The This week we turn the podcast spotlight not on a series but on an actor

one of the best from the golden age of radio. He's Larry Dobkin, born 96 years ago this month, and he was one of the medium's most talented and versatile performers.

Dobkin could play characters at the highest levels of society in one breath, and instantly become a resident of the gutter in the next.

He was equally comfortable in Westerns and in thrillers, in dramas, and in lighter fair,

a multi-talented performer, an actor, writer, and director,

Dopkin's career in show business lasted well into the 1990s, and most relevant for

this podcast, he lent his voice to some of Radio's most

memorable detectives. Born September 16th, 1919, Larry Dobkin's radio

career began as a means to pay for his education at Yale.

During World War II he served with a radio propaganda unit of the Army Air Corps,

and his radio acting began again when he returned from service. It was hard to avoid

Dobkin's voice in the late 1940s and early 1950s, particularly if you had your

radio tuned to CBS. He could be heard frequently on yours truly Johnny Dollar, gun smoke, the Lux

Radio Theater, Suspense, and Escape. He was part of Director Norman McDonnell's

staple of actors.

Dobkin would work with McDonnell on Fort Laramie, have gun will travel, and in the recurring

role of Los Angeles Police Lieutenant Matthews on the Adventures of Philip Marlow.

Though most of his work came in supporting turns,

Dobkin had several runs in the spotlight, particularly in the detective genre.

In 1947, he starred on radio as Ellery Queen, and he was the

fourth of six actors to play Archie Goodwin opposite Sydney Green Street in the single

season run of the new adventures of Nero Wolf.

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