Let George Do It (radio)
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''Let George Do It'' is an American radio drama series produced from 1946 to 1954 by Owen and Pauline Vinson. Bob Bailey starred as
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
George Valentine;
Olan Soule Olan Evart Soule (February 28, 1909 – February 1, 1994) was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films. Soul ...
voiced the role in 1954. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and
Jackson Gillis Jackson Clark Gillis (August 21, 1916 – August 19, 2010) was an American radio and television scriptwriter whose career spanned more than 40 years and encompassed a wide range of genres. Gillis was born in Kalama, Washington to a highway eng ...
.


History and description

The few earliest episodes were more
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
than
private eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...
shows, with a studio audience providing scattered laughter. The program then changed into a suspenseful tough guy private eye series. Sponsored by
Standard Oil of California Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...
, now known as
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, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Don Lee network of the
Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
from October 18, 1946, to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings and then on Mondays. In its last season, transcriptions were aired in New York Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. from January 20, 1954 to January 12, 1955. Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper that carried his
classified ad Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper *The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...
:
Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me. George Valentine. Write full details!
The newspaper ad varied from show to show, but always opened with "Danger is my stock in trade" and closed with "Write full details!"


Characters and actors

George Valentine was a professional detective. Valentine's secretary was Claire Brooks, a.k.a. Brooksie (voiced by Frances Robinson, then by
Virginia Gregg Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, and then by Lillian Buyeff). As Valentine made his rounds in search of perpetrators, he occasionally encountered Brooksie's kid brother, Sonny (
Eddie Firestone Eddie Firestone (December 11, 1920 – March 1, 2007) was an American radio, television, and film actor who accumulated over 200 total credits during his performing career. Early life When he was 12, Firestone was in the cast of ''Wheatenavil ...
) or elevator man Caleb (
Joseph Kearns Joseph Sherrard Kearns
TV Guide. July 15–21, 1961, Savetheorgan.org; retrieved September 28, 2011.
). Police Lieutenant Riley (
Wally Maher Wally Maher (August 4, 1908 – December 26, 1951) was an American actor, primarily on old-time radio; he was also known as the original voice of Tex Avery's cartoon character Screwy Squirrel. Early years Maher was born in Cincinnati on August 4, ...
) was a more regular guest. For the first few shows, Sonny was George's assistant, given to exclamations such as "Jeepers!" but he was soon relegated to an occasional character. John Hiestand was the program's announcer.


Other personnel

The background music was supplied by Eddie Dunstedter, initially with a full orchestra. When television supplanted radio as the country's primary home entertainment, radio budgets got skimpier and skimpier and Dunstedter's orchestra was replaced by an organ (played by Dunstedter), as from January 1949.


References

{{reflist


External links

*
Let George Do It
' 242 Episodes of Let George Do It available at the Internet archive. 1946 radio programme debuts 1954 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs American radio dramas Mutual Broadcasting System programs Detective radio shows Don Lee Network programs