The Jerome J Jerome Case: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (September 17, 1949)

“The Jerome J Jerome Case” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 17, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Richard Diamond receives a peculiar visit from Jerome J Jerome, an eccentric millionaire who claims to be a G-man and songwriter, and insists on becoming his bodyguard. When Jerome mentions finding a dead body at the Austerham Place museum, Diamond and Lieutenant Levinson investigate the sealed private study and discover the strangled corpse of Adelaide Smith, a secretary. The case leads Diamond to question Adelaide's employer, attorney Patrick Mahaffey, who has connections to the Austerham estate and is caught trying to flee town with a suitcase full of money.

New York City, primarily the Austerham Place museum and surrounding locations

Characters: Richard Diamond, private detective, Jerome J Jerome, eccentric millionaire and heir, Lieutenant Walt Levinson, Patrick Mahaffey, attorney and executor, Adelaide Smith, dead secretary, Helen, Diamond's girlfriend, Sergeant Otis

Listen for: The comedic banter between Diamond and the absurd Jerome, the witty exchanges between Diamond and Lieutenant Levinson, and Jerome's eccentric personality revealed through dialogue and song snippets.

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.