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

The story you are 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 means streets and more old-time radio

detectives and crime fighters.

This week we're saluting one of Hollywood's great character actors, an Oscar winner who also

lent his voice to America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator.

Born September 10th, 1915, Edmund O'Brien

starred as Yours Truly Johnny Dollar from 1950 until 1952.

For many old-time radio fans, his performance as the detective ranks second only to Bob Bailey's run in the role.

Personally, I go back and forth between Edmund O'Brien and Mandel Kramer

for my number two Johnny Dollar.

But overall, O'Brien's episodes are much stronger,

and they're some of the best of the series outside of Bailey's run.

When he starred as Johnny Dollar, Edmund O'Brien was known for his work in film noir dramas,

movies like the classic The Killers, where he also played a tough insurance investigator,

as well as DOA and 711 Ocean Drive,

a film I just watched for the first time recently

and highly recommend. O'Brien plays a telephone repairman whose knowledge of electronics gets him plugged in,

...