OLD TIME RADIO - 55 Radio Shows - 12
Audio CD - Total Playtime: 13:22:09 (Bob Bailey)
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio
drama about a "fabulous" freelance insurance investigator "with the
action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from January 14,
1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and
more than 720 still exist today.
Each story started with a phone call from an insurance executive, calling on
Johnny to investigate an unusual claim. Each story required Johnny to travel
to some distant locale, usually within the United States but sometimes
abroad, where he was almost always threatened with personal danger in the
course of his investigations. Johnny's file on each case was usually
referenced as a "matter," as in "The Silver Blue Matter" or "The Forbes
Matter." Later episodes were more fanciful, with titles like "The Wayward
Trout Matter" and "The Price of Fame Matter" (the latter featuring a rare
guest-star appearance: Vincent Price).
Each story was recounted in flashback, as Johnny listed each line item from
his expense account. Most of the items related to transportation and
lodging, but no incidental expense was too small for Johnny to itemize, as
in "Item nine, 10 cents. Aspirin. I needed them." Johnny usually stuck to
business, but would engage in romantic dalliances with women he encountered
in his travels; later episodes gave Johnny a steady girlfriend, Betty Lewis.
Johnny's precious recreational time was usually spent fishing, and it was
not uncommon for Johnny's clients to exploit this favorite pastime in
convincing him to take on a job. The episodes generally finished with Johnny
tallying up his account, making final remarks on the report, and traveling
back to Hartford, Connecticut, where he was based.
Original run
As originally conceived, Johnny Dollar was a smart, tough, wisecracking
detective who tossed silver-dollar tips to waiters and bellhops. Dick Powell
starred in the audition show, recorded in 1948, but withdrew from the role
in favor of other projects. The role went instead to Charles Russell. The
show, for which Powell auditioned, was originally titled "Yours Truly, Lloyd
London". Between the audition tape, of December 6, 1948, and the recording
of the first episode, January 14, 1949, the name of the show and its lead
character were changed.
With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar -- radio actor Russell and
movie tough-guy actors Edmond O'Brien and John Lund -- there was little to
distinguish Johnny Dollar from other detective series at the time (Richard
Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade). While always a friend of the police,
Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the
law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of
justice, as long as the interests of his employer were also protected. The
series ended in September 1954.
Revival
CBS Radio revived Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar in October 1955 with a new
leading man, a new director, and a new format. The program changed from a
30-minute, one-episode-per-week affair to a 15-minute, five-nights-a-week
serial [Monday through Friday, 8-8:15pm EST] produced and directed by radio
veteran Jack Johnstone. The new Johnny Dollar was Bob Bailey, who had just
come off another network detective series, Let George Do It. With a new lead
and 75 minutes of air time in the week, it became possible to develop each
storyline with more detail and with more characters. Almost all of the
Johnny Dollar serials were presented by CBS Radio on a sustaining basis
(unsponsored, with no commercials); only two of the 55 serials take time out
for a sponsor's message.
Bob Bailey was exceptionally good in this format, making Johnny more
sensitive and thoughtful in addition to his other attributes. Vintage-radio
enthusiasts often endorse Bailey as the best of the Johnny Dollars, and
consider the 13-month run of five-part stories to be some of the greatest
drama in radio history. The serial scripts were usually written by Jack
Johnstone, "John Dawson" (a pseudonym for E. Jack Neuman), Les Crutchfield,
or Robert Ryf, Blake Edwards also contributed several scripts and the show
was always produced and directed by Johnstone. The show featured an
excellent stock company of supporting actors, including Virginia Gregg,
Harry Bartell, Vic Perrin, Parley Baer, Howard McNear, John Dehner, Lillian
Buyeff, Tony Barrett, Don Diamond, and Forrest Lewis. Movie character actors
appeared occasionally, including Jay Novello, Hans Conried, Frank Nelson,
Leon Belasco, William Conrad, Edgar Barrier, and Billy Halop.
In late 1956 CBS Radio retooled the show, which reverted to a weekly
half-hour drama, appearing on late Sunday afternoons. The scripts were
obviously tighter than the daily serials had been, with much less
recapitulation. Bob Bailey continued in the role until 1960 (and wrote one
episode, "The Carmen Kringle Matter").
The constant pressure of coming up with new mysteries and settings every
week posed a problem for the writers. They solved it by occasionally
consulting old scripts from other detective series. In one such remake, Bob
Bailey as Johnny Dollar talks like Jack Webb as Jeff Regan, Investigator.
Changes at CBS
In 1960 CBS Radio shut down production on the west coast and moved its radio
drama unit to New York. Bob Bailey, unwilling to relocate, gave up the
Johnny Dollar role. Bailey's last performance was in a script significantly
titled "The Empty Threat Matter." This may have been writer Johnstone's
editorial comment on CBS's threat to close the shop in California.
In New York, CBS staff producer Bruno Zirato, Jr. (who also directed TV game
shows for CBS) took over Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, although Jack Johnstone
continued to write the scripts. Former child actor Bob Readick took over the
leading role in a manner reminiscent of the original Dollar, Charles
Russell. After six months he was replaced by Mandel Kramer, who gave the
role his own low-key interpretation. Many fans rank Kramer second only to
Bailey as the most effective Johnny Dollar. Both Readick and Kramer were
members of CBS's stock company in New York, and both appeared in other CBS
dramas.
The end
The final episodes of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Suspense, airing on
CBS, are often cited as the end of the golden age of radio. The last episode
of Johnny Dollar, "The Tip-Off Matter", ended at 6:35 p.m. Eastern Time on
September 30, 1962, followed immediately by the final broadcast of Suspense.
Although network radio drama returned to the airwaves -- in ABC's Theater
Five (1964-65), and CBS Radio Mystery Theater (1974-82) -- these were more
experimental "drama workshop" shows, and did not adhere to a continuing
format or leading character. Mainstream radio drama, as pioneered in the
1920s, died with Johnny Dollar in 1962.
Remarkably, "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar" was a popular weekly radio mystery
play in the 1960s and early 1070s on Radio Iran (Iran) too. Each episode
opened with the sound of a man running, followed by two gunshots and the
victim's cry of pain. Next there were two telephone rings and then came the
sentence "Eradatmand, Johnny Dollar" (Yours truly, Johnny Dollar) by the
portrayer.
The story was translated into Farsi screenplays by Jalal Nematollahi. The
lead role of Johnny Dollar was played by Heidar Saremi, a popular radio
performer. But contrary to the original play, in Iran, Johnny Dollar was
more of a criminal investigator who solved every case through a combination
of wits and tactics. At the end of each episode, the narrater asked the
radio audience how did Johnny find the perpetrators? Thus, the show was also
a mystery quiz and those who guessed correctly were entered into a raffle
for a prize.
Actors who portrayed Johnny Dollar
* Dick Powell (Audition show in 1948)
* Charles Russell (February 1949 - January 1950)
* Edmond O'Brien (February 1950 - September 1952)
* John Lund (November 1952 - September 1954)
* Gerald Mohr (Audition show in 1955)
* Bob Bailey (October 1955 - November 1960)
* Bob Readick (December 1960 - June 1961)
* Mandel Kramer (June 1961 - September 1962)
SHOWS LIST
CD 1 The Alder Matter (5 Parts) 56-08-06 to 56-08-10 - Episodes 451-455
CD 2 The Crystal Lake Matter (5 Parts) 56-08-13 to 56-08-17 - Episodes 456-460
CD 3 The Kranesburg Matter (Parts 1 to 5) 56-08-24 to 56-08-30 - Episodes 461-465
CD 4 The Kranesburg Matter (Part 6) 56-08-31 - Episode 466
CD 5 The Curse of Kamashek Matter (5 Parts) 56-09-03 to 56-09-07 - Episodes 467-471
CD 6 The Confidential Matter (5 Parts) 56-09-10 to 56-09-14 - Episodes 472-476
CD 7 The Meg's Palace Matter (5 Parts) 56-09-24 to 56-09-28 - Episodes 482-486
CD 8 The Picture Postcard Matter (5 Parts) 56-10-01 to 56-10-05 - Episodes 487-491
CD 9 The Primrose Matter (5 Parts) 56-10-08 to 56-10-12 - Episodes 492-496
CD 10 The Phantom Chase Matter (Parts 1 to 5) 56-10-15 to 56-10-19 - Episodes 497-501
CD 11 The Phantom Chase Matter (Parts 6 to 9) 56-10-22 to 56-10-26 - Episodes 502-505
CD 12 The Silent Queen Matter (5 Parts) 56-10-29 to 56-11-02 - Episodes 506-510
Bonus: 1 Incomplete Five Parts Story: The Imperfect Alibi Matter (Episode 2 is missing)
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