Who Is Boston Blackie - T-Tees - Your Answers Await, Life's Questions Unraveled

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Boston Blackie was created by writer Jack Boyle as a jewel thief and safecracker with a heart of gold. The character was featured in nine silent films. In 1941, Blackie returned to film in the era of talkies. Much like the Saint, the character reformed from a thief into a detective. Blackie was always Inspector Farraday’s prime suspect in any major crime. The films were very popular with fourteen films made starring Chester Morris.

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Morris brought Blackie to the radio in a summer replacement radio series for NBC in 1944. Then in 1945, first-run syndication king Frederick Ziv created a new series starring Broadway Actor Richard Kollmar as Blackie and featuring the best talent in New York radio. The series was the most successful first-run syndication program of its era, producing 288 episodes of which at least 190 are in circulation.

Ziv took the series to television in 1951 for two syndicated series featuring Kent Taylor as Blackie.

Throughout his many iterations in the 1940s, Blackie remained a smart and clever crime-solver whose past gave him a slight edge and made him a bit of a lovable rogue who fought on the side of the angels. He was the type of guy you wanted in your corner when the chips were down. “Enemy to those who make him an enemy. Friend to those who have no friend.”

Star Bios:

Chester Morris (1901-70): Chester Morris began his career on Broadway playing alongside the great Lionel Barrymore at age 15, and made his film debut in 1929 in Alibi and was nominated for an Oscar. His career faltered in the late 1930s, but he enjoyed renewed popularity as the Boston Blackie film series. After the Boston Blackie film series ended 1948, the remaining two decades of Morris’ life and career were spent on Television and stage productions.

Richard Kollmar (1910-71): A Broadway actor and producer, Kollmar was the long-time husband of newspaper columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, with whom he hosted a daily talk show for eighteen years, “Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick.” Kollmar was also the host of the game show, “Guest What.” Kollmar also operated a supper club in New York called, “The Left Bank,” until 1965.

Episode Log:

Chester Morris Episodes:

The Jonathan Diamond (Original Air Date: June 23, 1944)
50 Hunter Street (Original Air Date: June 30, 1944)
Star of the Nile (Original Air Date: July 14, 1944)
Black Market Blackie (Original Air Date: July 21, 1944)
The Devon Caretaker Murder (Original Air Date: July 28, 1944)
Alice Manleder: Dead or Alive? (Original Air Date: August 4, 1944)
The Missing String of Pearls (Original Air Date: August 11, 1944)

Richard Kollmar Episodes:

The Wentworth Diamonds (Original Air Date: April 25, 1945)
The Murder of John Walters (Original Air Date: May 2, 1945)
Blackie Covers for Mary (Original Air Date: May 9, 1945)
Bill Blaine’s Legacy (Original Air Date: May 16, 1945)
Mrs. Boston Blackie (Original Air Date: June 4, 1945)
Oscar Wolfe, Troublemaker (Original Air Date: June 11, 1945)
Sam Bellows is Dead (Original Air Date: June 18, 1945)
The Larry Brown Case (Original Air Date: June 25, 1945)
Blackie Jilts Mary (Original Air Date: July 2, 1945)
The Worthington Pearls (Original Air Date: July 9, 1945)
Blackie’s Car Kills a Woman (Original Air Date: July 16, 1945)
The Case of the Three-Way Split (Original Air Date: July 23, 1945)
Mary All at Sea (Original Air Date: July 30, 1945)
The Hypnotic Murder (Original Air Date: August 6, 1945)
The Evelyn Jones Murder (Original Air Date: August 13, 1945)
Blackie Steals a Necklace for Charity (Original Air Date: August 20, 1945)
Charlie Kingston’s Unlucky at Cards (Original Air Date: October 4, 1945)
Imitation Diamond Bracelet (Original Air Date: October 11, 1945)
The Murdered Boxer (Original Air Date: October 18, 1945)
The Richards Murder (Original Air Date: October 25, 1945)
Mary Disappears (Original Air Date: November 1, 1945)
Amnesia Victim (Original Air Date: November 8, 1945)
Murder in the Music Room (Original Air Date: November 15, 1945)
Blackie is Kidnapped (Original Air Date: November 22, 1945)
The Simmons Construction Company Murder (Original Air Date: November 29, 1945)
Robert Atkins, Jewel Thief (Original Air Date: December 6, 1945)
Murder at the Movies (Original Air Date: December 13, 1945)
The Television Roundtable Murder (Original Air Date: December 20, 1945)
The Masters Diamond Case (Original Air Date: December 27, 1945)
The Murdered Sword Swallower (Original Air Date: January 3, 1946)
The Disappearing Body (Original Air Date: January 22, 1946)
The Williams Inheritance Case (Original Air Date: January 29, 1946)
The Brandon Murder (Original Air Date: February 5, 1946)
The Condon Ransom (Original Air Date: February 12, 1946)
The Benson Murder (Original Air Date: February 19, 1946)
The Auctioned Vase Mystery (Original Air Date: February 26, 1946)
The Thomas Evers Murder (Original Air Date: March 5, 1946)
The Li Chow Murder (Original Air Date: March 12, 1946)
The Worthington Ghost Murder (Original Air Date: March 19, 1946)
Pierre the Designer (Original Air Date: March 26, 1946)
Murder On the Flying Trapeze (Original Air Date: April 2, 1946)
Murder On 111 Cedar Street (Original Air Date: April 9, 1946)
The Baseball Player Murder (Original Air Date: April 16, 1946)
The Stolen Car Ring (Original Air Date: April 23, 1946)
The Frances Fielding Murder (Original Air Date: April 30, 1946)
The Winthrop Jewelry Company Thefts (Original Air Date: May 7, 1946)
The Merry Go Round Murder (Original Air Date: May 14, 1946)
The Paul Blaine Murder (Original Air Date: May 21, 1946)
The Old Man Graham Murder (Original Air Date: June 4, 1946)
The Case of The Disappearing Plane (Original Air Date: June 11, 1946)
The Masked Gang Protection Racket (Original Air Date: June 18, 1946)
The Joe Garland Murder (Original Air Date: June 25, 1946)
The Uncle Frank Wilson Murder (Original Air Date: July 2, 1946)
The Skating Rink Murders (Original Air Date: July 9, 1946)
The Green Line Trucking Murder (Original Air Date: July 16, 1946)
The Murdering Cuckoo Clock (Original Air Date: July 23, 1946)
Murder Aboard the Swan (Original Air Date: July 30, 1946)
The Witness-Tampering Murders (Original Air Date: August 6, 1946)
The Arson Triangle Murder (Original Air Date: August 20, 1946)
The Rockwell Diamond (Original Air Date: October 18, 1950)
The Stolen Radway’s Faust (Original Air Date: September 3, 1946)
The Backstage Murder (Original Air Date: September 10, 1946)
The Apartment Swindle Racket (Original Air Date: September 17, 1946)
The Abbott Painting Frame (Original Air Date: September 24, 1946)
The Undersea Murder (Original Air Date: October 1, 1946)
The Kennel Club Murder (Original Air Date: October 8, 1946)
Hazel Henry’s Rodeo Murder (Original Air Date: October 15, 1946)
Inspector Farraday Gunned Down (Original Air Date: October 22, 1946)
The Granny’s Witchcraft Murder (Original Air Date: October 29, 1946)
Joe Harvey Gets the Wrong Face (Original Air Date: November 5, 1946)
The Frank Burton Suicide (Original Air Date: November 12, 1946)
Mary Steals A Stolen Diamond Necklace (Original Air Date: November 19, 1946)
The Lennie Powell Murder (Original Air Date: November 26, 1946)
Blackie Jailed for $100,000 Diamond Theft (Original Air Date: December 3, 1946)
Mary’s Patient Commits Suicide (Original Air Date: November 12, 1946)
Blackie’s Framed By An Impersonator (Original Air Date: December 17, 1946)
The Harry Perkins Murder (Original Air Date: December 24, 1946)
The Carl Brown Murder (Original Air Date: December 31, 1946)
The Candy Store Murders (Original Air Date: January 7, 1946)
Blackie Framed for Fur Thefts (Original Air Date: January 14, 1947)
The Copycat Firebug (Original Air Date: January 21, 1947)
The Willibrand Diamonds (Original Air Date: January 28, 1947)
The Walter Peters Murder Mix-Up (Original Air Date: February 4, 1947)
The Duke Collins Murder (Original Air Date: February 11, 1947)
The Florence Wells Murder (Original Air Date: February 18, 1947)
The Joe Barton Murder (Original Air Date: February 25, 1947)
The Fight-Fixing Ring (Original Air Date: March 4, 1946)
The Joe Easton Car Theft Ring (Original Air Date: March 11, 1947)
The ‘Sam Fisher’ Murder (Original Air Date: March 18, 1947)
Blackie Framed for Horse Room Thefts (Original Air Date: March 25, 1947)
The Cy Gardner Murder (Original Air Date: April 1, 1946)
The Aggie Rogers Murder (Original Air Date: April 8, 1947)
The Phonograph Record Murder (Original Air Date: April 15, 1947)
The Millicent Bromley Ransom (Original Air Date: April 22, 1947)
Slamming Sammy Saunders (Original Air Date: April 29, 1947)
The Hilda Petersen Murder (Original Air Date: May 7, 1947)
The Joe Adams Drowning Murder (Original Air Date: May 14, 1947)
Blackie Breaks Into Langley Penitentiary (Original Air Date: May 21, 1947)
The Ghost of Florence Newton (Original Air Date: May 28, 1947)
The Stalking Killer (Original Air Date: June 4, 1947)
Blackie’s Framed for Killing A Watchman (Original Air Date: June 11, 1947)
The Donald Carver Frame-Up (Original AIr Date: June 18, 1947)
The Joe Nelson Murder (Original Air Date: June 25, 1947)
Johnny ‘Cash’ Burns’ Imported Wool (Original Air Date: July 2, 1947)
The Harmonica Man Murder (Original Air Date: July 9, 1947)
The Construction Gang Bank Robbery (Original Air Date: July 16, 1947)
Boston Blackie In Wax (Original Air Date: July 23, 1947)
Mayor Bob Rogers Assassinated (Original Air Date: July 30, 1947)
The Butcher Mob (Original Air Date: August 6, 1947)
The Sally Lang Murder (Original Air Date: August 13, 1947)
The John Austin Murder (Original Air Date: August 20, 1947)
The Buckley Shakedown Racket (Original Air Date: August 27, 1947)
The Fifty Dollar Shoeshine Murder (Original Air Date: September 3, 1947)
The Ghost of Rocky Island Lighthouse (Original Air Date: September 10, 1947)
The Car Bomb Murder (Original Air Date: September 17, 1947)
The Old ‘Eight-Six’ Disappears (Original Air Date: September 24, 1947)
Jim Wells’ Death Wish (Original Air Date: October 1, 1947)
Aunt Sarah’s Murder (Original Air Date: October 8, 1947)
Joe Crane, Hired Killer (Original Air Date: October 15, 1947)
The Million Dollar Mid-Air Diamond Theft (Original Air Date: October 22, 1947)
Blackie Framed On Film (Original Air Date: October 29, 1947)
The Mysterious Old Shoe (Original Air Date: November 5, 1947)
Murder, Incorporated (Original Air Date: November 12, 1947)
Armored Car Murder Case (Original Air Date: November 19, 1947)
Blackie Breaks Up the Murdoch Gang (Original Air Date: November 26, 1947)
The Wrong Henry Williams Killed (Original Air Date: December 3, 1947)
Blackie, Santa Claus and The Stolen Rings (Original Air Date: December 17, 1947)
Where Oh Where Has My Mary Gone (Original Air Date: December 24, 1947)
Pierre L’escale’s Door Buzzer (Original Air Date: December 31, 1947)
The Riding Stable Murder (Original Air Date: January 7, 1948)
Invention Worth Killing For (Original Air Date: January 14, 1948)
Who Killed the Kid (Original Air Date: January 21, 1948)
The Song Request Thefts (Original Air Date: January 28, 1948)
Three ‘The Wind Blows West Matter’ (Original Air Date: February 11, 1948)
Five Bullets for Don Anderson (Original Air Date: February 18, 1948)
Black Loves Helen Carver (Original Air Date: February 4, 1948)
The Twin Midnight Murders (Original Air Date: February 25, 1948)
The Cobb and Vale Trucking Murder (Original Air Date: March 3, 1948)
The Joe Saunders Murder (Original Air Date: March 10, 1948)
The William Larson Extortion Murder Case (Original Air Date: March 17, 1948)
The Stretcher Lewis Manslaughter (Original Air Date: March 24, 1948)
Tom Walton Escapes to Kill Blackie (Original Air Date: March 31, 1948)
Photographer Clyde Winston Murdered (Original Air Date: April 7, 1948)
A Murder at the Circus (Original Air Date: April 14, 1948)
The Junk Cars Insurance Scam Murder (Original Air Date: April 21, 1948)
The Joe Ingalls Bombing Murder (Original Air Date: April 28, 1948)
The Bolo Prison Break (Original Air Date: May 5, 1948)
John Davis Is Murdered . . . Twice (Original Air Date: Unknown but May 12, 1948 or later)
The Harry Walker Killing (Original Air Date: June 23, 1948)
The Professor Beasley Murder (Original Air Date: June 30, 1948)
Diamonds Stolen from Blackie and Charlie (Original Air Date: July 7, 1948)
Blackie Framed for Killing John Cummings (Original Air Date: July 14, 1948)
The Counterfeit Sweepstakes Ticket Racket (Original Air Date: July 21, 1948)
Richard Allistar Disappears in a Vacant Lot (Original Air Date: July 28, 1948)
Blackie Gives a Killer a Perfect Alibi (Original Air Date: August 4, 1948)
Blackie Tries to Save Bobby Rogers from Execution (Original Air Date: August 11, 1948)
Mrs. Trilling’s Maid is Murdered in Her Place (Original Air Date: August 18, 1948)
Tom Robertson Poisons His Wife Over the Phone (Original Air Date: August 25, 1948)
Jeweler John Reynolds is Murdered (Original Air Date: September 1, 1948)
Charlie Kingston and the Vanishing Office Building (Original Air Date: September 8, 1948)
Carl Grady, Golf Instructor (Original Air Date: September 29, 1948)
Joe Gatling Murdered Over Marked Money (Original Air Date: October 6, 1948)
The ‘Killer Lightning’ Murders (Original Air Date: December 8, 1948)
Blackie, Santa Claus and The Stolen Rings (Original Air Date: December 22, 1948)
Charlie Kingston and The Vanishing 4th Floor (Original Air Date: January 5, 1949)
The Broken Clocks Murder (Original Air Date: January 12, 1949)
The ‘High and Dry’ Murder (Original Air Date: January 19, 1949)
The John Frawley Imposter Murder (Original Air Date: January 26, 1949)
The Five-Note Murder Clue (Original Air Date: February 2, 1949)
The Paul Martin Murders (Original Air Date: February 9, 1949)
The Fred Palmer Waterfront Racket (Original Air Date: February 16, 1949)
Archie Grant’s Club 77 (Original Air Date: February 23, 1949)
The Fake Accident Racket (Original Air Date: March 2, 1949)
The Dolly Preston Murder (Original Air Date: March 9, 1949)
Blackie Kidnaps a Murderer (Original Air Date: March 16, 1949)
The Charity Ring Murders (Original Air Date: March 23, 1949)
The Amadon Pearl Murders (Original Air Date: March 30, 1949)
The Harry Clark Mob Murders (Original Air Date: April 6, 1949)
The Tiny Philip Murders (Original Air Date: April 13, 1949)
Madame Zina Murdered in a Monkey Costume (Original Air Date: April 20, 1949)
The Construction Contractor Murders (Original Air Date: April 27, 1949)
Joe Gates Murdered on Sightseeing Bus (Original Air Date: May 4, 1949)
Nobody at the Door (Original Air Date: May 11, 1949)
The Imperial Oil Company Racket (Original Air Date: May 18, 1949)
Blackie, Mary, and The Canyon Resort Murders (Original Air Date: May 25, 1949)
Pudgy and the Stolen Car and Tire Racket (Original Air Date: June 1, 1949)
The Ma Vie Perfume Company Murders (Original Air Date: June 8, 1949)
The Professor and Rufus Blow a Safe (Original Air Date: June 15, 1949)