Dick Powell Radio Detective Shows

[Hal Evans]

Dick Powell is my favorite radio detective. He was on a Rogues' Gallery series before Richard Diamond. And he had about the same breezy style. I checked out a Radio Detective multi-cassette edition from the library, in which there were several Richard Rogue shows. All of them had hilarious fluffs in them, leading me to think maybe they were rehearsal shows. Later on, I heard other Rogue's Gallery Shows over internet radio, and they had no mistakes. So there.

However the Richard Diamond series had the edge on writing, production and Dick Powell's wonderful style. They were having a lot of fun during the broadcast. especially the announcer's close over Dick Powell's improvised whistling the theme music. Must have been trying to break up the announcer.

This from Hal Evans, an old radio announcer, who was too easy to break up on the air.

[Jim]

I too like the Dick Powell shows. He was one of the better radio voices and everything he did was very well done. Powell was quoted as saying he was tired of playing the "same stupid story" over and over when he was movie's "boy crooner."

So he took up the opportunity to star in the Philip Marlowe role at RKO. It was while there that he did the radio detective "Richard Rogue." He left to appear in more tough guy roles in film including "Cornered" and "Johnny O'Clock." Then in 1949 he returned to radio as Richard Diamond.

Great actor, great voice!

[Alan]

I am trying to pin down the old time radio shows that Charles McGraw acted in during the immediate post WWII period 1945-1950. I believe that McGraw lent his distinctive voice to "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" with the aforementioned Dick Powell and also graced "Escape".

McGraw starred in television in the mid-50's as Mike Ware in "The Falcon" but I don't know if he appeared in the radio show of the same name.

Can anyone help me out?

[Jim Widner]

I am trying to pin down the old time radio shows that Charles McGraw acted in during the immediate post WWII period 1945-1950. I believe that McGraw lent his distinctive voice to "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" with the aforementioned Dick Powell and also graced "Escape".

McGraw starred in television in the mid-50's as Mike Ware in "The Falcon" but I don't know if he appeared in the radio show of the same name.

Can anyone help me out?

McGraw was in a number of detective genre radio programs including:

Ellery Queen - 1/8/48
Jeff Regan, Private Investigator - 9/25/48
This is Your FBI - 5/27/49
Pat Novak For Hire - 6/4/49
The Whistler - several episodes in 1949
Richard Diamond, Private Detective - 11/19/49
Escape - several in early 1950
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - 3/28/50
Suspense - several episodes
and more.

Of course, on television he was Mike Waring, aka The Falcon for at least a season.

One of his last radio works was on Alien Worlds in 1979.

His gravely voice was perfect for detective fiction. And I think he was often portrayed along the same path that Edmund O'Brien was in the early fifties.

[Scotty]

I, too, like Dick Powell on Richard Diamond.
He had a smooth singing voice.
Check out the Lux Theatre for "Murder My Sweet" with Powell recreating his Philip Marlowe role.
He also did: Christmas in July, Johnny O'Clock, and Island in the Sky on Lux. and "Pitfall" on the Screen Director's Playhouse.

Scott

[Hal Evans]

If anyone is interested in hearing the Dick Powell Richard Diamond radio shows, they are regularly scheduled on internet radio WNAR. They come on at 1pm Central Time. Nice thing about WNAR is that they have an actual program schedule. No, I don't work for them and am not hired to promote them.

[Stewart]

For a biographical sketch about one of the supporting players on Richard Diamond, Private Detective, see
THE BIRD MAN FROM CHICAGO
http://www.mwotrc.com/rr2015_08/Birdman.htm
which appeared in the Radio Recall, the journal of the Metropolitan Washington Old-Time Radio Club