Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons

That “kindly old investigator,” Mr. Keen, sought missing persons and unraveled crimes longer than any other fictional detective ever heard or seen on the air. For 18 years (1937–1955) and 1690 nationwide broadcasts, Keen and his faithful assistant Mike Clancy kept listeners coming back for more. The nearest competitor, Nick Carter, Master Detective, ran for 726 broadcasts.
This definitive history recounts the actors and creators behind the series, the changes the show underwent, and the development of the Mr. Keen character. A complete episode guide details all of the program’s 1,690 broadcasts.

Jim Cox, a leading radio historian, is an award-winning author of numerous books on the subject. A retired college professor, he lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jim Cox
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 374
Bibliographic Info: 10 photos, notes, chronology, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011 [2004]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4494-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0738-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Preface      1

Chronology: A Mr. Keen Radio Almanac      5

1. The Aural Sleuth: Murder and Mayhem on the Air      7

2. Origins of a Supersleuth      14

3. Lost and Found      22

4. The Tracer as Chaser      35

5. Funny Business      51

6. Hired Guns      57

7. Sold on Radio      73

Radio Episode Guide      77

Notes      345

Bibliography      349

Index      351

“Great job of research…writing is excellent…one of the most enduring shows of the classic period of radio”—Radio Recall; “comprehensive…what any book about old-time radio should be…definitely belongs in every OTR library”—SPERDVAC Radiogram; “exhaustively researched…superlative”—RadioGrams; “intensively and thoroughly researched…uncovered much new information…highly entertaining and enlightening”—Old-Time.com; “extensive amount of information…Cox has produced another great book…very thorough and well researched”—Illustrated Press; “many entertaining anecdotes…collectors will be intrigued”—Radio Historical Association of Colorado; “presenting a clear image of the characters, Jim Cox goes to extraordinary care and research to bring the reader as much as he can about Mr. Keen”—Penguin Comics Unlimited.