The Of all the actors who played private eyes on radio, William Gargan may have been the only one with actual experience in the field.

Before he starred in fictional mysteries on the air, Gargon earned a living as a private detective.

As it turned out, he made a better radio gumshoo than he did in real life,

and the detective world's loss was the acting world's gain.

Over the course of his career, Gargon played cops and private eyes on the big and small screens

and in several shows on radio.

Gargan was born July 17, 1905, to a booky father and a mother who taught school.

In his youth, Gargan was introduced through his father's line of work to all sorts of unsavory characters.

And after he dropped out of school, Gargan worked a series of jobs including Stince as a detective.

He worked as a debt collector and credit investigator for a department store,

and during that time he was shot at by an irate debtor.

He was later hired by a detective agency but fired

after he lost the trail of a diamond salesman he was assigned to follow.

His brother was actor Edward Gargan, an actor who made several

appearances opposite Tom Conway in the Falcon Mystery Film Series. It was a

visit to see his brother on stage that resulted in a theatrical job offer for William

Gargan.

He performed in theatre until he landed a Hollywood contract, and he spent much of the 1930s in B movies, what Gargan less than affectionately

called Schlemil movies.

Gargan later became a member of Hollywood's so-called Irish mafia, repelled around with stars like James

Cagney and Pat O'Brien.

In 1941, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his turn in They Knew What They Wanted.

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