Johnny Fletcher

Johnny Fletcher is an American old-time radio comedy-detective drama. It was broadcast weekly on ABC from May 30, 1948, until November 27, 1948.[1] The program was also known as A Johnny Fletcher Mystery.[2]

Johnny Fletcher
Other namesA Johnny Fletcher Mystery
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
SyndicatesABC
StarringBill Goodwin
Sheldon Leonard
AnnouncerOwen James
John Storm
Created byFrank Gruber
Written byFrank Gruber
Produced byBill Rousseau
Hal Finberg
Original releaseMay 30, 1948 (1948-05-30) – November 27, 1948 (1948-11-27)

Johnny Fletcher was an amateur detective, "something of a scofflaw", created by writer Frank Gruber. The character was featured in at least 18 Gruber novels between 1940 and 1964.[3] The film The French Key (1946), which starred Albert Dekker as Fletcher,[4] was based on the Fletcher novel of the same title.[3]

Radio historian Jim Cox, in his book, Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age, describes Fletcher as "inept" and "frequently drunk".[5] The program's plots usually involved murder or other kinds of mayhem that Fletcher and his partner, Sam Kragg, tried to solve.[5] As an example, "The Whispering Master" episode (previewed in a contemporary newspaper) began with an "unidentified but beautiful young woman" kissing Fletcher and suddenly departing, leaving behind a popular recording.[6] As the plot unfolded, Fletcher had to solve the murder of the singer who recorded the song.[6]

Gruber originally sold the rights to his Fletcher novels to NBC in 1946.[7] An audition recording of Johnny Fletcher Mysteries featured Dekker as Fletcher and Mike Mazurki as Sam. The pilot episode was an adaptation of the novel, The Navy Colt. Two years later, ABC bought the rights to the program from NBC and produced Johnny Fletcher.[3]

On the ABC version, Fletcher was portrayed by Bill Goodwin, while Sam was played by Sheldon Leonard. The announcers were Owen James and John Storm. Gruber wrote the scripts, and Buzz Adlam provided the music.[5] Producers were Bill Rousseau and Hal Finberg.[8]

The February 20, 1961, issue of the trade magazine Broadcasting included Johnny Fletcher in a list of pilots being prepared for the 1961-1962 season. Gruber was the producer of the episode, which starred Johnny Goddard and Read Morgan.[9]

References
  1. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 373-374. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2019-10-30. Johnny Fletcher, comedy-detective drama.
  2. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  3. "Frank Gruber's The Adventures of Johnny Fletcher". The Digital Deli Too. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  4. "Princess Theater". The Tennessean. Tennessee, Nashville. September 15, 1946. p. 30. Retrieved September 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Cox, Jim (2002). Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age. McFarland. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-0-7864-4324-6.
  6. "Johnny Fletcher Gets Embroiled in Radio Play Murder". The Winona Republican-Herald. Minnesota, Winona. June 12, 1948. p. 4.
  7. "Programs" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 25, 1946. p. 90. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  8. "Production" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 4, 1948. p. 85. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  9. "The Cowboys Are Being Put to Pasture" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 20, 1961. p. 130.
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