The It's a birthday salute this week to one of radio's busiest actors, Frank Lovejoy.

We've heard him before on down these mean streets back on episode 10,

as intrepid Chicago reporter Randy Stone in

Nightbeat. But the actor could also be heard on gangbusters, the

Whistler, Sam Spade, suspense, and dozens of other radio shows and hundreds of performances.

Born March 28, 1914 in New York, Lovejoy began his career as an announcer in

after in Cincinnati.

Returning to New York in the late 1930s,

Lovejoy made a name for himself on Broadway

and in supporting roles on radio, soap operas, and adventure shows, including The Adventures of Superman,

and in a show we'll hear a little later today, The Blue Beetle.

A Hollywood contract brought him west where he could be heard

regularly on escape and suspense. His most celebrated radio role came in 1950

when he was tapped to star as Randy Stone in the second audition program for Nightbeat.

A 1949 recording had been made with Johnny Dollar Star Edmund O'Brien as a more hard-boiled reporter, but producers felt O'Brien wasn't quite right for the role.

The character was softened and became more earnest and less too-fisted and love joy won the part. The series premiered on NBC on February 6th, 1950.

Lovejoy delivered a superb performance as Randy Stone, who spent the series walking Chicago's dark streets in search of human

interest stories for his column.

Though not strictly a detective show, Stone usually landed in hot water with the corrupt politicians, gangsters, and other neared-dwells who roamed the city.

Nightbeat ran largely unsponsored on NBC for over 100 episodes until 1952 and while it didn't

necessarily earn the acclaim it deserved in its time Knightbeat has come to be

regarded by modern fans of old-time radio as one of the

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