7, 8,9, 10, 12-11, 14-13, 16-15, 18-17, 20-19,22-21, 24-23, 26-25, 28-27, 30-29, 33-31, 36-34,
39-37,42-40, 45-43, 48-46, 51-49, 54-52, 57-55, 60-58, 65-61, 70-66, 71-75, 76-80,
6) Gale Gordon
For fans of classic television, Gale Gordon earned a reputation for playing crochety authority figures. He was the second Mr. Wilson on the classic Dennis the Menace series and in his association with Lucille Ball in programs like Theodore Mooney in The Lucy Show and Harrison Carter in Here’s Lucy.
Some of this began over radio with his role of Osgood Conklin in Our Miss Brooks as Rudolph Atterberry. However as memorable as these roles were (particularly Conklin), Gordon’s repertoire was more multi-faceted than that. He was the first actor to play Flash Gordon over the radio. He played Mayor La Trivia on Fibber McGee and Molly. He also was chosen to play the suave amateur detective Gregory Hood in 1946 for Petri Wine and Mutual. There were countless other appearances in a wide variety of character roles that established Gordon as equally talented as a dramatic and comedic actor on programs ranging from Tarzan to Burns and Allen, and Suspense.
To be sure, his performances as Osgood Conklin were inspired and some of radio’s most hilarious performances, but when taken with the amazing depth and breadth of Gordon’s radio performances, he earn the sixth highest spot on our countdown.
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Conrad’s great overarching claim to radio fame is a significant one. He played the role of Marshall Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke for its entire 9 year run. Gunsmoke began its run after radio in 1952 after television had eclipsed radio as a profit making enterprise Nevertheless, Gunsmoke began its long run and also spawned a slew of new adult Westerns in the latter 1950s and Conrad played a large part in that. He also became a symbol of television’ shallowness when he was denied the ability to continue in the Dillon role on television due to his weight.
