Mr. District Attorney is a popular radio

Radio programming

Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....

 crime drama which aired on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 and ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 from April 3, 1939 to June 13, 1952 (and in transcribed syndication through 1953). The series focused on a crusading D.A., initially known only as "Mister District Attorney," or "Chief", and was later translated to television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

. On television the D.A. had a name, Paul Garrett, and the radio version picked up this name in the final years when David Brian played the role. A key figure in the dramas was the D.A.'s secretary, Edith Miller (Vicki Vola

Vicki Vola

Victoria Vola was an actress who used Vicki Vola as her professional name. She was best known for her portrayal of Edith Miller on both the radio and television runs of Mr. District Attorney....

).

History

Created, written, and directed by former law student Ed Byron, the series was inspired by the early years of New York governor Thomas E. Dewey. It was Dewey's public war against racketeering which led to his election as governor. Phillips H. Lord, creator of Gangbusters, helped to develop the concept and coined the title. Byron lent an air of accuracy and immediacy to his scripts through close study of crime statistics, a library of criminology texts, following the newspapers, and even going around rough bars to gain tips, background, and color from crooks and police alike. His techniques sometimes enabled Byron to accurately predicting major crime waves before the news broke.

Produced throughout its run in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, the series began as a fifteen minute serial

Serial (radio and television)

Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...

, becoming a half hour, self-contained series three months later. During 1942, Mr. District Attorney began battling Nazis, leading to conflicts with the FBI when the scripts reflected life too closely.

Cast and characters

• Mr. District Attorney- The nameless title role was played by several actors throughout the run, with the breakdown as follows:
  • Dwight Weist (1939 serials)
  • Raymond Edward Johnson
    Raymond Edward Johnson
    Raymond Edward Johnson was an American radio and stage actor best remembered for his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries....
    
     (1939 half hour shows)
  • Jay Jostyn (1940 through 1952; Jostyn also guest starred in the role in mystery sketches for the game show
    Game show
    A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
    
     Quick as a Flash)
  • David Brian
    David Brian
    David Brian was an American actor and dancer.-Career:Brian was signed by Warner Bros. in 1949 and appeared in such films as The Damned Don't Cry! and Flamingo Road with Joan Crawford, and Beyond the Forest with Bette Davis...
    
     (1952-1953 syndication).

• Voice of the Law- The show's signature was the opening announcer, known as the "Voice of the Law," who defined the creed and duties of Mr. District Attorney. The role was played by Maurice Franklin and also Jay Jostyn, prior to taking over the lead role
• Miss Miller- Edith Miller was the district attorney's faithful secretary, played throughout the run by Vicki Vola
  Vicki Vola
  Victoria Vola was an actress who used Vicki Vola as her professional name. She was best known for her portrayal of Edith Miller on both the radio and television runs of Mr. District Attorney....
  
  
• Len Harrington- The D.A.'s chief investigator, a former cop; played by Walter Kinsella
  Walter Kinsella (actor)
  Walter Kinsella was an American theater, television and radio actor. His first Broadway stage appearance was in 1924, in What Price Glory? Kinsella's most noted television role was Happy McMann in NBC's detective drama Martin Kane, Private Eye...
  
  , who had been heard in various police roles during the early years, and by Len Doyle from 1940 onward.
• Other supporting players and guests on the series includeded such noted actors as Paul Stewart
  Paul Stewart (actor)
  Paul Stewart was an American character actor known for his tough, guttural voice. He frequently portrayed villains and mobsters throughout his lengthy career....
  
   and Frank Lovejoy
  Frank Lovejoy
  Frank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
  
  .

Television

Near the end of the radio run, the series was transferred to television. The first incarnation ran on ABC from October 1, 1951 through June 23, 1952, airing on alternate Mondays. The current radio cast reprised their roles: Jay Jostyn as Mr. District Attorney, Vicki Vola as Miss Miller, and Len Doyle as Harrington. In 1954, the show was revived in syndication

Television syndication

In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

 by Ziv Television Programs

Ziv Television Programs

Ziv Television Programs, Inc. was an American television syndication and production company, producer of popular syndicated TV programs in the 1950s.- History :...

, who had also handled the 1952-1953 radio syndication. David Brian reprised his role from that series, only now the D. A. had a name, Paul Garrett. Jackie Loughery was Miss Miller.

Sources

• Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-507678-8
• McNeil, Alex (1991). Total Television. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8