Phillips Haynes Lord

Gang Busters was a dramatic radio program heralded as "the only national
program that brings you authentic police case histories." It premiered on
NBC as G-Men, sponsored by Chevrolet, on July 20, 1935. After the title
was changed to Gang Busters January 15, 1936, the show had a 21-year
run through November 20, 1957. 

The  writers worked with the FBI so that they could use case files as script
material. All scripts based directly from actual police records and had to
be approved by the Bureau first. The show was created by Phillips H. Lord
(above) who was a script writer, radio voice actor and screen performer.

   
                        (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954)

George "Machine Gun" Kelly is probably considered one of the most famous
"gangsters" from the prohibition era. "Machine Gun" was born George Kelly
Barnes on July 18, 1895, to a wealthy family living in Memphis, Tennessee. His
nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun. Kelly’s
most famous crime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon & businessman Charles
Urschel in July 1933 for which he, and his gang, earned $200,000 ransom. An investigation by the FBI eventually led to Kelly’s arrest in Memphis, Tennessee
on September 26, 1933. Other crimes committed by Kelly included armed
robbery and bootlegging. He died of a heart attack at Leavenworth Federal
Prison, Kansas on July 18, 1954 – his 59th birthday.

Kelly in his jail cell

September, 1933

The Adventures of Sam Spade was a radio series based loosely on the private
detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett.The show
ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episodes on CBS in 1946-1949,
and finally for 51 episodes on NBC in 1949-1951.The series starred Howard
Duff (above) and later, Steve Dunne as Sam Spade and Lurene Tuttle as his
secretary Effie, and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the
character than the novel or movie. In 1947, scriptwriters Jason James and Bob
Tallman received an Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama from the Mystery
Writers of America.

Howard Duff with co-star Lurene Tuttle

Watergate is a complex (above) in Washington, D.C.that was the location of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972. Five men were arrested for burglarizing the office of the committee. An investigation discovered that the men
had connections to the Committee to Re-elect President Nixon.The event was
the beginning of the Watergate affair. Additionally, various other crimes were
exposed, such as political espionage and corruption. In the end, president Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974 and Gerald Ford became the next president.The affair 
also resulted in the indictment trial, conviction and incarceration of several Nixon administration officials.

Ken Osmond as Eddie Haskell

 Ken Osmond best known for his role as Eddie Haskell on the original Leave
it to Beaver TV sitcom which ran on CBS from October 4, 1957, to 1958 and
then on ABC from 1958 to June 20, 1963. After his child acting career, Ken
served 18 years as an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department joining
in 1970 (below). During his time on the force, he worked in vice, in narcotics
and as a motorcycle officer. He was placed on disability and eventually retired
after being wounded while in a foot pursuit with a suspected car thief.

LAPD officer Osmond