Get this and get it straight. Crime is a suckers road and those who travel it'd wind up in the gut of the prison of the grave.

The story you were about to hear is true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

The Adventures of Sam Spade Detective.

The Adventures of the Saints starring Vincent Prize

Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account

America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator.

Yours truly, Johnny Deller. And the Hello and welcome to down these mean streets with more crime solvers from the

Golden Age of Radio.

Today, we're celebrating the anniversary of the debut of one of the era's greatest gumshoes.

On April 24, 1949, Dick Powell, the song and dance star who reinvented himself as a film

noir leading man, went on the air as Richard Diamond, private detective.

Created by Blake Edwards, the man who would go on to direct the Pink Panther films,

Richard Diamond was an ex-cop who charged $100 a day plus expenses to take on all manner

of cases in the Big Apple.

Along the way, he'd run into and occasionally re-team with his old partner on the force,

Lieutenant Walt Levinson, and he'd harass Levenson's thick-headed sergeant Otis Ludlam.

When he wrapped up the week's work, Diamondwood croon at the keys of the piano in the Park

Avenue apartment of his girlfriend Helen Asher. The scripts were a perfect blend of

comedy and crime and Powell with a portrayal both tough and tongue-in-cheek made for a wonderful sleuth.

It's been one of my favorite shows ever since I discovered Old Time Radio, and today, in honor of the debut of the series, we'll hear three Richard Diamond

Mysteries.

Our first show originally

...