Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

It's back to Broadway this week, as Detective Danny Clover walks his beat - "the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world." Larry Thor stars as Clover, the cop with the soul of a poet, in two mysteries from Broadway is My Beat: "The Val Dane Starvation Murder Case" (originally aired on CBS on August 25, 1949) and "The Gridiron Hero Murders" (an AFRS rebroadcast of an episode from November 22, 1952).

Bill Johnstone may be best known as the voice of The Shadow, but old time radio fans can enjoy his performances from shows ranging from Escape and Suspense to My Favorite Husband and Our Miss Brooks. In honor of his birthday, we'll hear him as Lt. Ben Guthrie, the determined detective of The Line-Up in "The Topaz Earring Case" (originally aired on CBS on November 23, 1950) and "The Jersey Parallel" (originally aired on CBS on December 7, 1950).

"Look, up in the sky!" Today, in 1940, Superman flew from the pages of Action Comics on to radio. As he thrilled readers in the comic books and dazzled audiences in movie theaters, the Man of Steel soared on the airwaves, battling the mob, Nazi spies and saboteurs, mad scientists, and aliens from other planets, all while cementing the character's popularity as an American icon.

In fact, much of Superman's mythology grew out of his radio adventures and later worked its way into the comic stories. Plucky cub reporter Jimmy Olsen and blustery newspaper editor Perry White were both original creations for the radio series. Ditto Metropolis Police Inspector Henderson, one of Superman's allies on the police force. The first meeting of Superman and Batman happened on radio in 1945 (they'd appeared on covers of comics before, but radio featured the first story where the characters teamed up), and Superman had his first encounter with his Achilles' heel - Kryptonite - not on the pages of the comics, but on the radio series.

The show was a ratings success practically from the start when it premiered on February 12, 1940. Radio veteran Jack Johnstone (who later directed Bob Bailey as Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar) directed the early shows, and the series topped the charts among three-day-a-week children's serials. The series aired in syndication until March 9, 1942. Six months later, it returned over the entire Mutual Network in a five-day-a-week series. Directed by George Lowther and later Allen Ducovny, Superman exploded during the World War II era, as Kryptonite was thrown into the mix in 1943 and Superman and his friends fought Nazis as often as they fought domestic villains. One of these baddies led to one of the show's longest and most celebrated storylines when Superman battled a Nazi-engineered, Kryptonite-fueled Atom Man out to avenge the defeat of Germany from October to December 1945.

But it wasn't all fights with Atom Men and imaginary monsters. On the air, Superman fought racial intolerance and bigotry, and today the series is as fondly remembered for its social consciousness as much as for its thrilling adventures. In one memorable arc (the "Unity House" series), Superman defended an interfaith community center from a gang of bigots; in another, he battled the "Clan of the Firey Cross," a thinly veiled substitute for the Ku Klux Klan. Despite pressure from some listeners (and a threatened boycott by the KKK itself), Mutual and Kellogg's, the show's sponsor, stuck by their program, and the series received seals of approval from the Boys Clubs of America, the Associated Negro Press, and the United Parents Association, among others.

At the center of this series, providing the voice of a man who could change the course of mighty rivers and bend steel in his bare hands, was a busy radio actor who initially didn't want the gig. By age 32, Clayton "Bud" Collyer was appearing on all four major networks over several dozen series. And while he won the job by creating two distinct voices for Superman and his secret identity of mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, he initially turned down the role. "The whole idea embarrassed me, so I said no," he recalled years later. Collyer would also voice the Man of Steel in the classic cartoons from Max Fleischer, and he returned in 1966 for Filmation's New Adventures of Superman. Later, in the years following the Golden Age of Radio, Collyer would find fame as a game show host on television, anchoring shows like Quick as a Flash and To Tell the Truth. He played Superman in close to 1,700 shows and was the "voice" of the Man of Steel to a generation as much as George Reeves was the "face" on television.

Collyer was backed up by a great cast in the Superman family. Joan Alexander set the template for Lois Lane - smart, spunky, and willing to jump into the fray as no damsel in distress. Julian Noa voiced the perpetually frustrated editor Perry White, and Jackie Kelk (Homer on The Aldrich Family) gave the right dose of "gee whiz" enthusiasm to Jimmy Olsen. But a comic book adventure is lost without a narrator, and for most of its run Superman had a humdinger in Jackson Beck, who famously intoned the legendary introduction that began with "Faster than a speeding bullet!" (Yep, that was coined for the radio series as well.)

Today,the radio adventures of Superman still pack a ton of excitement into every fifteen or thirty minute episode. Even if you can only see him in the theater of your own mind, Superman rockets through the air when Bud Collyer's voice drops an octave, that wind machine kicks in, and Jackson Beck's stentorian boom erupts over the speakers.

On February 11, 1949, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar premiered on CBS and kicked off the career of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator." Dollar traveled the world investigating cases of insurance fraud until 1962. Each mystery was narrated by Johnny as he itemized his expense account for his bosses at "the home office." The series aired up until the end of the Golden Age of Radio in 1962, and it remains one of the most beloved detective programs of the era.

What made the show work? The format of the show is a great hook - Dollar narrates the story as he itemizes his expense account for his employers. As the case progresses, another expense is rattled off. This was played up for humorous effect in the show's early days, leading to a frequent announcer tag line - "At insurance investigation, he's only an expert. At making out his expense account, he's an absolute genius!" Dollar was sharp, a bit cynical, and had brains to match his brawn.

But in his first several years on the air, Johnny Dollar was a good - but not great - radio detective. There was little about the show to distinguish it from the sea of detective shows cluttering the airwaves. Three different actors (Charles Russell, Edmond O'Brien, and John Lund) played Dollar between 1949 and 1954. (Dick Powell was actually the first to play Johnny Dollar in a 1948 audition program. Before the show went to series, Powell opted to star in Richard Diamond, Private Detective on NBC.) The insurance investigation angle provided a different flavor for the show, but those early shows weren't quite in the same league as Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe. The show actually left the airwaves in 1954, and Johnny Dollar might have ended up as a radio footnote had it not been for a revamped series that returned to the air in 1955.

Under the direction of Jack Johnstone, Johnny Dollar was reinvented as a five-night-a-week 15 minute serial. Johnstone was a veteran radio writer and director who previously brought Buck Rogers and Superman to radio. Just before he took the helm of Johnny Dollar, he served as producer and director for the outstanding NBC western series The Six Shooter, which brought Jimmy Stewart to weekly radio as its star. Johnstone served as producer and director of the new series, and he frequently provided scripts. With 75 minutes instead of 30 for stories every week, Johnstone and his fellow writers could deliver complex plots with plenty of twists and turns and nuanced characters with more depth than the usual supporting players in a weekly detective show.

But talent behind the scenes is only part of the story. Johnny Dollar's renaissance owes as much to the man in front of the microphone - a strong, dynamic actor who breathed life and a personality into the detective. And it was an actor who was no stranger to solving crimes on the airwaves.

Bob Bailey was fresh off a run as private eye George Valentine in Let George Do It when he was cast as Dollar. He sank his teeth into the king-size scripts, and his performance fleshed out the character in a way that the previous actors had never quite managed to nail down. His Johnny Dollar would more often than not get too involved in his cases, and he might fall too hard for a female suspect. He loved to fish, and his clients might exploit that to persuade him to take a dangerous job in a far-off locale where he could be promised a good catch. He was unpredictable, funny, and dangerous. In the early years, Johnny Dollar was just a radio detective. With Jack Johnstone's words and Bob Bailey's voice, he joined the ranks of Marlowe and Spade, characters with long histories on the page behind them.

The series continued in the serial format until 1956 when it returned to 30 minutes once a week. While the individual shows may not have always been as rich as the five-part stories, Bailey's performance remained strong. He remained in the role until 1960, when CBS shut down its West Coast radio operations and moved its dramatic productions to New York. The show continued for another two seasons; Jack Johnstone continued to provide scripts but was replaced as director. Bob Readick and Mandel Kramer starred as Dollar until he turned in his last expense account on the final night of network radio on September 30, 1962.

Nearly all of the episodes of the show survive, and while each actor brought something unique to the character, it is Bailey's Johnny Dollar that stands head and shoulders above them all. His wry humor, his hard edge, and his world-weary cynicism come through in every line of his performance, and there are years of episodes for today's audiences to rediscover and enjoy.

Seventy years ago this month, listeners first met "the man with the action-packed expense account" when Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar premiered on CBS. The show ran until 1962 with several actors stepping into the shows of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator," but the best of the bunch was Bob Bailey. Bailey starred as Johnny Dollar from 1955 until 1960, including a tremendous run of five-part nightly stories from 1955 to 1956. We'll hear the last of those serialized installments - "The Silent Queen Matter" (originally aired on CBS from October 29 to November 2, 1956).

"Hi - this is Randy Stone. I cover the night beat for the Chicago Star."

On February 6, 1950, reporter Randy Stone took his first walk on the Night Beat. Frank Lovejoy starred as Randy, an intrepid newspaperman working at the Chicago Star. Every night, Randy explored the darkened streets of the Windy City in search of stories for his column. Randy Stone was looking for the good and the bad of human nature - anything that would make for a good yarn to follow his byline. Along the way, he usually found trouble among the desperate and the dangerous residents of the city at night.

In each episode of the show, columnist Randy Stone went to work when the sun went down and set off through the city streets in search of stories about people that had fallen through the cracks. The "human" in human interest stories was of paramount importance to him, and like a knight on a romantic crusade, Stone did his best to help the subjects of his stories and ensure as much of a happy ending as he could for his column. Randy Stone wasn't a detective; he wasn't even an amateur sleuth like Box 13's Dan Holiday or Casey, Crime Photographer. But he walked the streets of Chicago after dark and as a sucker for a hard luck story, he frequently found himself in conflict with the mob, gamblers and thieves, con men, and killers. He could be taken in by a sob story or come around to discover a perceived villain had been wronged as badly as the victim. He didn't carry a gun, and he wasn't a fighter, but he had dogged persistence in chasing down a story to the end. It was the kind of persistence that was finely honed from walking the streets and wearing out who knows how many pairs of shoes.

On May 19, 1949, an audition program for the series was recorded starring Edmond O'Brien as reporter "Hank Mitchell." Directed by Bill Rousseau (director of hard-boiled private eye shows Pat Novak and Michael Shayne), O'Brien's performance was closer to how he'd sound as Johnny Dollar a year later: tougher, cynical, and harder-edged. Not a bad performance (in fact, it served him well in the role of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator"), but it was a little too tough for what producers were looking for. Night Beat got a second bite at the apple almost a year later. This time, actor Frank Lovejoy stepped to the microphone as the lead character, rechristened "Randy Stone." Where Hank Mitchell was cynical, Randy Stone was a kind of cock-eyed optimist. Where Mitchell was tough, Stone was compassionate. Of the voices, Randy Stone's sounded more like that of a champion for the little guy. And delivering that winning performance for over 100 episodes was Frank Lovejoy.

Lovejoy had been a radio actor in the 1930s and early 1940s, appearing on Gangbusters and This is Your FBI. He was the first actor to play the Blue Beetle on radio, and he was frequently heard as a supporting player on Sam Spade, Box 13, and Adventures of Superman; he also took more than a few starring turns on Suspense. In films, Lovejoy was often a supporting player in everyman roles in films like The Hitch-Hiker, House of Wax, and In a Lonely Place. This "man of the people" streak to his work served him well as Randy Stone, and Lovejoy delivers one of the best dramatic lead performances from the Golden Age of Radio in Night Beat. It helped that he was given wonderful words to say and characters to say them to with scripts by Larry Marcus, Russell Hughes (main writer for Box 13), and others.

One of the great dramatic shows of the 1950s, Night Beat was anchored by Frank Lovejoy's performance and strong scripts. Though not strictly a detective program, Night Beat often featured stories of crime and killers, of cops and robbers. Night Beat was a bright spot in the Golden Age of Radio as it gradually gave way to the rise of television.

When the sun goes down in the Windy City, Randy Stone goes to work. Frank Lovejoy stars as Stone, the Chicago reporter who walks the Night Beat in search of a story. What he finds in the darkness will give him material for his column...if it doesn't kill him first. We'll hear Lovejoy in a pair of radio mysteries: "Old Home Week" (originally aired on NBC on September 4, 1950) and "The Kenny Day Amnesia Case" (originally aired on NBC on October 6, 1950).

"Herewith, an Englishman's account of life and death in the west. As a reporter for the London Times, he writes his colorful and unusual stories. But as a man with a gun, he lives and becomes a part of the violent years in the new territories."

Western heroes were in no short supply during the Golden Age of Radio. There were lawmen like Matt Dillon, keeping the peace and fighting to bring law and order to the frontier. There were hired guns like Paladin and roaming cowboys like Britt Ponsett who made every effort not to draw his gun. And of course, there was the granddaddy of all western heroes - the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains known as The Lone Ranger. But one of radio's most unusual leading men of the old west was Jeremy Brian Kendall, correspondent for the London Times - the Frontier Gentleman. This standout drama made premiered on CBS on February 2, 1958.

For a single radio season (just over 40 episodes) Frontier Gentleman followed Kendall on his journeys through the new territories of the United States. Moving from town to town, Kendall traded notes with fellow reporters, rode along with the cavalry, rubbed elbows with rogues, and shared his experiences - good and bad - with his readers back home. Kendall fought Indians, tangled with the James brothers, and he had a seat at the poker table during Wild Bill Hickok's last hand. He fell for a beautiful Confederate spy, and he served as impromptu defense counsel and surgeon.

The show was created, written, and directed by Antony Ellis - a native of England who worked extensively in American radio as an actor and behind the scenes talent. And the titular gentleman was played by John Dehner, a Disney animator who became a voice (and later TV and film) actor. Dehner could be heard on everything from Philip Marlowe to Escape to Gunsmoke and Suspense. An unlikely choice to play a Brit, Dehner was born in Staten Island, but he brought a mature, refined quality and an underplayed accent to Kendall. He didn't sound like he grew up on the London streets, but it was easy to imagine Dehner's voice coming from a man who had fought for the queen in India and who had picked up on the rough and tumble slang and customs of the American frontier.

The show was fantastic, ranking near the top of the list of great radio westerns. Historian John Dunning said Frontier Gentleman was "the only serious rival to Gunsmoke in the radio Hall of Fame." Unfortunately, the show came to radio in the medium's twilight, and it lasted only that single season. The week after Frontier Gentleman ended, John Dehner went on the air as Paladin in the CBS radio adaptation of its TV hit Have Gun - Will Travel.

Some couples play golf, and some like to travel. Pam and Jerry North spend their quality time putting their amateur sleuth skills to work in Mr. and Mrs. North. One of radio's most popular detective shows, the adventures of the Norths sprang from the pages of novels and kept listeners guessing for over a decade. We'll hear three of their adventures starring Barbara Britton as Pam and Richard Denning as Jerry: "Coat of Arms," "Die Hard," and "Masquerade."

Even if he can't pronounce the names of the countries he visits, two-fisted secret agent Steve Mitchell knows each Dangerous Assignment means trouble. Brian Donlevy stars as the international man of mystery in two tales of radio espionage and adventure. We'll hear "Find Hired Killer Lupac" (originally aired on NBC on August 16, 1950) and "Recover Memory Chain Equation" (originally aired on NBC on November 18, 1950).

In a special bonus episode, we tip our hat to the late Herb Ellis. The actor passed away in December at age 97, and along with his many radio credits he's a key figure in radio history because of his collaboration with Jack Webb - a collaboration that yielded Dragnet. We'll hear Ellis co-star as Officer Frank Smith in "The Big Bull" (originally aired on NBC on September 14, 1952), and we'll hear him as Archie Goodwin in "The Case of the Dear Dead Lady" from The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe (originally aired on NBC on November 3, 1950).

"The Robin Hood of modern crime" is on the case, and the halo of The Saint is hanging over Vincent Price's head. Price stars as Simon Templar in three old time radio adventures of Leslie Charteris' gentleman sleuth: "Murder on the High Seas" (originally aired on Mutual on September 18, 1949); "It's Snow Use" (originally aired on NBC on October 29, 1950); and "The Terrible Tintype" (originally aired on NBC on November 26, 1950).

Based on a novel by James M. Cain, with screenplay co-written by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder behind the camera, Double Indemnity is a film noir classic - one of the best ever produced and it doesn't lose any of its power when adapted for radio. Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck recreate their screen roles as an insurance salesman and an unhappy wife who plot to make the most of her husband's new accidental death policy. The crackling adaptation aired on the Lux Radio Theatre on CBS on October 30, 1950.

When the bells all ring and the horns all blow, you can ring in 2019 with a bonus episode of Down These Mean Streets! Jack Webb and Gerald Mohr star in New Year's Eve mysteries from Dragnet and The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. We'll hear "The Big New Year's" (originally aired on NBC on March 8, 1951) and "The Old Acquaintance" (originally aired on CBS on December 26, 1948).

We're wrapping up 2018 and spending the holidays with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The dynamic duo of Baker Street stars in three old time radio mysteries taking us from Christmas to New Year's Eve. First, John Stanley and Alfred Shirley star in "The Adventure of the Christmas Bride" (originally aired on Mutual on December 21, 1947). Then, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson play Holmes and Watson in an adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle Christmas story "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle." Finally, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce ring in the new year in "The Iron Box" (originally aired on Mutual on December 31, 1945).

To celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday, we'll hear Jeff Chandler in two old time radio mysteries as "that reckless red-headed Irishman" - two-fisted private eye Michael Shayne. Chandler is an ultra-hard boiled gumshoe in "The Case of the Crooked Wheel" and "The Case of the High-Priced Twins." Then, he shows off his comedic side as Mr. Boynton in Our Miss Brooks (in an episode originally aired on CBS on March 27, 1949).

In celebration of the December birthdays of Rex Stout and Sydney Greenstreet, here are two episodes of The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe starring Greenstreet as the gargantuan gourmet created by Stout. There's no case too baffling for the sedentary sleuth and his loyal legman Archie Goodwin, and we'll hear two of their mysteries: "The Case of the Deadly Sellout" with Larry Dobkin as Archie (originally aired on NBC on January 5, 1951); and "The Case of the Hasty Will" co-starring Harry Bartell as Goodwin (originally aired on NBC on March 2, 1951).

Cornell Woolrich - aka William Irish - was one of the great crime writers of the twentieth century with his works winning acclaim and adaptations on radio and the big screen (including Hitchcock's classic Rear Window). We'll celebrate the anniversary of his birth with three of his tales adapted for the airwaves - "The Bride Wore Black" from The Mollé Mystery Theater (originally aired on NBC on February 7, 1947); "Wardrobe Trunk" from the NBC Radio City Playhouse (originally aired on NBC on April 4, 1949); and "You Take Ballistics" from the audition recording for The Hunters.

Master mystery writer John Dickson Carr embraced radio in a big way. He wrote scripts for Suspense and his own anthology show Cabin B-13. Carr also acted as master of ceremonies for Murder by Experts. In honor of his birthday on November 30th, we'll hear two of his original radio mysteries: "Will You Make a Bet with Death?" from Suspense (originally aired on CBS on November 10, 1942), and "A Razor in Fleet Street" (originally aired on CBS on July 5, 1948).

No sleuths today - just a heaping helping of Thanksgiving comedy from the Golden Age of Radio. Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore present a comedy opera about the pilgrims, and Jack Benny and his gang are off to the big football game in this Turkey Day bonus show.

"Down These Mean Streets" has reached 300 episodes! To mark the occasion, we're hearing again from Bob Bailey as "the man with the action-packed expense account" - Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. Bailey stars as "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" in the six-part mystery "The Kranesburg Matter" (originally aired on CBS between August 24 and August 31, 1956).

This week on "Down These Mean Streets," we'll hear Howard Duff in two radio mysteries as Sam Spade and as a scriptwriter plotting the perfect crime in "Suspense."

Dick Powell reinvented himself as a hardboiled hero with his performance as Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet, and several films noir and radio detective shows followed. We'll hear Powell as gumshoe Richard Rogue in "Blood on the Sand" from Rogue's Gallery (originally aired on Mutual on December 13, 1945). Then he's Richard Diamond, Private Detective in "The Martin Hyer Case" (originally aired on NBC on July 23, 1949).

Grab a drink and a mystery at the Cafe Tambourine in Cairo with two-fisted club owner and adventurer Rocky Jordan. The ex-pat and amateur detective kept audiences thrilled with tales told against an exotic backdrop. Jack Moyles stars as Rocky in "The Bartered Bridegroom" (originally aired on CBS on October 31, 1948) and "Adventure with Andrea" (originally aired on CBS on September 11, 1949). Then, big screen tough guy George Raft plays Jordan in "The Genakos Affair" (originally aired on CBS on July 11, 1951).

We're celebrating the lighter side of October 31st with this year's "Down These Mean Streets" Halloween special. Grab your favorite candy and enjoy a pair of trick or treating comedies from The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on NBC on October 31, 1948) and Lucille Ball's My Favorite Husband (originally aired on CBS on October 28, 1949).

It didn't take a brilliant detective to bring one of fiction's greatest sleuths to radio, but it did take a talented writer and devoted fan. Edith Meiser penned the very first Sherlock Holmes radio show on October 20, 1930, and her efforts behind the scenes kept the character going for nearly twenty years on the air. We'll celebrate Holmes' anniversary with three of Meiser's original mysteries starring John Stanley as Holmes and Alfred Shirley as Dr. Watson: "The Case of the Missing Heiress" (originally aired on Mutual on October 5, 1947); "The Case of the Lucky Shilling" (originally aired on Mutual on January 18, 1948); and "The Case of the Accommodating Valise" (originally aired on Mutual on May 23, 1948).

Before she became a commercial star as "Madge" for Palmolive, actress Jan Miner was busy working on the stage and the radio. Miner was heard regularly on soap operas, dramas, and radio detective shows. We'll hear her as Mary Wesley in the syndicated episode "Alibi Time" from Boston Blackie and as Ann Williams in "King of the Apes" from Casey, Crime Photographer (originally aired on CBS on May 1, 1947). Plus, we'll hear Jan Miner in a behind-the-scenes look at radio production from The CBS Radio Workshop (originally aired on CBS on October 12, 1956).

The Chairman of the Board fights crime as Frank Sinatra stars in Rocky Fortune. The singer played Fortune - a man whose odd jobs always led to trouble - for a single season in a fun, well-produced mystery series. To celebrate the sixty-fifth anniversary of the show's debut, we'll hear a pair of Rocky's adventures - the show's first episode (originally aired on NBC on October 6, 1953) and "The Museum Murder" (originally aired on NBC on January 11, 1954).

William Gargan is on the case as Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator - the sardonic gumshoe with a healthy sense of humor to go along with his powers of deduction. We'll hear "Murder Masquerade" (originally aired on NBC on August 9, 1953) and "Hay is for Homicide" (originally aired on NBC on August 31, 1954).

In celebration of what would have been his 98th birthday, we're tipping our hat to William Conrad. Before he was the narrator of The Fugitive and Rocky and Bullwinkle and before he solved TV crimes as Cannon, Conrad was one of the biggest talents of the golden age of radio. He had thousands of credits to his name but he was best known as Matt Dillon, US Marshal, on Gunsmoke. We'll hear him in a pair of murder mysteries from the old west (originally aired on CBS on May 9 and November 21, 1953).

With his polished radio presence and his mellifluous British accent, Tom Conway was a natural as a radio detective, and he put his voice to great use as both Sherlock Holmes and Simon Templar. We'll hear him as Holmes - with Nigel Bruce as Watson - in "The Adventure of the Original Hamlet" (originally aired on ABC on November 2, 1946). Then as The Saint, he stars in "The Girl with the Lower Berth" (originally aired on NBC on June 3, 1951).

In the film noir classic D.O.A., the detective is also the victim of the crime. Edmond O'Brien, one of radio's Johnny Dollars, recreates his big screen role as Frank Bigelow, a man with only days left to live who is frantically searching for the man who murdered him, in this adaptation from the Screen Directors Playhouse (originally aired on NBC on June 21, 1951).

Alan Ladd didn't just star in mysteries and thrillers on the big screen - audiences could also hear Ladd on their radios in tales of daring detectives and heroes. We'll hear him in "Double Right Cross," an episode of his syndicated series Box 13 where he starred as reporter turned mystery writer and amateur sleuth Dan Holiday. Then he's joined by Veronica Lake in a radio recreation of his wartime action adventure O.S.S. from the Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on November 18, 1946).

From the Broadway stage to the world of daytime soap operas, Lesley Woods found success in every medium she tried during her six decade career. She was very busy on radio, appearing on soaps, sci-fi shows, thrillers, and detective programs. We'll hear her opposite Richard Kollmar in Boston Blackie as Blackie's girlfriend Mary Wesley in "The Wentworth Diamonds." And she's reporter Ann Williams alongside Staats Cotsworth's Casey, Crime Photographer in "The Twenty Minute Alibi" (originally aired on CBS on February 20, 1947).

Crooks made the mistake of underestimating private detectives Max Carrados and Captain Duncan Maclain because both men were blind. After you hear their radio adventures, you'll know that a lack of sight doesn't stand in the way of these gentlemen as they solve seemingly impossible murders. Ernest Bramah's gentlemanly Carrados (voiced by Alfred Shirley) stars in "The Holloway Flat Tragedy" from Murder Clinic (originally aired on Mutual on August 18, 1942). Then, Baynard Kendrick's Maclain (played here by Brian Donlevy) is heard in "Out of Control" from Suspense (originally aired on CBS on August 23, 1946).

San Francisco shamus Candy Matson was the greatest girl detective of the radio era. Charming, cool, and cute, Candy made her way in the man's world of private eye gumshoeing. Before and after her series aired on NBC, two audition shows were recorded to bring the sassy sleuth to audiences. We'll hear Natalie Masters as Candy in both of those shows – "The Donna Dunham Case" from April 1949 and "The Allison Gray Case" from September 1952.

If you've got to walk down the mean streets of Los Angeles, it helps to have Philip Marlowe by your side. Gerald Mohr brought Raymond Chandler's private eye to life in one of the best detective shows to come out of the radio era. We'll hear a pair of Marlowe's mysteries: "The Bum's Rush" (originally aired on CBS on September 3, 1949) and "The Fox's Tail" (originally aired on CBS on May 23, 1950).

After a hiatus, it's time once again to head "Down These Mean Streets." I'm kicking off a new season with the king of the radio cops – Sgt. Joe Friday. Jack Webb is keeping Los Angeles safe in three old time radio mysteries: "The Big Girl" (originally aired on NBC on February 9, 1950); "The Big Evans" (originally aired on NBC on March 16, 1952); and "The Big Impossible" (originally aired on NBC on March 15, 1953).

To celebrate Dashiell Hammett's birthday, we'll hear a pair of radio adventures of his most famous creation - the hard-boiled San Francisco shamus Sam Spade. Howard Duff stars as Spade in "The Queen Bee Caper" (originally aired on CBS on July 10, 1949). Then, Steven Dunne steps into Sam's shoes for "The Biddle Riddle Caper" (originally aired on NBC on January 5, 1951).

We're celebrating the birthday of Arthur Conan Doyle with radio adaptations of three of his greatest Sherlock Holmes mysteries. In these productions from the BBC, John Gielgud stars as Holmes with Ralph Richardson as Dr. Watson. The game's afoot in "A Scandal in Bohemia," "The Red-Headed League," and "The Six Napoleons."

Walk in the shoes of a killer as he plans and carries out his crime. Just watch out for a twist ending when the story is told by The Whistler. Bill Forman stars as the sinister storyteller who introduces his tales with a haunting melody. We'll hear "Brief Pause for Murder" (originally aired on CBS on September 11, 1949) and "A Law of Physics" (originally aired on CBS on June 10, 1951).

We're celebrating Orson Welles' birthday with two of the legendary actor and director's old time radio performances. First, Welles leads us on a tour of The Black Museum, Scotland Yard's archive of murder. He narrates the tale of a faded tartan scarf wielded in the hands of a dangerous man. Then he recreates his big screen role from The Third Man in The Lives of Harry Lime. We'll hear Harry in the syndicated mystery "Mexican Hat Trick."

We're back in the saddle this week with Joel McCrea in Tales of the Texas Rangers. As Ranger Jayce Pearson, McCrea keeps the Lone Star State safe in true crime stories. We'll hear "Fool's Gold" (originally aired on NBC on August 19, 1950) and "The White Suit" (originally aired on NBC on November 5, 1950).

It's the fifth anniversary of Down These Mean Streets and the 69th anniversary of the premiere of Richard Diamond, Private Detective. To celebrate both, here's an extra-large episode starring Dick Powell as Diamond. Radio's singing detective gets his man and carries a tune in "The Ralph Chase Case" (originally aired on NBC on May 15, 1949); "The Harry Baker Case" (originally aired on NBC on September 3, 1949); "The Grey Man" (originally aired on ABC on February 16, 1951); and "The Hollywood Story" (originally aired on CBS on August 23, 1953).

Bob Bailey is back on the job in another five-part adventure of Johnny Dollar - "the man with the action-packed expense account." Join America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator as he crosses swords with a twentieth century pirate to learn what happened to a sunken ship in "The Jolly Roger Fraud" (originally aired on CBS between March 19 and March 23, 1956).

Nero Wolfe, Rex Stout's gargantuan gourmet, is back! His career as a radio detective began 75 years ago this month, and we're marking the occasion with two of his on-air adventures. Sydney Greenstreet plays the eccentric sleuth (with Larry Dobkin as loyal legman Archie Goodwin) in "The Case of the Friendly Rabbit" (originally aired on NBC on December 1, 1950). Then, we'll hear an early Wolfe radio adventure – "The Last Laugh Murder Case," broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Service's Mystery Playhouse.

In honor of his birthday, we'll hear Jack Webb in a pair of old time radio performances - roles that show off a side of the actor/director's persona very different from Sgt. Joe Friday. In "Jack of Clubs" (originally aired on ABC on February 20, 1949), he's waterfront shamus Pat Novak For Hire. Then, he's an unscrupulous private eye who dabbles in crime in "Perfect Alibi" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on June 12, 1949).

During his nearly three decade run on radio, Les Damon starred as several detectives - Dashiell Hammett's Nick Charles, the debonair private eye known as the Falcon, and half of the husband and wife duo the Abbotts. We'll hear Damon as Nick in "The Strange Case of Professor Waigner" from The Adventures of the Thin Man; as Mike Waring - The Falcon - in "The Case of the Big Talker" (originally aired on NBC on April 29, 1951); and as Pat Abbott in "The Case of the Blood-Red Diamond" from Adventures of the Abbotts.

One of the busier actors on radio, Frank Lovejoy starred in everything from soap operas to superhero adventures, from tales of Suspense to the urban newspaper drama Night Beat. We'll hear him in three old time radio shows: as The Amazing Mr. Malone in "Cleanliness is Next to Godliness" (originally aired on ABC on August 28, 1948); in "Danger at Matecumbe" from Escape (originally aired on CBS on March 24, 1950); and finally as Randy Stone in Night Beat in "Old Blind Pop" (originally aired on August 7, 1950).

It's Broadway - "the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world." Join Detective Danny Clover as he walks the Great White Way in Broadway is My Beat. Larry Thor stars as the sensitive sleuth in "The Max Wendell Murder Case" (an AFRS rebroadcast of a show from April 28, 1950) and in "The Howard Crawford Murder Case" (originally aired on CBS on August 5, 1951).