“Happy Birthday, Dear Shadow!”
On this day in 1930 The Shadow first aired on the radio, as the announcer of Detective Stories, and the announcer proved to be more popular than the show, leading to the creation of the character we know and love. The show became famous for its trademark opening line: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows…" and drew a listening audience of about 15 million a week during its peak. At least six different actors played the Shadow during the show’s 25 years. Orson Welles played the Shadow (and was the first to voice Lamont Cranston) from 1937 to 1938 for a whopping $185 a week.
The classic Shadow pulps are back, as we’ve mentioned several times here at ComicMix.