Airing in 1964 and syndicated over Pacific Radio's affiliated stations, Mathew Slade (one T, please; well, usually) was a San Francisco private eye who harkened back to the days of old-time radio. Slade was "suitably hard-boiled and hard-drinking, with a voice full of Jack Webb deadpan and a sprinkling of ratatat wisecracks." Of course he had a long-suffering secretary/girlfriend, Loretta "Jonesy" Jones, and there was a half-buddy, half antagonist cop, Sergeant Sid Donelli of Homicide.
The program was created by Robert Frederick and Brian Adams, basing the series on a Candaian radio series that ran 1957-1960. William Wintersole starred as Slade; he would go on to play Michael Sherman on The Young and the Restless for twenty-five years. Sylvia Walden was Jonesy, and Norman Belkin played Donelli; both were accomplished character actors. Karl Swenson (who had lead roles in radio's Lorenzo Jones, The adventures of Father Brown, and Mr. Chameleon, and a major recurring role in Our Gal Sunday) often appeared as another police foil, Lieutenant Barny Flagg. Thirteen episodes were aired, of which ten survive.
In "A Sweet Scent of Mystery," Mrs. Burroughs, a heavily scented woman who appeared much younger than she really was, tells Slade that her daughter Laurie was murdered the month before; authorities had attributed the death to an accident. She suspects her son-in-law was guilty. Or could the murderer be, as Jonesy suspects, Laurie's sister? The true solution was telegraphed fairly early in the show, but that should not stop you from enjoying this throwback to the Golden Age of Radio.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfuw7vDWewE
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