Originally broadcast on Mutual, 29 April 1952. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
The run
- Network
- NBC
- Years active
- 1935–1953
- Surviving broadcasts
- 745
- Genre
- theatre
The Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, then later changing to NBC, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising.
1953 · 131952 · 32
Restoration quality — measured from the surviving files
Listenable · 45 of 45
Source collection
Old Time Radio Researchers Group
Rights
Public domain — no renewed US copyright
Cataloguing
Air dates and notes from the Archive item record
Every broadcast below carries its own provenance sheet — transfer quality, file source and rights.Archive record: OTRR_Cavalcade_of_America_Singles
The shape of the run
What survives, year by year
12 dated broadcasts across 19 years on the air, with 17 years where nothing is known to survive. Brightness is transfer quality; empty cells are months lost to time.
JFMAMJJASOND
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
Clean transferListenableRough but complete No surviving recording
Episodes
Start here
Listen to the run in order
Restored broadcasts from 1952, in original transmission order.
- 1. CALV 735 Adventure on the Kentucky · 11 Mar 1952
- 2. CALV 736 The Marine Who Was 200 Years Old · 18 Mar 1952
- 3. CALV 737 Breakfast at Nancy's · 25 Mar 1952
CALV 781 A Time to Grow
31 Mar 1953 · 29 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 31 March 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
CALV 780 One Came Through
24 Mar 1953 · 24 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 24 March 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
CALV 779 The River Finds a Master
17 Mar 1953 · 26 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 17 March 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
CALV 778 The Secret Road
10 Mar 1953 · 28 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 10 March 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
CALV 777 Star and the Shield
3 Mar 1953 · 29 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 3 March 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
CALV 776 Life on the Mississippi
24 Feb 1953 · 28 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 24 February 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
CALV 775 Dangerous Mission
17 Feb 1953 · 26 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 17 February 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
CALV 774 Operation Miracle
10 Feb 1953 · 30 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 10 February 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Same night on the air
29 Apr 1952
Everything else the archive still holds from the night of 29 Apr 1952.
Originally broadcast on CBS, 29 April 1952. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Originally broadcast on CBS, 29 April 1952. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Originally broadcast on Mutual, 29 April 1952. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Also on NBC
NBC in 1935–1953
Other series the network carried while Cavalcade of America was on the air.
Same seasons
theatre on the air then
Series in the same genre whose runs overlapped this one.
What it became
Theatre of the mind
Full-cast drama with a live orchestra and a studio full of sound effects. Lux Radio Theater and the CBS Radio Workshop are the direct ancestors of scripted podcast fiction.
Lineage is written by our editors, not inferred from listening data.
Descendants
Working in the tradition of Cavalcade of America
Modern series carrying this form forward.
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