# The Man Called X

The Man Called X is an espionage radio drama that aired on CBS and NBC from July 10, 1944, to May 20, 1952. The radio series was later adapted for television and was broadcast for one season, 1956–1957.

## People

Herbert Marshall had the lead role of agent Ken Thurston/"Mr. X", an American intelligence agent who took on dangerous cases in a variety of exotic locations. Leon Belasco played Mr. X's comedic sidekick, Pegon Zellschmidt, who always turned up in remote parts of the world because he had a "cousin" there. Zellschmidt annoyed and helped Mr. X.
Jack Latham was an announcer for the program, and Wendell Niles was the announcer from 1947 to 1948. Orchestras led by Milton Charles, Johnny Green, Felix Mills, and Gordon Jenkins supplied the background music. William N. Robson was the producer and director. Stephen Longstreet was the writer.

## Production

The Man Called X replaced America — Ceiling Unlimited on the CBS schedule.

## Television

The series was later adapted to a 39-episode syndicated television series (1956–1957) starring Barry Sullivan as Thurston for Ziv Television.

## Episodes
### Season 1 (1956)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | 1 | "For External Use Only" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Ladislas Farago Teleplay by : Stuart Jerome, Harold Swanton, and William P. Templeton | January 27, 1956 (1956-01-27) |
| 2 | 2 | "Ballerina Story" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heideman | February 3, 1956 (1956-02-03) |
| 3 | 3 | "Extradition" | Eddie Davis | Ellis Marcus | February 10, 1956 (1956-02-10) |
| 4 | 4 | "Assassination" | William Castle | Stuart Jerome | February 17, 1956 (1956-02-17) |
| 5 | 5 | "Truth Serum" | Eddie Davis | Harold Swanton | February 24, 1956 (1956-02-24) |
| 6 | 6 | "Afghanistan" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heidman | March 2, 1956 (1956-03-02) |
| 7 | 7 | "Embassy" | Herbert L. Strock | Laurence Heath and Jack Rock | March 9, 1956 (1956-03-09) |
| 8 | 8 | "Dangerous" | Eddie Davis | George Callahan | March 16, 1956 (1956-03-16) |
| 9 | 9 | "Provocateur" | Eddie Davis | Arthur Weiss | March 23, 1956 (1956-03-23) |
| 10 | 10 | "Local Hero" | Leon Benson | Ellis Marcus | March 30, 1956 (1956-03-30) |
| 11 | 11 | "Maps" | Eddie Davis | Jack Rock | May 4, 1956 (1956-05-04) |
| 12 | 12 | "U.S. Planes" | Eddie Davis | William L. Stuart | April 13, 1956 (1956-04-13) |
| 13 | 13 | "Acoustics" | Eddie Davis | Orville H. Hampton | April 20, 1956 (1956-04-20) |
| 14 | 14 | "The General" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heideman | April 27, 1956 (1956-04-27) |

### Season 2 (1956–1957)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 15 | 1 | "Missing Plates" | Eddie Davis | Jack Rock | September 27, 1956 (1956-09-27) |
| 16 | 2 | "Enemy Agent" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Gene Levitt | October 4, 1956 (1956-10-04) |
| 17 | 3 | "Gold" | Eddie Davis | Jack Laird | October 11, 1956 (1956-10-11) |
| 18 | 4 | "Operation Janus" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Jack Rock and Art Wallace | October 18, 1956 (1956-10-18) |
| 19 | 5 | "Staff Headquarters" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heideman | October 25, 1956 (1956-10-25) |
| 20 | 6 | "Underground" | Eddie Davis | William L. Stuart | November 1, 1956 (1956-11-01) |
| 21 | 7 | "Spare Parts" | Eddie Davis | Jack Laird | November 8, 1956 (1956-11-08) |
| 22 | 8 | "Fallout" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Arthur Weiss | November 15, 1956 (1956-11-15) |
| 23 | 9 | "Speech" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Ande Lamb | November 22, 1956 (1956-11-22) |
| 24 | 10 | "Ship Sabotage" | Eddie Davis | Jack Rock | November 29, 1956 (1956-11-29) |
| 25 | 11 | "Rendezvous" | Eddie Davis | Ellis Marcus | December 5, 1956 (1956-12-05) |
| 26 | 12 | "Switzerland" | Eddie Davis | Leonard Heideman | December 12, 1956 (1956-12-12) |
| 27 | 13 | "Voice On Tape" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Leonard Heideman | December 19, 1956 (1956-12-19) |
| 28 | 14 | "Code W" | Eddie Davis | Arthur Weiss | December 26, 1956 (1956-12-26) |
| 29 | 15 | "Gas Masks" | Eddie Davis | Story by : Teleplay by : Jack Rock | January 3, 1957 (1957-01-03) |
| 30 | 16 | "Murder" | Eddie Davis | Lee Berg | January 10, 1957 (1957-01-10) |
| 31 | 17 | "Train Blow-Up" | Eddie Davis | Ellis Marcus | February 6, 1957 (1957-02-06) |
| 32 | 18 | "Powder Keg" | Jack Herzberg | Les Crutchfield and Jack Rock | February 13, 1957 (1957-02-13) |
| 33 | 19 | "Passport" | Eddie Davis | Norman Jolley | February 20, 1957 (1957-02-20) |
| 34 | 20 | "Forged Documents" | Eddie Davis | Charles Mergendahl | February 27, 1957 (1957-02-27) |
| 35 | 21 | "Australia" | Lambert Hill | Jack Rock | March 6, 1957 (1957-03-06) |
| 36 | 22 | "Radio" | Eddie Davis | George Callahan | March 13, 1957 (1957-03-13) |
| 37 | 23 | "Business Empire" | Leslie Goodwins | Herbert Purdum and Jack Rock | March 20, 1957 (1957-03-20) |
| 38 | 24 | "Hungary" | Eddie Davis | Fritz Blocki and George Callahan | March 27, 1957 (1957-03-27) |
| 39 | 25 | "Kidnap" | Eddie Davis | George Callahan | April 4, 1957 (1957-04-04) |