Detectives on the Air

Originally Aired: January 13, 1956 Johnny Dollar #305, "The Todd Matter Ep 5," Johnny Dollar recovers in a hospital bed after being shot during a disastrous confrontation at an apartment building. Sergeant Mapes reveals the devastating aftermath: Melva Charles was stabbed to death by her husband William, who then opened fire, killing an innocent bystander named Henderson and wounding several other...

Originally Aired: January 12, 1956 Johnny Dollar #304, "The Todd Matter Ep 4," Johnny Dollar continues his investigation into a stolen mink coat that has turned deadly. After Gloria Tierney, the woman found wearing the hot fur, is murdered on the street, Johnny works alongside Sergeant Mapes and the New York police to track down her mysterious boyfriend, Bill Chambers. Gloria's grief-stricken ex-h...

Originally Aired: January 11, 1956 Johnny Dollar #303, "The Todd Matter Ep 3," Johnny and Sergeant Dan Mapes rush to Police Emergency Hospital after receiving word about Gloria Tierney, the woman connected to a stolen mink coat worth $11,000 from the Todd burglary. Despite their urgent need to question her, Gloria slips away after only managing to whisper one word: Bill. The name of the man who sh...

Originally Aired: January 10, 1956 Johnny Dollar #302, "The Todd Matter Ep 2," Johnny Dollar finds himself deep in a dangerous investigation when Gloria Tierney, a young woman wearing a stolen mink coat from a six-month-old burglary, is gunned down on the street. After meeting her outside her apartment building, Johnny witnesses a man in a black 1955 Cadillac Coupe de Ville fire three shots into G...

Originally Aired: January 9, 1956 Johnny Dollar #301, "The Todd Matter Ep 1," Johnny receives an unexpected phone call from Arin Vance, a con man he helped send to prison seven years earlier. Instead of seeking revenge, Vance offers Dollar information about the Todd case, a six-month-old burglary that cost the insurance company $75,000 in stolen jewelry, silver, and apparel from Norman Todd's Long...

Originally Aired: January 6, 1956 Johnny Dollar #300, "The Caylin Matter Ep 5," Johnny Dollar arrives at police headquarters to witness Sergeant Reynosa's interrogation of Marty Midnight, the young stripper arrested at the bus depot with a ticket to San Diego. The defiant facade of the hardened nightclub dancer quickly crumbles when Reynosa reveals her real identity as Jean Luann Jackline. Terrifi...

Originally Aired: January 5, 1956 Johnny Dollar #299, "The Caylin Matter Ep 4," Johnny pieces together the truth about Eddie Kalin's first "death" while investigating his actual murder. At the apartment of Marty Midnight, a strip club performer, Johnny explains to Sergeant Reynosa how he deduced Eddie was alive all along. The locked apartment door on the night Eddie supposedly died was the crucial...

Originally Aired: January 4, 1956 Johnny Dollar #298, "The Caylin Matter Ep 3," Johnny continues investigating the mysterious death of Eddie Kalin, convinced that Eddie may still be alive despite a body in the morgue. When Sergeant Reynosa reports that Tompo Leanly, the gambler who shot at Johnny, claims self-defense and will soon make bail, Johnny sees an opportunity. He believes the worried Lean...

Originally Aired: January 3, 1956 Johnny Dollar #297, "The Caylin Matter Ep 2," Johnny Dollar arrives at the home of Mrs. Kalin, the widow of Eddie Kalin, whose death by fire is the subject of his insurance investigation. When Johnny makes an ominous comment about keys being enough "to hang somebody," the tense interview nearly ends before it begins. Mrs. Kalin initially refuses to cooperate, but...

Originally Aired: January 2, 1956 Johnny Dollar #296, "The Caylin Matter Ep 1," insurance investigator Johnny Dollar heads to Los Angeles after Walt Albright from Trinity Mutual develops his telltale case of asthma over a suspicious death claim. Eddie Caylin died in a mysterious car fire just six weeks after his wife arranged a five thousand dollar policy with double indemnity, with only one premi...

Originally Aired: December 30, 1955 Johnny Dollar #295, "The Forbes Matter Ep 5," Johnny Dollar meets with Betsy Walker to inventory the expensive gifts Sheldon Forbes sent her during his misguided courtship, purchased with stolen company funds. The investigation reveals Forbes spent over $4,000 on gifts, restaurant reservations, and flowers trying to win the attention of the actress and model, wh...

Originally Aired: December 29, 1955 Johnny Dollar #294, "The Forbes Matter Ep 4," Johnny Dollar races against time after discovering embezzler Sheldon Forbes has attempted suicide by gas in his apartment. After dragging Forbes from the deadly fumes and calling for help, Dollar watches as emergency medical technicians fight to save the man's life. The interns work methodically with a pulmotor, unce...

Originally Aired: December 28, 1955 Johnny Dollar #293, "The Forbes Matter Ep 3," Johnny continues his investigation into embezzler Sheldon Forbes, who has inexplicably refused to defend himself or return the stolen money. Attorney Ed Gumby informs Johnny that Forbes has waived trial and plans to plead guilty at the upcoming preliminary hearing. Determined to uncover the truth and give Forbes a fa...

Originally Aired: December 27, 1955 Johnny Dollar #292, "The Forbes Matter Ep 2," Johnny Dollar continues his investigation into the embezzlement case of Sheldon Thomas Forbes, who has confessed to stealing $4,285 from Century Styles. While Rob Elliott calls from the district attorney's office to sign the complaint, Dollar makes it clear his real work is just beginning: recovering the money for th...

Originally Aired: December 26, 1955 Johnny Dollar #291, "The Forbes Matter Ep 1," insurance investigator Johnny Dollar finds himself reluctantly accepting a case in New York as a favor to Pauline Morris at the Continental Adjustment Bureau. After taking her to dinner at the Crystal Room, Dollar learns the details: Century Styles Incorporated, a high-end dress manufacturer, has discovered a deficit...

Originally Aired: December 23, 1955 Johnny Dollar #290, "The Nick Shurn Matter Ep 5," During a raging blizzard in a remote Michigan cabin, Johnny Dollar spends the long night trying to convince Kathy O'Dare to testify against nightclub owner Nick Shurn in a murder case. Kathy's young daughter Jill stays awake with them, playfully suggesting Johnny should marry her mother. After Jill goes to bed, J...

Originally Aired: December 22, 1955 Johnny Dollar #289, "The Nick Shurn Matter Ep 4," finds Johnny and Mike O'Dare desperately searching for Kathy and her daughter Jill, who have vanished as a blizzard descends on Branbury, Michigan. The situation is doubly dangerous: not only is the weather deteriorating rapidly, but killer Benny Stark is somewhere in the area. Johnny pieces together that Kathy,...

Originally Aired: December 21, 1955 Johnny Dollar #288, "The Nick Shurn Matter Ep 3," Johnny Dollar and Mike O'Dare man a freezing roadblock on a Michigan logging road, waiting to intercept hired killer Benny Stark, who has tracked Kathy O'Dare to her hometown of Bramberry. As they pass the long, cold hours with cigarettes and applejack, Mike opens up about his daughter, asking Johnny honestly whe...

Originally Aired: December 20, 1955 Johnny Dollar #287, "The Nick Shurn Matter Ep 2," Johnny Dollar continues his search for the missing nightclub singer Kathleen O'Dare, racing against time to reach her before dangerous men do. After learning that thug Benny Stark has already been to Mrs. Gottler's rooming house and broken the landlady's arm trying to find Kathy's whereabouts, Johnny helps the in...

Originally Aired: December 19, 1955 Johnny Dollar #286, "The Nick Shurn Matter Ep 1," Johnny Dollar is called to New York by Don Wilkins of Tri-Mutual Insurance to investigate the murder of Mel Pryker, a former racketeer turned nightclub owner. Pryker's business partner, Nick Schearn, stands to collect a hundred thousand dollar policy and is the prime suspect. Lieutenant Ed Rafferty of the Homicid...

Originally Aired: December 16, 1955 Johnny Dollar #285, "The Lansing Fraud Matter Ep 5," Johnny Dollar arranges a midnight meeting with fugitive insurance agent Hillary Franks at the Mission San Javier, an ancient church in the Arizona desert. Franks, desperate and armed with a .38, emerges from the shadows to tell his story. He reveals how Arlene Kennedy, the sister of dying alcoholic James Lansi...

Originally Aired: December 15, 1955 Johnny Dollar #284, "The Lansing Fraud Matter Ep 4," Johnny Dollar confronts insurance broker Hillary Franks, laying out his case that Franks helped arrange for someone else to take James Lansing's physical examination two years ago. Lansing was already dying, making this a calculated fraud scheme orchestrated with his sister, Mrs. Arlene Kennedy, as beneficiary...

Originally Aired: December 14, 1955 Johnny Dollar #283, "The Lansing Fraud Matter Ep 3," Johnny Dollar confronts Arlene Kennedy at her luxurious Catalina Vista home about her brother James Lansing's suspicious death. Mrs. Kennedy is hostile and defensive, insisting her brother drank himself to death and demanding her $50,000 insurance benefit immediately. She threatens to sue the insurance company...

Originally Aired: December 13, 1955 Johnny Dollar #282, "The Lansing Fraud Matter Ep 2," Johnny Dollar continues his investigation into the suspicious death of James Lansing, a man who died of malnutrition just two years after passing an insurance physical examination with flying colors. Dollar pressures Dr. Mayhood to view Lansing's body at the morgue, hoping the physician can confirm whether thi...

Originally Aired: December 12, 1955 Johnny Dollar #281, "The Lansing Fraud Matter Ep 1," Johnny Dollar receives an urgent call from Jim Carter at Universal Adjustments about a suspicious death in Tucson, Arizona. A man named James Lansing, who held a $50,000 life insurance policy, has died under bizarre circumstances—he starved to death. According to the coroner's report, Lansing died of malnutrit...