PHILLIPS H. LORD

Phillips Haynes Lord was an American radio program writer, creator, producer and narrator as well as a motion picture actor, best known for the Gang Busters radio program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1957.

Lord was born in the small town of Hartford, Vermont, the son of a Protestant clergyman. He was still an infant when his family moved to Meriden, Connecticut, where his father accepted the pastorship of a local church. As a boy, Lord spent his summers with relatives in Maine, and after completing high school he studied at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, before going to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. While still in college he established myriad businesses, including a book-selling operation, a shoe repair service, and a taxi cab company.

After graduation, the 22-year-old was hired as the principal at the high school in the small town of Plainville, Connecticut, reportedly the youngest person in the United States to ever hold such a position. He soon grew bored with the job and headed to New York City, where, after a series of jobs in publishing, he began writing scripts for radio.