Richard Diamond, Private Detective

Richard Diamond, Private Detective premiered on NBC Radio on April 24, 1949. Blake Edwards — later famous as the director of the Pink Panther films — wrote the early scripts. Dick Powell's genuine singing ability was baked into the format: each episode concluded with Diamond singing a romantic song to his girlfriend Helen. A television version of Richard Diamond followed in 1957, starring David Janssen, notable for casting an uncredited young actress as the switchboard operator Sam — her legs were the only part shown on screen. That actress was Mary Tyler Moore.