''Dickie Dick Dickens'' is a satirical radio play by and . The play, which tells the story of Dickie Dick Dickens' rise from simple pickpocket to gangster leader in Chicago, was first produced in Germany in 1959 by Bayerischer Rundfunk, which produced the last of its 51 episodes in 1976. Radio Bremen,

Schweizer Radio DRS Schweizer Radio: Radio der deutschen und rätoromanischen Schweiz (SR DRS; "Swiss Radio: Radio of the German and Romansh Switzerland") was a company of SRG SSR which operated the public German-language radio stations of Switzerland from 1931 u ...

, Norwegian National Broadcasting

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

and Swedish National Broadcasting

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...

also made their own productions. It became particularly popular in Norway where it was voted the most popular radio play of all time in 2001. Rolf and Alexandra Becker also published five books parallel with the production of the radio play. A theatre play based on the radio play debuted in Norway in 2011.

The plot

The story is set in the 1920s in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and tells the story of Dickie Dick Dickens evolving from a simple pickpocket to the "most dangerous man in Chicago's underworld", "a shining star in the wonderful million city's gangster sky". Among the members of his gang are the old friend Opa Crackle and superstitious Bonzo. His chief opponent is fellow gangster leader Jim Cooper while his opponents in the police include Chief Sergeant Lionel McKenzie and Sergeant Hillbilly. An important part of the play is the two narrators who underline that the story is based on "countless partly dubious, partly non-existing sources" which form the basis for an "in every detail truthful rendering".Fredrik Wandru
Dickie Dick Dickens – nå også som romanhelt
''Dagbladet'' Most important of the historical documentation is Dickie Dick Dickens's memoirs, written 20 years later in

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

and translated into fourteen languages. According to the story, Dickie Dick Dickens lived 68% of his life in Chicago and 32% in Sing Sing. Each episode ends with a cliffhanger. In an interview Rolf Becker said that the play was inspired by American quasi-documentary crime series like '' Dragnet'' and some tendencies in

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

. Johannes Joner who played Dickie Dick Dickens in a theater version describes Dickie as a mixture of

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

and

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...

Germany and Switzerland

Bayerischer Rundfunk produced 51 episodes from 1959 to 1976. The six episodes in 1976 were independent from the episodes that were made in 1959 and the 1960s and featured Dickie Dick Dickens travelling in Europe. Radio Bremen made the first season of ''Dickie Dick Dickens'' in 1960 and 1961, followed by two later seasons. The original radio tapes were not preserved and in 2003, Radio Bremen encouraged their listeners to send private cassette recordings of the radio play to the station. They obtained the two last seasons, but not the first. In 2008, Radio Bremen made a new production of the first season.

also made their own production of the play.

Norway and Sweden

''Dickie Dick Dickens'' came to Norway via Paul Skoe who was instructor for

Radioteatret Radioteatret is a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation which produces audio plays for radio broadcasting. It was established in 1927. In January 2021, ''Verdens Gang'' cited a report from NTB, saying that Radioteatret ow isbeing ...

and was introduced to the play when on a work visit to a German radio station. The first series was broadcast in 1962 and the last of the ordinary six series was broadcast in 1976.Fredrik Wandrup (15 March 2011
Chicagos farligste mann
''Dagbladet'' The Norwegian version had song and music in various styles composed by

Gunnar Gunnar is a male first name of Nordic origin (''Gunnarr'' in Old Norse). The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (''gunnr'' "war" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

and Maj Sønstevold, including a song about Chicago with a male choir. Dickie Dick Dickens was played by

Frank Robert Frank Robert (né Frank Robert Olstad; 12 October 1918 – 13 July 2007) was a Norwegian singer, dancer and actor. He is particularly remembered for playing the title character in the popular audio play ''Dickie Dick Dickens''. Personal life ...

, and Jim Cooper by

Jack Fjeldstad Jack Fjeldstad (24 March 1915 – 4 September 2000) was a Norwegian actor and stage producer. He was active on stage and in films for more than fifty years. He made his film debut in ''Det drønner gjennom dalen'' in 1937, and participated in ...

. Being first broadcast in the early 1960s when Norway only had one radio station and television was not as widespread as today, ''Dickie Dick Dickens'' became immensely popular. According to Fredrik Wandrup in 2011, "when new episodes were sent the nation was as silent as after a gangster massacre". In 2001, listeners of NRK voted ''Dickie Dick Dickens'' the most popular radio play of all time.

produced 36 episodes in 1965 and 1966. Dickie Dick Dickens was played by

Martin Ljung Martin Vilhelm Ljung (15 August 1917, in Notviken, Luleå – 30 September 2010, in Stockholm) was a Swedish comedian, actor and singer.Beppe Wolgers played Jim Cooper. Four more episodes were made in 1970 and another four in 1973.

Books, theatre

Rolf and Alexandra Becker wrote five novels parallel with the radio play productions; the first one was published in 1959. * ''Dickie Dick Dickens'' (1959) * ''Dickie gibt kein Fersengeld'' (1963) * ''Dickie Dick Dickens gegen Chicago'' (1964) * ''Dickie Dick Dickens schlägt Wellen'' (1986) The books have been translated into Swedish, and later also into Norwegian and sold in Norway; the first was published in 2012. Five CD series of the Norwegian version have been released, the first in 1998. As of 2011, the series had sold 30,000 copies. In 2011,

Oslo Nye Teater Oslo Nye Teater is a theater located in Oslo, Norway. The theater has its main stage in its own theater house at Rosenkrantz' gate 10. It is one of Norway's most visited theatres. Oslo Nye Teater AS is wholly owned by Oslo Municipality. Histor ...

Centralteatret Centralteatret ( en, Central Theater) is a theatre on Akersgata in the city centre of Oslo, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western ...

in Oslo staged a play based on the series. It featured Johannes Jones playing Dickie Dick Dickens, Monica Hjelle playing Effie Marconi while four other characters were played by

puppets A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to mov ...

. The play later toured Norway as part of

Riksteatret Riksteatret (English: National Traveling Theater) is a Norwegian touring theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or ima ...

.Mona Levin (24 March 2011
Åh, Dick, Dick, Dick!
''Dagbladet''

References

{{reflist German radio dramas Norwegian radio programs 1959 radio programme debuts