Carl Amari returns to host 'WGN Radio Theatre' Sunday nights

Carl Amari

Carl Amari, who's been sharing his love of radio's golden age with listeners for four decades, is bringing back his weekly showcase of classic comedy and drama to WGN 720-AM.

Starting this weekend, "The WGN Radio Theatre with Carl Amari" will air from 7 to 9 p.m. Sundays (except when preempted by sports broadcasts) on the Nexstar Media news/talk station.

In its opening weeks, the show will feature vintage episodes of "The Jack Benny Program," "Gunsmoke," Lucille Ball's "My Favorite Husband," "Suspense" and "Fibber McGee and Molly."

To accommodate the new program, WGN has dropped "Sunday Standards with John Williams." The two-hour music show highlighting tunes from the Great American Songbook had been airing since June 2020.

“I’m so excited to be back in a regular time slot and airing two episodes from radio’s golden age on 'The WGN Radio Theatre' on Sunday nights,” said Amari, who previously hosted the weekly show from 2015 to 2020.

Amari also has been tapped to host “Christmas Radio Theatre,” a 27-hour marathon of holiday-themed old-time radio shows, airing from 7 p.m. December 24 through 10 p.m. December 25 on WGN.

It will be preceded from 5 to 7 p.m. Christmas Eve with "A Swingin' Christmas with Dave Plier." The host of WGN's "The Sinatra Hours" on Sunday mornings will feature holiday favorites from Andy Williams, Ray Coniff, Johnny Mathis, Percy Faith, Jackie Gleason and, of course, Sinatra. Guests will include Johnny Mathis and Deana Martin.

Amari’s return is the latest homecoming for the 58-year-old host, producer and syndicator, who often appeared as a guest with legendary WGN late-night host Eddie Schwartz. He later hosted a radio adaptation of “The Twilight Zone” drama series that aired at midnight Saturdays on WGN.

Along with co-host Lisa Wolf, Amari continues to host "Hollywood 360," a weekly old-time radio show syndicated to more than 100 stations nationwide. In the Chicago area it airs from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturdays on Salem Media news/talk WIND 560-AM.

Amari built an empire on old-time radio from modest beginnings in the basement studio of his family’s Schiller Park home. His credits included creating and syndicating “When Radio Was,” “Radio Movie Classics” and “Radio Super Heroes.” He sold his first company, Radio Spirits Inc., to Audio Book Club in 1998 for $12 million.

Tuesday’s comment of the day: Bruce Williams: I'm so glad that "Toon In With Me" is a success and I get to see it here at 11 p.m. also. A well-done show with people as talented as yesteryear's Ray Rayner, Frazier Thomas, etc. And that woman [Leila Gorstein] who plays Goldie Fisher and other characters was a real find for the show — of the same caliber as SNL folks.