Fried okra, done right, is just as good as it gets.

One of the best of the many fine Philip Marlowe radio show episodes was "Anniversary Gift." For some reason, William Conrad played Marlowe in this particular instance. It concerns a man who is trying to conceal the fact that his dying wife had killed a man who was blackmailing them.

The Life of Riley radio show

The Life of Riley was a long-running radio show in the 1940’s. It was good and well worth listening to, although in my opinion it was not one of the funniest of the radio comedies. However, one character on the show was a hoot! Digby “Digger” O’Dell, “The Friendly Undertaker,” was a friend of Riley. He had the best lines in the show and pulled them off in great style.

Mrs. X on Richard Diamond

I just finished listening to an episode of Richard Diamond (with actor Dick Powell) broadcast 4 Oct 1950. At the first of the show he starts to announce a special guest and then decides not to. His client is a mystery woman, “Mrs. X,” who wants to locate her husband. At the end of the show, she says that she is expecting and that her husband was so moved by it that he was temporarily mentally affected.

Allyson was actually Powell’s wife, and their son, Richard, Jr., was born in December of 1950.

Six Shooter music on Johnny Dollar

I am listening to a Johnny Dollar episode called “The Stope of Death,” about a silver mine in Nevada. As he is preparing to make the trip, you can hear the theme music from “The Six Shooter” playing. I thought that was interesting.

Chain smoking radio actors

There are some classic examples of voices on radio that were destroyed by chain smoking. Ken Christy (Chief Gates on Gildersleeve) and William Gargan (Barry Craig). In fact, Gargan's career came to an end in 1958 when he developed throat cancer, and doctors were forced to remove his larynx. Speaking through an artificial voice box, Gargan became an activist and spokesman for the American Cancer Society, often warning about the dangers of smoking.

Richard Diamong - "The Blue Serge Suit"

One of the funniest Richard Diamond radio show episodes is the one entitled "Blue Serge Suit." Jim Backus is a guest star as the sarcastic owner of a men's clothing store. Their dialogue back and forth is hilarious.

Here is a LINK to this episode.


Dick Powell (Diamond)


Backus

Johnny Staccato

We ended up not being too high on Johnny Staccato. Some of the episodes were enjoyable and interesting, but too many of them were trying to make some kind of social statement. Eduardo Ciannelli as Waldo stole the show.

Dick Powell and Arkansas

I just listened to an episode of Richard Diamond, “William Carter Loses His Memory,” in which Dick Powell refers at the close to Mountain View, Arkansas, which was the place of his birth.

Pam and I watched a Johnny Staccato episode last week in which Alexander Scourby was a guest star who played the role of a charlatan preacher. That is ironic, given his famous recordings reading the Scriptures.