This week an extensive look at the history of The Saint, aka Simon Templer and its author Leslie Charteris (right). I'll look at the different media appearances of the series plus snippets of interviews with one of Charteris' biographers Dick Fiddy.Interview clips come from Geoffrey Richards and the BBC. Music under is "Fantasia" by Duke Ellington.

Another radio detective from the factory of Frank and Ann Hummert was Inspector Thorne. The series was short-lived and also had two stars portraying the lead. The first was Karl Weber and the second was Staats Cotsworth (right).

This week - a return to hardboiled detective fiction writer, Raymond Chandler. In 1944, the film Murder, My Sweet was released based on Chandler's book Farewell, My Lovely. In 1945 the Lux Radio Theater produced an adaptation of the film starring much of the original cast including Dick Powell and Claire Trevor (right). Some interesting Chandler tidbits about the production.Music under is "Evan's Essence" by Anne Farnsworth on the Podshow Music Network.I'll be taking a week off attending the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Maryland.

Arthur Conan Doyle (right) is best known for his creation of the detective Sherlock Holmes. This week I look at another detective creation of his - one Inspector Collins of Scotland Yard. He only appeared once on radio and that was in the Escape presentation of a Conan Doyle short story - "The Lost Special" about a train that seems to totally vanish. Collins has Holmesian characteristics in his detective skills. Music under is "Katy's Melting Song" by Monika Herzig on Podshow.com

While John P. Marquand (right) found literary success in his books such as The Late George Apley, he found commercial success in a series of detective/spy novels featuring a Japanese mystery man - Mr. I.A. Moto. This week I feature the agent that Peter Lorre made famous and also made Lorre successful. By the time radio found the novels, Moto had become a detective/agent fighting Communism in America.

This week another radio detective cum lawyer born from the daytime serial dramas. Perry Mason on radio was wedged between two other "soap operas" and though it was also one, it was different from the others. I'll look at Earl Stanley Gardner and his famous lawyer who did a lot of detective work on the radio version. There were several actors who portrayed him on radio, but the most frequently remembered one was John Larkin (right).Music under the commentary is "Midnight in Chicago" by the Indianapolis Jazz Orchestra from Garageband.com.

A look at the detective serials as "soap drama." Mr. Chameleon came from the factory of Frank and Ann Hummert who are best known as the creators of many of radio soap operas and now some of the long running television daytime dramas. The series starred Karl Swenson (right) as the detective who could disguise himself to solve a crime.Music under the commentary is "Old Folks" by the Ron Helman Jazz Ensemble from the Podshow music network.

Though he was much better in Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator, gravely-voiced William Gargan starred several more times on radio. This week a look at one of his lesser roles in which he seemed to sometimes sleep his way through. This crime detective series starred Gargan as Ross Dolan.

Just as his successful radio series, Dragnet, was making a move to television, Jack Webb starred in another short lived radio vehicle - Pete Kelly's Blues. I'll look at why he might have done so when he had so much on his plate at the time. The series had some great New Orlean's Style Jazz!

This week you'll hear an audition episode of a series that apparently never aired. San Francisco Final was produced by many of the same personnel who brought Dragnet to the television. Though San Francisco Final is a very well written episode, it has many of the same elements of Dragnet in style and feel.The series starred Jeff Chandler who was then a major Hollywood star.