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Murder Is A Merry-Go-Round Matter (Aired March 11, 1949)
The character closest to a continuing role was that of Pat McCracken of the Universal Adjustment Bureau, who assigned Johnny many of his cases. Another atypical aspect gave the show additional credibility – frequently, characters on the show would mention that they had heard about Johnny’s cases on the radio. Johnny often used his time when filling out his expense accounts to give the audience background information or to express his thoughts about the current case.No fewer than eight actors played Johnny Dollar. Dick Powell, of Rogue’s Gallery fame, cut the original audition tape, but chose to do Richard Diamond, Private Detective instead. Gerald Mohr, of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe fame, auditioned in 1955, prior to Bob Bailey getting the title role. Through the first three actors to play Johnny Dollar (Charles Russell, Edmond O'Brien, and John Lund), there was little to distinguish the series from many other radio detective series. Show Notes From The Old Time Radio Researcher's Group. THIS EPISODE: March 11, 1949. CBS network. "Murder Is A Merry-Go-Round Matter". Sustaining. Murder at the circus...with snakes! Charles Russell, Mark Warnow (music), Paul Dudley (writer), Gil Doud (writer). 29:32. Episode Notes From The Radio Gold Index.