Old Time Radio Lux Radio Theatre · J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency

Lux Radio Theatre - Alias The Deacon

March 14, 2026·57 min·5 clips

Cecil B. DeMille introduces a gambler called the Deacon, a modern Robin Hood with a deck of cards instead of a longbow.

Shelton is starting to glimmer a little. The Deacon, friendly and supposedly harmless at bridge, keeps winning often enough that Mrs. Clark begins getting her money back. Phyllis is working now, serving at the Clark Hotel from breakfast through dinner, though her evenings still drift toward walks with Johnny Sloan. Their path ends in an odd place. Under bright moonlight, Johnny stops beside a junkyard and presents it almost like an estate. Phyllis plays along politely. She calls it pretty, though the scrap heaps and wrecked autos need more imagination than praise. Johnny sees a business there. He wants to salvage parts, open a strictly secondhand supply shop, and make something useful from what other people left behind. The joke is in the math. The yard costs $250, and Johnny is short by $240. The romance sneaks in sideways. He does not lead with poetry. He leads with plans, figures, and the pleasure of picturing them with Phyllis nearby. She catches the meaning. When Johnny suggests better business might lead to talk about the two of them, she tells him to keep going. Then the timing turns funny. Just as the moment warms up, Johnny realizes he still does not know her last name. The scene jumps away. Andre, the barber, gets the Deacon ready for a shave, giving the town one more quick little exchange. The broadcast ends in its old formal style. The cast is named, Bob Burns is tied to an upcoming Paramount picture, the music direction is credited, and the Columbia Broadcasting System signs off.

As heard by us

A lively radio comedy of Shelton hustle, courtship, and Bob Burns's amiable Deacon.

Alias the Deacon stays with Bob Burns as the Deacon and settles into Shelton, where the town's everyday troubles start to feel like a rich source of comic business.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a jaunty radio caper with moonlit sparks and small-town hustle.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Old Time Radio Lux Radio Theatre