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The Man Called X is an espionage radio drama that aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944, to May 20, 1952.[1] The radio series was later adapted for television and was broadcast for one season, 1956–1957.
Herbert Marshall had the lead role of agent Ken Thurston/"Mr. X", an American intelligence agent[2] who took on dangerous cases in a variety of exotic locations.[1] Leon Belasco played Mr. X's comedic sidekick, Pegon Zellschmidt,[1] who always turned up in remote parts of the world because he had a "cousin" there. Zellschmidt annoyed and helped Mr. X.
Jack Latham was an announcer for the program,[2] and Wendell Niles was the announcer from 1947 to 1948.[1][3] Orchestras led by Milton Charles, Johnny Green, Felix Mills,[2] and Gordon Jenkins supplied the background music.[1] William N. Robson was the producer and director. Stephen Longstreet was the writer.[4]
The Man Called X replaced America — Ceiling Unlimited on the CBS schedule.[5]
The series was later adapted to a 39-episode syndicated television series (1956–1957) starring Barry Sullivan as Thurston for Ziv Television.[6]
Season 1 (1956)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "For External Use Only" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Ladislas Farago Teleplay by : Stuart Jerome, Harold Swanton, and William P. Templeton | January 27, 1956 |
| 2 | 2 | "Ballerina Story" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heideman | February 3, 1956 |
| 3 | 3 | "Extradition" | Eddie Davis | Ellis Marcus | February 10, 1956 |
| 4 | 4 | "Assassination" | William Castle | Stuart Jerome | February 17, 1956 |
| 5 | 5 | "Truth Serum" | Eddie Davis | Harold Swanton | February 24, 1956 |
| 6 | 6 | "Afghanistan" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heidman | March 2, 1956 |
| 7 | 7 | "Embassy" | Herbert L. Strock | Laurence Heath and Jack Rock | March 9, 1956 |
| 8 | 8 | "Dangerous" | Eddie Davis | George Callahan | March 16, 1956 |
| 9 | 9 | "Provocateur" | Eddie Davis | Arthur Weiss | March 23, 1956 |
| 10 | 10 | "Local Hero" | Leon Benson | Ellis Marcus | March 30, 1956 |
| 11 | 11 | "Maps" | Eddie Davis | Jack Rock | May 4, 1956 |
| 12 | 12 | "U.S. Planes" | Eddie Davis | William L. Stuart | April 13, 1956 |
| 13 | 13 | "Acoustics" | Eddie Davis | Orville H. Hampton | April 20, 1956 |
| 14 | 14 | "The General" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heideman | April 27, 1956 |
Season 2 (1956–1957)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1 | "Missing Plates" | Eddie Davis | Jack Rock | September 27, 1956 |
| 16 | 2 | "Enemy Agent" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Gene Levitt | October 4, 1956 |
| 17 | 3 | "Gold" | Eddie Davis | Jack Laird | October 11, 1956 |
| 18 | 4 | "Operation Janus" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Jack Rock and Art Wallace | October 18, 1956 |
| 19 | 5 | "Staff Headquarters" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heideman | October 25, 1956 |
| 20 | 6 | "Underground" | Eddie Davis | William L. Stuart | November 1, 1956 |
| 21 | 7 | "Spare Parts" | Eddie Davis | Jack Laird | November 8, 1956 |
| 22 | 8 | "Fallout" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Arthur Weiss | November 15, 1956 |
| 23 | 9 | "Speech" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Ande Lamb | November 22, 1956 |
| 24 | 10 | "Ship Sabotage" | Eddie Davis | Jack Rock | November 29, 1956 |
| 25 | 11 | "Rendezvous" | Eddie Davis | Ellis Marcus | December 5, 1956 |
| 26 | 12 | "Switzerland" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heideman | December 12, 1956 |
| 27 | 13 | "Voice On Tape" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman | December 19, 1956 |
| 28 | 14 | "Code W" | Eddie Davis | Arthur Weiss | December 26, 1956 |
| 29 | 15 | "Gas Masks" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Jack Rock | January 3, 1957 |
| 30 | 16 | "Murder" | Eddie Davis | Lee Berg | January 10, 1957 |
| 31 | 17 | "Train Blow-Up" | Eddie Davis | Ellis Marcus | February 6, 1957 |
| 32 | 18 | "Powder Keg" | Jack Herzberg | Les Crutchfield and Jack Rock | February 13, 1957 |
| 33 | 19 | "Passport" | Eddie Davis | Norman Jolley | February 20, 1957 |
| 34 | 20 | "Forged Documents" | Eddie Davis | Charles Mergendahl | February 27, 1957 |
| 35 | 21 | "Australia" | Lambert Hill | Jack Rock | March 6, 1957 |
| 36 | 22 | "Radio" | Eddie Davis | George Callahan | March 13, 1957 |
| 37 | 23 | "Business Empire" | Leslie Goodwins | Herbert Purdum and Jack Rock | March 20, 1957 |
| 38 | 24 | "Hungary" | Eddie Davis | Fritz Blocki and George Callahan | March 27, 1957 |
| 39 | 25 | "Kidnap" | Eddie Davis | George Callahan | April 4, 1957 |
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