The Few actors would be equally comfortable in a Busby Berkeley musical and in a hard-hitting detective drama,

and even fewer could excel in both projects.

One of those rare few is Dick Powell. could excel in both projects.

One of those rare few is Dick Powell, born November 14, 1904, and who left a career in musicals

behind with a commanding turn as Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlow on the big screen.

It was a reinvention that led to his performances as some of radio's best detectives.

Powell was a star thanks to films like 42nd Street, but he was eager to break into new roles.

After failing to land the lead of double indemnity, he lobbied for and won the part of Marlow in a big screen

version of Chandler's Farewell My Lovely.

The reaction to Powell and to the film Murder My, led to a series of film noir appearances for Powell,

including Cry Danger, Cornered, and Johnny O'clock.

It also led Powell to Radio. In 1945, he went on the air as private investigator Richard

Rogue in Rogue's Gallery. The program originated as the summer replacement for the musical variety series The Fitch Bandwagon

and it first aired under the Banner Bandwagon Mysteries.

The hook of the program was that whenever Richard Rogue was knocked unconscious,

which was frequently, he would visit Cloud 8 and Bander with his impish alter ego U-Gore,

that's Rogue, spelled backwards.

Peter Leeds played U-Gore, who would usually reveal some clue to the mystery that

Rogue had overlooked.

Powell played Rogue from 1945 until 1946 in runs over both

NBC and the Mutual Network. In late 1948, Dick Powell recorded an audition program as Johnny Dollar, the man with the

action-packed expense account, but he passed on that series to star in Richard Diamond

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