For six years, Boston Blackie defended the common man across NBC, NBC Blue and CBS airwaves. Something of a vigilante, Boston Blackie garnered quite a bit of friendly opposition from his local police chief, Inspector Faraday. But with a tagline as cool as, “Boston Blackie! Enemy of those who make him an enemy, friend of those who have no friends,” he was able to easily elude serious trouble in his crimefighting crusade.

Though he got his start in pulp magazines, Boston Blackie’s radio run began in 1944 and lasted until 1950. The half-hour series proved far more popular than the magazines themselves, as listeners enjoyed the smooth-talking, rough hewn sophisticate’s voice in a more two-dimensional way.