Sirius XM Radio Wishes Peter Lorre a Happy Birthday!

One hundred and twelve years ago, on June 26, 1904, Alois and Elvira Loewenstein welcomed the birth of their son László, in Rozsahegy, Hungary.

Today, László Loewenstein is known as Peter Lorre, a European and American actor who enjoyed a decades-long career, beginning with the stage and moving on to radio, screen, and finally television from the 1920s up to his death on March 23, 1964.

Beginning Sunday, June 26, 2016, and continuing throughout the week, Radio Classics channel host Greg Bell salutes Peter with his annual “Love for Lorre” birthday tribute.

For two hours, Lorre fans can enjoy four of Peter’s old-time radio performances – two episodes from Peter’s own 13-week summer series Mystery in the Air, "The Mask of Medusa" (Sept. 4, 1947) and "The Queen of Spades" (Sept. 11, 1947); an episode of the anthology series Suspense, "Of Maestro and Man" (July 20, 1944), and finally, a guest appearance on Jack Benny’s show The Lucky Strike Program, "I Stand Condemned" (Mar. 24, 1946).

The Lorre tribute will air these dates and times –

Sunday, June 26 ~
7 pm Pacific, 10 pm Eastern

Tuesday, June 28 ~
1 am Pacific, 4 am Eastern

Thursday, June 30 ~
1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern

Satellite radio providers XM and Sirius air Radio Classics over channel 148. Subscribers may also listen to the programs over the internet. Log-in with your User ID and password. Not a subscriber? A free 30-day trial is also available through the XM radio website.

The life and career of Peter Lorre is chronicled in the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre by Stephen D. Youngkin, who began his research in the 1970s and interviewed Peter’s brothers Andrew and Francis, his first wife Celia Lovsky, his sister-in-law Barbara through his second wife Karen Verne, his daughter Catherine Lorre, friends, fellow actors, and the directors, producers, and crew who worked with him throughout his career.

These interviews shed light on Peter’s childhood, his early days in theater, his career on film, radio, and television, and his sad final days.

The Appendix of The Lost One includes the most complete list available of Peter’s credits – radio, film, stage, and television.

The Lorre radio programs airing this week in honor of Peter’s birthday are available through many merchants. Many of Peter’s movies, as well as some of his television appearances, are available on DVD.

Published in 2005 through University Press of Kentucky, The Lost One is available in hard-cover, soft-cover, Amazon’s Kindle, and Barnes and Noble’s Nook.