 Elliott Lewis. Elliott Lewis, also known as Mr. Radio, was born November 28, 1917 in New York City. He first made his mark as an actor, writer, producer, and director on radio in the late 1930s. Elliott Lewis, who became Phil Harris' Frank Remley, was also one of the most talented men in radio. He began with bit parts on the Jack Benny program. He later acted straight roles and produced several shows, including Suspense in the early 1950s. Lewis is a lost jewel of acting. A superb dramatic actor on radio shows like Suspense, he reached his comic height on the Phil Harris Alice Fay show, playing Frank Remley, Harris' guitarist in the band. Together, Lewis and Harris could rip the side off a virgin building with their dialogue, or dig into each other like earth loaders. Elliott Lewis as Frank Remley was the band's left-hand guitar player, with a sardonic sense of humor out of left field. The director was first done on the Jack Benny show, and of course, now on a show about the band itself, Franky was even more obnoxious. And you should have seen the lead imp, Franky. The last time I saw him, he was crawling around on the floor, biting people in the leg. He was not. He was just giving somebody a hot foot. Of course, I'll admit that Franky enters into the spirit of those things a little more than anybody else. In fact, the way he carried on last night, I doubt if he'll ever be... Hiya, Curly. Remley. Are you still alive? I don't know. The coroner's report hasn't come in yet. Well, party last night, wasn't it? After you left, we had a great time up to three o'clock, but then it quieted down. What happened? The veterinarian came in and gave us all this temperate shot. Stop exaggerating. I'm not exaggerating, Alice. It was... Guess my shot's starting to wear off. Elliott Lewis played the character with relish. In fact, later in the run, they actually started calling the character Elliott. Elliott Lewis changes his name on the show from Frankie Remley to Elliott, because Harris stopped leading Jack Benny's band, so he wasn't connected to Remley anymore. Elliott Lewis said, In one week, I did 20 shows. I was doing the Harris show as an actor. I was producing and directing suspense. I was producing, directing, editing, writing openings and closings, and co-starring in On Stage. I was producing and directing Broadway as my beat. And I was producing, directing and writing the openings and closings and editing crime classics. In contrast to his prodigious radio career in which he worked either alone or in tandem with his first wife, Kathy Lewis, from 1943 until his divorce from her in 1958, his movie career, like those of most radio actors of the period, wasn't nearly as prolific, with only three films to his credit. After Kathy and Elliott had divorced, Mary Jane Croft, who appeared semi-regularly on each of Lucille Ball's three self-titled television shows, and Elliott Lewis, found themselves to be kindred spirits. They knew the same people, went to the same parties, and laughed at the same jokes. They began dating and quickly realized they were very much in love. They were married in 1960, and until Elliott's death 31 years later were one of the happiest couples in show business. His voice was also heard on Gordon Jenkins' classic recording of Manhattan Tower with Deca Records in 1945. As the 1950s wore on, he drifted away from acting to concentrate on the writing, producing and directing end of the business. After the golden age of radio ended, Lewis moved to TV as a producer of such shows as the Lucille Ball Show in 1962, The Mother's in Law in 1967, and he was director of all but one episode of the final season of Petticoat Junction. However, radio remained his first love, and he continued to direct his original radio play well into the 1970s. After a long and successful career, Elliott Lewis died of cardiac arrest on May 23, 1990, in Glen Eddon Beach, Oregon. Information for this audio clip came from your audio series descriptions moderator, Roger Hoenbrink. This audio clip is provided by the Old Time Radio Researchers Group, a group of volunteers dedicated to preserving radio's past. I'm your announcer, Doug Hopkinson.