Show Notes
⭐ Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar THE NORA FAULKNER MATTER Original Air Date: June 28, 1959 Starring: Bob Bailey Writer/Director: Jack Johnstone Supporting Cast: Virginia Gregg, Lawrence Dobkin, Harry Bartell, Jack Kruschen Summary Johnny Dollar is called in when Nora Faulkner, a young woman with a modest life‑insurance policy, disappears under troubling circumstances. Her aunt fears she may have fallen victim to a dangerous crowd, and the insurance company suspects the disappearance may be tied to fraud or foul play. Johnny's investigation uncovers a trail involving a manipulative boyfriend, a forged signature, and a scheme designed to cash in on Nora's policy. As he digs deeper, Johnny discovers that Nora is caught between fear, desperation, and the influence of people who see her only as a payday. The case becomes a tense search for a missing woman whose life is worth more dead than alive to the people around her — and Johnny must find her before the worst happens.
⭐ Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar THE WOODWARD MANILA MATTER Original Air Date: June 21, 1959 Starring: Bob Bailey Writer/Director: Jack Johnstone Supporting Cast: Virginia Gregg, Parley Baer, Harry Bartell, John Dehner Summary Johnny Dollar is sent to investigate the death of wealthy businessman Charles Woodward, who was killed in Manila under circumstances that raise more questions than answers. The insurance company suspects the death may not have been accidental — and that someone may have engineered it for financial gain. Traveling halfway around the world, Johnny uncovers a web of corruption involving a forged passport, a questionable business partner, and a trail of money that leads straight into danger. As he pieces together Woodward's final days, Johnny realizes the death was part of a larger scheme involving betrayal, greed, and a carefully staged "accident" meant to hide murder. The case becomes one of Johnny's most international and high‑stakes investigations of the late 1950s run.
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⭐ Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar THE ALVIN'S ALFRED MATTER Original Air Date: July 19, 1959 Starring: Bob Bailey Writer/Director: Jack Johnstone Supporting Cast: Virginia Gregg, Lawrence Dobkin, Harry Bartell, Jack Kruschen Summary Johnny Dollar is assigned to investigate the suspicious death of Alvin Alfred, a quiet, seemingly harmless man who was found dead under circumstances that don't add up. Alvin carried a modest life‑insurance policy, but the company believes foul play may be involved — and that someone close to him may have engineered his death for profit. Johnny's investigation uncovers a tangle of deceit involving a manipulative woman, a forged signature, and a carefully staged accident designed to look natural. As he digs deeper, Johnny realizes Alvin Alfred was targeted precisely because he seemed like the last man anyone would murder. The case becomes a study in how greed can turn the most unassuming life into a deadly opportunity.
⭐ Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar THE BOLT OUT OF THE BLUE MATTER Original Air Date: July 26, 1959 Starring: Bob Bailey Writer/Director: Jack Johnstone Supporting Cast: Virginia Gregg, Carlton G. Young, Ralph Moody, James McCallion Summary Johnny Dollar is dispatched to the storm‑swept Massachusetts coast after Thelma Jane Weatherby reports that her uncle, retired sea captain Amos Weatherby, is in mortal danger. She believes her former fiancé, Roger Burton — a man Captain Amos once exposed as a "wife killer" — has returned to make good on his threat of revenge. As a violent storm rolls in, Johnny discovers Burton's elaborate murder setup: an old stone blockhouse once used as a sailing‑ship jail, now housing power company transformers. Burton plans to lure the captain inside and electrocute him by throwing a remote switch that energizes a metal railing. But nature intervenes. A lightning bolt strikes the tower's rod, surges down the wire, and detonates the installation — killing Burton instantly and leaving Johnny shaken but alive. With the threat ended, Johnny files his expense account (totaling $171.50) and signs off with his trademark closing: "End of report… Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar."
1. "The Jack Madigan Matter " Release Date: October 21, 1950. [1] Cast: Stars Edmond O'Brien as Johnny Dollar. [1] Basic Summary: The Assignment: Johnny is hired by a panicked local bail bondsman who finds himself in an impossible legal jam. The Disappearance: Two crucial federal witnesses scheduled to testify against a notorious, dangerous gangster named Jack Madigan have completely vanished into thin air. The Stakes: The bondsman was pressured into putting up the bond money for them by Madigan's associates. Johnny must navigate a dark web of underworld intimidation to locate the witnesses before Madigan can silence them for good. [1, 2, 3]
. "The Sudden Wealth Matter " Release Date: December 13, 1959. Cast: Stars Bob Bailey as freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar. Basic Summary: Johnny is called from Hartford to investigate a rash of sudden, suspicious life insurance policy cancellations. He tracks the thread to a corrupt, sweet-talking broker who is targeting unsuspecting locals. The broker convinces these individuals to liquidate their stable insurance assets to invest in a sketchy stock market scheme that falsely promises to "double their money" in less than three weeks. Johnny must expose the financial fraud and the sheer greed driving the operation before the racketeer vanishes with the victims' life savings. [1, 2, 3]
⭐ 1001 RADIO DAYS Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar SHOW NOTES — "The Story of the Big Red Schoolhouse Matter" & "The Dead First Helpers Matter" This week at 1001 Radio Days, we bring you two powerful back‑to‑back investigations from the early Edmond O'Brien era of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar — stories that showcase the grit, danger, and moral complexity that made the 1950 run one of the most compelling in the series.