Carlton E. Morse

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Carlton Errol Morse (June 4, 1901 – May 24, 1993) was a Louisiana-born writer and radio producer best known for creating the popular radio soap One Man's Family, which ran from 1932 to 1959. He also created the mystery-adventure series I Love a Mystery and published several novels. Many consider him one of the best radio scriptwriters.

Early life
Carlton Morse was born in Jennings, Louisiana, to George A. and Ora Morse. He had two brothers. In 1906 his family moved to Talent, Oregon, and later to a walnut ranch near Sacramento, California. He attended Sacramento High School, where he played basketball and wrote for the school newspaper, then went to Sacramento Junior College. He studied at the University of California from 1919 to 1922 but did not graduate. He began his career as a journalist, working for papers like the Sacramento Union and several others in the West.

Radio career
After losing his newspaper job in 1929, Morse turned to radio. He joined NBC’s San Francisco station, KGO, and started writing for radio programs such as House of Myths and NBC Mystery Serial. He created several mystery shows, some based on San Francisco Police Department files, often narrated by Police Chief William J. Quinn.

Major works
- One Man's Family (1932–1959): a daily soap opera aimed at housewives, one of radio’s longest-running series.
- I Love a Mystery (began 1939): a hit adventure/mystery show for teens and fans of suspense; aired on NBC Blue (1939–1942), CBS (1943–1944), and later revived on Mutual (1949–1953).
- Family Skeleton (1953–1954): a CBS radio soap.
Morse also helped pioneer television. He worked on Slice of Life, one of Los Angeles’ first TV dramas, and brought One Man's Family to TV (1949–1952). He produced, directed, and wrote Mixed Doubles, a situation comedy that aired briefly in 1949. He also had an unsuccessful soap, Kitty Foyle, in 1958.

Personal life and legacy
Morse married Patricia Pattison De Ball in 1928. Patricia died in 1984, and Morse later married Mildred “Millie” Morse. He retired from radio and TV to write from his home, Seven Stones, and published novels, including titles connected to I Love a Mystery. He copyrighted his scripts and novels later in life and was active in conventions and clubs. Morse has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Radio) and holds script collections in the Library of Congress and the Thousand Oaks Library, preserving his significant contribution to radio and early television.