The Ruby Idol Case: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (December 3, 1949)

“The Ruby Idol Case” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 3, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Richard Diamond falls asleep reading a detective magazine and dreams of a case involving Leland L. Leeds, a nervous man who appears at his apartment claiming his life is in danger because he possesses a cursed ancient idol worth a fortune. When Leeds is struck by a car and dies, Diamond investigates the people around him—Leeds's sister Nina, a doctor named Roger Miller, and a museum curator named George Brodine—to determine who killed him and why.

New York City, primarily in and around Richard Diamond's apartment at 975 Park Avenue and the Leeds family house in Jackson Heights.

Characters: Richard Diamond, Helen Asher, Francis, Leland L. Leeds, Nina Leeds, Dr. Roger Miller, George Brodine, Lieutenant Levinson

Listen for: The twist ending that reveals this entire case is just Richard Diamond's dream while he was napping on his couch reading a detective magazine. The story plays with the tropes of pulp detective fiction, complete with an unexpected killer reveal that seems to wrap everything up—until Diamond wakes up.

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.