Premier Collections: 
Let George Do It, Volume 2
Liner notes written by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

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"If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me, George Valentine."

In an essay about the long-running radio detective series "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar," author John Dunning describes the consensus opinion of the show’s fans by remarking that star Bob Bailey — in the part of “America’s favorite freelance investigator” — “had the ability to imbue the role with an unforgettable quality not heard before or after.” The very same statement could be made about Bailey’s portrayal of George Valentine in the Mutual detective series that preceded Dollar, "Let George Do It" which the young actor used as a “warm-up exercise” from October 18, 1946 to September 27, 1954.

“An intelligent, thinking man leavened by just a touch of world-weary cynicism” is how OTR historian Elizabeth McLeod once described Valentine, a private eye who matter-of-factly observed that “danger’s my stock in trade.” George wasn’t above using a little muscle in his business — most of his detective brethren were resigned to this as a last resort — but what set the private eye apart from most of his on-the-air copycats was his manual dexterity and keen analytical thinking skills. In fact, the interesting thing about "Let George Do It" is that, though it reached a smaller audience than most detective offerings (it was heard mainly on Mutual-Don Lee’s West Coast network), it had a notable influence on shows that followed. Chiefly among these was the syndicated series "Box 13"; whereas George Valentine’s classified ad asserted that if “the job’s too tough for you to handle, you’ve got a job for me,” "Box 13" novelist Dan Holiday notified his clients that he wanted adventure and would “go anywhere, do anything.”

But while Suzy, Holiday’s gal Friday, simply handled his mail and telephone requests, Valentine’s secretary Claire “Brooksie” Brooks definitely had a more “hands-on” approach. “A lady of initiative, courage, and foresight, whose efforts made her his partner, in all but name” is how OTR author Jack French describes Brooksie in his book "Private Eyelashes". Certainly there was a undercurrent of romance between boss and employee — George called her “Angel” and Brooksie often responded with “Darling” — but that was as far as it went; despite Valentine’s street smarts, he seemed oblivious to the fact that Brooksie was carrying a major torch for him. According to French, actress Lillian Buyeff is believed to be the first to play the part, followed by Frances Robinson, Shirley Mitchell and finally Virginia Gregg until "Let George Do It" left the airwaves. (Apparently nothing is permanent in radio; even OTR veteran Olan Soule relieved Bailey of his Valentine chores in 1954 when the series was heard in transcribed repeats beginning in January of that year.)

In George’s early years, a few other regulars were heard on the program — most notably George’s office boy and Brooksie’s kid brother Sonny (Eddie Firestone, Jr.) and Caleb (Joseph Kearns), the elevator operator in Valentine’s office building. These two didn’t hang around for long, though, and for the rest of the series George and Brooksie were pretty much on their lonesome, save for police contact Lt. Riley (Wally Maher) and, later on, Lt. Johnson (Ken Christy). Fortunately, writers Jackson Gillis and David Victor (assisted on occasion by Polly Hopkins and Lloyd London) were able to flesh out each episode with memorable guest characters, allowing directors Don Clark and Kenneth Webb to hire the cream of the crop from Radio Row; performers heard regularly on the series include Lurene Tuttle, Harry Bartell, Alice Reinhart, Lawrence Dobkin and William Conrad, just to name a few.

Because of its West Coast exclusivity, it has often been noted that "Let George Do It" was probably heard by less people during its original run than the many OTR fans that have come to know and love the program today. Approximately 200 episodes managed to escape the ravages of time via transcriptions, many no doubt through the machinations of New York-based Harry S. Goodman Radio Productions, who, it is believed, edited the old shows of their Standard Oil commercials and added new intros with a new narrator. The discovery of a good-sized cache of these discs, originally from the Toronto-based vaults of Canadian syndicator S. N. Caldwell, insures the possibility that, in addition to repackaged versions of existing titles, many of the episodes offered appear to be the only existing programs in circulation. All of them, however, exist in exceptionally fine audio and are brought to you in this Premier Collection through the tireless efforts of First Generation Radio Archives.

Here are the entries offered in this twenty-episode, ten-compact disc collection:

The Marauder (#23)
Writer Rafe Saxon contacts George and invites him and Brooksie to a mountain retreat, where his genial host — a man named Hans Bjorkman — is obsessed with killing a mountain lion.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
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The High Price of a Penny (#24)
George and Brooksie stumble onto the scene of an automobile accident, in which a wealthy couple has been killed. But when a photographer who was at the scene is found dead, the subject of murder is soon bandied about. The program features Wally Maher, Ted Osborne, Tony Barrett, Herb Butterfield, Jeffrey Silver and Noreen Gammill and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on June 18, 1951.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22615A.jpg

Tune on a Triangle (#25)
George rescues a woman who appears to be contemplating a leap off the ledge outside his office, but it turns out to be merely a publicity stunt. She’s really a trapeze artist, and her husband is a melancholy strongman who later gets hold of Valentine’s gun. The program features William Conrad, Ken Christy, Tony Barrett, Lillian Buyeff, Jack Kruschen and Noreen Gammill and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on January 15, 1951.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22616A.jpg

Red Spots in the Snow (#26)
George and Brooksie make a pilgrimage to Snow Valley Lodge at the bequest of Herbert Judson, a well-known motion picture director famous for promoting would-be starlets with screen tests. Judson needs our hero to provide a little muscle as his personal bodyguard — but when he’s shot on a ski lift; it looks like George will have to investigate. The program features Lawrence Dobkin.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22617A.jpg

Nothing but the Truth (#33)
Tioga Tom, “the last honest man in the West,” writes to Valentine asking him to investigate the disappearance of his seeing-eye dog. George, however, is preoccupied with solving the murder of one of Tom’s “vultures” on the train trip there. The program features Herb Butterfield, Joe Forte, Herb Vigran, Victor Rodman, Charlie Lung, Marjorie Bennett and Tim Graham and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on November 27, 1950.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22620A.jpg

High Card (#34)
Mrs. Sylvia Ames requests Valentine’s help for her husband Victor, who may be implicated in the murder of Dorothy Fullman. Does the solution to her untimely death lie in a “friendly” game of cards? The program features Lawrence Dobkin, Ted Osborne, Bob Bruce, Lurene Tuttle, Harold Dryanforth and Robert Griffin and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on July 2, 1951.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22621A.jpg

Angel’s Grotto (#37)
Emily Flood informs Valentine that she’s no longer in need of his services. You see, George has been working on a case involving a wealthy, wheelchair-bound victim who fell two hundred feet into the “Angel’s Grotto” — and Emily’s convinced it was just an accident. The program features Jeanette Nolan, Bill Bouchey, Noreen Gammill, Lawrence Dobkin and Robert Griffin and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on November 13, 1950.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22622A.jpg

The Hand in the Cocoanut (#38)
Big-game hunter Derek Stang hires George to investigate the theft of his field glasses and he’s convinced Lars Michelson is the culprit. It soon becomes all too apparent that the hunter has become the hunted when Michelson has also made off with the heart of Mrs. Stang...or is it the other way around?
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22623A.jpg

The Sedan from the City (#39)
Beloved factory owner Mervyn Brewster is shot and killed by an unknown assailant who drove up to Chez Brewster in a big black sedan. Among the suspects are a crotchety lawyer...and a trick-or-treater? The program features Lawrence Dobkin, Bill Bouchey and Wally Maher.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22624A.jpg

Tag, You’re It (#40)
During a radio broadcast, an obnoxious M.C. reads a letter written to Valentine. The missive belongs to a woman who’s been dismissed as a crackpot — but a note in her purse (“Tag...you’re it”) is identical to one found in the possession of a blonde woman who is now deceased. The program features Wally Maher, Martha Wentworth, Jack Bailey, Pat McGeehan, Bill Bouchey and Tony Barrett and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on September 25, 1950.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22625A.jpg

The White Elephant (#41)
Wealthy spinster Alice May Edmond is leaving Valentine $1000.00 in her will, but there is one stipulation: George will receive the money only when he successfully captures her murderer! The program features Wally Maher, Lurene Tuttle, Ted Osborne, Lawrence Dobkin and Herb Butterfield and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on September 11, 1950.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22626A.jpg

Deal Me Out and I’ll Deal You In (#42)
Ambrose Acropolis hires Valentine to help out a troubled friend named Bob Sprig. George soon learns to beware of Greeks bearing gifts: Acropolis is actually a gangster seeking to collect a debt from Sprig...but, unfortunately, someone decides to collect Sprig instead. The program features Lawrence Dobkin and Ken Christy.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22627A.jpg

The Blue Plate Special (#43)
Sam Ferris dashes off a letter to George, requesting that the detective steal an antique plate. The chinaware in question is in the possession of Josh Higby, a particularly nasty piece of work who’s been tarnishing Ferris’ reputation around town...and whose personal secretary has turned up dead.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22628A.jpg

The Noose Hangs High (#44)
A magazine editor is working on a story involving a curse attached to a collection of priceless emeralds. He asks a skeptical George to play reporter -- beginning with the reclusive Binks brothers, who have refused to emerge from their mansion for the past ten years and who now report seeing the shadow of a noose. The program features Robert Griffin, Ted Osborne, Lawrence Dobkin, Tim Graham, Noreen Gammill and Forrest Lewis and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on April 16, 1951.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22629A.jpg

The House That Jack Built (#45)
The mysterious "Lacey Jack" works for mobster Duke Averson and tells George he knows enough to “blow the lid off this town.” His reasons for wanting to hire Valentine, however, seem to raise more questions than answers. The program features Wally Maher, Ken Christy, Lawrence Dobkin, Dan O’Herlihy, Vivi Janis, Eddie Firestone and Dick Ryan and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on October 2, 1950.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22630A.jpg

It’s a Mystery to Me (#46)
”To me, life isn’t worth living without a girl I’ve just met...named Cynthia.” So states mystery novelist Marlon King in a letter to Valentine. While George and Brooksie wait for their potential client at a gin joint called Joe’s Oasis, our hero receives a phone call from that very same girl...announcing that she never wants to see King again. The program features Ken Christy, Wally Maher and Lawrence Dobkin.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22631A.jpg

And Hope to Die (#47)
Legendary actress Flora Stewart is being blackmailed for $10,000.00, and she hires George to ferret out the extortionist. The twist is that the blackmailer breaks one of her phonograph records — transcriptions of her stage performances — every night she refuses to pay up. The program features Jeanette Nolan, Charlotte Lawrence, Sidney Miller, Lawrence Dobkin and Stanley Farrar and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on December 4, 1950.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22632A.jpg

The Treasure of Millie’s Wharf (#48)
George and Brooksie take the plunge into a mystery involving a parrot, a map, a dead sea captain and sunken treasure. The program features Martha Wentworth, Herb Butterfield, Lawrence Dobkin, Dick Ryan, Bill James, Harold Dryanforth and Joseph DuVal and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on June 25, 1951.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22633A.jpg

Is Everybody Happy? (#49)
The man known as “Lorenzo the Great” generously provides financial support for a small group of houseguests living in “The House of Lorenzo.” But it would appear that one such guest needs a lesson in etiquette; the host has been repaid for his hospitality with a bullet in the back. The program features Bill Johnstone.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22634A.jpg

See Me Once, You’ve Seen Me Twice (#50)
A cowboy named Wallace has fallen hard for a woman named Lucy Lameroux, but he’s been warned by a stranger to stay away from her or he’ll be killed. George is on the case — which soon proves to be a bit more complex than expected, what with a murdered agent...and two Lucy Lamerouxs! The program features Ken Christy, John Dehner, Eddie Fields, David Young and Doris Singleton and was first broadcast over the Mutual-Don Lee West Coast network on February 26, 1951.
30:00 - Harry S. Goodman Syndication
http://www.radioarchives.org/scans/22635A.jpg

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