Raymond Chandler's celebrated hard-boiled private eye, Philip Marlowe, made his radio debut in 1945 on the Lux Radio Theatre with "Murder, My Sweet," starring Dick Powell. Two years later, NBC brought the character to the air in his own weekly series starring Van Heflin, The New Adventures of Philip Marlowe. A summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show, the series was short-lived, ending September 9, 1947. CBS revived it in 1948 with The Adventures of Philip Marlowe

Set in Dodge City, Kansas, during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s, the Gunsmoke radio show was routinely called by radio drama enthusiasts “the best show of any kind and any time”. For nine years from 1952 to 1961, Gunsmoke dominated the airwaves as it portrayed the epic legend of the American West. The lead character of Marshall Matt Dillon, as played by William Conrad, was called the “Philip Marlowe of the old west”. Besides Conrad, the superb supporting cast included Parley Baer a...