The Whistler Project has been recognized as a "Special Collection" at The Internet Archive. All of the pages of the Project can be accessed at this link
https://archive.org/details/the-whistler-project?tab=collection
To return to The Whistler Files home page, click here.
The Whistler Log in Adobe Acrobat PDF format for viewing or downloading https://archive.org/details/WhistlerLog
Presentation by series researchers Dr. Joe Webb and Karl Schadow at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention (video, audio, slides can be viewed or downloaded) https://archive.org/details/WhistlerMANC2019 (though seven years old, this presentation remains a great resource for new and veteran Whistler fans).
Articles in Listener and Broadcasting Magazines are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format for downloading or viewing https://archive.org/details/WhistlerArticles
The Internet Archive allows on-site streaming and downloads of audio files. All files were submitted to the Archive as lossless FLAC recordings. The Archive website automatically creates MP3 audio files for those who want them for convenience or for use in various media players. Below are the links to the recordings grouped by year. There are often multiple recordings as The Whistler was also released by the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) and was also syndicated in the 1970s by Audio Arts. In some cases, especially at the end of the series, home aircheck recordings play an important role in series preservation as network recordings are often not available. The Whistler Log describes how this collection of recordings came to be, and the numerous collectors and researchers who generously made it possible.
1943-December to 1944 https://archive.org/details/Whistler43to44Signal
1945-January to March https://archive.org/details/Whistler1945JanuarytoMarch
1945-April to June https://archive.org/details/Whistler1945ApriltoJune
1945-July to September https://archive.org/details/Whistler1945JulytoSeptember
1945-October to December https://archive.org/details/Whistler1945OctobertoDecember
1946-January to March https://archive.org/details/Whistler1946JanuarytoMarch
1946-April to June https://archive.org/details/Whistler1946ApriltoJune
1946-July to September https://archive.org/details/Whistler1946JulytoSeptember
1946-October to December https://archive.org/details/Whistler1946OctobertoDecember
1947-January to March https://archive.org/details/Whistler1947JanuarytoMarch
1947-April to June https://archive.org/details/Whistler47ApriltoJune
1947-July to September https://archive.org/details/Whistler47JulytoSeptember
1947-October to December https://archive.org/details/Whistler1947OctobertoDecember
1948-January to March https://archive.org/details/Whistler1948JanuarytoMarch
1948-April to June https://archive.org/details/Whistler1948ApriltoJune
1948-July to September https://archive.org/details/Whistler1948JulytoSeptember
1948-October to December https://archive.org/details/Whistler1948OctobertoDecember
1949-January to March https://archive.org/details/Whistler1949JantoMarch
1949-April to June https://archive.org/details/Whistler1949ApriltoJune
1949-July to September https://archive.org/details/Whistler1949JulytoSeptember
1949-October to December https://archive.org/details/Whistler1949OctobertoDecember
1950-January to March https://archive.org/details/Whistler1950JantoMarch
1950-April to June https://archive.org/details/Whistler1950ApriltoJune
1950-July to September https://archive.org/details/Whistler1950JulytoSeptember
1950-October to December https://archive.org/details/Whistler1950OctobertoDecember
1951-January to March https://archive.org/details/Whistler1951JanuarytoMarch
1951-April to June https://archive.org/details/Whistler1951ApriltoJune
1951-July to September https://archive.org/details/Whistler1951JulytoSeptember
1951-October to December https://archive.org/details/Whistler1951OctobertoDecember
1952-January to March https://archive.org/details/Whistle1952JantoMarch
1952-April to June https://archive.org/details/Whistler1952ApriltoJune
1952-July to December https://archive.org/details/Whistler1952JulytoDecember
1954-January to June https://archive.org/details/Whistler1954JanToJune
1954-July to 1955-February https://archive.org/details/Whistler1954Julyto1955February
1955 National series https://archive.org/details/Whistler1955National
Historical background about these series are in The Whistler Log and on the Internet Archive pages
1946 Summer replacement series for The Jack Carson Show https://archive.org/details/WhistlerSummer1946
1946-1947 WBBM Chicago series, performed with an in-studio audience https://archive.org/details/WhistlerWBBM
1947-1948 Household Finance (HFC) series https://archive.org/details/WhistlerHFC
CBS Pacific Network would promote the series, as time allowed, with brief teases with Bill Forman speaking as the Whistler. They were very short in duration, usually 15 to 20 seconds. A handful have survived. They can be heard at https://archive.org/details/WhistlerPromos
The Jack Benny and Phil Harris - Alice Faye programs, and a Hollywood charity event, had fun lampooning the Whistler series and its mysterious narrator. Files can be streamed or downloaded https://archive.org/details/WhistlerParodies
American Radio Theater https://archive.org/details/WhistlerARTRecreations ; recreated two missing episodes. In 2013, they performed The Gingham Elephant of 1949-03-06, and in 2010 The Necklace was Incidental from 1948-06-09
Project Audion https://archive.org/details/WhistlerProjectAudion ; offered a recreation the missing 1952-01-13 Man from the Morgue in 2021. It's watching the video of the actors and sound effects artist as they create the performance.
The main collections of program scripts are at University of California at Santa Barbara. They are in the KNX Collection, the Pacific Pioneers of Broadcasting collection, and the archives of Marvin Miller and George W. Allen. Researchers should contact that institution for access to the widest and most official collections of scripts available.
The non-profit organization, The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Radio Drama, Variety, and Comedy (SPERDVAC), has a large collection of scripts that were donated to them by performers, technicians, and leadership of the series. SPERDVAC members can download scripts and access recordings as part of their membership (www.sperdvac.com)
Both organizations have been very helpful in the research behind The Whistler Project.
The Whistler Project has scripts outside of those archives that are available at the Internet Archive; they have been donated by collectors https://archive.org/details/WhistlerScripts
Images of labels are at https://archive.org/details/WhistlerDiscLabels
Whistler programs were recorded onto 16" discs as they were being broadcast. Each disc side was 15 minutes. The network archive discs did not always have labels, but had date and disc number handwritten in orange grease pencil (sometimes referred to as "a china marker" because it could write on non-paper surfaces). The Armed Forces Radio Service releases were taken from the transcription recordings, edited and mastered by AFRS production staff, and pressed into large 16" records that were shipped to AFRS radio stations around the world. Because of AFRS, many recordings have survived for which there are no network transcriptions available. This is especially the case for later in the series. It is possible that when CBS switched to recording tape that archived recordings were held for a period of time, and then the tape was erased and re-used, many programs lost in that process. This is why the AFRS transcriptions became so important for the preservation of many series, not just The Whistler.
Disc collector and expert Jerry Haendiges collected disc label photos of the discs he transferred and posted them on a special web page. This helped many researchers and collectors over the years. Other disc recordists sent Jerry their disc photos as well for his posting online. Many of Jerry's recordings are in The Whistler Project collection at Internet Archive.
Disc labels in this collection are also from many disc recordists whose audio files became part of The Whistler Project, including Jim Blackson, Travis Conner, Doug Hopkinson, Merrill Mabbs, and Don Ramlow.