Performing Arts · Adam Graham
Mystery is My Hobby Presented by the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio
by Adam Graham
Mystery is My Hobby came to air as Murder is My Hobby, a title with an amusing double meaning. However, after 34 weeks, the series gained a sponsor–the Benefit Life Insurance Company of Omaha, Nebraska. They didn’t like the name. So thus it was changed.The series starred Glenn Langan as Mystery Writer Barton Drake, who teams up each week with Inspector Noah Danton to solve the weekly puzzle. At the end of each episode, Drake is sure to work in his catchphrase, “Murder/Mystery is My Hobby.” Beyond these basic facts, the series is an unsolved mystery. The episodes that circulate among fans are from the Syndicated series and all include the, “Mystery is My Hobby” tag rather than “Murder is My Hobby.” Various websites will give dates ranging from 1945-51 for the series’ airing. However, newspaper logs from the Digital Deli confirm that Murder is My Hobby premiered in 1945 over the Mutual Network. Beyond that, we don’t know how long the series aired or what order episodes aired in for syndication. Confusing this is information in the Radio Gold index logs which show that the show used the same episodes repeatedly in different syndication packages, so even though there’s an episode #135, we don’t know if there were 135 episodes made.This makes the series difficult to research and nearly impossible to date. However, the episodes are self-contained and lack continuity so they don’t have to be listened to in any particular order. These episodes are hosted by Adam Graham and were originally released as part of the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio podcast.
