The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe is a 1950–51 American radio drama series starring Sydney Greenstreet as Rex Stout's fictional armchair detective Nero Wolfe. Based on Stout's principal characters but not his stories, the series aired October 20, 1950 – April 27, 1951, on NBC. It is regarded as the series that is most responsible for popularizing Nero Wolfe on radio.
Production
The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe stars Sydney Greenstreet as Rex Stout's fictional detective genius Nero Wolfe. Produced by Edwin Fadiman and directed by J. Donald Wilson, the series aired on NBC from October 20, 1950 to April 27, 1951. Don Stanley was the announcer. The episodes were written by Alfred Bester and others.
Wolfe's legman Archie Goodwin was played by a succession of actors including Gerald Mohr, Herb Ellis, Lawrence Dobkin, Harry Bartell, Lamont Johnson and Wally Maher.
Biographer John McAleer reported that Stout enjoyed Greenstreet's portrayal. The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe was the first radio series that, like the Nero Wolfe stories themselves, stressed characterization over plot. It is regarded as the series that is most responsible for popularizing Nero Wolfe on radio. All but one episode ("The Case of the Headless Hunter") has survived in radio collections.
Greenstreet suffered from both diabetes and Bright's Disease, and his health fluctuated during the run of the radio program.
Cast
Sidney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe
Wally Maher as Archie Goodwin (Episode 1) Lamont Johnson as Archie Goodwin (Episode 2) Herb Ellis as Archie Goodwin (Episode 3-4) Larry Dobkin as Archie Goodwin (Episode 5-12) Gerald Mohr as Archie Goodwin (Episode 13-16) Harry Bartell as Archie Goodwin (Episode 17-26) Bill Johnstone as Inspector Cramer
Episodes
See also
The Adventures of Nero Wolfe, a 1943–44 ABC radio series starring Santos Ortega and Luis van Rooten The Amazing Nero Wolfe, a 1945 Mutual radio series starring Francis X. Bushman Nero Wolfe (1982 radio series), a 1982 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio series starring Mavor Moore