Maurice Tarplin (April 1, 1911, Boston, Massachusetts – May 12, 1975) was a novelist and a radio actor best known as the narrator of ''

The Mysterious Traveler ''The Mysterious Traveler'' was an anthology radio series, a magazine, and a comic book. All three featured stories which ran the gamut from fantasy and science fiction to straight crime dramas of Mystery fiction, mystery and suspense. Radio Wri ...

'', employing a voice once described as "eerily sardonic."

Radio

Tarplin was a familiar voice as Dr. Weird on ''

The Strange Dr. Weird ''The Strange Dr. Weird'' is a radio program broadcast on Mutual from 1944 to 1945. Sponsored by Adam Hats, the drama is notable in part because it was a sister series to '' The Mysterious Traveler'', both in theme and its narrator. Maurice T ...

'' and Inspector Faraday on ''

Boston Blackie Boston Blackie is a fictional character created by author Jack Boyle (1881–1928). Blackie, a jewel thief and safecracker in Boyle's stories, became a detective in adaptations for films, radio and television—an "enemy to those who make him an ...

''. He was heard on numerous other shows, including ''

Valiant Lady ''Valiant Lady'' is an American soap opera which ran daily on CBS radio and television from October 12, 1953, to August 16, 1957, at 12:00 PM (EST). The show's title was taken from a 1930s radio soap opera about a young woman struggling through ...

'',Buxton, Frank and Owen, Bill (1972). ''The Big Broadcast: 1920–1950''. The Viking Press. . p. 249. '' The Shadow'', ''Theater Five'', '' The March of Time'' (as Winston Churchill), ''

Gangbusters ''Gang Busters'' is an American dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on January 15, 1936, and was broadcast over 21 years through November 27, 1957. Hist ...

'' and various soap operas. He played Los Angeles District Attorney Richard Hanley on ''The Guiding Light''. On ''Myrt and Marge'' he played Barnie Belzer, and he was in several episodes of ''Tom Corbett, Space Cadet''.

Writing

Tarplin's novel, ''Seven Casks of Death'', was published in the June 1948 issue of ''Dime Mystery Magazine''.

Television and film

In later years, Tarplin did voiceovers for TV commercials and worked on the English language soundtracks for foreign films.

Personal life

Tarplin was married to Grace Tarplin and had two boys. His first marriage was to Catharine Selby Flygare in 1933. This marriage produced no children and ended during World War II. She died in 2010 at the age of 100.

References

Listen to

''The Strange Dr. Weird'' (28 1944–45 episodes)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarplin, Maurice American male radio actors 1975 deaths 1911 births 20th-century American male actors