It's 1938 in the Windy City and up-and-coming radio actress,
Vivian Witchell, is speaking the lead as Lorna Lafferty in
THE DARKNESS KNOWS at Chicago Radio Station WCHI. After
graduating from college, she and her BFF landed jobs there.
Vivian was secretary to the Station Chief, Mr. Hart. For
two years this petite strawberry-blond with doe-brown eyes
fought off passes from him. When Vivian decided she wanted
to try her hand at acting, she got several small acting jobs
and had a great scream. Her break came a week ago when
the star left DARKNESS to get married and start a family.
Although nothing ever happened between Vivian and Mr. Hart,
they were always the topic of gossip at the station. Rumors
claim she got the break through favors from her ex-boss,
which was not true. "On the Air" as Lorna Lafferly was her
dream come true.
She worked with handsome Graham Yarborough, an Errol Flynn
look-alike, (am I dating myself?), who played detective
Harvey Diamond, and they had several "photo dates" together.
Vivian just received her first mention in the CHICAGO
TATTLER, a section of the RADIO GUIDE. "Former secretary
at WCHI, Vivian Witchell gets rave reviews playing the
sidekick to popular gumshoe, Harvey Diamond, in the hit series
THE DARKNESS KNOWS. The two have been seen out on the town
together, and may be Radioland's newest couple?"
Marjorie Fox, star of the popular
family drama, THE GOLDEN YEARS passes Vivian in the hallway
and ignores her. She is an older actress, possibly on her
way out as Vivian's career is definitely on the way up,has
been rude and refuses to speak to her. She is very
unpopular with everyone at the station, and although her show
is the crown jewel there, she never has a kind word for
anyone at the station. Vivian finds her dead body in the
lounge, along with a note that indicates Vivian
may be next.
Vivian is questioned by the police and introduced to Charlie
Haverman, hired as a consultant on DARKNESS, as he is a real-
life Private Investigator. Mr. Hart wants the script to be
accurate. Charlie is a charmer, and now has to protect
Vivian. They begin to work together to find who done it.
They discover secrets, hunt for a motive, and who in the
cast of characters did it. The ending is unexpected and
quite cleaver. The HOT/sweet romance a nice addition and I
hope there will be more. Together they are adorable!
An accomplished debut by Cheryl Honigford who has done great
research into the Golden Age of Radio. I found her topic
extremely interesting and it kept me glued. Vivian is a
humorous character with a special charm that is all her own.
I loved Charlie who has his hands full keeping Viv safe and
in sight. They work well together and in the end the
murderer is unmasked. I see a sequel coming with these two,
soon, I hope.
It's October 1938, and radio is king. Vivian Witchell is
determined to be a star, and with her new role in the
popular detective serial The Darkness Knows,
everything she's dreamed of is finally within her grasp.
Until the night she steps into the employee lounge and
stumbles upon the body of the station's biggest--and most
reviled--actress. Clutched in the dead woman's hand is a
threatening letter that targets Vivian as the next victim.
Suddenly, Viv's biggest worry isn't remembering her
lines--it's staying alive.