Superman - Clark Kent Reporter

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Superman on Radio
Superman on Radio The Adventures of Superman

"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"

"Look! Up in the sky!"
"It's a bird!"
"It's a plane!"
"It's Superman!"

"Yes, it's Superman - strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman - defender of law and order. champion of equal rights, valiant, courageous fighter against the forces of hate and prejudice, who disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way."

The above signature was heard in many variations over the airwaves, and has become as much a part of the public's perception of Superman as his blue, red and yellow costume. What most people don't know, is that this widely recognised opening did not originate from the 4-color pages of Superman comics, but rather on the long-running adventures serial that was one of the hallmarks of the Golden Age of Radio.

We all know that Superman first appeared in 1938 within the pages of Action Comics #1, but much of the mythology associated with Superman and many of the supporting cast of characters originated in his radio adventures. Daily Planet characters such as Perry White and Jimmy Olsen, along with Inspector Bill Henderson, were originally created for the radio series. Superman first discovered his greatest weakness, Kryptonite, in his radio adventures long before it appeared within the pages of the Superman comics. He also regularly teamed up with Batman and Robin on radio before the trio joined forces in the comic books. The radio series' influence also extended to the big screen. The Fleischer Superman movie-cartoons were nominated for Academy Awards, and featured voices from the cast of the radio series, while the screenplays of Columbia's 1948 and 1950 Superman movie serials were adapted from the radio program rather than from the stories within the comic books.

Up, Up and Away!

Superman first flew onto the radio airwaves on Monday, 12 February, 1940 as a transcribed series for Hecker's H-O Oats. DC's press agent Allen Ducovny and former pulp fiction author Robert Joffe Maxwell developed the new series. The two were quick to realise that Superman's popularity could be boosted by the vast radio audiences.

In 1939, Maxwell and Ducovny prepared several sample audition disks to sell the idea to prospective sponsors, co-writing the first version of Superman's famous opening signature: "Faster than an airplane, more powerful than a locomotive, impervious to bullets. 'Up in the sky - look!' 'It's a giant bird.' 'It's a plane.' 'It's SUPERMAN!' And now, Superman - A being no larger than an ordinary man but possessed of powers and abilities never before realised on Earth: able to leap into the air an eigth of a mile at a single bound, hurtle a 20-story building with ease, race a high-powered bullet to its target, lift tremendous weights and rend solid steel in his bare hands as though it were paper. Superman - a strange visitor from a distant planet: champion of the oppressed, physical marvel extraordinary who has sworn to devote his existence on Earth to helping those in need." "We had a lot of fun writing that opening," Ducovny once said. "It was a typical radio action piece that fully utilized sound effects."

The new show was purchased by Hecker's H-O Oats, who tried to buy time on the networks but were turned down. Nevertheless, Hecker's bought airtime on ten stations and distributed the prerecorded series on 16-inch "electrical transcription" disks. Superman achieved a Crossley rating of 5.6 ten weeks after its debut, the highest rating of any thrice-weekly juvenile program on the air. Frank Chase produced the early episodes of Superman, George Ludlum scripted, and a repertory of the finest actors in New York radio was assembled. Ned Wever (CBS's Bulldog Drummond) and Agnes Moorehead (The Shadow's "lovely Margot Lane") portrayed Jor-L and Lara, Superman's Kryptonian parents in the premier broadcast, with Jay Josten (Mr. District Attorney) as Rozan. Other early episodes featured the versatile Santos Ortega (Nero Wolfe) and future movie star Frank Lovejoy (radio's Blue Beetle). The success or failure of the series would largely rest upon the actor chosen to portray the dual leads. Bob Maxwell was afraid he might have to hire an actor to play both of Superman's personalities, unless he could obtain the services of a particular who initially wanted nothing to do with Superman.