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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
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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
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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.
556:. 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.
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193:. 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.
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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
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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
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also contributed several scripts and the show was always produced and directed by
Johnstone. Under his "John Dawson" pseudonym, Neuman reworked several of his scripts from the John Lund period, expanding and/or combining them into scripts for the serial format. The show featured a stock company of
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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
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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
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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
162:). 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.
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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.
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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).
954:
394:, 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.
445:(1974–82) – these were anthology series and did not have continuing 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
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In 2023, a new graphic novel series was launched with Johnny Dollar investigating cybercrimes of the modern age. "The man with the action packed expense account" is a cyberinsurance investigator, taking on ransomware actors in the modern age.
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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.
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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.
88:, 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 –
139:, 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.
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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
305:
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
311:. In "The Laird Douglas Matter," 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.
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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.
464:(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
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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
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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.
59:." 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
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As originally conceived, Johnny Dollar was a smart, tough, wisecracking detective who tossed silver-dollar tips to waiters and bellhops.
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portraying Dollar in succession over the years. In 1955 after a yearlong hiatus, the series came back in its best-known incarnation with
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starring in "the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account – America's fabulous freelance
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took over the leading role in a manner reminiscent of the original Dollar, Charles Russell. After six months he was replaced by
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starred in the audition show, recorded in 1948, but withdrew from the role in favor of other detective programs,
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released a number of satirical record albums; several featured spoofs of old-time radio featuring the character
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as himself; here Price and Dollar team up to retrieve a painting stolen by Price's insurance agent).
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satellite radio network began airing many episodes of the show on its "Radio Classics" channel 148.
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radio history. The serial scripts were usually written by Johnstone, "John Dawson" (a pseudonym for
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CBS Radio tried to institute an economy measure in June 1959: its four remaining dramatic series (
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955:"New Comic Book | Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar #1 | A Conversation with Allan Liska |"
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was so familiar to CBS Radio's listeners that the network's resident comedians,
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was a popular weekly radio mystery play in the 1960s and early 1970s on
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on September 30, 1962, followed immediately by the final broadcast of
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930:"Ransomware comic looks to bring detective noir to the computer age"
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to television. Charles Russell starred in a 1949 pilot directed by
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cites "886 total performances" which includes repeat performances.
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The first several seasons imagined protagonist Johnny Dollar as a
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Last Man Standing – Johnny Dollar & the End of Old-Time Radio
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The latter was written, produced, and directed by Blake Edwards.
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Three unsuccessful attempts were made to transfer the success of
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Although network radio drama returned to the airwaves – in ABC's
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Episode 4 of "The Bennett Matter", broadcast February 23, 1956
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135:. The show for which Powell auditioned was originally titled
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Old Time Radio Outlaws presents Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
262:. Movie character actors appeared occasionally, including
187:, who had just come off another network detective series,
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As of February 2019, a documentary about the program,
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in Washington, D.C. off and on since the early 1990s.
902:"Johnny Dollar & the Last Days of Old-Time Radio"
382:(who also directed TV game shows for CBS) took over
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579:radio program into a graphic novel illustrated by
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653:Sterling, Christopher H.; O'Dell, Cary (2010).
424:, "The Tip-Off Matter", ended at 6:35 pm.
807:On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
781:"Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar – Single Episodes"
471:
460:, Bob Bailey starred in a 1958 pilot entitled
32:from February 18, 1949 to September 30, 1962.
870:Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012
749:. Kokomo, IN. February 15, 1949. p. 22
106:List of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar episodes
1040:Thrilling Detective website: Johnny Dollar
1020:Debut Episode of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar
656:The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio
638:. 18 February 1949. Listed as "Premiere".
559:In the 1970s and 1980s the comedy troupe
146:from other detective series at the time (
131:. The Johnny Dollar role went instead to
689:Otrsite.com. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
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959:redefining-cybersecurity.simplecast.com
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590:The show has been the opening item on
416:, are often cited as the end of the
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1004:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar Website
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953:Martin, Sean (November 28, 2023).
779:Old Time Radio Researchers Group.
702:American Radio Networks: A History
128:Richard Diamond, Private Detective
61:American Radio Networks: A History
16:CBS radio drama series (1949–1962)
14:
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314:
928:Johnson, Derek B. (2023-08-30).
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498:(November 1952 – September 1954)
492:(February 1950 – September 1952)
378:In New York, CBS staff producer
1080:Fictional private investigators
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462:The Adventures of Johnny Dollar
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687:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar Log
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510:(October 1955 – November 1960)
486:(February 1949 – January 1950)
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1095:1960s American radio programs
1090:1950s American radio programs
1085:1940s American radio programs
790:– via Internet Archive.
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210:supporting actors, including
1070:1962 radio programme endings
522:(June 1961 – September 1962)
472:Actors who portrayed Dollar
362:in California, discontinued
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1065:1949 radio programme debuts
984:, Albany: BearManor Media,
516:(December 1960 – June 1961)
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1026:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
1013:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
873:. McFarland. p. 149.
705:. McFarland. p. 164.
659:. Routledge. p. 891.
577:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
550:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
532:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
454:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
404:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
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368:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
321:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
180:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
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21:Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
1035:Old-Time Radio Collection
867:Terrace, Vincent (2013).
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442:CBS Radio Mystery Theater
174:A young Bob Bailey (1937)
137:Yours Truly, Lloyd London
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634:“Programs on the Air”.
565:Nick Danger, Third Eye,
504:(Audition show in 1955)
480:(Audition show in 1948)
420:. The last episode of
402:The final episodes of
364:Have Gun - Will Travel
342:Have Gun – Will Travel
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57:insurance investigator
1105:Detective radio shows
1075:American radio dramas
615:, has been produced.
355:Have Gun, Will Travel
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86:Hartford, Connecticut
982:It's That Time Again
980:Ohmart, Ben (2002).
604:In August 2021, the
561:The Firesign Theatre
37:private investigator
418:golden age of radio
1100:CBS Radio programs
1015:: An Introduction"
850:"Last Radio Drama"
747:The Kokomo Tribune
636:The New York Times
246:, Lillian Buyeff,
178:CBS Radio revived
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1060:1949 radio dramas
837:Television Digest
817:978-0-19-507678-3
699:Cox, Jim (2009).
592:The Big Broadcast
205:, or Robert Ryf.
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484:Charles Russell
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439:(1964–65), and
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292:Gloria Blondell
244:Barney Phillips
224:Lawrence Dobkin
203:Les Crutchfield
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133:Charles Russell
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39:drama, with
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913:18 February
536:Bob and Ray
514:Bob Readick
502:Gerald Mohr
478:Dick Powell
388:Bob Readick
347:John Dehner
308:I Love Lucy
296:Billy Halop
264:Jay Novello
252:Don Diamond
240:John Dehner
232:Parley Baer
117:Dick Powell
26:radio drama
1054:Categories
990:0971457026
964:2024-04-07
939:2024-02-24
823:2019-11-07
753:August 30,
623:References
554:Radio Iran
508:Bob Bailey
458:Ralph Levy
220:Vic Perrin
185:Bob Bailey
104:See also:
53:Bob Bailey
886:31 August
718:31 August
672:31 August
571:In 2003,
496:John Lund
449:in 1962.
345:starring
335:starring
256:Alan Reed
159:Sam Spade
49:John Lund
30:CBS Radio
934:SC Media
907:Facebook
804:(1998).
786:25 March
606:SiriusXM
430:Suspense
409:Suspense
372:Suspense
360:Gunsmoke
351:Gunsmoke
332:Gunsmoke
326:Suspense
1029:in the
854:NPR.org
398:The end
166:Revival
100:History
988:
877:
814:
709:
663:
527:Legacy
339:; and
294:, and
258:, and
67:Format
24:is a
986:ISBN
915:2020
888:2016
875:ISBN
812:ISBN
788:2018
755:2016
720:2016
707:ISBN
674:2016
661:ISBN
596:WAMU
406:and
370:and
353:and
183:was
156:and
125:and
90:nil!
47:and
1033:'s
594:on
414:CBS
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