Lamont Cranston and The Shadow

Lamont Cranston is the best-known civilian identity of The Shadow, one of the mystery heroes of 1930s American popular culture. The character first appeared on radio in 1930 as the mysterious narrator of Detective Story Hour. His popularity encouraged publisher Street & Smith to launch The Shadow Magazine in 1931, with stories written by Walter B. Gibson.

In the original pulp novels, matters were complicated: The Shadow was actually aviator and adventurer Kent Allard, who sometimes adopted the identity of Lamont Cranston. For the famous radio drama, however, Cranston became The Shadow’s true identity—a rich, sophisticated man-about-town who secretly fought criminals.

The radio series began in 1937, with Orson Welles portraying Cranston. His companion, Margo Lane, played by Agnes Moorehead, was one of the few people who knew his secret. The radio Shadow possessed the hypnotic ability to “cloud men’s minds,” making himself invisible while confronting villains.

Episodes opened with the unforgettable question, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” followed by the sinister reply, “The Shadow knows!” Combining crime, suspense, supernatural mystery and theatrical sound effects, the series became popular and helped establish the masked, double-life crime-fighter later familiar in comic books and cinema.