Richard Diamond Presented by the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio
Adam Graham
Adam Graham
During Dick Powell's lengthy career, he had many stages. From the 1930s to 1944, he was known as a skilled singer and comic actor. He landed the film role Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet , he starred in the first true hard-boiled Private Eye show Rogue's Gallery , and then he spent many years playing a variety of hard-boiled characters in Noir films. In many ways, Richard Diamond was a perfect marriage of the two halves of Powell's performing career before the next stage of Powell's career which saw him as a creative force behind programs such as the Zane Grey Theater. The series was unusual in that many episodes featured hard-boiled fisticuffs and gunfights. Then the series shifts to Richard Diamond showing up at his girlfriend Helen Asher's The series also stars Virginia Gregg as Dick's wealthy girlfriend Helen Asher, Wilms Herbert plays Sergeant Otis, and a series of actors including Ed Begley and Arthur Q. Bryant played Diamond's best friend, Lieutenant Walt Levinson. to serenade her as he softly sings and plays the piano and the two banter back and forth. It's an unusual series that only Powell could make work. Diamond was a former NYPD detective who served in the O.S.S. during the war before returning home to start his own private agency. His rates are quite exorbitant at $100 a day plus expenses. Compare this to contemporary Philip Marlowe's $25 a day. He enjoys a good relationship with Lt. Levinson of the Homicide Squad while being a bane to the existence of the slow-witted Sergeant Otis.The series aired for eighty episodes on NBC, fifty-one of which were sustaining (without a sponsor) and twenty-nine sponsored by Rexall. \ It then moved to ABC and was sponsored by Camel Cigarettes for sixty-five weeks. The series returned to radio in an unusual way: CBS aired reruns of the show as a summer replacement in 1953, which was unprecedented for the time. The character of Richard Diamond returned in 1957 on television with less of the comedy as a half hour detective program starring David Janssen (The Fugitive). The new series lasted four seasons and also featured appearances by a young Mary Tyler Moore. Adam Graham is your host providing commentary on each episode, adding historical context and responding to listeners during the period the series was a featured show on the Great Detectives of Old TIme Radio podcast.
6d ago
Original Release Date: November 1, 2017 Diamond is brought in by Independent butchers to stop a protection racket. Original Air Date: March 9, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net. ‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener survey… http://survey.greatdetectives.net Give us a call 208-991-4783 Become one of our friends on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives Check out our social media at https://www.greatdetectives.net
Dec 6
Original Release Date: October 25, 2017 A man had been planning to have himself killed by a hitman so his family could collect the insurance, but now he wants to live and for Diamond to stop the killer. Original Air Date: March 2, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net. ‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener survey… http://survey.greatdetectives.net Give us a call 208-991-4783 Become one of our friends on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives Check out our social media at https://www.greatdetectives.net
Nov 29
Original Release Date: October 18, 2017 A woman begs Diamond for help, gives him a $300 retainer and then dies in his office. Original Air Date: February 23, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net. ‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener survey… http://survey.greatdetectives.net Give us a call 208-991-4783 Become one of our friends on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives Check out our social media at https://www.greatdetectives.net
Nov 22
Original Release Date: October 11, 2017 A man who looks deathly ill asks Diamond to find a man before he dies. Original Air Date: February 16, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net. ‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener survey… http://survey.greatdetectives.net Give us a call 208-991-4783 Become one of our friends on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives Check out our social media at https://www.greatdetectives.net
Nov 15
Original Release Date: October 4, 2017 The owner of a high end male clothing store hires Diamond to find out why someone is stealing all of his blue serge suits. Original Air Date: February 9, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net. ‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener survey… http://survey.greatdetectives.net Give us a call 208-991-4783 Become one of our friends on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives Check out our social media at https://www.greatdetectives.net
Nov 8
Original Release Date: September 27, 2017 A woman hires Diamond to protect her. He arrives to find her murdered. Original Air Date: February 2, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net. ‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener survey… http://survey.greatdetectives.net Give us a call 208-991-4783 Become one of our friends on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives Check out our social media at https://www.greatdetectives.net
Nov 1
Original Release Date: September 20, 2017 A wealthy man wants to hire Diamond to protect him from his recently paroled brother. Diamond isn’t interested until someone tries to threaten him off the case. Original Air Date: January 26, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net. ‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener survey… http://survey.greatdetectives.net Give us a call 208-991-4783 Become one of our friends on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives Check out our social media at https://www.greatdetectives.net
Oct 25
Original Release Date: September 13, 2017 A member of the parole board is being blackmailed by friends of a criminal who have accused his son of murder. He wants Diamond to prove his son innocent. Original Air Date: January 19, 1951 Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at https://support.greatdetectives.net Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Give us a call at 208-991-4783 Take the listener survey at https://survey.greatdetectives.net Check out our social media at https://www.greatdetectives.net
