Mystery is My Hobby came to air as Murder is My Hobby, a title with an amusing double meaning. However, after 34 weeks, the series gained a sponsor–the Benefit Life Insurance Company of Omaha, Nebraska. They didn’t like the name. So thus it was changed.
The series starred Glenn Langan as Mystery Writer Barton Drake, who teams up each week with Inspector Noah Danton to solve the weekly puzzle. At the end of each episode, Drake is sure to work in his catchphrase, “Murder/Mystery is My Hobby.”
Beyond these basic facts, the series is an unsolved mystery. The episodes that circulate among fans are from the Syndicated series and all include the, “Mystery is My Hobby” tag rather than “Murder is My Hobby.” Various websites will give dates ranging from 1945-51 for the series’ airing. However, newspaper logs from the Digital Deli confirm that Murder is My Hobby premiered in 1945 over the Mutual Network. Beyond that, we don’t know how long the series aired or what order episodes aired in for syndication. Confusing this is information in the Radio Gold index logs which show that the show used the same episodes repeatedly in different syndication packages, so even though there’s an episode #135, we don’t know if there were 135 episodes made.
This makes the series difficult to research and nearly impossible to date. However, the episodes are self-contained and lack continuity so they don’t have to be listened to in any particular order.
Star Bio
Glenn Langan (1917-91): Langan made his Broadway debut in 1942 and started in the 1945-47 radio series Mystery is My Hobby . In Hollywood, Langan starred in a variety of B movies. He met his future wife Adele Jurgens on the set of The Treasure of Monte Christo. Throughout the mid-1950s, he made a variety of film and television appearances and starred in another syndicated radio series Stand by for Crime, playing reporter Chuck Morgan. In 1957, he starred in the cult film classic The Amazing Colossal Man. As his film career wound down, Langan developed a new career in real estate.
Episode Log:
- January-June Marriage Spells Murder
- Mister Michaels, Murder Suspect
- Snowbound
- Dude Ranch
- Murder in the Ring
- Who Killed David Austin?
- Murder Bound
- Short Distance to Murder
- Blackmail
- The Walking Corpse
- Death in Mark Adrian’s Studio
- Engaged to Death
- Shots at Curtis Window
- The Eternal Triangle
- The Waiting Game
- Clearing Peter Wade
- Fatherly Advice
- Mystery of the Burning Light
- Arthur Gideon’s Memoirs
- Phony Husband
- Cinderella for a Day
- Mink Coat
- Stella Dix is Murdered
- Hit Plan Gone Astray
- Murder at Asa Cook’s House
- Wife and Her Friends
- Episode 27
- Andrew Bradford Runs for Governor
- Murder and the Folsom Point
- Blue Jay Dude Ranch
- Ben Cramer
- Chris Pomeroy
- Sally Anders is Murdered
- Uncle Howard’s Treasure Map
- Murder at the Arnold House
- Madame Valentine
- Death of an Old Prospector
- Boston for Christmas (Christmas Episode)
- Thief and the Paintings
- Fishing Trip Ends in Murder
- Voice of Doom
- Lake George Murder
- Radio Comedians Duel
- Stephanie Brent Murdered
- Henry Lawrence Murdered
- John Crain Murdered
- Robert’s Rubber Company
- Hudson Family Deaths
- Coin Collector’s Murder
- Tov Morelli, Bank Robbery
- Kenneth Prangle, Polo Player
- Estelle Wainwright Murdered
- Two Hours to Live
- Ghost Didn’t Walk
- Bullets Make Holes
- The Case of 65 Women
- Death is Twin
- Murder Can Be Pleasant
- Death Paints with a Purple
- Death Buys Flowers
- Death Speaks with Ten Fingers
- Death Asks Questions
- Death is a Grain of Sand
- Death Has Blue Eyes
- Death Has a Hotfoot
- Death is One and Three
- Death Hides a Body
- Death Goes Before Pride
- Death Writes an Epitaph
End of log