THE LEADING ROLE OF
'JOHNNY DOLLAR' WAS PLAYED BY VARIOUS ACTORS OVER 14 YEARS: |
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Dick Powell
Starred in 1948
(Audition episode only)
Appearance on Vol. 1 |
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Charles Russell
Starred in 1949 - 1950
Appearances on Vol. 1 |
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Edmond O'Brien
Starred in 1950 - 1952
Appearances on Vol. 1 - 2 |
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John Lund
Starred in 1952 - 1954
Appearances on Vol. 2 - 3 |
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Gerald Mohr
Starred in 1955
Appearances on Vol. 3 |
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Bob Bailey
Starred in 1955 - 1960
Appearances on Vol. 3 4 5 6 7 |
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Bob Readick
Starred in 1960 - 1961
Appearances on Vol. 7 |
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Mandel Kramer
Starred in 1961 - 1962
Appearances on Vol. 7 |
Detective Show (1948-1962)
"The freelance investigator with the
action-packed expense account ..."
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was one of the longest running radio detective shows, with 14 years of intrigue and adventure. It was well received and became the last drama on the air when radio interests waned in the 1960s.
Johnny Dollar worked for the Universal Adjustment Bureau, flying from Mexico to swamps to California ghost towns. He would recover furs and diamonds for a cut of the goods, body guard wealthy men, and climb into the deathly Skull Canyon. All stories included mystery and murder, slipping listeners to the edge of their seats with teeth a clicking on the fingernails.
Text on OTRCAT.com ©2009 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved-Reproduction is prohibited.
Johnny went through several changes during its time on the air, including many different actors in the lead. For a little over a year, it was aired as a fifteen minute serial, broadcast five times a week. At another time, when Bob Bailey played Johnny Dollar, shows aired for 75 minutes, with great character development and exceptionally entertaining stories. It later returned to half hour shows. Johnny himself also changed throughout the shows, at one time tipping bellhops and waiters tip-top, tossing them silver dollars. But he was always gruff and tough.
Johnny narrated the shows as if they were expense accounts sent to his employer. A clever way of narration, it always began, "expense account, item one," with him telling about cab fare, then went on through the air fare, his trip across the country, and so on through the adventure. At the end of the show, he would finish his expense report and sign it, "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar."
For more top investigators, see also Barrie Craig
Confidential Investigator, Broadway
is My Beat, Dragnet,
Fat Man, Nero
Wolfe, and Pat Novak
for Hire. See also: Hardboiled Detectives Collection.
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