Old Radio

 September 29, 1946: The Adventures of Sam Spade was on air in the summer of 1946 on ABC every Friday night. Mystery fans remember it's Sunday night debut on CBS. The Adventures of Sam Spade , with Howard Duff playing Spade, became a big hit in the Sunday night radio lineup. And now a word from our sponsor: "Use Wildroot Cream Oil, Charlie ... it keeps your hair in trim..." It was one of the most famous detective radio shows on at that time. Sam Spade was the main private detective character, played by Howard Duff , a famous American actor born on November 24, 1913. His spouse's name was Ida Lupino and his daughter's name was Bridget Duff. In 1984, Howard Duff divorced Ida Lupino and later married Judy Jenkinson. At the age of 76, Duff died suddenly of a heart attack on July 8, 1990 in California.

Today, dear fans of classic radio, we blow out the candles and celebrate the birthday of author Dashiell Hammett , born this day in 1894. The debonair writer gave us The Thin Man , The Maltese Falcon , and Red Harvest. These works were, yes, adapted into fine radio broadcasts. You may know that Hammett learned about the life of a gum-shoe detective by being one himself. He was employed by the Pinkerton agency from 1915-21, an experience that caused him great moral dilemmas and had a profound effect on him. It also had an effect on American letters, giving us the immortal character Sam Spade . You may recall the great radio series based on the Maltese Falcon protagonist, The Adventures of Sam Spade . Produced by William Spier and starring, first, Howard Duffe, and later, Steve Dunne, the great radio program ran from 1946-1951. Without the mind who birthed the words on the page, we wouldn't have these wonderful programs, so we salute Dashiell Hammett !

Only so many screenwriters become the subject of biographies, and John Michael Hayes is one of them. He was the subject of Steven DeRosa's Writing With Hitchcock which chronicled his screenwriting work for the famed director in the 1950s. In radio's golden age, the medium attracted the best talent, and  Hayes  was no exception. When not writing Hitchcock movies,  Hayes  wrote for such radio smashes as The Adventures of Sam Spade , Inner Sanctum , and Sweeney and March. He wrote an episode of Spade called "The Chargogagogmanchogagogchabunamungamog Caper," the name purportedly coming from a river in Webster, MA. We salute Hayes on the day of his 1919 birth. Thanks for the scripts, John!