The Martha Campbell Kidnap Case: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (July 26, 1950)

“The Martha Campbell Kidnap Case” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast July 26, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When wealthy philanthropist Martha Campbell is kidnapped, her niece Diana hires private detective Richard Diamond to protect her fiancé Ira Stewart during the ransom delivery in Central Park. Diamond and Stewart are ambushed during the exchange, knocked unconscious, and the money disappears—but when they recover, they discover Mrs. Campbell's body already in the car, murdered days earlier.

New York City, primarily Manhattan including Park Avenue, Central Park, and a police precinct; also a zoo with animal enclosures including a bear pit.

Characters: Richard Diamond, Helen, Diana Campbell, Martha Campbell, Ira Stewart, Sergeant Otis, Lieutenant Walt Davis, Willie the Knife Foster

Listen for: The clever twist revealing that Stewart himself orchestrated the kidnapping to steal the money; Diamond's witty banter with Helen and Sergeant Otis; the climactic chase through the zoo ending at the bear pit.

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.