The Van Dyke Seance Case: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (September 10, 1949)

“The Van Dyke Seance Case” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 10, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Richard Diamond takes on a case to expose two con artists—Professor Leonardo, a phony spiritualist, and Dr. Langley, who are supposedly fleecing the wealthy Mrs. Van Dyke through fake séances. Diamond's investigation leads him to Mrs. Van Dyke's apartment, where he discovers her murdered, stabbed in the throat. As Diamond pursues the real killer to an airport hangar, a shocking revelation emerges about who committed the crime and why.

New York City, including Park Avenue, Professor Leonardo's fortune-telling parlor, police headquarters, and Flyaway Airport on Long Island during foggy evening.

Characters: Richard Diamond, Nancy Van Dyke, Mrs. Murna Van Dyke, Professor Leonardo, Dr. Langley, Sergeant Otis, Lieutenant, Helen

Listen for: The clever con game setup at the séance, the humorous disguise scene where Diamond poses as country man Harold Applenocker to expose the professor, and the tense fog-shrouded confrontation at the airport hangar where Diamond must piece together the true murderer's identity from small details like a discarded wig and towel.

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.