The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio The great ones are back in action.

Dollar

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar began as an attempt to create a poor man's Philip Marlowe. By the time the show signed off the air in 1962, it'd outlasted Philip Marlowe on the radio as well as other great detectives including Sam Spade. A ponderous 713 episodes survive to this day.

Johnny Dollar's adventures took him to 39 states and 24 foreign countries. Dollar was the center of the show. He was an Independent Insurance Investigator who freelanced for a variety of insurance companies. Each episode had a new set of supporting characters.

What made Johnny Dollar different was his action-packed (and usually heavily padded) expense account including legitimate items (such as cab fare) and more questionable items such as airfare for pleasure after soliving the case.

Johnny Dollar's first run ended after six season after the end of the 1953-54 season. The decision was made to bring Johnny Dollar back for the 1955-56 season. There couldn't have been a worse time to try and revive a moribound radio series. The great shows were gone or pulling out. Jack Webb had seen the writing on the wall for radio, stating that radio drama go away, with radio becoming a medium for news and music.

That may have been the future, but in 1955, Johnny Dollar came back with a vengeance, led by Jack Johnstone. Johnstone, who'd written 15-minute serials for the Adventures of Superman helped change the show to doing five fifteen minute episodes a week for thirteen months. With Let George Do It Star Bob Bailey taking over, the series began a second life, richer than its first. Bailey departed after the 1960 season as the show relocated from Los Angeles to New York. But the show didn't end until September 30, 1962 when the last broadcast occurred, bringing down the curtain on old time radio.

The end of Old Time Radio couldn't have been prevented, however Johnny Dollar extended the medium's life and guaranteed that Old Time Radio would go out with a bang rather than a whimper.

As with the Sherlock Holmes series, we will profile each Johnny Dollar as we get to their episodes. (However, you can read Bailey's profile over at the Let George Do It page.)

Eight men played the role of Johnny Dollar including two who only auditioned for the role, but never went on air:

$Dick Powell (1904-63): Dick Powell is one of the most distinct leading men in the world of Old Time Radio Detectives. He spent the first part of his entertainment career, playing young singing romantic leads. At the age of 40, he landed the part of Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet and began a second career as a dramatic actor. This would play out on the radio in several venues. He would bring several of his motion picture performances to the radio via the Lux Radio Theater including his performance in Murder My Sweet and To the Ends of the Earth.

Powell would also come to radio as a sleuth on three other occassions in stand alone shows. He played the lead in Rogue's Gallery as a detective that was knocked silly and encountered Eugor, a character in his subconcious that would help him solve whatever case he was on.

He parlayed that into the role of Richard Diamond, a laid back singing detective.He also played the police officer foil for his then-wife Joan Blondell's private investigator in Miss Pinkerton, Incorporated.

In television, Powell was a pioneer, his Four Star Productions turned out memorable programs such as, The Four Star Playhouse, Richard Diamond Private Detective (with David Janssen in the lead), The Zane Grey Theater, Burke's Law, and the Dick Powell Theater.

Powell died far too young as a result of making the film, The Conqueror, a classically bad film that featured John Wayne as Genghis Khan. The film was shot downwind from a nuclear testing site. He developed cancer along with nearly half the cast and crew and half the population of nearby St. George, Utah. Powell succumbed in 1963.

For the Johnny Dollar audition, Powell played the character as a lovable rogue in a similar vein to his Richard Rogue character with a little extra of the "rogue" added for spice. Powell didn't end up playing Johnny Dollar on the air, but his audition gives a nice picture of what might have been.

$$Charles Russell: Russell (1918-1985) was a Hollywood bit player that won the part as the second Johnny Dollar. He played the lead in Inner Sanctum, a B-movie based on one of the classic old time radio shows, and had a small part in Give My Regards to Broadway. (Picture Courtesy: Old Time Radio Researchers.) Losing a big star like Powell and replacing him with Russell had to be a disappointment for the show's producers. It was akin to replacing George Clooney with George Wendt.

Russell created a lighter version of Dollar that was more tongue in cheek, in similar style to Sam Spade. And was the most likely Johnny Dollar to place items on his expense account that in real life that would have caused a real life insurance investigator lose his bonding.

Russell's departure in the 1950 season is never discussed anywhere that I've found in my research. What is known of Russell is that he played in 17 movies between 1943-49. He left Johnny Dollar in 1950, the same year his three year marriage ended in divorce. He died in 1985. It is probable that he was the same person as TV Producer Charles W. Russell who served as a producer for such TV shows as Casey, Crime Photographer and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

$$$Edmund O'Brien became the second on-air Johnny Dollar in February 1950. O'Brien had previously played an insurance investigator in the 1947 film The Killers. He'd previously tried to break in to hardboiled radio drama when he recorded the pilot episode for Nightbeat, but the role instead went to Frank Lovejoy. Growing up O'Brien was the next door neighbor to Harry Houdini, and he had his first break in acting in Orson Welles' Mercury Theater. After O'Brien left Johnny Dollar after the 1951-52 season, he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for his role in The Barefoot Contessa. He got a second Golden Globe and a nomination for a second Oscar ten years later for his role in Seven Days in May. Over the course of his long career in film and television, O'Brien played in every genre and a wide variety of roles. From a poisoned accountant trying to solve his own Murder in DOA to the heavy in Pete Kelly's Blues, the role of Crowley in The Further Adventures of Gallegher, Syndicated Private Detective Johnny Midnight, and much more. O'Brien left behind a legacy that his Johnny Dollar performances compliment. For more on Mr. O'Brien, visit this great fan website.

O'Brien brought a more gritty Noir type performance in his taken on Johnny Dollar.

$$$$John Lund (1911-92): John Lund was born in Rochester, New York and enjoyed a solid but not spectacular career in radio, movies, and stage. Lund was respected by his colleageus and served as President of the Screen Actor's Guild from 1950-59. He retired to San Diego in 1963 and enjoyed a 39 year marriage.

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar Episodes

Dick Powell Audition

• The Milford Brooks III Matter (Performed: December 7, 1948)

Charles Russell Episodes:

• The Parikoff Policy (Original Air Date: February 11, 1949)
• The Slow Boat from China (Original Air Date: February 25, 1949)
• The Robert W. Perry Case (Original Air Date: March 4, 1949)
• Murder's a Merry Go Around (Original Air Date: March 11, 1949)
• Milford Brooks III Matter (Original Air Date: March 25, 1949)
• The Stolen Portrait (Original Air Date: April 1, 1949)
• The Case of the $100,000 legs (Original Air Date: April 15, 1949)
• The Barton Drake Case (Original Air Date: April 22, 1949)
• Who Took the Taxis for a Ride (Original Air Date: July 24, 1949)
• Murder Ain't Minor (Original Air Date: August 7, 1949)
• Out of the Fire Into the Frying Pan (Original Air Date: August 21, 1949)
• The Expiring Nickles (Original Air Date: September 4, 1949)
• The Search for Michelle Marsh (Original Air Date: September 25, 1949)
• The Fishing Boat Affair (Original Air Date: October 1, 1949)
• The Racehorse Piledriver Matter (Original Air Date: October 8, 1949)
• Dr. Otto Schmedlich (Original Air Date: October 15, 1949)
• Witness, Witness, Who's Got the Witness? (Original Air Date: October 22, 1949)
• The Little Man Who Wasn't All There (Original Air Date: October 29, 1949)
• The Island of Tin Yutan (Original Air Date: November 5, 1949)
• The Melanie Carter Matter (Original Air Date: November 12, 1949)
• Skullduggery in Skull Canyon (Original Air Date: November 26, 1949)
• Bodyguard to Anne Connelly (Original Air Date: December 3, 1949)
• The Circus Animal Show (Original Air Date: December 10, 1949)
• The Haiti Adventure (Original Air Date: December 17, 1949)

Edmond O'Brien Episodes

• Death Takes a Working Day (Original Air Date: February 3, 1950)
• The S.S. Malay Trader Ship (Original Air Date: February 10, 1950)
• The Grave Digger's Spade (Original Air Date: February 17, 1950)
• The Disappearance of Bruce Lambert (Original Air Date: February 24, 1950)
• Bodyguard to the Late Robert Perry (Original Air Date: March 3, 1950)
• How I Got a Wildcat Oil Operation by the Tail (Original Air Date: March 7, 1950)
• Eighty-Five Little Minks (Original Air Date:March 14, 1950)
• Stuart, Palmer, Writer (Rehersal of show that aired March 21, 1950)
• The Missing Masterpiece (Original Air Date: March 28, 1950)
• Story of the Big Red Schoolhouse (Original Air Date: April 4, 1950)
• The Dead First Helpers (Original Air Date: April 11, 1950)
• The Story of the 10:08 (Rehersal of show that aired April 18, 1950)
• The Pearl Carassa Matter (Original Air Date: April 25, 1950)
• The Abel Tackett Matter (Rehersal of show that aired May 2, 1950)
• The Harold Tandrem Matter (Original Air Date: May 9, 1950)
• The Sidney Rykoff Matter (Rehersal of show that aired May 16, 1950)
• The Earl Chadwick Matter (Original Air Date: May 23, 1950)
• The Port Au Prince Matter (Original Air Date: May 30, 1950)
• The Collegio Diamond Matter (Original Air Date: June 8, 1950)
• The Arrowcraft Matter (Original Air Date: June 15, 1950)
• The London Matter (Original Air Date: June 22, 1950)
• The Barbara James Matter (Original Air Date: June 29, 1950)
• The Bello-Horizonte Matter Railroad Matter (Original Air Date: July 6, 1950)
• The Calgary Matter (Original Air Date: July 13, 1950)
• Henry J. Unger (Original Air Date: July 20, 1950)
• The Blood River Matter (Original Air Date: August 3, 1950)
• The Hartford Alliance Matter (Original Air Date: August 10, 1950)
• The Mickey McQueen Matter (Original Air Date: August 17, 1950)
• The Trans-Pacific Export Matter (Original Air Date: August 24, 1950)
• The Virginia Beach Matter (Original Air Date: August 31, 1950)
• The Howard Caldwell Matter (Original Air Date: September 30, 1950)
• The Richard Splain Matter (Original Air Date: October 7, 1950)
• The Yankee Pride Matter (Original Air Date: October 14, 1950)
• The Jack Madigan Matter (Original Air Date: October 21, 1950)
• The Joan Sebastian Matter (Original Air Date: October 28, 1950)
• The Queen Anne Pistols Matter (Original Air Date: November 4, 1950)
• The Adam Kegg Matter (Original Air Date: November 11, 1950)
• The Nora Faulkner Matter (Original Air Date: November 18, 1950)
• The Woodward Manilla Matter (Original Air Date: November 25, 1950)
• The Jackie Cleaver Matter (Original Air Date: December 9, 1950)
• The Leland Blackburn Matter (Original Air Date: December 16, 1950)
• The Port O'Call Matter (Original Air Date: January 13, 1951)
• The David Rockey Matter (Original Air Date: January 20, 1951)
• The Jarvis Wilder Matter (Original Air Date: February 24, 1951)
• The Celia Woodstock Matter (Original Air Date: March 3, 1951)
• The Stanley Springs Matter (Original Air Date: March 10, 1951)
• The Byron Hayes Matter (Original Air Date: March 24, 1951)
• The Edward French Matter (Original Air Date: April 7, 1951)
• The Mickey McQueen Matter (Original Air Date: April 14, 1951)
• The Willard South Matter (Original Air Date: April 21, 1951)
• The Month-End Raid Matter (Original Air Date: April 28, 1951)
• The Virginia Towne Matter (Original Air Date: May 5, 1951)
• The Lillis Bond Matter (Rehersal of show that aired May 26, 1951)
• The Soderbury, Maine Matter (Rehersal of show that aired June 2, 1951)
• The George Farmer Matter (Original Air Date: June 9, 1951)
• The Arthur Boldrick Matter (Original Air Date: June 16, 1951)
• The Malcolm Wish, MD Matter (Original Air Date: June 20, 1951)
• The Hatchet House Theft Matter (Original Air Date: June 27, 1951)
• The Alonzo Chapman Matter (Original Air Date: July 4, 1951)
• The Fairway Matter (Original Air Date: July 11, 1951)
• The Horace Lockhart Matter (Original Air Date: August 1, 1951)
• The Lucky Costa Matter (Original Air Date: August 15, 1951)
• The Leland Case Matter (Rehearsal of show that Aired: August 29, 1951)
• The Cuban Jewel Matter (Original Air Date: September 19, 1951)
• The Protection Matter (Original Air Date: September 26, 1951)
• The Douglas Taylor Matter (Original Air Date: October 6, 1951)
• The Millard Ward Matter (Original Air Date: October 13, 1951)
• The Tolhurst Theft Matter (Original Air Date: October 27, 1951)
• The Hannibal Murphy Matter (Original Air Date: November 3, 1951)
• The Birdy Baskerville Matter (Original Air Date: November 10, 1951)
• The Merrill Kent Matter (Original Air Date: November 17, 1951)
• The Youngstown Credit Group Matter (Original Air Date: December 8, 1951)
• The Maynard Collins Matter (Original Air Date: December 22, 1951)
• The Alma Scott Matter (Original Air Date: December 29, 1951)
• The Glen English Matter (Original Air Date: January 5, 1952)
• The Amelia Harwell Matter (Original Air Date: July 2, 1952)

John Lund Episodes:

• The Transpacific Export Matter (Audition: November 1952)
• The James Clayton Matter (Original Air Date: December 5, 1952)
• The Elliot Champion Matter (Original Air Date: December 12, 1952)
• The Walter Patterson Matter (Original Air Date: December 26, 1952)
• The Baltimore Matter (Original Air Date: January 2, 1953)
• The Thelma Ibsen Matter (Original Air Date: January 9, 1953)
• The Starlet Matter (Original Air Date: January 16, 1953)
• The Marigold Matter (Original Air Date: January 23, 1953)
• The Kay Bellamy Matter (Original Air Date: January 30, 1953)
• The Chicago Fraud Matter (Original Air Date: February 6, 1953)
• The LaTourette Matter (Original Air Date: February 20, 1953)
• The Underwood Matter (Original Air Date: February 27, 1953)
• The Jeanne Maxwell Matter (Original Air Date: March 6, 1953)
• The King's Necklace Matter (Original Air Date: March 17, 1953)
• The Syndicate Matter (Original Air Date: March 24, 1953)
• The Lester James Matter (Original Air Date: March 31, 1953)
• The Enoch Arden Matter (Original Air Date: April 7, 1953)

Christmas Episodes (Played Out of Order):

• How I Played Santa Claus and Almost Got Left Holding the Bag (Original Air Date: December 24, 1949) (Russell)

Episodes posted every Friday

Episode Log source: Otrsite and Old Time Radio Researchers.

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