Crackling Airwaves Old Time Radio

Not surprisingly, ABC Mystery Time aired on the ABC network. The show was a mystery anthology that was broadcast between 1947 and 1956. The series featured some of the greatest actors of the mid‑20th century, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, and Michael Redgrave, to name just a few. The show was hosted by Don Dowd.

Diary of Fate was a mystery/thriller radio show that aired in the late 1940's on the ABC Network. In the show, the character called “Fate,” exposed ne'er-do-wells in a similar fashion as the Whistler or The Mysterious Traveler. They always meet their fate in the end. Herb Lytton played “Fate.”

Lon Clark played Nick Carter, Master Detective. The character, Nick Carter, was first introduced in 1886, and first appeared in radio in 1943. The show ran until 1955 on the Mutual Radio Network. Other stars include, Helen Choate, Charlotte Manson, John Kane, among others.

The radio drama Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar debuted on CBS in 1948 with Dick Powell portraying the titular character. The series followed the thrilling adventures of Johnny Dollar, a freelance insurance investigator whose cases led him into solving a variety of intriguing crimes. Over the years, several actors took on the role, including Charles Russell, Edmond O’Brien, John Lund, Gerald Mohr, Bob Bailey, Bob Readick, and, in the show’s final year (1962), Mandell Kramer.

Richard Diamond, Private Detective premiered on NBC in 1949. The roll of Richard Diamond, a wise cracking private eye, was played by Dick Powell with his best girl being Helen Asher, played by Virginia Gregg. The show moved to ABC in 1951, then in 1953 it moved to CBS.