Created by Blake Edwards (of Pink Panther fame), Richard Diamond, Private Detective found NBC radio in 1949 starring film actor and crooner Dick Powell. Powell got recently performed Philip Marlowe in the favorite RKO film Murder, My Sweet and jumped at the opportunity to play a suave detective on radio.

Richard Diamond was a light-hearted New York-based personal eye who enjoyed ribbing the cops and singing songs to his millionairess girlfriend, Helen Asher (played out by Virginia Gregg). It’s theme, “ about Richard Diamond, Personal Detective, Collection 3 Leave it to Like,” was whistled by Powell at the start of each episode. Powell’s production organization (Four Star Tv) created a TV edition of Richard Gemstone, Personal Detective for CBS in 1957. David Janssen, who later gain fame as Dr. Richard Kimble on The Fugitive, was cast as TV’s Richard Gemstone. Sam, Diamond’s gorgeous secretary in the TV series, was just shown through the waist down. Those beautiful legs belonged to Mary Tyler Moore, and also other actresses.

9/3/49 – “The Harry Baker Case”12/31/49 – “The Thomas Jason Case”1/7/50 – “The Angelino Giuseppe Case”7/26/50 – “The Martha Campbell Ransom Case”8/2/50 – “The Frank Bowers Murder Case”9/27/50 – “The Hatpin Murder Case”10/18/50 – “The Kidnapped Policeman”10/25/50 – “The Rifle Case”11/22/50 – “The Cover-Up Murders”12/6/50 – “Missing Night Watchman”3/2/51 – “The Red Rose”3/9/51 – “The Butcher Store”4/4/52 – “The Enigma of Big Ed”5/30/52 – “The Carpenter Case”8/9/53 – “The Wheatgerm Case”8/23/53 – “The Hollywood Story”