The Hermit's Cave was probably inspired by the success of another
OTR programme, The Witches tale, afterall it was based on the same
concept except it was an old man telling the stories instead of
an old woman. It developed a reputation for grisly sound effects
and
featured several notable future stars, most notably John Dehner
and William Conrad. Dehner was 28 when he played the hermit on the
West Coast Los Angeles version after 1942. Mel Johnson played the
hermit before him, and he was just 24 years old...yet Conrad was
the series producer at the ripe old age of 22.
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