''Candy Matson'' was a radio program on NBC West Coast that aired from June 29, 1949, to May 20, 1951. It centered on Candy Matson, a female private investigatorTerrace, Vincent (1981), ''Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930–1960''. A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. . p. 46. with a wry sense of humor and a penthouse on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. The program was notable for having a striking female character "without a trace of squeamishness"Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925–1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. . pp. 112–13. as well as a veiled gay character in Candy's best friend Rembrandt Watson, voiced by Jack Thomas. Candy's love interest was police detective Ray Mallard, voiced by Henry Leff. The announcer was

Dudley Manlove Dudley Devere Manlove (June 11, 1914 – April 17, 1996) was an American radio announcer and an actor. His credits include the San Francisco–based radio detective show '' Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8209''. Early years In 1921, Manlove was one o ...

. Actors frequently heard in minor roles were

Helen Kleeb Helen Kleeb (January 6, 1907 – December 28, 2003) was an American film and television actress. In a career covering nearly 50 years, she may be best known for her role from 1972 to 1981 as Miss Mamie Baldwin on the family drama ''The Walton ...

, John Grober, Mary Milford and Hal Burdick. In addition to the show being set in San Francisco, it was produced at San Francisco Radio City. The series concluded with a twist ending when Ray finally proposed to Candy, who accepted and retired from the detective business. It was created by Monty Masters and starred his wife Natalie Parks as Candy Matson. When Monty Masters created the show, he planned to star in it himself, as a male private detective. His mother-in-law convinced him to change the lead to a female, which led to his wife being the star. In 1950, ''Candy Matson'' was recognized with the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corpora ...

s Favorite Program Award. The award was presented as part of the broadcast of the episode "Symphony of Death". The aftermath of a 1950 episode illustrated the program's popularity. A newspaper story related: "It seems that during the closing moments of the last Monday's sequence, Candy is in an aircraft repeating the 'Twenty-third Psalm' as the plane crashes into a lake. At that point the show ends. And at that point the switchboard at Radio City started lighting up like a Christmas tree. More than 800 calls were received shortly after the program signed off. All of them wondering what happened to their heroine." Only 14 of the 92 episodes survive, along with the April 1949 audition show, the September 1952 series revival audition show, and an episode written by Jack French for the BearManor book, ''It's That Time Again!'' Entitled "The Japanese Sandman", it was turned into a radio theater production by veteran radio theater producer

Joe Bevilacqua Joseph K. Bevilacqua (born January 2, 1959) is an American actor, producer, director, author, dramatist, humorist, cartoonist, and documentarian. Biography Early life Bevilacqua was born on January 2, 1959, in Newark, New Jersey, the son of ...

, who also voiced all the roles including Candy herself, for the

Blackstone Audio Blackstone Audio is one of the largest independent audiobook publishers in the United States, offering over 30,000 audiobooks. The company is based in Ashland, Oregon with five in-house recording studios. Blackstone distributes directly to cons ...

title ''The New Stories of Old-Time Radio Volume One''.

References

External links

Candy Matson.com

Internet Archive: Candy Matson episodes

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American radio dramas 1940s American radio programs NBC radio programs 1949 radio programme debuts 1951 radio programme endings Detective radio shows