The Court of Missing Heirs

The Court of Missing Heirs is an American old-time radio human interest drama. It was broadcast on CBS October 11, 1937 - September 29, 1942 and on ABC March 31, 1946 - April 6, 1947. It also went by the titles The Board of Missing Heirs and Are You a Missing Heir?[1]

The Court of Missing Heirs
Other namesThe Board of Missing Heirs
Are You a Missing Heir?
GenreHuman interest drama
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Home stationWBBM
SyndicatesABC
CBS
Written byIra Marion
Directed byJohn Loveton
Charles Harrell
Rodney Erickson
Produced byWilson Meade
Alfred Shebel
Narrated byJames Marshall
Original releaseOctober 11, 1937 (1937-10-11) – April 6, 1947 (1947-04-06)

Format

Each episode of The Court of Missing Heirs featured two dramatizations of real-life situations involving people who died leaving estates that had been unclaimed.[2]

After having handled probate cases that involved unclaimed estates,[3] attorney James Waters originally planned to use the concept of finding missing heirs in a book. When publishing companies rejected his manuscript, he adapted the idea to radio.[1] Waters and Alfred Shebel used actual court records to conduct the research for each episode.[4] In 1942, the program reached the $1 million mark in helping people collect legacies that had been unclaimed.[5]

The program originated at WBBM in Chicago, Illinois.[6]

Personnel

The program had no continuing characters. Actors frequently heard on it included Walter Kinsella,[7] Kenny Delmar, Jeanette Nolan, Everett Sloane, and Carl Frank. The narrator was James Marshall.[1]

Everard Wilson Meade[8] and Alfred Shebel were producers. Directors were John Loveton, Charles Harrell,[1] and Rodney Erickson.[9] Ira Marion was the writer, and Rosa Rio provided the music.[1]

Selected cases resolved by the program
  • 1936 - A nephew of Michael Cusack, who died in Chicago, was located in regard to an approximately $6,000 estate.[2]
  • 1940 - Mrs. Myrtle Garvey Juranics received $4,000 from the unclaimed estate of her husband.[10]
  • 1941 - The son and daughter of Joseph J. Hoagland received approximately $4,500 after his death.[11]

Producer and director Tim Whelan based the RKO film Seven Days' Leave (1942) on an episode of The Court of Missing Heirs that he heard. The film included scenes of a broadcast of the program.[12]

Joseph Spalding's 1942 play Spider Island features a character, Star Mayo, who learns from The Court of Missing Heirs program that she has inherited Spider Island and wants to claim her property.[13]

In 1943, producers Waters and Shebel sued Herbert and Dorothy Fields, writers of the play Something for the Boys, charging plagiarism. An article in the May 8, 1943, issue of Billboard reported that Walters and Shebel "allege that the idea of the show starring Ethel Merman was stolen from their program."[14] 20th Century Fox, which produced a film version of the play and had "a financial interest in the show", was also a defendant.[14]

References
  1. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
  2. "Court of Missing Heirs' Is Now Heard Over Station KGNC Monday Nights at 8:15". The Amarillo Globe-Times. Texas, Amarillo. October 26, 1937. p. 5. Retrieved April 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "WHP Begins New Series on Unclaimed Estates". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. December 19, 1939. p. 17. Retrieved April 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Court of Missing Heirs Is on KGNC". The Amarillo Globe-Times. Texas, Amarillo. October 18, 1937. p. 5.
  5. "Radio Show Creator Dies". The Kansas City Times. Missouri, Kansas City. Associated Press. April 1, 1954. p. 14. Retrieved April 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Chicago". Radio Daily. December 8, 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  7. Lesser, Jerry (January 10, 1942). "Radio Talent: New York" (PDF). Billboard. p. 9. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  8. "On All Accounts". Broadcasting. September 19, 1949. p. 18. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  9. "On All Accounts". Broadcasting. October 10, 1949. p. 14. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  10. "Missing Heirs Court Shifts Time Tuesday". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. July 6, 1940. p. 16. Retrieved April 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Court of Missing Heirs". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska, Fairbanks. October 4, 1941. p. 1. Retrieved April 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Whelan Snatches Movie Theme From Air Program". The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah, Salt Lake City. October 6, 1942. p. 16. Retrieved April 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Spider Island. Samuel French, Inc. 1942. p. 3. ISBN 9780573630101. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  14. "Fields, Cole Up for Exam on 'Something'" (PDF). Billboard. May 8, 1943. p. 10. Retrieved 17 April 2017.

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