T5's Music: Datz Exactly What We Need!

Alexander Vlas Datzenko... Fred Foy pronounced his name perfectly in the credits for each T5 episode, but the composer of the series signature music was not well known by the public. In the jazz community, he was known simply as composer and arranger "Al Datz." 

T5: Scripts! We Need Scripts!

"We're not trying to bring back anything," Ed Byron told Variety for its 1964-04-22 edition. "We want new scripts in contemporaneous terms." ABC hired Jack Wilson as story editor. He had a long pedigree as a radio writer for NBC starting in 1943 and continued there through 1958, and knew a good script when he saw one, and how to fix one when it needed fixing. And then there's the money: ABC was paying $400 a script, 40% higher than the writers union minimum. That translates into $3,600 in US$2021 terms.

Theater Five Starts Taking Shape: Ed Byron Takes the Helm

From August 1963 to March 1964, there was barely a peep out of ABC Radio about its radio drama plans. Then, word came out that Ed Byron was named as executive producer. This was a very big announcement that gave near-instant credibility to the endeavor.

The Mind's Eye: ABC declares its intent to bring original drama back to radio

The 1963-08-12 edition Broadcasting Magazine reported that ABC Radio announced its plans to introduce a new radio drama series, The Mind's Eye that Fall. It did not come to pass, but the behind-the-scenes efforts did result in the premiere of Theater Five in Summer 1964.

Welcome to Theater Five (or is it Theatre Five, Theater 5, or Theatre 5?)!

Believe it or not, each of those four names were correct at one time or another as far as ABC Radio, their publicity gurus, and the newspapers and trade magazines were concerned (and even their internal memos!). Whatever name is used, it's an underappreciated radio drama venture that ABC attempted in 1964 and 1965, and it deserves more attention among classic radio fans and collectors.