Lou Merrill
Encyclopedia
Lou Merrill was an American
actor
, primarily in radio
from the 1930s through the 1950s.
He was with Lux Radio Theater
as a utility supporting player in nearly every broadcast from 1937-1939 (notably as Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
), also serving as an assistant director handling the crowd scenes during that time; he continued to work the show sporadically until 1953. Other radio shows in the '30s included roles in the children's Christmas
series The Cinnamon Bear
(as Santa Claus
), the crime drama Big Town
(as various gangsters and a stand-in for Edward G. Robinson
as Steve Wilson), the soap opera
Those We Love (as con man Ed Neely), and The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air
. He later worked for Arch Oboler
on Arch Oboler's Plays and Lights Out
.
In 1941, he starred as the Nemo-like Captain Craig McKenzie in the now mostly lost sci-fi series Latitude Zero
and 12 years later, would star on the true crime anthology drama series Crime Classics
. Merrill played Thomas Hyland the host/narrator with a fascination in crime, playing the role deadpan but with subtle humor. Radio comedy
appearances included Point Sublime (a regular as jeweler Aaron Saul) and Abbott and Costello
(guesting as Santa Claus
) and the Life of Riley as Punchy (a punch drunk ex-prize fighter). He also appeared on Escape
, The Man Called X
, Suspense
, NBC University Theater, On Stage
, The CBS Radio Workshop
, Rogue's Gallery, and The Six Shooter
.
In his later years, Merrill continued doing voice-over work, regularly doing film trailer narration work for American International Pictures
. Merrill narrated trailers for films such as It Conquered the World
, I Was a Teenage Werewolf
, War of the Colossal Beast
, Teenage Cave Man
, Night of the Blood Beast
, A Bucket of Blood
, Horrors of the Black Museum
, The Angry Red Planet
, Master of the World
, and Burn, Witch, Burn
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, primarily in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
from the 1930s through the 1950s.
He was with Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
as a utility supporting player in nearly every broadcast from 1937-1939 (notably as Sleepy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
), also serving as an assistant director handling the crowd scenes during that time; he continued to work the show sporadically until 1953. Other radio shows in the '30s included roles in the children's Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
series The Cinnamon Bear
The Cinnamon Bear
The Cinnamon Bear is an old time radio program produced by Transco , based in Hollywood, California. The series was specifically designed to be listened to six days a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas....
(as Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
), the crime drama Big Town
Big Town
Big Town is a popular long-running radio drama series which was later adapted to both film and television and a comic book published by DC Comics.-Radio:...
(as various gangsters and a stand-in for Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
as Steve Wilson), the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Those We Love (as con man Ed Neely), and The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air
The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air
The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air was a musical-variety radio series for children, sponsored by Pepsodent and heard on NBC. Broadcast from the Disney Little Theater on the RKO lot from January 2 to May 15, 1938, the program was created to promote the February 1938 release of Snow White and the...
. He later worked for Arch Oboler
Arch Oboler
Arch Oboler was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, and director who was active in radio, films, theater, and television. He generated much attention with his radio scripts, particularly the horror series Lights Out, and his work in radio remains the outstanding period...
on Arch Oboler's Plays and Lights Out
Lights Out (radio show)
Lights Out is an extremely popular American old-time radio program, an early example of a network series devoted mostly to horror and the supernatural, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum...
.
In 1941, he starred as the Nemo-like Captain Craig McKenzie in the now mostly lost sci-fi series Latitude Zero
Latitude Zero
, is a 1969 tokusatsu film. It was directed by Ishirō Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya . The story was written by Ted Sherdeman, writer on the 1954 science-fiction film, Them! , and starred Joseph Cotten, Cesar Romero, Akira Takarada, Masumi Okada, Richard Jaeckel,...
and 12 years later, would star on the true crime anthology drama series Crime Classics
Crime Classics
Crime Classics was a U. S. radio docudrama which aired as a sustaining series over CBS from June 15, 1953, to June 30, 1954.Created, produced, and directed by radio actor/director Elliott Lewis, the program was a historical true crime series, examining crimes and murders from the past...
. Merrill played Thomas Hyland the host/narrator with a fascination in crime, playing the role deadpan but with subtle humor. Radio comedy
Radio comedy
Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketches and various types of comedy found on other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be conveyed on a small budget with just a few sound effects or some...
appearances included Point Sublime (a regular as jeweler Aaron Saul) and Abbott and Costello
Abbott and Costello
William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 1950s...
(guesting as Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
) and the Life of Riley as Punchy (a punch drunk ex-prize fighter). He also appeared on Escape
Escape (radio program)
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high-adventure radio dramas, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed...
, The Man Called X
The Man Called X
The Man Called X was an espionage radio drama which aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944 to May 20, 1952. Herbert Marshall had the lead role of agent Ken Thurston who took on dangerous cases in a variety of exotic locations. Gordon Jenkins Orchestra supplied the background music.Leon Belasco...
, Suspense
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...
, NBC University Theater, On Stage
On Stage
On Stage may refer to:*On Stage , a 1970 live album by Elvis Presley*On Stage , a 1974 live albums by Loggins and Messina*On Stage , a 1977 live album by Rainbow...
, The CBS Radio Workshop
The CBS Radio Workshop
The CBS Radio Workshop was an experimental dramatic radio anthology series that aired on CBS from January 27, 1956, until September 22, 1957. Subtitled “radio’s distinguished series to man’s imagination,” it was a revival of the earlier Columbia Workshop, broadcast by CBS from 1936 to 1943, and it...
, Rogue's Gallery, and The Six Shooter
The Six Shooter
The Six Shooter was a weekly old-time radio program in the United States. It was created by Frank Burt, who also wrote many of the episodes, and lasted only one season of 39 episodes on NBC . Through March 21, 1954 it was broadcast Sundays at 8 p.m...
.
In his later years, Merrill continued doing voice-over work, regularly doing film trailer narration work for American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
. Merrill narrated trailers for films such as It Conquered the World
It Conquered the World
It Conquered the World is a 1956 American science fiction film about an alien from Venus trying to take over the world with the help of a disillusioned human scientist. It was directed by Roger Corman, written by Lou Rusoff , and starred Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally...
, I Was a Teenage Werewolf
I Was a Teenage Werewolf
I Was a Teenage Werewolf is a 1957 horror film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult. It was co-written and produced by cult film producer Herman Cohen, and was one of the most successful films released by American International Pictures...
, War of the Colossal Beast
War of the Colossal Beast
War of the Colossal Beast is a 1958 black-and-white science fiction film, directed by Bert I. Gordon and produced by Carmel Productions and distributed by American International Pictures. It continued the storyline of the 1957 movie The Amazing Colossal Man, although it was not marketed as a direct...
, Teenage Cave Man
Teenage Cave Man
Teenage Cave Man is the name of a 1958 science fiction film directed by Roger Corman. It was shot as Prehistoric World, but was changed by American International Pictures to its final title. Years later in an interview, Corman stated "I never directed a film called Teenage Caveman"...
, Night of the Blood Beast
Night of the Blood Beast
Night of the Blood Beast is a 1958 American science-fiction horror film about a team of scientists who are stalked by an alien creature, which implants its embryos in an astronaut's body during a space flight. Produced by B movie filmmaker Roger Corman and his brother Gene, the film was one of the...
, A Bucket of Blood
A Bucket of Blood
A Bucket of Blood is a 1959 American comedy horror film directed by Roger Corman. It starred Dick Miller and was set in beatnik culture. The film, produced on a $50,000 budget, was shot in five days, and shares many of the low-budget filmmaking aesthetics commonly associated with Corman's work....
, Horrors of the Black Museum
Horrors of the Black Museum
Horrors of the Black Museum is a British horror film starring Michael Gough and directed by Arthur Crabtree.It was the first film in what film critic David Pirie dubbed Anglo-Amalgamated's "Sadian trilogy" , with an emphasis on sadism, cruelty and violence , in contrast to the supernatural...
, The Angry Red Planet
The Angry Red Planet
The Angry Red Planet is a 1959 science fiction film starring Gerald Mohr and directed by Ib Melchior. The director was given only 10 days to shoot the movie and a budget of $200,000 with which to make it.The movie was made with a CineMagic technique which was applied for all of the scenes on the...
, Master of the World
Master of the World (1961 film)
Master of the World is a 1961 science fiction film based upon the Jules Verne novels Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World. The movie stars Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, and Henry Hull, was written by Richard Matheson, and directed by William Witney.The film was an attempt by American...
, and Burn, Witch, Burn
Night of the Eagle
Night of the Eagle is a 1962 British horror film directed by Sidney Hayers. The script by Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson and George Baxt was based upon the 1943 Fritz Leiber novel Conjure Wife. The film was retitled Burn, Witch, Burn! for the US market .-Synopsis:Norman Taylor , a...
.