''Murder Is My Hobby'' (also titled ''Mystery is My Hobby'') is an American
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
Films
* ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film
* ''Mystery'' ( ...
program that was broadcast on
Mutual in 1945–1946.
The 30-minute program debuted on October 14, 1945, and ended on July 14, 1946.
It was sponsored by Mendaco.
Before ''Murder Is My Hobby'' was broadcast nationwide, it was carried on six
Don Lee Pacific stations, sponsored by Cystex, beginning in April 1945.
Glenn Langan
Glenn Langan (July 8, 1917 – January 26, 1991) was an American character actor on stage and films.
Early years
Born in Denver, Colorado, Langan was the son of Thomas Langan and Kate Quinn Langan. He attended schools there. His early training ...
portrayed Barton Drake, a police inspector and the author of the book ''Mystery Is My Hobby''. Drake combined his professions by collecting material for stories while he solved crimes.
Rod O'Connor was the announcer,
and Richard Wilkinson was the writer.
The program was revised and retitled ''Mystery Is My Hobb''y. It still featured Drake, but he was a "wealthy mystery writer who works with the police". Episodes of the program were presented as cases from the book ''Mystery Is My Hobby''. A typical opening had Drake saying: "For this week's drama I've selected Case History 127 from my book, ''Mystery Is My Hobby''. I call it 'Death Is a Grain of Sand'".
At the end of each episode he gave the case number and title of the next week's episode.
[ The show was first broadcast on Mutual, and from 1949 to 1951 it was syndicated.
Langhan again portrayed Drake, and Inspector Danton was played by ]Ken Christy
Robert Kenneth Christy (November 23, 1894 – July 23, 1962) was an American television, film, and radio character actor.
Early life
Born Robert Kenneth Christy, he was the second of three children of Alice Christy and Olivier B. Christy. ...
and Norman Field. Charles Lung had the role of Blake's houseboy, Mike. Bruce Buell was the announcer, and Len Salvo provided music. Dave Titus was the director, and Raymond R. Morgan was the producer.
Television
In 1950, Reynolds Productions created a TV version of ''Mystery Is My Business'', also starring Langhan. Titled ''Mystery Is My Hobby'', it debuted on February 17, 1950, on WNBT-TV
WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo station WN ...
in New York City. Sponsored by Polaroid TV Filters, the program was recorded via kinescope at KNBH-TV in Hollywood.
References
{{Authority control
External links
Logs
Log of episodes of ''Mystery Is My Hobby'' from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs
Log of episodes of ''Mystery Is My Hobby from Old Time Radio Researchers Group
Streaming
Episodes of ''Mystery Is My Hobby'' from LibriVox Audio Books
Episodes of ''Mystery Is My Hobby'' from RedCircle
1940s American radio programs
1945 radio programme debuts
Mutual Broadcasting System programs
Detective radio shows
Syndicated American radio programs