OLD TIME RADIO - 60 Radio
Shows - 12 Audio CD - Total Playtime: 14:33:49
(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 Lorko Diamonds Matter (5 Parts)
55-11-07 to 55-11-11 - Episodes 256-260
CD 2
The Broderick Matter (5 Parts)
55-11-14 to 55-11-18 - Episodes 261-265
CD 3
The Amy Bradshaw Matter (5 Parts)
55-11-21 to 55-11-25 - Episodes 266-270
CD 4
The Henderson Matter (5 Parts)
55-11-28 to 55-12-02 - Episodes 271-275
CD 5
The Cronin Matter (5 Parts)
55-12-05 to 55-12-09 - Episodes 276-280
CD 6
The Lansing Fraud Matter (5 Parts)
55-12-12 to 55-12-16 - Episodes 281-285
CD 7
The Nick Shurn Matter (5 Parts)
55-12-19 to 55-12-23 - Episodes 286-290
CD 8
The Forbes Matter (5 Parts)
55-12-26 to 55-12-30 - Episodes 291-295
CD 9
The Caylin Matter (5 Parts)
56-01-02 to 56-01-06 - Episodes 296-300
CD 10
The Todd Matter (5 Parts)
56-01-09 to 56-01-13 - Episodes 301-305
CD 11
The Ricardo Amerigo Matter (5 Parts)
56-01-16 to 56-01-20 - Episodes 306-310
CD 12
The Duke Red Matter (5 Parts)
56-01-23 to 56-01-27 - Episodes 311-315