The Pat Novak for Hire Radio Program

Background

'Patsy Novak.' That's the original listing given to what eventually became one of Jack Webb, Richard Breen and William P. Rousseau's most popular brainchildren. One can only imagine that the newspapers were responding to an advance recording of the program--or perhaps that's the way that KGO and Rousseau teased it. The newspapers of the era referred to the program, variously, as Patsy Novak, Pat Novak Presents, Patsy Novak for Hire, Novak for Hire, then eventually, Pat Novak for Hire. The newspapers finally got it right once Gallenkamp Shoes began placing full-gutter ads at the beginning of the Comics section of the Oakland Tribune (see above) every weekend. While we're not absolutely certain that Miss America of 1946 actually listened to the series, we're taking it as an act of faith in Gallenkamp's Shoes that she did.

Marliyn Buferd, the recently crowned Miss America of 1946, was a U.C.L.A. graduate--as opposed to a Stanford or Berkeley grad--so she probably couldn't have heard any of the Pat Novak . . . for Hire broadcasts in the first place due to KGO's then only 7,500 watt transmitting power. In any case, since she'd have had only a few weeks to actually hear any of the Pat Novak . . . for Hire broadcasts, and since she was reportedly almost immediately off to Rome to study at the University of Berlitz for the Spring semester of 1947, we harbor some doubts as to the veracity of Gallenkamp's claims.

Gallenkamp Shoes had been caught up in a costly--and embarrassing--strike by the Department and Specialty Stores Salesmen's Union against 15 Oakland retail shoe stores, eight of which were owned by Gallenkamp Shoes. We're reasonably certain that Gallenkamp may well have agreed to foot the bill for twenty-six of the Pat Novak . . . for Hire broadcasts coming as it was on the heels of it's employee--and public--relations fiasco of 1946. (Were there too many puns in that sentence? We got a kick out of them, anyway.)

Be that as it may, Pat Novak . . . for Hire soon achieved great local popularity just about the time that Jack Webb bowed out of the production--only to reenter it as the newly re-launched Pat Novak . . . for Hire production for the 1949 season. Jack Webb and Richard L. Breen had been roomies together in San Francisco. Once they'd both hooked up with William P. Rousseau, the trio became responsible for some of the campiest--and most popular--local radio noir productions to originate from the West Coast.

We know that Jack Webb performed in the initial thirteen-episode order for Pat Novak . . . for Hire. He also appeared in at least five of the second order of thirteen episodes--he's heard in the circulating Episode No. 15, Dixie Gillian, broadcast on November 24, 1946. Also, up through that episode, Tudor Owen appeared as Jocko Madigan and John Galbraith was heard as Inspector Helmann. The point at which Jack Webb departed the initial production run of Pat Novak . . . for Hire is still a point of some conjecture.

It was at some point between the Dixie Gillian broadcast and April of 1947 that Jack Webb was putting together his own production of Johnny Madero, Pier 23--we're guessing that Webb's departure from the first run coincided with the departure of Gallenkamp Shoes as a sponsor. Our best guess at present is that Jack Webb left Pat Novak . . . for Hire after Episode 26.

Johnny Madero, Pier 23 ran from April to September 1947. Then, in 1948, Webb wrote for and starred in Jeff Regan, Detective, which ran from July 1948 to August 1950. Webb dropped out of Jeff Regan, Investigator in December of 1948 to reintroduce Pat Novak . . . for Hire for its 1949 run. Webb was simultaneously gearing up for his Dragnet program in 1949. Here's a summary of Webb's productions, both leading up to Pat Novak . . . for Hire's 1949 run and subsequent to Pat Novak:

From the table above, it would appear that it was Dragnet that essentially ended the Pat Novak . . . for Hire-type franchise for good--not that Webb wasn't the consummate multi-tasker, as were his peers, Raymond Burr, William P. Rousseau, Richard Breen, and William Conrad during the same period. The extraordinary success of Dragnet, combined with Webb's total immersion in the project--while still finding time to mount his pet project for the summer of 1951, Pete Kelly's Blues--simply left no time to keep Pat Novak . . . for Hire running for another season or more.

Rumors of course abound as to the actual reasons behind the departure of Richard Breen, then Jack Webb, from the KGO production of Pat Novak . . . for Hire. Some of the more plausible and persuasive 'anecdotes' have it that Breen had become disenchanted with either KGO or ABC management at KGO and, after 24 broadcasts of Pat Novak . . . for Hire, decided to seek greener pastures and a potential Film deal down south in Hollywood. Jack Webb, arguably the more thoughtful and practical of the team, departed a day later, driving to L.A. to live with his Mom again in Santa Monica for a while. Webb, at least, apparently reasoned that as the production neared the twenty-six program mark, their incremental obligation was near the end in any case--to either KGO or Gallenkamp. Gallenkamp, for their part, terminated their sponsorship of the program either: a.) as a consequence of the departure of Breen and Webb, b.) having agreed to sponsor only the first twenty-six installments, or c.) due to an impromptu combination of both factors.

We're as yet unsure of the actual last broadcast of the first airing of Pat Novak . . . for Hire. The show that replaced it was Music By Adlam. When, exactly Pat Novak . . . for Hire ended and Music By Adlam began is still undetermined. We gather that when ABC finally pulled the plug on Pat Novak it was abrupt. It's no coincidence that the 'Adlam' in Music By Adlam was Basil 'Buzz' Adlam the music director for Pat Novak . . . for Hire. As best as we can determine, Pat Novak left the air between December 21, 1947 and January 4, 1948. Since it was already being transcribed, stations in Utah and Nevada were still airing it as late as January 11, 1948. We're stating, provisionally, that the first run of Pat Novak . . . for Hire left the air on December 21, 1947 until we learn otherwise. Our sense is that Basil Adlam either stepped forward to fill the spot, or was 'volunteered to fill the spot until a suitable replacement could be found. Buzz Adlam's various music programs ended up running for years in various formats.

As can also be seen in the table above, it was Webb's departure from CBS' Jeff Regan, Investigator that allowed him to relaunch Pat Novak . . . for Hire's 1949 season. By 1949 Jack Webb could do pretty much anything he set his mind to in Radio. With the amazing success of Dragnet over Radio, Webb subsequently launched Dragnet over Televsion--to equal success. Webb also found time to appear in the Film Classic, Sunset Boulevard in 1950.

The influential Webb--Breen--Rousseau Formula takes off

It goes without saying that the Webb, Breen, and Rousseau formula highly influenced the West Coast radio noir landscape for the latter half of the 1940s. Other similar productions of the era also tended to imitate the formula. Webb, Breen and Rousseau's only real initial limitation during the era was being based in San Francisco. The Hollywood network studios were simultaneously cranking out all manner of radio noir--or radio grise--gumshoe and crime dramas throughout the era:

• The Adventures of the Thin Man 1941-1950
• The Adventures of Nero Wolfe 1943-1951
• Casey, Crime Photographer 1943-1955
• The Falcon 1943-1954
• Michael Shayne: Private Detective 1944-1953
• Philo Vance 1945-1950
• The Casebook of Gregory Hood 1946-1951
• Let George Do It 1946-1954
• Sam Spade, Detective 1946-1951
• The Adventures of Philip Marlowe 1947-1951
• Box 13 1948-1949
• Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8209 1949-1951
• Broadway Is My Beat 1949-1954
• Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar 1949-1962
• Night Beat 1950-1952
• Hearthstone of The Death Squad 1951-1952

The above list is by no means exhaustive. It's merely to point out the extraordinary saturation--and overlap--of such programming throughout the World War II years and the waning years of The Golden Age of Radio. We point out the competition to underscore the highly innovative early style of Jack Webb and his associates--a style that set them very much apart from the pack. Indeed, by the time Webb launched Dragnet, he'd all but abandoned the grittier, satirical, lampoonish elements of radio noir for the stark realism of his Dragnet productions.

It's not so much that Webb had lost his sense of humor or irony, as was amply displayed, tongue well in cheek, throughout his productions of the 1940s. It was more likely Webb's intrinsic idealism and respect for Law Enforcement in general that inspired him to mount Dragnet in the highly realistic docudrama manner which marked the entire franchise for the following thirty years of legendary success.

Webb and Breen were masters of the gumshoe patter and ubiquitous, antagonistic backchat between, and among, the denizens of big city crime--the paid civil servants, the criminals, and the private gumshoes. With Pat Novak . . . for Hire, Webb and Breen began to weave a brand of dialogue that had never before been heard on broadcast Radio of the era.

Their model was the growing body of Film portrayals of the darker, starker, more conflicted and tortured depictions of crime dramas of the era--the style ultimately coined 'film noir,' or 'black film.' Webb and Breen's rendition of such dialogue simply amped it up a notch--or several notches in many cases. The wonderfully novel written dialogue of Brett Halliday, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett was some of the most colorful pulp dialogue that had ever been read--and subsequently depicted in Film. Webb's intimate familiarity with the Jazz world certainly served to inform his contributions to the dialogue.

The language was often coined, 'Chandleresque,' for its tone and grittiness. Its exaggeration and often tortured similes and street-wisened aphorisms were the most authentic depiction of the lingua franca of the underworld ever read--or heard--before. And it was that very common talk that continued to fascinate readers and Film audiences of the era. But Webb and Breen's translation of that language might well have been coined Webb-esque or Breen-esque from that point forward in radio noir. Many tried to emulate or imitate it, but it was the Webb--Breen--Rousseau combination that seemed to master it. It's far easier to simply illustrate some of the examples: (and even more down the sidebar to the left)

"She sauntered in, moving slowly from side to side like 118 pounds of warm smoke."

"She turned and walked out of there. It was the kind of the walk that makes you flip the calendar and find out how far away Spring is."

"It was pretty dark, so when I bumped into her, all I got was a vague outline. . . She had a good-looking vague outline."

"I began to think about the .32 caliber pistol. It's a woman's weapon--well, that doesn't prove anything. So's a bread knife if she's in a bad mood."

"She was wearing black lounging pajamas, tied tight around her slim waist. She looked like a wasp with a nice sting."

"Hellmann, you ought to rent an idiot. The heavy thinking's too much for you."

"You couldn't smell a rat in a basement full of cheese."

"You couldn't track down a live bear in a telephone booth."

"You couldn't hear a rifle shot in a boxcar."

"Hellmann stood there a moment and smiled--like a guy who's just killed a landlord."

"I looked up the only honest guy I know, an ex-doctor and a boozer by the name of Jocko Madigan--a good guy, but to him a hangover is the price of being sober."

"I looked up Jocko Madigan. He's a good guy, and he used to be a smart one, except he didn't like the San Francisco fog and worked out one of his own."

"Sooner or later you get burned, and it doesn't make any difference whether you're a man or a mouse. Because down on the waterfront, in San Francisco, they build the traps both ways. Down here, if you reach out to help a panhandler, the guy'll take your arm and hand you back the dime. I rent boats and deal any place that'll give a good trade-in on a second-hand soul."

(. . . to be continued in our Johnny Madero, Pier 23 and Jeff Regan, Investigator articles)

Webb and Breen reprised that brand of dialogue in Pete Kelly's Blues as well. Herb Margolis emulated much of that dialogue in Johnny Madero, Pier 23, and the brilliant dialogue writer, E. Jack Neuman added that same flavor to Webb's Jeff Regan, Investigator scripts for CBS. The closest non-Webb radio noir vehicle to capture that same brand of dialogue was the William P. Rousseau-produced run of The New Adventures of Michael Shayne. Indeed, Jack Webb made several repeat appearances in The New Adventures of Michael Shayne--as a police detective. Jeff Chandler, for his part, delivered the dialogue as faithfully as Jack Webb.

Greater Broadcast Power = Greater Audience . . . or not

It was a brilliant formula and an exponentially growing body of West Coast fans of Webb's dialogue eagerly anticipated each new Jack Webb Radio venture with increasing interest. But the key predicate in the preceding sentence was 'West Coast.'

Radio station KGO, the originator of Pat Novak . . . for Hire, was operating under a wartime freeze regarding any expansion of broadcast facilities. As late as 1946, KGO was still operating from the same General Electric plant, and the same 7,500 watt transmitter it had employed up through World War II. As soon as the freeze was lifted, KGO applied for--and the F.C.C. granted--permission to transmit at 50,000 watts. That was enough to reach from Washington and Oregon to Baja California and everywhere in between. KGO began broadcasting at 50,000 watts on December 1, 1947. Indeed, KGO proudly announced its spanking new 50,000 watt power output during its November 30, 1947 broadcast of Death in Herald Square.

Once a larger audience was able to pick up KGO's broadcasts, Webb's Bay Area productions exponentially reached more new fans. An even greater number of listeners could hear Webb's fascinating dialoque and delivery clear as a bell for the first time. Those were the mitigating factors.

The militating factor was KGO's new affiliation with the American Broadcasting Company. KGO was formerly part of NBC's Orange Network of West Coast affiliate stations. KGO had been NBC's Key station on the West Coast. The F.C.C.-instigated break-up of NBC's five networks of the preceding era--the Orange Network, the Red Network, the Blue Network, the Gold Network, and the White Network--was in response to NBC's growing monopolization of affiliate stations across the U.S. The ensuing consolidations essentially reduced NBC to two major networks--Red and Blue. (KGO, at the time, was part of the Western Blue Network, the Orange and Gold networks having been disbanded in the late 1930s.) It was the F.C.C.'s suit and the Justice Department-mandated break-up of Red and Blue that found the Blue Network sold to the then "Lifesavers King," Edward J. Noble and his Blue Network, Inc., which by 1946 became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Noble also purchased Earle C. Anthony's radio station, KECA a year later.

ABC was the 'new kid on the block' and still feeling its way in 1946. Once KGO got its new transmitter power it was still hampered by many of ABC's early missteps in competing with NBC--its closest competitor for the most part--in the Bay Area. But just as the Mutual Broadcasting System had managed to compete with NBC and CBS with a wealth of established, highly popular juvenile adventure and serial dramas of the late 1930s and 1940s, KGO soon became as much of a powerhouse for ABC as their Detroit flagship station, WXYZ. Compelling features like Pat Novak . . . for Hire and Johnny Madero, Pier 23, and their subsequent counter-programming strategies, their disc jockey format of the 1950s, and their later all-talk format of the 1960s and beyond served to set KGO apart and keep it highly competitive.

Pat Novak . . . for Hire gets a new lease on life

Any frustration that Jack Webb and company may have experienced with the growing pains of KGO under ABC might have been put to rest with the station's increased reach. But in the interim, Jack Webb's own star had continued to rise. As we indicated above, by the time Jack Webb and Bill Rousseau re-launched Pat Novak in 1949, Webb continued to triumph in Southern California as well. His recent success in CBS's Jeff Regan, Investigator, found Jack Webb with Dragnet production planning already underway (with NBC). His future--albeit tragically short-lived--Dragnet sidekick, Barton Yarborough had appeared as a recurring character with Webb in Jeff Regan, Investigator. Webb and company could easily have simply let Pat Novak . . . for Hire be. Pat Novak had been highly popular in the Bay area and KGO's reach was now second only to it's only real competitors, former sister stations, KPO and KNBC. The second time around, Pat Novak . . . for Hire would have reached ten times as many listeners as it had during its original run--if it continued to be broadcast from KGO.

The unfortunate common denominator in this whole series revival was the ABC Network, who, taking its cue from its former owners--NBC Blue--didn't believe in silly nonsense like promotional publicity, advance coordination with the print media, or strategically placed teasers about the program--not even in local Bay area newspapers. The unfortunate side effect of non-promotion was that new listeners to the program could only stumble across it on their Southern California, Utah, Arizona, Washington and Oregon radio dials. Jack Webb, in retrospect, would never make that mistake again for the remainder of his career.

The program's second debut aired on the night of the 13th of February, 1949, replacing a quiz program, "Go for The House." The new order for twenty-six scripts was some of the finest writing in the franchise's history. The ensemble cast consisted of Jack Webb, Tudor Owen, and Raymond Burr with occasional appearances by William Conrad. Jack Lewis also returned on at least one occasion to fill in for Tudor Owen as Jocko Madigan. It's clear that Webb's recent year of Jeff Regan portrayals continued to improve the crisp, snappy dialogue of Pat Novak . . . for Hire. The timing between Raymond Burr, Tudor Owen, and Jack Webb was becoming impeccable. The backchat, Owen's derisive assessments of 'Patsy' Novak, and Burr's catty digs at Pat Novak were now being delivered in almost staccato fashion.

For a program that aired only twenty times, the production experienced at least five different announcers, including the masterful Fred Foy and George Fenneman. It was Fenneman who best voiced the breathless:

"Ladies and Gentleman, The American Broadcasting Company brings, transcribed, to its entire network, Pat Novak . . . . . . . for Hire."

The original intro had been:

"Ladies and Gentleman, The American Broadcasting Company brings to its entire network, Pat Novak . . . . . . . for Hire."

Note the addition of 'transcribed' in the 1st intro above (from Dixie Gillian) and the original intro from Jack of Clubs. Clearly, by Episode No. 10 at least, Pat Novak . . . for Hire was being transcribed for later airing in different parts of the country. This was another shrewd move by ABC, Webb, and Rousseau, making it easier for more distant audiences to finally hear Pat Novak . . . for Hire.

As it turns out, the revival project was overtaken by events. In spite of KGO's new reach, the 1949 run of Pat Novak . . . for Hire was ultimately recorded in ABC's Hollywood studios--presumably either the old KECA studios on North Highland, or the spanking new ABC/KECA studios on Vine--or both. All of the announcers for the 1949 run can be heard announcing that the programs were recorded 'from Hollywood.'

The supporting casts for the Pat Novak revival were the equal of any talent previously heard on the program. It would also appear, from a closer listening to the recordings, that visiting artists entirely enjoyed the experience of appearing with the Pat Novak ensemble. Radio legends Parley Baer, Herb Butterfield, Vic Perrin, Frank Lovejoy, Ted De Corsia, Lillian Buyeff and Betty Lou Gerson made regular return visits to the short-lived revival.

Irrespective of Pat Novak's success, the die was cast by the Summer of 1949. Webb debuted Dragnet over Radio on June 3, 1949, beginning a series of an eventual 382 broadcasts over six years. Dragnet was a Southern California production and Pat Novak was now a Southern California production as well. After the move to Hollywood, the Bay area would never again originate Pat Novak. And once Dragnet was fully underway, Pat Novak didn't stand a chance of continuing beyond June 1949--not with Jack Webb in the lead, in any case. Pat Novak . . . for Hire without Jack Webb in the lead would have been a non-starter at that point in its popularity.

So it was that one of Radio's most influential programs--for its genre and time--finally ended in the Summer of 1949. But it didn't 'go gentle into that good night.' Pat Novak . . . for Hire had set the tone for virtually all of the remaining radio noir crime and detective genre programs that followed it, and it's influence was also felt in early Television as well. Jack Webb's snappy, staccato delivery continued to evolve throughout the Dragnet franchise, becoming a signature element of all of his productions from 1949 forward.

All told, for a program with only some twenty-three circulating exemplars out of an estimated script order of 104, Pat Novak . . . for Hire has become one of the Golden Age of Radio's most prized remnants. It's both historic for its introduction of Jack Webb's signature dialogue delivery and important for its further synthesis of the Chandleresque dialogue from the radio noir and film noir era.

Series Derivatives:

Notes on Provenances:

The most helpful provenances were newspaper listings. The least helpful and accurate were the Hickerson Guide contributions from Martin Grams.

We invite you to compare our fully provenanced research with the '1,500 expert researchers' at the OTRR and their Pat Novak for Hire log. We've provided a screen shot of their current log for comparison, HERE to protect our own further due diligence, content and intellectual property.

OTRisms:

• The OTRR log (and others) fails to cite the correct premiere for the series. They cite Episode No. 7 as the premiere, with its move to Sundays.
• Citations that the original run of Pat Novak for Hire originated from the KECA (ABC) studios in Los Angeles, versus the actual originating studio, KGO in Oakland. If, as widely misrepresented, the series originated in the KECA studios in Los Angeles, then it would have to have originated without Jack Webb. We find that assertion something of a stretch. Jack Webb wasn't even in Los Angeles until after he and Richard Breen departed San Francisco during the Spring of 1947.
• Citations of the the title of Episode No. 7 of the KECA run as Joe Candono. The actual anecdotal title should be Joe Condano.
• Citations of the the title of Episode No. 8 of the KECA run as Father Lahey. The actual anecdotal title is Father Leahy.
• Citations of the the title of Episode No. 9 of the KECA run as Sam Tolliver. The actual anecdotal title is Shirt Mix-up At the Laundry.
• Citations of the title of Episode No. 11 of the KECA run as Shirt Mix-up At the Laundry The actual anecdotal title is Sam Tolliver.
• Citations of the title of Episode No. 18 of the KECA run as George Lampson The actual anecdotal title would be Georgie Lampson. Georgie Lampson is a female, not a male.

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