Abbott Mysteries
Encyclopedia
Frances Crane
Frances Crane was an American mystery author, who introduced private investigator Pat Abbott and his future wife Jean in her first novel, The Turquoise Shop...
(1896-1981). Initially a summer replacement for Quick As a Flash, the series was heard on Mutual
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
and NBC between the years 1945 and 1955.
The Mutual series, sponsored by Helbros Watches, debuted June 10, 1945, airing Sundays at 6pm. The scripts by Howard Merrill and Ed Adamson were in the lighthearted tradition of Mr. and Mrs. North
Mr. and Mrs. North
Mr. and Mrs. North are fictional American amateur detectives. Created by Frances and Richard Lockridge, the couple were featured in a series of 26 Mr. and Mrs. North novels, a Broadway play, a motion picture and several radio and television series....
. Julie Stevens and Charles Webster starred as Jean and Pat Abbott, a San Francisco married couple who solved murder mysteries. In the supporting cast were Jean Ellyn, Sydney Slon and Luis van Rooten
Luis van Rooten
Luis van Rooten, was an American film actor. He was christened Luis d'Antin van Rooten.Van Rooten earned his BA at the University of Pennsylvania and worked as an architect before deciding to pursue film work in Hollywood during World War II...
.
Moving to 5:30pm in 1946, Les Tremayne
Les Tremayne
Les Tremayne was a radio, film, and television actor. Born Lester Tremayne in England, he moved with his family at the age four to Chicago, where he began in community theatre. He danced as a vaudeville performer and worked as amusement park barker...
and Alice Reinheart took over the roles until the end of the series on August 31, 1947.
Seven years later, the characters returned October 3, 1954, on NBC in The Adventures of the Abbotts, broadcast on NBC Sunday evenings at 8:30pm. In this series, the Abbotts were portrayed by Claudia Morgan
Claudia Morgan
Claudia Morgan was an American film, television and radio actress. She was best known for playing the role of Vera Claythorne in the first Broadway production of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians and for her portrayal of Nora Charles on the 1940s radio series, The Adventures of the Thin...
and Les Damon. The NBC series ran until June 12, 1955.
"The series was resurrected by NBC in 1955 under the new title of The Adventures of the Abbotts and this nudged Mutual into producing a copycat show under the title It's A Crime, Mr. Collins
It's A Crime, Mr. Collins
It's a Crime, Mr. Collins was a half-hour mystery/adventure radio program broadcast weekly from August, 1956 to February, 1957 by Mutual Broadcasting System in the United States that was a "flagrant rip-off of The Adventures of the Abbotts in which only the names had been changed."San Francisco...
." "Many programs in the Golden Age of Radio were flattered by their competitors. ... The Abbotts on NBC were copied exactly in Mutual's It's A Crime, Mr. Collins, including paraphrasing (the original author's) words." "Mutual even used ... the habit of putting a color in the title of every story."
Listen to
- Public-domain recordings of The Adventures of the Abbotts at The Internet Archive
- Adventures Of The Abbotts Public-domain recordings of The Adventures Of The Abbotts at the OTRRLibrary
- Public-domain recordings of It's A Crime, Mr. Collins at archive.org