Down These Mean Streets (Old Time Radio Detectives)

The radio success of Mr. and Mrs. North convinced CBS to bring the adventures of the crime-solving couple to television. Richard Denning and Barbara Britton starred as Jerry and Pam and moved to take over the radio roles after a year on the small screen. Denning and Britton continued the program's trademark balance of crime with light comedy simultaneously over radio and on television. We'll hear...

Hercule Poirot, the diminutive, eccentric, and brilliant Belgian detective, has thrilled mystery fans since his first appearances in the novels of Agatha Christie. In 1945, he came to American radio in a series that boasted an introduction by Christie herself. Harold Huber starred as the mustachioed master of deduction in Agatha Christie's Poirot , and he was perfect as the fastidious investigator...

We raise a glass to Mickey Spillane, the hard-boiled wordsmith born March 9, 1918. Spillane introduced the world to Mike Hammer, one of fiction's toughest gumshoes, in 1947, and detective fiction was never the same. The unique blend of sex and violence, powered by Spillane's terse prose, enthralled readers and led to adaptations on television, the big screen, and on radio. We'll hear Larry Haines...

Craig Rice's crafty criminal lawyer John J. Malone, a wisecracking counsellor at law, sprang from the pages of mystery novels to radio in The Amazing Mr. Malone . Malone takes tough cases in Chicago, where he does his own leg work to clear his wrongfully accused clients. He's more of a Paul Drake than a Perry Mason in the way he tackles his cases. We'll hear George Petrie star as Malone in "Hard W...

"Down These Mean Streets" marks its one hundredth episode with a king-sized, extra-large podcast starring four old time radio detectives. First, Alan Ladd is Dan Holiday in "Find Me, Find Death" from Box 13 . Then, Dick Powell croons his way through a crime as Richard Diamond, Private Detective in "Lady in Distress" (originally aired on ABC on February 23, 1951). Howard Duff bats third as Sam Spad...

For fourteen films and hundreds of radio episodes, Nigel Bruce brought the most famous sidekick in detective fiction to life. As Dr. John H. Watson, Bruce gave an avuncular charm and character to Sherlock Holmes' friend and biographer. We'll hear him co-starring with Basil Rathbone in "The Amateur Mendicant Society" (originally aired on Mutual on April 2, 1945); and with Tom Conway in "The Singula...

Charles Russell stars as Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar in one of the earliest adventures of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator." Russell, a 20th Century Fox contract player, portrayed Dollar in the show's first year on the air and introduced listeners to a glib, tough gumshoe who was a genius at closing cases and padding his expense account. We'll hear him in "The Robert Perry Case,...

Sixty-five years ago this week, radio listeners met Randy Stone, the intrepid Chicago reporter of Night Beat . Every night, Randy (played by Frank Lovejoy) wanders the streets of the Windy City in search of stories for his column, and he finds dangerous and desperate people and gets involved in their trials and tribulations. We'll hear "Zero," the show's premiere episode (originally aired on NBC o...

By day, Britt Reid is the crusading publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper. By night, he dons a mask and continues his battle against crime and corruption as The Green Hornet . Aided by his valet Kato, Reid wages a war against graft, even as the police think he's just as dangerous as the underworld he battles. The Green Hornet was one of radio's most popular masked crime-fighters, and his explo...

Big screen villain Dan Duryea takes a heroic turn as Lt. Lou Dana, The Man from Homicide . Dana is a hard-boiled cop who shoots straight and throws a mean punch. His outlook on his job is summed up with his mantra: "I don't like killers." This short-lived series blends the two-fisted pulp persona of a private eye with the dogged cops of police procedurals. We'll hear Duryea as Dana in "The Frankli...

Dana Andrews is undercover for Uncle Sam in I Was a Communist for the FBI . Based on the real-life exploits of Communist infiltrator Matt Cvetic, the syndicated series presented espionage dramas of Reds on the homefront and the efforts of the G-men to thwart their nefarious plans. Cvetic's story was adapted for the big screen in an Oscar-winning film and then on radio in this syndicated drama. We'...

Sinners beware - The Saint is on the case! Vincent Price stars as Simon Templar, "the Robin Hood of modern crime" in two radio mysteries. Leslie Charteris' gentleman detective had thrilled fans in print and on the big screen by the time he came to radio in January 1946. We'll hear "The Corpse Said Ouch" (first aired on NBC on August 6, 1950) and "Simon Takes a Curtain Call" (first aired on NBC on...

It's time to deck the halls with three radio detectives in the "Down These Mean Streets" holiday special. First, Frank Sinatra is Rocky Fortune in "The Plot to Murder Santa Claus" (first aired on NBC on December 22, 1953). Then, Ranger Jayce Pearson (Joel McCrea) finds a "Christmas Present" on Tales of the Texas Rangers (first aired on NBC on December 24, 1950). Finally, Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb...

For nearly two decades and in almost 1,700 episodes on radio, kindly old Mr. Keen searched for the missing and pursued the guilty. The grandfatherly gumshoe (played by Bennett Kilpack) and his assistant Mike Clancy (Jim Kelly) are on another adventure of mystery and murder in "The Case of the Absent Minded Professor," first aired on CBS on March 15, 1945.

Sydney Greenstreet settles into the armchair of Nero Wolfe, Rex Stout's gargantuan gourmet and irascible (but brilliant) detective. Wolfe will tackle a case only when his bank account demands it, and even then he farms out the fact-finding to his leg man, Archie Goodwin. Greenstreet stars in two radio mysteries: "The Case of the Impolite Corpse," with Larry Dobkin as Goodwin (originally aired on N...

Howard Duff was one of radio's brightest stars until the blacklist and "Red scare" paranoia derailed his career. Today, he's fondly remembered as the definitive voice of Sam Spade with the perfect blend of tough guy delivery and wry humor. We'll hear Duff as Spade in "The Death Bed Caper," originally aired on CBS on June 20, 1948. Then, he stars as Mike McCoy, a private eye cut from the Spade clot...

Just in time for the turkey, we've got Thanksgiving-themed adventures of two old time radio detectives. First, Jack Webb stars as Jeff Regan, Investigator in "The Pilgrim's Progress," first aired on CBS on November 20, 1948. Then, Bob Bailey headlines "Cause for Thanksgiving" from Let George Do It , originally aired on CBS on November 20, 1950.

In 1958, CBS launched a radio version of its hit western television series Have Gun - Will Travel . The radio program was one of the last great dramas of the Golden Age of Radio. John Dehner assumed the role of Paladin, the West Point-educated hired gun, a gunman for hire who would take on dangerous jobs for the right price. This blend of western adventure and private eye mystery was just as engag...

Damon Runyon remains one of America's unique storytellers. His tales of 1920s New York have a language and style all their own, and his colorful characters include gangsters, gamblers, and average guys down on their luck. Runyon 's distinct voice came to radio in The Damon Runyon Theater , a series produced by Alan Ladd. We'll hear John Brown star in "What, No Butler?" from the syndicated series.

Dick Powell transformed his career with his dynamic performance as Philip Marlowe and he left his days as a baby-faced crooner behind. To celebrate his birthday, we'll hear Powell in two of his performances as hard-boiled but glib gumshoes. First he stars as Richard Rogue in "Lady with a Gun" from Rogue's Gallery , originally aired on NBC on June 30, 1946. Then, Powell plays Richard Diamond, Priva...

As mystery writer Barton Drake describes it, Mystery is My Hobby . The novelist is tops at dreaming up murder plots, and he's not bad at solving real life crimes, either. Along with Inspector Danton of the police, Drake uses his "book smarts" to catch killers. Glenn Langan stars as Drake in this series that originally aired on Mutual before it was repackaged for syndication. We'll hear the syndica...

Turn down the lights and enjoy a bonus episode just in time for Halloween. Two chilling stories from Suspense , "radio's outstanding theater of thrills," should help to get you in the trick-or-treating spirit. First, Orson Welles' cross-country trip is hindered by "The Hitchhiker," originally aired on CBS on September 2, 1942. Then, Ray Bradbury's eerie story comes to radio life in "Zero Hour," or...

Big-screen tough guy Brian Donlevy stars as government agent Steve Mitchell in Dangerous Assignment . Mitchell is dispatched all around the world, and with each stamp of his passport he lands neck-deep in danger. This popular espionage adventure series aired for several years on radio and spawned a television series also starring Donlevy. We'll hear "Find 100,000 Missing Barrels of Oil," originall...

On October 20, 1930, Sherlock Holmes made his debut as a radio detective. In honor of his on-the-air anniversary, we'll hear the master sleuth (and his companion Dr. Watson) in two radio mysteries. John Stanley is Holmes and Alfred Shirley is Watson in "The Laughing Lemur of Hightower Heath" (originally aired on Mutual on October 26, 1947) and "The Case of the Sudden Senility" (originally aired on...

Natalie Masters is back as San Francisco's loveliest private investigator, Candy Matson . One of radio's most famous girl detectives, Candy cracks cases with the best of them. She may flirt rather than fight with her foil on the police department, but Candy is just as sharp and quick with a quip as Spade or Marlowe. We'll hear her in "The Devil in the Deep Freeze" (first aired on NBC on September...