It's a birthday bash for Lou Costello in this week's bonus comedy show. We'll hear Costello and Bud Abbott trade barbs and backwards logic in a pair of episodes from their long-running radio series. First, Costello wants to join the Merchant Marines (originally aired on NBC on January 25, 1945). Then, Bud and Lou hit the road to hire the Andrews Sisters (originally aired on NBC on April 5, 1945).

It's a trip around the world with three old time radio detectives who walked an international beat. First, Rocky Jordan investigates a killing in Cairo in "The Man With No Name" (originally aired on CBS on October 9, 1949). Then, secret agent Mr. I.A. Moto journeys to Rome in "Escape" (originally aired on NBC on July 22, 1951). Finally, Brian Donlevy stars as Steve Mitchell in Dangerous Assignment on an adventure to Bombay (originally aired on NBC on August 23, 1950).

We'll close out our Black History Month series with music and comedy from Louis Armstrong. Satchmo teams up with Rochester in an episode of The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on NBC on May 9, 1943). Then, he jams on an episode of the Armed Forces Radio Service showcase Jubilee (recorded on May 24, 1943).

Seventy-two years ago this month, "the man with the action-packed expense account" made his two-fisted radio debut. Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ran until 1962 and helped to bring down the curtain on the golden age of radio. We'll hear three radio adventures of "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator," each starring a different actor as Dollar. First, Charles Russell stars in "Murder is a Merry-Go-Round" (originally aired on CBS on March 11, 1949). Then, John Lund is Dollar in "The Marigold Matter" (originally aired on CBS on January 23, 1953). Finally, Mandel Kramer plays Johnny in "The Three for One Matter" (originally aired on CBS on October 22, 1961).

Eddie Green's signature radio role was as Eddie, the waiter at Duffy's Tavern. But before he joined the cast of the Ed Gardner comedy series, Green was a successful entertainer on stage and screen. He was an actor, director, and songwriter who reached tremendous heights as an African American performer in the first half of the twentieth century. We'll hear Green in a pair of episodes from Duffy's Tavern (originally aired on NBC on November 9, 1945 and December 28, 1945).

We're saluting some of the women who solved crimes during the radio era. First, we'll Meet Miss Sherlock, a scatterbrained amateur detective (originally aired on CBS on September 12, 1946). Then, comedy star Sara Berner shows off her trademark silliness as she sleuths in Sara's Private Caper (originally aired on NBC on June 15, 1950). And finally, Natalie Masters is on the case as Candy Matson - the gorgeous gumshoe from San Francisco - in "A Symphony of Death" (originally aired on NBC on June 20, 1950).

Eddie Anderson, the vaudeville star and comedian with a trademark gravelly voice, made his first appearance on The Jack Benny Program in 1937. He'd become an iconic part of the series and a member of Benny's cast on radio and television for nearly 30 years. Anderson was the first African American actor with a regular role on a national radio series, and his character of Rochester Van Jones was one of the most popular on the show. We'll hear him as Sam in the show's production of Casablanca (originally aired on NBC on October 17, 1943). Then, Anderson stars in the audition recordings of what would have been his own comedy series - The Private Life of Rochester Van Jones (recorded May 12, 1950).

In 14 films and hundreds of radio episodes, Nigel Bruce personified Dr. Watson for generations of Sherlock Holmes fans. The actor created a companion for Sherlock Holmes who was avuncular, fiercely loyal, and awestruck at his friend's deductive powers. We'll hear Bruce opposite Basil Rathbone in "The Telltale Pigeon Feathers" (originally aired on Mutual on January 21, 1946) and with Tom Conway in "The Adventure of the Elusive Emerald" (originally aired on ABC on December 14, 1946). Plus, Bruce recreates his role from Suspicion in a production of The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on CBS on January 21, 1946).

In honor of Black History Month, we're saluting African American performers in old time radio comedies. Seven years after she became the first Black performer to win an Oscar, Hattie McDaniel broke another barrier as the first Black woman to headline a national radio series. McDaniel starred as Beulah in the comedy series about the titular maid and housekeeper. We'll hear her in a pair of Beulah episodes (originally aired on CBS on June 27 and June 28, 1950). Plus, she reprises the role in an episode of Philco Radio Time with Bing Crosby (originally aired on ABC on January 19, 1949).

Two-fisted action, tough guy narration, dangerous dames - the hard-boiled detective shows of the golden age of radio had it all. We'll hear three of those gumshoes in radio mysteries. First, Gerald Mohr is Philip Marlowe in "The Lady Killer" (originally aired on CBS on August 20, 1949). Then, Jack Webb stars as Pat Novak For Hire in "Fleet Lady" (originally aired on ABC on March 6, 1949). Finally, William Gargan plays Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator in "Crimson Queen" (originally aired on NBC on January 4, 1953).