''Let George Do It'' is an American radio drama series produced from 1946 to 1954 by Owen and Pauline Vinson. Bob Bailey starred as

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

George Valentine;

Olan Soule Olan Soule (February 28, 1909 – February 1, 1994) was an American actor, who had professional credits in nearly 7,000 radio shows and commercials, appearances in 200 television series and television films, and in over 60 films. He was the ...

voiced the role in 1954. Don Clark directed the scripts by David Victor and

Jackson Gillis Jackson Clark Gillis (August 21, 1916 – August 19, 2010) was an American radio and television screenwriter, scriptwriter whose career spanned more than 40 years and encompassed a wide range of genres. Gillis was born in Kalama, Washington to ...

History and description

The few earliest episodes were more

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

than

private eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

shows, with a studio audience providing scattered laughter. The program then changed into a suspenseful tough guy private eye series. Sponsored by

Standard Oil of California Chevron Corporation is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, energy corporation predominantly specializing in Petroleum industry, oil and gas. The second-largest Successors of Standard Oil, direct descenda ...

, now known as

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, the program was broadcast on the West Coast Don Lee network of the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

from October 18, 1946, to September 27, 1954, first on Friday evenings and then on Mondays. In its last season, transcriptions were aired in New York Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. from January 20, 1954 to January 12, 1955. Clients came to Valentine's office after reading a newspaper that carried his

classified ad Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements use ...

Personal notice: Danger's my stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me. George Valentine. Write full details!

The newspaper ad varied from show to show, but always opened with "Danger is my stock in trade" and closed with "Write full details!"

Characters and actors

George Valentine was a professional detective. Valentine's secretary was Claire Brooks, a.k.a. Brooksie (voiced by Frances Robinson, then by

Virginia Gregg Virginia Lee Gregg (March 6, 1916 – September 15, 1986) was an American actress known for her many roles in radio dramas and television series. Early life Born in Harrisburg, Illinois, she was the daughter of musician Dewey Alphaleta (née T ...

, and then by Lillian Buyeff). As Valentine made his rounds in search of perpetrators, he occasionally encountered Brooksie's kid brother, Sonny (

Eddie Firestone Eddie Firestone (December 11, 1920 – March 1, 2007), sometimes known as Eddie Firestone Jr., was an American radio, television, and film actor who accumulated over 200 total credits during his performing career. He played the wino who was k ...

) or elevator man Caleb (

Joseph Kearns Joseph Sherrard Kearns (February 12, 1907 – February 17, 1962) was an American actor, who is best remembered for his role as George Wilson ("Mr. Wilson") on the CBS television series '' Dennis the Menace'' from 1959 until his death in 1962. He ...

). Police Lieutenant Riley (

Wally Maher Wally Maher (August 4, 1908 – December 27, 1951) was an American actor, primarily on old-time radio; he was also known as the original voice of Tex Avery's cartoon character Screwy Squirrel. Early years Maher was born in Cincinnati on August 4 ...

) was a more regular guest. For the first few shows, Sonny was George's assistant, given to exclamations such as "Jeepers!" but he was soon relegated to an occasional character. John Hiestand was the program's announcer.

Other personnel

The background music was supplied by Eddie Dunstedter, initially with a full orchestra. When television supplanted radio as the country's primary home entertainment, radio budgets got skimpier and skimpier and Dunstedter's orchestra was replaced by an organ (played by Dunstedter), as from January 1949.

References

{{reflist

External links

*
Let George Do It
' 242 Episodes of Let George Do It available at the Internet archive.
Let George Do It on Old Time Radio Outlaws
1946 radio programme debuts 1954 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs American radio dramas Mutual Broadcasting System programs Detective radio shows Don Lee Network programs