The One of Radio's most popular detectives made his debut nearly 70 years ago this month when listeners met Richard Diamond, private detective.

He was the only radio gumshoo with a set of pipes to match his

crime-solving wits, and he was played with Charm Despair by Big Screen Star Dick Powell.

Powell had been in the Radio detective game for a few years before Richard Diamond

came along.

His efforts were a direct result of his well-received performance as Philip Marlow in

Murder My Sweet. The film helped Powell redefine

his career after early years as a singer in lavish musicals, and it kicked off a series of

tough guy roles in noir pictures.

His first radio gumshoo gig came in 1945 with Rokes Gallery,

and in December 1948 he recorded an audition program as yours truly Johnny Dollar.

But it was Richard Diamond, an ex-cop turned private eye that captured Powell's interest.

Created by Blake Edwards, Diamond was tailor-made for Powell's persona, equally capable of being

sarcastic and serious, although never too serious.

The series even featured a showcase for Powell's talents by having him close most of the

episodes with a song to his socialite girlfriend. Blake Edwards, who would later go on to feature film fame with the Pink Panther series,

gave Powell some of radio's most deftly plotted mysteries

and surrounded him with a cast of colorful characters.

There was Helen Asher, Diamond's wealthy main squeeze who bemoaned his dangerous

profession but occasionally pitched in on a case. She was played at

various points in the series by Virginia Greg and Francis Robinson.

Lieutenant Walt Levinson was Diamond's old partner at the New York Police Department's

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