''Rocky Fortune'' is an American

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

that aired weekly on

NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...

beginning in October 1953. The series ended its run in March 1954 after 25 episodes. The program was created by

George Lefferts George Lefferts (born George Leffertz; June 18, 1921 – April 18, 2018) was an American writer, producer, playwright, poet, and director of television dramas, motion pictures, radio dramas, and socially conscious documentaries. His original plays ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

voiced the title role of Rocky Fortune for the entire series.Old Time Radio Researchers Group
Archive.org. Retrieved 9 April 2009. ''Rocky Fortune'' aired Tuesday nights on NBC at 9:35 pm

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

, immediately following '' Dragnet'' (and a five-minute

John Cameron Swayze John Cameron Swayze (April 4, 1906 – August 15, 1995) was an American news commentator and game show panelist during the 1940s and 1950s who later became best known as a product spokesman. Early life Born in Wichita, Kansas, Swayze was the ...

newscast). It was a sustaining series, meaning that NBC presented the program without corporate sponsorship. The premiere episode, "Oyster Shucker", originally aired on October 6, 1953.

Characters and story

portrayed Rocco Fortunato, also known as Rocky Fortune, a young man of several talents constantly in need of employment and who accepts odd jobs from the fictitious Gridley Employment Agency, often referred to simply as "the Agency." During the course of the series, he would work as a process server, museum tour guide, cabbie, bodyguard, chauffeur, truck driver, social director for a Catskills resort and a carny, in addition to various musical jobs. These assignments typically led Rocky into situations where he would track down criminals, often rescuing people (especially women) in need of help, and ultimately needing to find yet more work. Rocky made many wise remarks, using "hep" slang of the times, and seemed to attract trouble wherever he went. Sinatra infused the role of Rocky with a witty, tongue-in-cheek quality that acknowledged Sinatra's own career. For example, in the episode "Football Fix", Rocky begins to sing "

I've Got the World on a String "I've Got The World on a String" is a 1932 popular jazz song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was written for the twenty-first edition of the Cotton Club series which opened on October 23, 1932, the first of the Co ...

" while walking down the street, a song Sinatra had performed prior to playing the role of Rocky. Aside from Sinatra, the only other recurring role on the series was that of Hamilton J. Finger, a solid and dependable (though not very intelligent) police sergeant voiced by

Barney Phillips Bernard Philip Ofner (October 20, 1913 – August 17, 1982), better known by his stage name Barney Phillips, was an American film, television, and radio actor. His most prominent roles include that of Sgt. Ed Jacobs on the 1950s '' Dragnet' ...

. Other guest roles on ''Rocky Fortune'' were voiced by actors such as

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

Ed Begley Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 – April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1962) an ...

and

Jack Kruschen Jacob "Jack" Kruschen (March 20, 1922 – April 2, 2002) was a Canadian character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio. Kruschen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dr. ...

. Creator of the show

was also one of the primary scriptwriters, along with

Ernest Kinoy Ernest Kinoy (April 1, 1925 – November 10, 2014) was an American writer, screenwriter and playwright. Early life Kinoy was born in New York City on April 1, 1925; his parents, Albert and Sarah Kinoy (formerly Forstadt), were both high-school ...

. The two had previously collaborated on other radio programs such as ''

X Minus One ''X Minus One'' is an American half-hour science fiction radio drama series that was broadcast from April 24, 1955, to January 9, 1958, in various timeslots on NBC. Known for high production values in adapting stories from the leading American a ...

'' and '' Dimension X'': in the episode "Rocket Racket", Fortune's job is apparently to fly a prototype spaceship. An eccentric oil millionaire tells of his fascination with science fiction and space travel, to which Rocky knowingly acknowledges, "Dimension X." Lefferts and Kinoy would go on to become award-winning writers and producers in the years that followed. Edward "Eddie" King was the show's narrator,https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Other-Documments/LA-Radio-Guide/LA-Radio-Guide-1998-Spring.pdf who began each episode by stating, "NBC presents Frank Sinatra, starring as that footloose and fancy-free young gentleman, Rocky Fortune!" (though it was "footloose and frequently unemployed..." for the first two episodes). The final episode, "Boarding House Doublecross", aired on March 30, 1954, less than a week after Sinatra won the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Private Angelo Maggio in the 1953 film, ''

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three U.S. Arm ...

''. As a running gag towards the end of the show's run, Sinatra would work the phrase "from here to eternity" into the script as a reference to his film role in almost every episode.

Episodes

References

{{reflist

Listen to

OTR Net Library, all 25 episodes of ''Rocky Fortune''Internet Archive: Rocky Fortune"Rocky Fortune on Way Back When"

External links

Script for ''Rocky Fortune'' episode 19, "Too Many Husbands"
1950s American radio programs American radio dramas Detective radio shows Fortune, Rocky Fortune, Rocky 1953 radio programme debuts 1954 radio programme endings 1954 radio dramas NBC radio programs