Enjoy two free detective episodes of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar w/ Bob Bailey

A) 1/20/57 The Blooming Blossom Matter

B) 6/18/61 The Big Date Matter

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 1948 recorded pilot but withdrew from the role in favor of other projects. Charles Russell landed the part and early on Dollar’s expertise was deeply established in insurance fraud investigation. By the fall of 1949, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar came to CBS radio and chronicled the transcribed adventures of America’s fabulous freelance insurance investigator, "the man with the action-packed expense account.” For 12 years, it was one of the most popular detective shows on the air, lasting until the final days of network radio drama in 1962. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance executive calling on Johnny Dollar to investigate an unusual claim. The investigations usually required Dollar to travel to distant locales and often involved murder. The stories were recounted in flashback, as Dollar listed each line item from his expense account: “Item one, $3.75 cab fare to the airport.” While Dollar was always a friend of the police, he 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, the Universal Adjustment Bureau, was protected. Over the years, many actors portrayed Johnny Dollar, including John Lund and Edmond O’Brien but in 1955, Bob Bailey, took over as the series was switching to a new dynamic format of 75-minute storylines told in five, 15-minute installments Monday-thru-Friday. In 1956, CBS retooled the show, which reverted to a weekly half-hour drama, airing on late Sunday afternoons. Bob Bailey continued in the leading role until 1960. Roy Rowan was the announcer (he was also the announcer on CBS’s I Love Lucy). While other radio shows were waning in the mid 1950s, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was at its peak. By 1960, Bob Readick played the lead giving way to Mandel Kramer, who became radio’s last Johnny Dollar.