanctum program, as played on “Those Were The Days” May 16, 1992, is July 5, 1948.
June 2, 2013 at 8:02 pm
OMG! How is it that it took me this long to find you here? And, I get to hear my most favorite part that I love listening to while riding my bike or walking, Yesterday’s Newspaper. Thank you so much for doing that!
October 5, 2013 at 9:28 am
Love to hear more of my father, Jack Bivans!!♥♥♥
November 23, 2013 at 2:02 pm
Chuck,
It is great to hear these encore programs. You started out giving us radio shows that triggered fond memories of our youth and now you give us encore shows reminding us of those Saturday afternoons we listened to your program. Those were fond memories too. Somehow, you made the window washing, leaf raking, car repairing, and other jobs go easier. I still remember what I was doing when I heard a particular Jack Benny show or Bob Hope broadcast.
Thanks Chuck. Keep up the good work.
December 5, 2013 at 11:15 am
How nice to hear this Christmas program again! I was surely listening 20 years ago as I never missed a weekend with Chuck, the gang and old time radio fun! Chuck’s program inspiried me to share OTR with my children who were very young in those days. Those traditions live on to this day in our home every holiday season. We crank up the old record player and listen to my Christmas collection of 78’s. The Cinnamon Bear is one of our favorites too! And of course, “Those Were the Days” programs to entertain us while we decorate, bake and wrap presents. Lots of great memories! Thank you Chuck!
January 24, 2014 at 9:22 pm
Just want to tell you what a delight it is to be able to hear your old shows. I listened to your show from its inception and still tune in on Saturdays. We all miss hearing your voice but are so glad the show is still on the air. Thanks again for your site.
March 1, 2014 at 5:12 pm
Chuck, I look forward to these monthly visits back to TWTD programs. I remember listening to most of them and its hard to believe some were broadcast when my daughters were in grade school and now they are married and have children. I am also glad Steve and Ken are carrying on with the show. It is still the best way to enjoy a Saturday afternoon. Please , don’t ever stop.
Thanks for the wonderful memories
June 7, 2014 at 12:19 pm
Since yesterday was the anniversary, I thought I would see if your encore broadcast was about D-Day. I was not disappointed. Listened to the broadcast from 1994 EXACTLY 20 years later. How I love this site!
Is it possible to get some of the older WLTD shows and maybe a Hall Closet Show or two on occasion put on the site? Would enjoy hearing those immensely as well.
DC
April 21, 2015 at 5:52 pm
Chuck, you have done us all a great service in your four year coverage of World War II. This was brought home most clearly as I listened again to your coverage of President Roosevelt’s death on April 12, 1945. Thank you so much.
January 21, 2016 at 2:27 pm
Am listening to the George Burns Centennial and I remember listening to it when it was first broadcast! I usually enjoy listening to your commercials for the MGM shop, etc., but the George Burns record giveaway I remember well. My mom stood in line so that she could be one of the 50 people to receive one of the free records and she even wrote that on the inside record sleeve. This is one of the reasons I love listening to these 4 hour broadcasts here. I absolutely loved that store and hearing Ken’s commercials and you chatting about special promotions takes me back. How I miss that place…
January 12, 2017 at 12:30 pm
this is the first entry for the 1997 year group…..
JANUARY 4th, 1997 – ADVENTURES BY MORSE
“The Cobra King Strikes Back” Chapters 1 thru etc.
however when I click on it January 11th 1972 programming comes up.
how do I get January 4th program?
January 17, 2017 at 8:36 am
I always look forward to the new entries on the TWTD archives. Thank you for this feature. You do, however, have some errors on the last entry of 1971 and the first two entries of 1972. Some program numbers are duplicated and also 1972 program text is duplicated.
May 31, 2017 at 10:15 pm
I’m inventing a new (should be) catch phrase: “The internet ain’t fair!” I don’t know how many times in the past I searched for “interviews with radio actors, or voice actors, or how many different combonations I tried, but never did this site come up!” I “discovered “Old Time Radio” about 10 years ago, and it’s now my main form of entertainment. In fact, I’ve developed a passion for what I call a great art form (voice acting and the production of radio dramas) NOW, I could fill a dozen pages with stories, but now that I’ve found this site I’m gonna absorb as much of it as I can. I’ve been a radio listener and fan all of my life, but I was born just a couple years too late for the “Golden Age” (CLOSE, but not close enough)THANK YOU for this site as it is clearly hard and time consuming work to maintain. Please keep it up, and someday I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing to help keep this art form from being forgotten. (I don’t have a domain name yet, but will soon)
March 19, 2018 at 5:27 am
Always look forward to reading and listening to TWTD archives…my husband and I are both huge fans of old time radio…have your book Chuck..getting a little tattered around the edges from the reading and rereading of it..have accumulated quite a few old radio episodes over the years and we especially enjoy them while camping in the summer..what a treasure trove of talent came out of those old shows..thank you and all others like you for keeping it alive!!
December 2, 2024 at 7:14 am
I was listening to Those Were The Days in 1999, so I remember a lot of these old broadcasts. Still listening in 2024. Ken Alexander, R.I.P.
May 7, 2025 at 9:15 am
I so enjoy listing to “Those Were The Days” on Vintage Broadcast. I remember my mom listening to the radio as a little girl. It’s great to hear them again, it brings back memories. Between phones and TV, kids have lost the chance to use their imaginations that radio affords us.
Thank you, Chuck