Originally broadcast on CBS, 21 June 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
The run
- Network
- NBC
- Years active
- 1949–1953
- Surviving broadcasts
- 101
- Genre
- noir
In 1945, Dick Powell portrayed Phillip Marlowe in the movie "Murder My Sweet" based on Raymond Chandler's novel "Farewell My Lovely". This was a radical departure in character for Mr. Powell from a Hollywood song and dance man to a hard-boiled detective.
1953 · 101952 · 101951 · 151950 · 5
Restoration quality — measured from the surviving files
Clean transfer · 38 of 40Listenable · 2 of 40
Source collection
Old Time Radio Researchers Group
Rights
Public domain — no renewed US copyright
Cataloguing
Air dates and notes from the Archive item record
Every broadcast below carries its own provenance sheet — transfer quality, file source and rights.Archive record: OTRR_Richard_Diamond_Private_Detective_Singles
The shape of the run
What survives, year by year
14 dated broadcasts across 5 years on the air, with 1 year where nothing is known to survive. Brightness is transfer quality; empty cells are months lost to time.
JFMAMJJASOND
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
Clean transferListenableRough but complete No surviving recording
Episodes
Start here
Listen to the run in order
Restored broadcasts from 1950, in original transmission order.
- 1. The Pete Rocco Case · 4 Oct 1950
- 2. The Homing Pigeon Case · 11 Oct 1950
- 3. Dead Man's Letter · 8 Nov 1950
The Wolfe Murder Case
20 Sep 1953 · 25 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 20 September 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Big Foot Grafton Case
30 Aug 1953 · 24 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 30 August 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
The Hollywood Story
23 Aug 1953 · 25 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 23 August 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
The Oklahoma Cowboy Murder Case
16 Aug 1953 · 23 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 16 August 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
The Ice Pick Murder Case
9 Aug 1953 · 29 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 9 August 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Lt. Levinson Kidnapped
2 Aug 1953 · 24 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 2 August 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Rifle Case
28 Jun 1953 · 29 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 28 June 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Missing Night Watchman
21 Jun 1953 · 29 min
Originally broadcast on NBC, 21 June 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Same night on the air
21 Jun 1953
Everything else the archive still holds from the night of 21 Jun 1953.
Originally broadcast on NBC, 21 June 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Originally broadcast on Syndicated, 21 June 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
Also on NBC
NBC in 1949–1953
Other series the network carried while Richard Diamond, Private Detective was on the air.
Same seasons
noir on the air then
Series in the same genre whose runs overlapped this one.
What it became
The private eye at the microphone
First-person narration, a case that walks in the door, and a city that talks back. Marlowe, Sam Spade and Johnny Dollar turned detection into a listening form.
Lineage is written by our editors, not inferred from listening data.
Descendants
Working in the tradition of Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Modern series carrying this form forward.
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