J. Donald Wilson

John Donald Wilson (June 5, 1904 – January 26, 1984) was a radio and film writer, producer, and voice actor, born in Kansas City, Missouri.

He created the title character in the radio series The Whistler,[1] a show that he wrote.[2] His other radio writing, producing, and directing work included The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe,[3] The Adventures of Bill Lance,[3] and Dark Venture.[3]

He did voice work in radio in the 1930s. He voiced Mickey Mouse in select 1938 broadcasts of The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air[4] as well as other characters in Disney productions such as The Reluctant Dragon.[5] He was the announcer on Strange As It Seems and Charlie Chan.[6] After more than a decade of acting on radio, he became production head of ABC and later was promoted to vice president.[7]

In 1952, Wilson produced Mystery Theater, a Friday night television program in Los Angeles. In the era of live TV, when holding TV programs to their intended durations was a problem, Wilson was noted for keeping Mystery Theater on time by using techniques that he had practiced with radio programs. Reading scripts aloud ahead of time and marking where optional cuts could be made provided the ability to adapt if a program began to run long.[7]

He was known for his work on films such as The Whistler[8][9][10] and Key Witness.[11]

He inverted his first and middle names so as not to be confused with Don Wilson, the announcer on The Jack Benny Program. In 1938, it was announced that he had adopted the name Norman Wilson,[6] but at some point he went back to J. Donald Wilson.

He was married to Loraine Wilson, who sued him for divorce in 1948 over numerous affairs, including one with his secretary Tania Karl.[12] Wilson was later married to Christine McIntyre.[13] He reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown in 1946, but was soon back at work.[14] He died in 1984.[15]

References
  1. Cox, Jim (2015-06-14). Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1227-0.
  2. Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, Volume 2. ISBN 0786429429, 9780786429424.
  3. Dunning, John (1998-05-07). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-19-984045-8.
  4. Korkis, Jim (2014). The Book of Mouse: A Celebration of Mickey Mouse. Theme Park Press. ISBN 978-0984341504.
  5. RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1929-1956. ISBN 978-1-4766-1683-4
  6. "Behind the Mike". Broadcasting. 1938-01-01. p. 50 – via Proquest.
  7. Ames, Walter (March 4, 1952). "Tenney, Kenny Feud Moves to Video Tonight; Wilson Using Radio Technique on TV Film". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. p. 20. Retrieved March 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Blottner, Gene (2011-12-22). Columbia Pictures Movie Series, 1926-1955: The Harry Cohn Years. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8672-4.
  9. Erickson, Hal (2014-05-23). From Radio to the Big Screen: Hollywood Films Featuring Broadcast Personalities and Programs. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1558-5.
  10. Wilk, Ralph (1944-04-10). "Los Angeles" (PDF). Radio Daily. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  11. Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. 1947.
  12. "Radio's Don Wilson Sued for Divorce". Pasadena Independenti. 1948-01-30. p. 40 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Obituaries". Variety. 316 (1). 1984-08-01. p. 71 – via Proquest.
  14. "Production" (PDF). Broadcasting & Telecasting. 1946-04-22. p. 60. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  15. "Necrology of 1984". Variety. 317 (12). 1985-01-16. p. 232 – via Proquest.
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