The The In what was perhaps the perfect pairing of actor and character during the golden age of radio,

Dick Powell starred as Richard Diamond, private detective from 1949 to

1953.

Powell, the song and dance man who reinvented himself as a tough

film-noir leading man, was ideally suited to play Diamond, a glib ex-cop turned private operator who cracked his cases and closed

them out with a tune at the piano for his girlfriend.

Following his well-received turn as Philip Marlow in 1944's Murder My Sweet, Dick Powell was interested in further establishing himself as a leading man for mystery and crime thrillers. In 1945 he starred on radio as Gumshu Richard

Rogue in Rogue's Gallery, a standard-issue detective program elevated by Powell's presence.

For his next radio outing, Powell wanted a series that broke the mold and stood out from the pack.

He recorded an audition show as the man with the action

packed expense account yours truly Johnny Dollar. But he passed on that series

for a show that sprang from the mind of Blake Edwards.

Edwards would later create the outstanding police procedural,

the lineup.

He would develop Peter Gunn for television,

and he would become a celebrated writer and director of films, arguably

most famous for the Pink Panther film series.

Powell and his producer Don Sharp asked Edwards if he had any ideas for a vehicle for Powell.

Edwards lied and said he did.

He then went home to write what would become the pilot for Richard Diamond Private Detective.

In Edward's original script, Diamond was a former OSS agent.

He would evolve into a former cop.

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