The Bishop and the Gargoyle is a 30-minute old-time radio crime drama in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was broadcast on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Blue network September 30, 1936 - January 3, 1942. The program was unique in being a radio network prime-time drama with a church leader as its central character.

Format

Episodes of ''The Bishop and the Gargoyle'' focused on the combined crime-fighting efforts of a retiring bishop of a church and a convict called the Gargoyle. As a member of the parole board at

Sing Sing Prison Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

, the Bishop met and befriended the Gargoyle. In return, the inmate helped the bishop "to track criminals and bring them to justice." Radio historian John Dunning wrote in ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio'', "They became friends and, after the Gargoyle's release, formed a crime-fighting duo, with the Bishop supplying the spiritual guidance and the Gargoyle the muscle. An advertisement for the program in the October 2, 1940, issue of the trade publication ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described the two characters as follows:

There's the Bishop, for example. A retired gentleman of the cloth — cultured, benevolent and infinitely wise; a man whose worldly grasp and shrewd wit are no less strange than his hobby of crime detection! The Gargoyle, on the other hand, is an ex-lawbreaker — "retired" through the Bishop's persuasion. The Gargoyle's untiring loyalty and direct, elemental approach to the facts and conditions of life is a constant source of polite astonishment to the Bishop.

Personnel

Richard Gordon portrayed the bishop; Milton Herman first had the role of the Gargoyle, with

Ken Lynch Kenneth E. Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was an American radio, film, and television actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been bes ...

replacing him later.Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 43. Joseph Bell was the director, and Frank Wilson was the writer.

Adaptation

On November 29, 1941, NBC-Television presented "The Item of the Scarlet Ace" (an episode of ''The Bishop and the Gargoyle'') as an early experiment in TV broadcasting.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop and the Gargoyle, The 1936 radio programme debuts 1942 radio programme endings 1930s American radio programs 1940s American radio programs NBC Blue Network radio programs American radio dramas