The Little Man Who Wasn't All There: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (October 29, 1949)

“The Little Man Who Wasn't All There” is an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 29, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar receives an assignment to track down James Yarboe, whose wife's insurance policy was canceled one day before her death. Since then, Yarboe has been sending cryptic letters to the insurance company while seemingly engineering the deaths of multiple people connected to the company, leaving no evidence for police to act on. Johnny begins investigating the victims' families and trailing Yarboe to his house on Lombard Street, where he discovers a macabre collection of criminal artifacts and booby traps.

San Francisco and surrounding areas, including Yarboe's house on Lombard Street filled with crime museum artifacts and booby traps

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Bradford L. Coates, James Yarboe, Mrs. Janelli, Mr. Dykes, Mrs. Weatherly

Listen for: Johnny Dollar's clever narration of his expense account investigation, his dangerous confrontation with the mysterious Yarboe in a house rigged with explosives, and the mounting evidence of Yarboe's vengeful scheme against the insurance company

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.