''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' is a

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 on

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962. The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a

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 ...

drama, with Charles Russell,

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...

and John Lund portraying Dollar in succession over the years. In 1955 after a yearlong hiatus, the series came back in its best-known incarnation with Bob Bailey starring in "the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense accountAmerica's fabulous freelance

insurance investigator An insurance investigator examines insurance claims that are suspicious or otherwise in doubt. Investigators in this field have differing specialties and backgrounds. Some insurance companies have their own in-house investigation teams while other ...

." There were 809 episodes (plus two not-for-broadcast auditions) in the 12-year run, and more than 710 still exist today. Jim Cox's book ''American Radio Networks: A History'' cites "886 total performances" which includes repeat performances.

Format

The format best remembered was instituted by writer-director Jack Johnstone. Each case usually started with a phone call from an insurance adjuster, calling on Johnny to investigate an unusual claim: a suspicious death, an attempted fraud, a missing person, or other mysterious circumstances. Each story required Johnny to travel to some distant locale, usually within the United States but sometimes abroad, where he was almost always threatened with personal danger in the course of his investigations. He would compare notes with the police officials who had first investigated each strange occurrence, and followed every clue until he figured out what actually happened. Johnny's file on each case was usually referenced as a "matter," as in "The Silver Blue Matter" or "The Forbes Matter". Later episodes were more fanciful, with titles like "The Wayward Trout Matter" and "The Price of Fame Matter" (the latter featuring a rare guest-star appearance by

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

as himself; here Price and Dollar team up to retrieve a painting stolen by Price's insurance agent). Johnny usually stuck to business, but would sometimes engage in romantic dalliances with women he encountered in his travels; later episodes gave Johnny a steady girlfriend, Betty Lewis. Johnny's precious recreational time was usually spent fishing, and it was not uncommon for Johnny's clients to exploit this favorite pastime in convincing him to take on a job near good fishing locations. His past was rarely mentioned, but Dollar in “The Bennett Matter” described himself as a four-year US Marine veteran who then worked as a police officer for a decade before changing careers to insurance investigation. In "The Blackburn Case" Dollar also refers to his time as a Pinkerton Detective. Each story was recounted in flashback, and every few minutes the action would be interrupted by Johnny listing a line item from his expense account, which served as an effective scene transition. Most of the expense account related to transportation, lodging, and meals, but no incidental expense was too small for Johnny to itemize, as in "Item nine, 10 cents. Aspirin. I needed them." The monetary amounts weren't always literal: the smallest line item Johnny ever recorded was "two cents: what I felt like" after a professional setback; the largest was "one million dollars" (the way he felt after finding a missing woman and her daughter in a snowbound cabin). The episodes generally finished with Johnny tallying up his expense account and traveling back to

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, where he was based. Sometimes Johnny would add a sardonic postscript under "Remarks," detailing the aftermath of the case. ("The Todd Matter," which especially disgusted Johnny, ended abruptly with "Remarks – ''nil!''") In later seasons the program sometimes referred to itself, with other characters recognizing Dollar's voice from the radio; in the episode “The Salkoff Sequel Matter” Johnny’s radio show becomes an important plot point.

History

Original run

As originally conceived, Johnny Dollar was a smart, tough, wisecracking detective who tossed silver-dollar tips to waiters and bellhops.

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

starred in the audition show, recorded in 1948, but withdrew from the role in favor of other detective programs, ''

Rogue's Gallery A rogues' gallery (or rogues gallery) is a police collection of mug shots or other images of criminal suspects kept for identification purposes. History In 1855, Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, established a ...

'' and ''

Richard Diamond, Private Detective ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective'' is an American detective drama, created by Blake Edwards, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960. Radio Dick Powell starred in the ''Richard Diamond, Private Detec ...

''. The Johnny Dollar role went instead to Charles Russell. The show for which Powell auditioned was originally titled ''Yours Truly, Lloyd London'', although the name of the show and its lead character were changed to avoid legal problems with the actual insurance company, Lloyd's of London, before the audition tape of December 7, 1948, was recorded. With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar – radio actor Russell and movie tough-guy actors Edmond O'Brien and John Lund – there was little to distinguish ''Johnny Dollar'' from other detective series at the time (''Richard Diamond'', ''

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe () is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler, who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The hardboiled crime fiction genre originated in the 1920s, notably in ''Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiel ...

'' and ''

Sam Spade Sam Spade is a fictional character and the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel '' The Maltese Falcon''. Spade also appeared in four lesser-known short stories by Hammett. ''The Maltese Falcon'', first published as a serial in the pulp ...

''). While always a friend of the police, Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were also protected. The series ended in September 1954.

Revival

CBS Radio revived ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' in October 1955 with a new leading man, a new director, and a new format. The program changed from a 30-minute, one-episode-per-week program to a 15-minute, five-nights-a-week serial (Monday through Friday, 8–8:15 pm EST) produced and directed by radio veteran Jack Johnstone. The new Johnny Dollar was Bob Bailey, who had just come off another network detective series, '' Let George Do It''. With a new lead and 75 minutes of air time each week, it became possible to develop each storyline with more detail and with more characters. Almost all of the Johnny Dollar serials were presented by CBS Radio on a sustaining basis (unsponsored, with no commercials); only two of the 55 serials take time out for a sponsor's message. Bob Bailey was exceptionally good in this format, making Johnny more sensitive and thoughtful in addition to his other attributes. Vintage-radio enthusiasts often endorse Bailey as the best of the Johnny Dollars, and consider the 13-month run of five-part stories to be some of the greatest drama in radio history. The serial scripts were usually written by Johnstone, "John Dawson" (a pseudonym for

E. Jack Neuman Ernest Jack Neuman (February 27, 1921 – January 15, 1998) was an Edgar and Peabody award-winning American writer and producer. Early years Neuman was born in Toledo, Ohio. He moved to Denver, Colorado, as a child and graduated from Regis Je ...

), Les Crutchfield, or Robert Ryf.

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio s ...

also contributed several scripts and the show was always produced and directed by Johnstone. The show featured a stock company of supporting actors, including

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 ...

Harry Bartell Harry Alfred Bartell (November 29, 1913 – February 26, 2004)Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 34. was an American actor and announcer in radio, television and film. Wit ...

Vic Perrin Victor Herbert Perrin (April 26, 1916 – July 4, 1989)Cox, Jim (2007). ''Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether fr ...

Lawrence Dobkin Lawrence Dobkin (September 16, 1919 – October 28, 2002) was an American television director, character actor and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. Dobkin was a prolific performer during the Golden Age of Radio. He narrat ...

Stacy Harris Stacy Harris (July 26, 1918 – March 13, 1973) was an American actor with hundreds of film and television appearances. His name is sometimes found misspelled Stacey Harris. Early years Harris was an Army pilot whose leg was injured in a ...

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...

Howard McNear Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of ''Gunsmoke'' and as Floyd Lawson, the ...

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

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' ...

, Lillian Buyeff,

Tony Barrett Tony Barrett (born Martin Lefkowitz; May 24, 1916 – November 16, 1974) was an American actor, writer, and producer. He was born on May 24, 1916 New York City. He worked as a radio and screen actor, screenwriter, and television writer and pro ...

Don Diamond Donald Alan Diamond (June 4, 1921 – June 19, 2011) was an American radio, film, and television actor who portrayed "Crazy Cat", the sidekick and heir apparent to Chief Wild Eagle on the popular 1960s television sitcom, ''F Troop'' (1965–19 ...

Alan Reed Alan Reed (born Herbert Theodore Bergman; August 20, 1907 – June 14, 1977) was an American actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on ''The Flintstones'' and various spinoff series. He also appeared in many films, includin ...

, and

Forrest Lewis Raymond Forrest Lewis (November 5, 1899 – June 2, 1977) was an American actor of the theater, radio, motion pictures and television. Early years Lewis was born in Knightstown, Indiana, the son of Joseph Saint Lewis and Myla Leota Lewi ...

. Movie character actors appeared occasionally, including

Jay Novello Jay Novello (born Michael Romano, August 22, 1904 – September 2, 1982) was an American radio, film, and television character actor. Early life Novello was born in Chicago to Joseph Romano and Maria (Salemme) Romano. He had three sibling ...

Hans Conried Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan'' (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's ''Dudle ...

, Frank Nelson,

Leon Belasco Leon Belasco (born Leonid Simeonovich Berladsky; 11 October 1902 – 1 June 1988) was a Russian-American actor and musician who had a 60-year career in film and television from the 1920s to the 1980s, appearing in more than 100 films. Musi ...

William Conrad William Conrad (born John William Cann Jr., September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose entertainment career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television, peaking in popularity when he s ...

Edgar Barrier Edgar Barrier (March 4, 1907 – June 20, 1964) was an American actor who appeared on radio, stage, and screen. In the 1930s he was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre and was one of several actors who played Simon Templar on ''The Saint'' ...

Jeanne Bates Jeanne Bates (May 21, 1918 – November 28, 2007) was a retired American radio, film and television actress. After performing in radio serials, she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1942 which began her career in films both in bi ...

Gloria Blondell Gloria Blondell (August 16, 1915 – March 25, 1986) was a stage, film, and television actress who was the younger sister of actress Joan Blondell. Family She was born into a vaudeville family. Her parents and siblings, Edward Jr. and Joan, wer ...

, and

Billy Halop William Halop (February 11, 1920 – November 9, 1976) was an American actor. Early life Halop was born to Benjamin Cohen Halop and Lucille Elizabeth Halop on February 11, 1920. Halop came from a theatrical family; his mother was a dancer, and ...

. In late 1956, CBS Radio retooled the show, which reverted to a weekly half-hour drama, airing on late Sunday afternoons. Bob Bailey continued in the leading role until 1960 and wrote one episode, "The Carmen Kringle Matter," under his first and middle names (Robert Bainter). Staff announcer Dan Cubberly introduced the program during the Edmond O'Brien run; Roy Rowan was the announcer for the first two years of Bob Bailey's run; he also was an announcer on CBS's ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

''. In "The Laird Douglas Matter," the only Johnny Dollar serial played for laughs, Roy Rowan was written into the script as dog-show expert "Ray Roland." In 1957 Rowan was succeeded by Dan Cubberly, returning to the series.

Changes at CBS

CBS Radio tried to institute an economy measure in June 1959: its four remaining dramatic series (''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar''; ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

''; ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' starring

; and '' Have Gun, Will Travel'' starring

) would be moved from Hollywood to New York. The plan met with some resistance, because the cast members and crews of ''Gunsmoke'' and ''Have Gun, Will Travel'' were willing to cancel the shows themselves rather than move to New York. The situation was stalemated for 17 months, as all four programs remained on the air. Finally, in November 1960, CBS Radio kept ''Gunsmoke'' in California, discontinued ''Have Gun, Will Travel'', and moved ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' and ''Suspense'' to New York. Bob Bailey, unwilling to relocate, gave up the Johnny Dollar role. Bailey's last performance, aired November 27, 1960, was in a script titled "The Empty Threat Matter," perhaps writer Johnstone's editorial comment on CBS's intention to shut down production in California. In New York, CBS staff producer Bruno Zirato, Jr. (who also directed TV game shows for CBS) took over ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'', although Johnstone continued to write the scripts. Former child actor

Bob Readick Robert Readick (November 28, 1925 – May 27, 1985), also known professionally as Bob Readick or Bobby Readick, was an American voice and film actor, best known for a run as the voice of "Johnny Dollar" in the CBS radio series ''Yours Truly, J ...

took over the leading role in a manner reminiscent of the original Dollar, Charles Russell. After six months he was replaced by

Mandel Kramer Mandel Kramer (March 12, 1916 – January 29, 1989) was an American actor. As a voice actor, he is best known as the last Johnny Dollar from ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' radio show. Early years Kramer grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where his f ...

, who gave the role his own low-key interpretation. Many fans found Mandel Kramer second only to Bailey as the most effective Johnny Dollar. Both Readick and Kramer were members of CBS's stock company in New York, and both appeared in other CBS dramas.

The end

The final episodes of ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' and ''

'', airing on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, are often cited as the end of the

golden age of radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment, entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcastin ...

. The last episode of ''Johnny Dollar'', "The Tip-Off Matter", ended at 6:35 pm.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...

on September 30, 1962, followed immediately by the final broadcast of ''Suspense''. Although network radio drama returned to the airwaves – in ABC's ''Theater Five'' (1964–65), and ''

CBS Radio Mystery Theater ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' (a.k.a. ''Radio Mystery Theater'' and ''Mystery Theater'', sometimes abbreviated as ''CBSRMT'') is a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS Radio Network affiliates from 1974 to 1982, an ...

'' (1974–82) – these were more experimental "drama workshop" shows, and did not adhere to a continuing format or leading character, albeit the latter did spark a bit of a revival of drama on US commercial radio networks in the 1970s. The "Golden Age" of radio drama, as pioneered in the 1920s, died with ''Johnny Dollar'' in 1962. Three unsuccessful attempts were made to transfer the success of ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' to television. Charles Russell starred in a 1949 pilot directed by

Ralph Levy Ralph Levy (December 18, 1920 – October 15, 2001) was an American producer, film and television director. Biography Ralph Levy was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He directed episodes of several television shows, including ''I Love Lucy'', ...

, Bob Bailey starred in a 1958 pilot entitled ''The Adventures of Johnny Dollar'' (which failed because Bailey's 5-foot 9-inch, 150-pound physique didn't match the tough-guy characterization), and William Bryant starred in a 1962 pilot entitled ''Johnny Dollar.'' The latter was written, produced, and directed by Blake Edwards.

Actors who portrayed Dollar

(Audition show in 1948) * Charles Russell (February 1949 – January 1950) *

(February 1950 – September 1952) * John Lund (November 1952 – September 1954) *

Gerald Mohr Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows. Early years Mohr wa ...

(Audition show in 1955) * Bob Bailey (October 1955 – November 1960) *

(December 1960 – June 1961) *

(June 1961 – September 1962)

Legacy

''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' was so familiar to CBS Radio's listeners that the network's resident comedians,

Bob and Ray Bob and Ray were an American comedy duo whose career spanned five decades, composed of comedians Bob Elliott (1923–2016) and Ray Goulding (1922–1990). The duo's format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, such ...

, occasionally satirized it. Their version, "Ace Willoughby, International Detective," followed the ''Johnny Dollar'' format of exotic locales, continental officials, cool villains, and tense confrontations, with

Ray Goulding Raymond Walter Goulding (March 20, 1922 – March 24, 1990) was an American comedian, who, together with Bob Elliott formed the comedy duo of Bob and Ray. He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the fourth of five children of Thomas Goulding, a ...

doing a letter-perfect imitation of Bob Bailey's delivery. In the comedy version, however, the detective usually gave up on the case after being beaten up incessantly. ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' was a popular weekly radio mystery play in the 1960s and early 1970s on Radio Iran. The role of Johnny Dollar was played by Heidar Saremi, a popular radio performer. Contrary to the original, Johnny Dollar was more of a criminal investigator. At the end of each episode, the narrator asked the radio audience how Johnny found the perpetrators, making the show a mystery quiz as well as a drama; those who guessed correctly were entered into a raffle for a prize. In the 1970s and 1980s the comedy troupe

The Firesign Theatre The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal humour, surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM broad ...

released a number of satirical record albums; several featured spoofs of old-time radio featuring the character ''Nick Danger, Third Eye,'' who was loosely based on Sam Spade and Johnny Dollar. The scripts included inside references to radio with lines such as, "It had been snowing in Santa Barbara ever since the top of the page," and riffs on radio sound effects. In 2003,

Moonstone Books Moonstone Books is an American comic book, graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based in Chicago focused on pulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales. The company began publishing creator-owned com ...

adapted the ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' radio program into a graphic novel illustrated by

Éric Thériault Éric Thériault (born 1967 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec) is a Canadian comics artist, writer, illustrator and blogger living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Biography Éric Thériault began as a teenager publishing comics in a fanzine called '' ...

and written by

David Gallaher David Matthew Gallaher (born June 5, 1975, in Honolulu) is an American video game writer, graphic novelist, podcaster and editor, known primarily for his work in comics and video games: ''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint'', '' Vampire: The Mas ...

. The show has been the opening item on ''The Big Broadcast'' on

WAMU WAMU (88.5 FM) is a public news/talk station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by American University, and its studios are located near the campus in northwest Washington. WAMU has been the primary National ...

in Washington, D.C. since the early 1990s. As of August 2017, the show is being aired several times a day on KTQA FM 95.3 in Tacoma, WA and CHLU FM in Middle LaHave, Nova Scotia, Canada. As of August 2021, the

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius S ...

satellite radio network is airing some episodes of the show on its "Radio Classics" channel 148. As of February 2019, a documentary about the program, ''Last Man Standing – Johnny Dollar & the End of Old-Time Radio'', has been produced.

References

External links

"''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar Website''"

Debut Episode of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar
* {{InternetArchiveOTR, id=OTRR_Certified_Yours_Truly_Johnny_Dollar, title=Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar

1949 radio dramas 1949 radio programme debuts 1962 radio programme endings

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' is a radio drama that aired on CBS Radio from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962. The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a private investigator drama, with Charles Russell, Edmond O'B ...

Dollar, Johnny 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs 1960s American radio programs CBS Radio programs Detective radio shows