The On July 12th, 1946, the greatest private detective of them all came to radio in the

Adventures of Sam Spade.

Dachell him at Scumshoo was a household name thanks to Humphrey Bogart's portrayal in the Maltese

Falcon and he would entertain radio listeners for years as one of the most popular detectives

of the Golden Age of Radio.

By 1946, Hammett's characters were all over the airwaves.

Nick and Nora Charles could be heard on the adventures of the Thin Man, and Hammett's original radio detective

The Fat Man was also headlining his own series. Naturally producers look to bring Hammett's most

famous character to radio as well.

Sam Spade was produced by William Spear, the talent behind the early years of suspense,

and the man hailed as the Hitchcock of the

air. Lloyd Nolan was tapped to play spade, but a scheduling conflict prevented his

participation in the series. Instead, Armed Forces radio service announcer Howard Duff won the role

and he gave radio one of its best loved detectives. Scripts for the series were

written by some of radio's best crime writers, including the Edgar

Award-winning duo of Bob Tallman and Gil Dowd.

Co-starring with Duff was Lureen Tuttle as Sam's loyal secretary Effie Perrine.

Tuttle was one of radio's most versatile actresses and she could sometimes be heard

playing other roles besides Effie in a Sam Spade episode.

The series hit a rough spot in 1950.

It was cancelled by CBS after both Dashilhamet and Howard Duff fell victim to anti-communist hysteria of the Red Scare.

NBC saved Sam Spade and brought him back for a final season with Stephen Dunn replacing Duff.

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