The Avenger Part 2 – Tepperman & Radio

If you missed Part 1 …

Back-Up Status

“You who operate beyond the Law… you who seek to wreck the peace of America… Beware! I shall crush your power, destroy the vultures who prey upon the innocent and the unsuspecting. I…am…The Avenger!” Thus says Richard Benson on WHN Radio in New York City. The Avenger magazine may have stopped publishing in 1942 but the character of the man with the moldable face and hatred for crime did not.

Street & Smith, the publisher of The Shadow, Doc Savage and The Avenger, certainly never made a decision that wasn’t warranted by dollars. The Avenger magazine couldn’t bring in the dimes, but that didn’t mean the character was thrown on the scrap heap. Pulp magazines always needed back-up stories to fill out the pages after the “novels”, which were often between 20,000-60,000 words. The Avenger made this transition in his career. No longer written by Paul Ernst, who moved onto better things, Detective Pulp pro, Emile C. Tepperman took over the writing chores, producing five stories for Clues Detective Stories and one for The Shadow. This move to Clues meant the stories had to be more Mystery than anything else.

Emile Clemens Tepperman (1899-1951) got his start with Pulp in March 1934 with “Satan’s Scalpel”. He wrote several of The Spider novels as Grant Stockbridge and Operator #5 sagas as Curtis Steele. Becoming “Kenneth Robeson” shouldn’t have been a problem for a man who usually wrote under a house name anyway. He later worked as a scriptwriter on the Radio show Gangbusters.

Short Stories by Emile C. Tepperman

“Death to the Avenger” (Clues Detective Stories, Sep 1942) has Benson take on the Mob Boss, Gregorio Ruiz. He does this by kidnapping one of his goons to force the criminal’s hand. The Avenger plans to exchange the killer for a woman who witnessed the dumping of a body. Things go awry when Nellie gets taken as well.

“A Coffin For the Avenger!” (Clues Detective Stories, Nov 1942) has The Avenger take on another criminal, the Black Tulip. The villain tries to kill Benson and Nellie by placing their informant in a strait jacket and then speeding a car at them. A coffin company is behind the whole thing with Nazis running the show. You have to remember that in 1942 Pulps, the Nazis were behind everything.

“Vengeance on the Avenger” (Clues Detective Stories, Jan 1943) has The Avenger square off with Junius Jones in Deerchester.

“Calling Justice Inc.” (Clues Detective Stories, Mar 1943) matches Benson against Royce Haggard, notorious killer.

“Cargo of Doom” (Clues Detective Stories, May 1943) has The Avenger taking on the  tattooed man, Miguel Fatuma,a when a sailor is murdered on a submarine. More Nazis to bust!

“To Find a Dead Man” (The Shadow, Aug 1944) has The Avenger take out Egon Black and the Death Syndicate. This last story is unusual in that the author’s name is accurate and not the house name “Kenneth Robeson”. In Doc Savage circles, there was some buzz when Philip Jose Farmer used his real name for a super-saga, Escape From Loki (1991). Tepperman actually beat him to that distinction, though I suspect through error rather than insistence.

Tepperman lightened the team, using only Smitty, Mac and Nellie Gray. With only five thousand words a story, there isn’t room for six assistants. The naming of villains is often done with an eye to ethnicity, using Italian and Spanish names for the multitude of criminals in the city.

Radio

First Series

The Avenger came to Radio July 18, 1941 – November 3, 1942, largely as a prop for flagging sales. That the character should be performed on Radio is appropriate considering The Shadow, who started it all, began as a Radio personality. In the first series it was Richard Benson and Fergus “Mac” MacMurdie.This first version played while copies of the Paul Ernst novels were still on the newsstands. The actor who played Benson is not known but Humphrey Davis played Mac. Bill Zuckert may have played Benson later in the series. Maurice Joachim was the producer. The episodes were written by Paul Ernst and Henry Ralston.

Second Series

In the second series, October 25, 1945 – April 18, 1946, the producers played with the character, making him more like The Shadow and added gorgeous gal, Fern Collier. With the novels and short stories no longer around, the men making the show felt no real need to remain faithful to the original. One of the writers of these episodes was Walter B. Gibson, creator and writer of The Shadow. They had plenty of competition from other Radio heroes, and Gibson wanted to find an edge. The fact there were no more episodes after 1946 tells us he never succeeded.

In the second series, James Monks then Dick Janaver played the Avenger. Helen Adamson was Fern Collier. Charles Michelson was the producer. Along with Gibson, Gil and Ruth Braun wrote the episodes.

01 High Tide Murders (June 8, 1945)                     
02 Mystery Giant Brain (June 15, 1945)                   
03 Rendezvous With Murder (June 22, 1945)                  
04 Eyes of Shiva (June 29, 1945)                
05 Coins of Death (July 6, 1945)                  
06 Dead Man's Rock (July 13,1945)                  
07 Tunnel Disaster (July 20, 1945)                 
08 Crypt of Thoth (July 27, 1945)                
09 Melody of Murder (August 3, 1945)                   
10 The Firey Deaths (August 10, 1945)           
11 The Ghost Murder (August 17, 1945)             
12 The Blue Pearls (August 24, 1945)           
13 Wingate Heirs (August 31, 1945)           
14 Thoroughbred Murders (September 7, 1945)                
15 Department of Death (September 14, 1945)           
16 Keys of the City (September 21, 1945)           
17 Death in Mid-Air (September 28, 1945)          
18 Hooded Circle (October 5, 1945)           
19 Death Rings the Bell (October 12, 1945)           
20 The Subway Ghost (October 19, 1945)            
21 Cradle of Doom (October 26, 1945)          
22 Death Meets the Boat (November 2, 1945)            
23 Murder Hits the Jackpot (November 9, 1945)           
24 Diploma of Death (November 16, 1945)           
25 Shot in the Dark (November 23, 1945)          
26 Death Counts Ten (November 30, 1945)        

Conclusion

Taking a look at Radio heroes in the 1940s, the docket is pretty crowded. The Lone Ranger, Superman, The Green Hornet, The Falcon, Captain Midnight, and many, many more from the movies, the Pulps, the Comics. The Avenger left his mark but he wasn’t quite done yet. He would sleep for a few decades before the 1970s would bring him back….