Adventures of the Abbotts « The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Adventures of the Abbotts

The Adventures of the Abbotts was based on the books by Frances Crane following the adventures of private detective Pat Abbott and his wife, Jean.

The Adventures of the Abbotts was the second appearance by the couple on the radio. This 1946-47 run is considered lost. This silver age show starred Claudia Morgan and Jean Abbott and Don Briggs (later Les Damon and Mandel Kramer) as Pat Abbott and ran during the 1954-55 series.

The shows were noted for their contemporary style, Jean Abbotts openings which teased the mystery with a statement that began, "After all..." Frances Crane had included a color in the title of each "Abbott Mysteries" novel and the Adventures of the Abbott carried on this tradition.

The show featured many innovating and exciting story lines that would have been a huge success a few years before. Unfortunately, with the decline of radio, it didn't catch on and was all but forgotten until the early part of the 21st Century when several of the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service transcriptions of the Abbotts emerged. These 1954-55 episodes were aired over the AFRTS in 1957. For more information on the Adventures of the Abbotts, see the Digital Deli's informative article.

Claudia Morgan (1911-74): Claudia Morgan was a veteran of stage, screen, and radio. She was best known for playing Nora Charles throughout the run of the Thin Man on a wide variety of different networks and co-stars. In 1954, she returned as a Detective's spouse again in NBC's Adventure of the Abbotts and for several episodes, she was reunited with Thin Man co-star Les Damon.

Les Damon (1908-62): Damon was a versatile who played several detectives during the golden age of radio. While his most famous part was as Michael Waring in the Falcon, he also played Nick Charles on the Thin Man, Pat Abbott on the Adventures of the Abbotts, and Mark Sabre on ABC Mystery Theater. On television, he guest starred in several episodes of the Honeymooners and the Jackie Gleason Show.

Mandel Kramer (1916-89): Mandel Kramer was a veteran radio and television actor. His first radio appearance in circulation is a 1940 episode of the Columbia Workshop. He became a regular on the long-running crime and counterespionage series, Counterspy. He made many guest appearances on programs such as Casey, Crime Photographer, Gangbusters, The Whistler, and X Minus One. Towards the end of the Golden era of radio, Kramer began to get leading roles, playing Pat Abbott in the Adventures of the Abbotts, and Greg Collins in It's a Crime, Mr. Collins. In 1961, Kramer took the role of Johnny Dollar over from Bob Readick who had acted as a caretaker, and played the role of Dollar until Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar went off the air in September 1962. Kramer remained busy with his television work, with a support role in the long-running TV soap, The Edge of Night that netted him an Emmy Nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1979. Kramer returned to radio in the mid-70s with several appearance on the CBS Mystery Theater.