Rocky Fortune

About Rocky Fortune

Rocky Fortune is the old time radio show that starred Frank Sinatra as a detective by accident, and here you can listen free online or follow the free podcast. NBC aired it from October 1953 to March 1954, every show opening with "NBC presents Frank Sinatra, starring as the footloose and fancy-free young gentleman, Rocky Fortune." This podcast has the whole run, 25 episodes, in the order they first aired.

Rocky is a likable New Yorker who can't hold a job. "Sometimes my friends ask me, Rocky, why can't you hold a job? That's a good question. I don't know the answer." Each week he takes whatever temporary work comes along, ship's steward, truck driver, oyster shucker, companion to a chimp, and each job lands him in the middle of a murder. Sinatra narrates in a breezy, streetwise voice full of jive slang and wisecracks, and the stories mix crime with plenty of comedy.

The timing is what makes it fascinating today. Sinatra made Rocky Fortune just as his career was coming back: From Here to Eternity had opened in the summer of 1953, and he won the Academy Award for it in March 1954, while these shows were still on the air. Rocky Fortune is a chance to hear the Chairman of the Board as a radio actor, not a singer, at the turning point of his career.

What you’ll hear

• Frank Sinatra as Rocky Fortune, narrating every case in his own easy New York voice.
• A new odd job every week: steward on a luxury liner, a truck full of nitroglycerin, a carnival midway, a rodeo, a Catskills resort.
• Comedy and murder in the same half hour, and Sinatra's quick wisecracks.
• Sinatra's New York: Broadway theatres, museums, boarding houses and the subway.
• NBC public service announcements of 1953 and 1954 for the March of Dimes and the Community Chest.
• The complete series, October 1953 to March 1954, plus two Armed Forces Radio versions.

Where to start

• Start with the first show, "Oyster Shucker at the Fifty Fathoms" (October 6, 1953).
• At Christmas, play "The Plot to Murder Santa Claus" (1953).
• For pure fun, try "Companion to a Chimp" (1953) or "Hollywood or Boom" (1954), in which Rocky drives a truck of nitroglycerin.
• The podcast releases a new episode every week, in broadcast order, and released episodes play free right on this page. Plus members can play every episode now.
• For private eyes around the clock, Gumshoe streams Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Richard Diamond, Sam Spade and more.

Questions