The Greatest Story Ever Told

The Greatest Story Ever Told was based on the book of the same year by Fulton Oursler and came to ABC for Goodyear Tires on January 26, 1947. It was an ambitious show with a full orchestra and a sixteen-voice chorus, dramatizing the life of Jesus Christ, "the greatest life ever lived". The Greatest Story Ever Told was the first radio series to simulate the voice of Christ as a continuing character. Warren Parker played the part although none of the show's actors were ever promoted as "stars". Oursler, then religious editor of Reader's Digest, kept a strong interest in the show, meeting weekly with writer Henry Denker before scripts were prepared. Oursler and Denker often discussed ideas in terms of modern problems, then found a corollary in the life of Christ and emerged with a theme. Denker, a long-time student of the Bible, held additional meetings with clergy of all faiths. The show was additionally guided by an inter-denominational advisory board. The stories quite effectively captured the essence of Oursler's book, a beautifully simple, popular dramatization of Christ's life as set down by four apostles.