Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (1949-1962) aired “The Sudden Wealth Matter” on December 13, 1959. We’ve showcased but five earlier episodes of this highly regarded show, the first back in 2019 and the last in March of this year, 2023. Guest host Pete Wood wrote the introduction to the May 2020 episode, from which I have taken the liberty of selectively editing for current purposes and for those not familiar with the show.

Johnny Dollar ran on CBS from February 18, 1949 until September 30, 1962. Three actors—Charles Russell, Edmond O’Brien, and John Lund—played Dollar as a not too original tough-talking private eye until the initial incarnation ended in September, 1954.

After a one year hiatus the show returned with a new star and a new format. Bob Bailey (1913-1983) played Dollar as a freelance insurance investigator, and radio veteran Jack Johnstone took over production and directing duties, as well as writing many of the episodes.

Bob Bailey was Dollar until November 1960 when the network fired him when he refused to relocate from Hollywood to New York. Bob Readick then portrayed Dollar from December, 1960 until June 1961 with Mandel Kramer taking over the role until the program’s last episode in September of 1962.

Bob Bailey was the heart and soul of the series. Of the 827 episodes, Bailey played Dollar for 484. Second place O’Brien, by contrast, only appeared in 103 episodes.

The show typically began with a phone call from some insurance executive who wanted Dollar to investigate some unusual claim. Dollar traveled all over the United States and sometimes out of the country. He told the story through flashbacks as he explained each item on his “action-packed expense account.”

Bob Bailey had a long radio career, beginning in the early thirties and ending with Johnny Dollar. He starred in programs too numerous to name, but his most successful role until Johnny Dollar was as private investigator George Valentine in Let George Do It from 1946 to 1954 on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Virginia Gregg played his secretary, Brooksie, for many episodes.

Though Virginia Gregg (1916-1986) does not appear in this episode she deserves mention as a recurring and much appreciated member of the cast.  She had roles in dozens of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar episodes and enjoyed a long career in radio, television, and films. She appeared on such radio programs as The Adventures of Sam Spade, Dragnet, Dr. Kildare, Gunsmoke, The Jack Benny Program, One Man’s Family,  The Zero Hour and Mutual Radio Theater. She often did double duty with roles in both the radio and television versions of programs. Gregg once said of her work as a character actress on television: “I work steadily, but I have no identity.” She added, “When casting people have a call for a woman who looks like the wrath of God, I’m notified.” On television, Gregg appeared in programs such as Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip,  Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Perry Mason, The Rockford Files, Maverick, My Favorite Martian, and The Twilight Zone. Her forty five film roles included the voice of Mrs. Bates in Psycho, Psycho II, and Psycho III. Oh, yeah, and she also played double bass for the Pasadena Symphony. Virginia Gregg died of lung cancer on September 15, 1986.

“The Sudden Wealth Matter” caper is an old story, the lesson from which gullible human beings never seem to learn. Johnny is called to investigate why an abnormally large increase of insurance policies are being sold in various states, and what he discovers is in essence someone at the head of what amounts to a Ponzi scheme (Carlo/Charles Ponzi, 1882-1949). At its height in the 1920s, Ponzi’s scheme had conned “nearly 75% of Boston’s police force [who] had invested in the scheme. Ponzi’s investors even included those closest to him, like his chauffeur John Collins and his own brother-in-law. Ponzi was indiscriminate about whom he allowed to invest, from young newspaper boys investing a few dollars to high-net-worth individuals, like a banker from Lawrence, Kansas, who invested $10,000.” After some leg work and questioning individuals in town, Johnny uncovers the problem but must now figure out a way to out-scheme a master-schemer to the point where there is enough evidence to bring the crook to justice. While investment fraud of various types (Pyramid schemes for one) is an old story, people both rich or poor, educated or uneducated, relatives or strangers, all look for a too-good-to-be-true way to make easy money. And fail, time after time, as “The Sudden Wealth Matter” proves, to the embarrassment of those allowing themselves to be so easily duped.

Play Time: 25:01

{“The Sudden Wealth Matter” aired on a Sunday night, and though not necessarily the kind of rip-roaring adventure they loved best, it was enough to find the neighborhood gang at the local newsstand the following day after school. To give them the adrenaline rush they craved, the gang found what they were after in the magazines featured below. Astounding SF (1930-present, now Analog) was a guaranteed buy, the magazine being a favorite for many years. It was, as usual, a monthly in 1959. The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1949-present, now Fantasy & Science Fiction) was one of the relatively new kids on the  block when it came to genre magazines, and the new directions its editors gave to writers was paying off handsomely, with the authors it attracted as well as new readers. It too was a monthly in 1959. Galaxy Science Fiction (1950-80) appeared on newsstands a mere year later than F&SF, and opened up even more new directions for writers to explore and new readers to experience. The new life it brought to the SF genre was a measure of its strength and gave rise to many classic, award-winning stories. From the magazine’s inception in 1950 through 1958 it held to a monthly schedule, with 1959 switching to a bi-monthly schedule, one it would maintain for the next 9 years before it would attempt a short-lived return to its original monthly issues.}

[Left: Astounding, Dec. 1959 – Center: F&SF, Dec. 1959 – Right: Galaxy, Dec. 1959]

To view the entire list of weekly Old Time Radio episodes at Tangent Online, click here.