P H I L O V A N C E , D E T E C T I V E --------- ----------- ----------------- 1945 - 1950 First Show: Jul 05, 1945 Last Show: not known Number Shows: not known Audition Show: none Series Description: The character of Philo Vance came from the pen of S. S. Van Dine, the pen name for Willard Huntington Wright (1888 - 1939). He wrote a total of 12 Philo Vance novels: The Benson Murder Case (1926), The Canary Murder Case (1927), The Greene Murder Case (1928), The Bishop Murder Case (1929), The Scarab Murder Case (1930), The Kennel Murder Case (1933), The Dragon Pool Murder (1933), The Casino Murder Case (1934), The Kidnap Murder Case (1936), The Garden Murder Case (1938), The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1938) and The Winter Murder Case (1939). Philo Vance is an amateur detective who assists the district attorney with his investigations. Outside of detective work, he is a wealthy connoisseur of the arts. The first ten novels take place in New York City. The last two take place in Hollywood. A large number of the novels became movies, with William Powell filling the role of Vance five times from 1929 to 1933 and Basil Rathbone doing the honors once in 1930. NBC was the first to bring Vance to the airwaves, airing a Summer series of 13 shows from 07/05/45 to 09/27/45 with Jose Ferrer starring as Vance and Frances Robinson as his secretary (from New York Times radio listings). Philo Vance appears in Los Angeles Times radio listings, starting on July 12, 1945, on station KFI. These are believed to be the same as the NBC series above, with a possible 2 additional shows, if the LA Times listings are correct. Another Summer series aired in the Summer of 1946, on ABC stations. John Emery played the part of Vance. It wasn't until 1948, after the last Philo Vance movie was made, that Frederick Ziv syndicated a series starring Jackson Beck as Vance with Joan Alexander as his secretary. This series, of 104 shows, would last into 1950. The series featured last minute clue- gathering to lead into end-of-the-show revelations and solutions. Log Comments: Broadcast information came from New York Times and Los Angeles Times radio listings. The only show title mentioned in the listings was for the first show of the 1945 NBC Summer series and only in the New York Times. Show titles came from Jerry Haendiges' log, J. David Goldin's database and vendor catalogs. Two shows are listed as from a 1943 NBC series. It is believed these dates are in error but they are listed here until additional is found. Chronological Log: Date Day Num Title Avail ------------ --- --- ------------------------------------ ----- ....... POSSIBLE NBC SERIES ........ Apr 29, 1943 Thu "The Case of the Cellini Cup" yes May 06, 1943 Thu "The Mystery of the Missing Cat" yes ...... NBC 1945 SUMMER SERIES ...... East Coast, from New York Times 7:30-8, WEAF Jul 05, 1945 Thu 1 "The Case of the Happy Yank" no Jul 12, 1945 Thu 2 ... title not known ... Jul 19, 1945 Thu 3 ... title not known ... Jul 26, 1945 Thu 4 "The Case Of The Girl Who Came Back" yes Aug 02, 1945 Thu 5 ... title not known ... Aug 09, 1945 Thu 6 "The Case of Strange Music" yes Aug 16, 1945 Thu 7 ... title not known ... Aug 23, 1945 Thu 8 ... title not known ... Aug 30, 1945 Thu 9 ... title not known ... Sep 06, 1945 Thu 10 ... title not known ... Sep 13, 1945 Thu 11 ... title not known ... Sep 20, 1945 Thu 12 ... title not known ... Sep 27, 1945 Thu 13 ... title not known ... West Coast, from Los Angeles Times LA: 6:30-7PM, KFI Jul 12, 1945 Thu 1 ... title not known ... Jul 19, 1945 Thu 2 ... title not known ... Jul 26, 1945 Thu 3 ... title not known ... Aug 02, 1945 Thu 4 ... title not known ... Aug 09, 1945 Thu 5 ... title not known ... Aug 16, 1945 Thu 6 ... title not known ... Aug 23, 1945 Thu 7 ... title not known ... Aug 30, 1945 Thu 8 ... title not known ... Sep 06, 1945 Thu 9 ... title not known ... Sep 13, 1945 Thu 10 ... title not known ... Sep 20, 1945 Thu 11 ... title not known ... Sep 27, 1945 Thu 12 ... title not known ... Oct 04, 1945 Thu 13 ... title not known ... Oct 11, 1945 Thu 14 ... title not known ... Oct 18, 1945 Thu 15 ... title not known ... ........ ABC SUMMER SERIES ......... LA: 9:30-10PM, KECA (now KABC) Jul 16, 1946 Tue 1 ... title not known ... Jul 23, 1946 Tue 2 ... title not known ... Jul 30, 1946 Tue 3 ... title not known ... Aug 06, 1946 Tue 4 ... title not known ... Aug 13, 1946 Tue 5 ... title not known ... Aug 20, 1946 Tue 6 ... title not known ... Aug 27, 1946 Tue 7 ... title not known ... Sep 03, 1946 Tue 8 ... title not known ... Sep 10, 1946 Tue 9 ... title not known ... Sep 17, 1946 Tue 10 ... title not known ... Sep 24, 1946 Tue 11 ... title not known ... Oct 01, 1946 Tue 12 ... title not known ... .... SYNDICATED ZIV PRODUCTIONS .... 1948-1950 Broadcast dates are not shown as this was a syndicated series. Numbers are the ZIV syndication numbers. 1 "The Eagle Murder Case" yes 2 "The Merry Murder Case" yes 3 ... title not known ... 4 ... title not known ... 5 ... title not known ... 6 ... title not known ... 7 "The Poetic Murder Case" yes 8 "The Coachman Murder Case" yes 9 "The Midget Murder Case" yes 10 "The Blue Lady Murder Case" yes 11 "The Backstage Murder Case" yes 12 "The Argus Murder Case" yes 13 "The Bulletin Murder Case" yes 14 "The Cover Girl Murder Case" yes 15 ... title not known ... 16 ... title not known ... 17 ... title not known ... 18 ... title not known ... 19 "The Heavyweight Murder Case" yes 20 "The Tree Trunk Murder Case" yes 21 "The Blackjack Murder Case" yes 22 "The Star Studded Murder Case" yes 23 "The Murdock Murder Case" yes 24 "The Vanilla Murder Case" yes 25 "The Rhumba Murder Case" yes 26 "The Magic Murder Case" yes 27 ... title not known ... 28 ... title not known ... 29 "The Idol Murder Case" yes 30 "The Golden Murder Case" yes 31 "The Flying Murder Case" yes 32 "The Butler Murder Case" yes 33 "The Herringbone Murder Case" yes 34 "The Listless Murder Case" yes 35 "The Curtain Call Murder Case" yes 36 "The Million Dollar Murder Case" yes 37 "The White Willow Murder Case" yes 38 "The High Hat Murder Case" yes 39 "The Movie Murder Case" yes 40 "The Green Girls Murder Case" yes 41 "The Cardinal Murder Case" yes 42 "The Cipler Murder Case" yes 43 "The Masters Murder Case" yes 44 "The Meanest Man Murder Case" yes 45 "The Butterfly Murder Case" yes 46 "The Hurdy Gurdy Murder Case" yes 47 "The Red Duck Murder Case" yes 48 "The Mistletoe Murder Case" yes 49 "The Combination Murder Case" yes 50 "The Peacock Murder Case" yes 51 "The Motor Murder Case" yes 52 "The White Murder Case" yes 53 "The One Cent Murder Case" yes 54 "The Racket Murder Case" yes 55 "The Cheesecake Murder Case" yes 56 "The Tick Tock Murder Case" yes 57 "The Deep Sea Murder Case" yes 58 "The Johnny A. Murder Case" yes 59 "The Blue Penny Murder Case" yes 60 "The Brotherly Murder Case" yes 61 "The Oxford Murder Case" yes 62 "The Checkerboard Murder Case" yes 63 ... title not known ... 64 ... title not known ... 65 "The Black Gold Murder Case" yes 66 "The Tea Cup Murder Case" yes 67 "The Meeker Murder Case" yes Aka: "The Necktie Murder Case" 68 "The Deathless Murder Case" yes 69 "The Argyle Murder Case" yes 70 "The Muddy Murder Case" yes 71 "The Little Murder Case" yes 72 "The Nightmare Murder Case" yes 73 "The Thundering Murder Case" yes 74 "The Birdcage Murder Case" yes 75 "The Grey Glove Murder Case" yes 76 "The Chop Suey Murder Case" yes 77 "The Identical Murder Case" yes 78 "The Tip Top Murder Case" yes 79 "The Left Handed Murder Case" yes 80 "The Talking Corpse Murder Case" yes Aka: "The Catty Corpse Murder Case" 81 "The Music Box Murder Case" yes 82 "The Sterling Murder Case" yes 83 "The Chicken Murder Case" yes 84 "The Scarface Murder Case" yes 85 ... title not known ... 86 ... title not known ... 87 "The Church Murder Case" yes 88 "The Mathmatical Murder Case" yes 89 "The Jackpot Murder Case" yes 90 "The Ivory Murder Case" yes 91 "The Mimic Murder Case" yes 92 "The Nylon Murder Case" yes 93 "The Golden Key Murder Case" yes 94 "The Shower Bath Murder Case" yes 95 "The Whistling Murder Case" yes 96 "The Rooftop Murder Case" yes 97 "The Manicure Murder Case" yes 98 "The Money Machine Murder Case" yes Aka: "The Traveling Monogram" 99 "The Whirlaround Murder Case" yes 100 "The Alibi Murder Case" yes 101 "The Full Dress Murder Case" yes 102 "The Prize Ring Murder Case" yes 103 ... title not known ... 104 ... title not known ... ??? "The Psychic Murder Case" yes References: * New York Times, Los Angeles Times radio listings, from J. Jones' Newspaper Radio Logs, http://www.jjonz.us/RadioLogs * GOLDINdex database, J. David Goldin, Box 542, Newtown, CT 06470 (http://www.radiogoldindex.com) * PHILO VANCE log, Jerry Haendiges Productions, 13808 Sunset Dr., Whittier, CA 90602 (http://www.otrsite.com) * "The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide To All Circulating Shows", by Jay Hickerson, 27436 Desert Rose Ct., Leesburg, FL 34748 * "On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio" by John Dunning, ISBNB 0-19-507678-8, Oxford University Press, 1998. Last Update: May 13, 2008 This log is informational only. It does not imply that I or my references have these shows for trade or sale. The shows may still be protected under copyright law and should be obtained only from authorized dealers. The log may be freely reproduced and published on a no-profit basis. Please send error corrections or additional information to Frank M. Passage, 109 Elmwood Road, Verona, NJ 07044 (email: wb2ntp@arrl.net).