Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar was a radio drama about a freelance insurance investigator "with the action-packed expense account." The show aired on CBS Radio from February 11, 1949 to September 30, 1962. There were 811 episodes in the 12-year run, and over 720 still exist today.

As originally conceived, Johnny Dollar was a smart, tough, wisecracking detective who tossed silver-dollar tips to waiters and bellhops. Dick Powell starred in the audition show, recorded in 1948, but withdrew from the role in favor of other projects. The role went instead to Charles Russell.

With the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar -- radio actor Russell and movie tough-guy actors Edmond O'Brien and John Lund -- there was little to distinguish Johnny Dollar from other detective series at the time (Richard Diamond, Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade). While always a friend of the police, Johnny wasn't necessarily a stickler for the strictest interpretation of the law. He was willing to let some things slide to satisfy his own sense of justice, as long as the interests of his employer were protected.

After a year-long break (August 1954 to August 1955), the show changed from a 30-minute, one-episode-per-week affair to a 15-minute, five-nights-a-week serial that introduced the most successful Johnny Dollar: Bob Bailey, who had just come off another network detective series, Let George Do It. With a new lead and 75 minutes of air time (minus commercials), it became possible to develop more complex story lines with interesting characters. Bob Bailey was exceptionally good in this format, making Johnny more sensitive and thoughtful in addition to his other attributes. It is agreed by many that this single season of five-part stories constitute some of the greatest drama in vintage radio. The serial scripts were usually written by radio veterans Jack Johnstone or Les Crutchfield, and always produced and directed by Johnstone.

The episodes usually started with a phone call from an insurance agent, calling on Johnny to investigate an unusual claim. Each story required Johnny to travel to some distant locale, where he was almost always threatened with personal danger in the course of his investigations. Johnny's file on each case was usually referenced as a "matter," as in "The Silver Blue Matter" or "The Forbes Matter." Later episodes were more fanciful, with titles like "The Wayward Trout Matter" and "The Price of Fame Matter" (the latter featuring a rare guest-star appearance: Vincent Price). Each story was recounted in flashback, as Johnny listed each line item from his expense account. Most of the items related to transportation and lodging, but no incidental expense was too small for Johnny to itemize, as in "Item four, 10 cents. Aspirin. I needed them." Johnny's precious recreational time was usually spent fishing, and It was not uncommon for Johnny's clients to exploit this favorite pastime in convincing him to take on a job. The episodes generally finished with Johnny tallying up his account, making final remarks on the report, and traveling back to Hartford, Connecticut, where he was based.

In late 1956 CBS Radio retooled the show, which reverted to a weekly half-hour drama. The scripts were obviously tighter than the daily serials had been, with much less recapitulation. Yet most fans prefer the serials to the half-hours, because the cliffhanger format was more suspenseful and the characterizations were more detailed.

Bob Bailey continued in the role (and wrote one episode, "The Carmen Kringle Matter") until 1960, when CBS Radio shut down production on the west coast and moved its radio drama unit to New York. Bailey, unwilling to relocate, gave up the role. Bailey's last performance was in a script significantly titled "The Empty Threat Matter." This may have been writer Johnstone's editorial comment on CBS's threat to close the shop in California.

In New York, CBS staff producer Bruno Zirato, Jr. (who also directed TV game shows for CBS) took over Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, although Jack Johnstone continued to write the scripts. Former child actor Bob Readick took over the leading role in a manner reminiscent of the original Dollar, Charles Russell. After six months he was replaced by Mandel Kramer, who gave the role his own interpretation. Many fans rank Kramer second only to Bailey as the most effective Johnny Dollar. Both Readick and Kramer were members of CBS's stock company, and both appeared in other CBS dramas.

The final episodes of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar and Suspense, airing on CBS, are often used to mark the end of the Golden Age of Radio. The last episode of Johnny Dollar ended at 6:40 p.m. Eastern Time on September 30, 1962. Aside from Theater Five on ABC in 1964-65, that was the last new regularly broadcast network radio drama until CBS Radio Mystery Theater went on the air January 6, 1974.

In recent years, Moonstone Books has adapted the radio program into a graphic novel series illustrated by Eric Theriault and written by David Gallaher

Actors who portrayed Johnny Dollar

• Dick Powell (Audition show in 1948)
• Charles Russell (February 1949 - January 1950)
• Edmond O'Brien (February 1950 - September 1952)
• John Lund (November 1952 - September 1954)
• Gerald Mohr (Audition show in 1955)
• Bob Bailey (October 1955 - November 1960)
• Bob Readick (December 1960 - June 1961)
• Mandel Kramer (June 1961 - September 1962)

Listen to

• Jerry Haendiges' Same Time, Same Station: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (January 19, 1956)
• OTR Network Library: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (486 episodes)

External links

• Jim Widner: "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: An Introduction"
• Graphic novel by Eric Theriault, written by David Gallaher