Crack Open the Casebook

“Petri Wine brings you…The Casebook of Gregory Hood!” Sam Spade and Pat Novak weren’t the only detectives to call San Francisco home during the Golden Age of Radio. But while they had the seedier sides of the city covered, Gregory Hood’s beat brought him to the finest restaurants, swankiest nightclubs, and poshest museums of the city of the Golden Gate. Though not a hard-boiled, two-fisted detective, Gregory Hood had a keen eye and a knack for getting into trouble…even if his day job was imports and not investigations. Gregory Hood was an unlicensed, untrained detective, though he had an extensive knowledge of several fields including art, antiques, wines, and fine foods. While those may not be the qualities associated with a master sleuth, most of Hood’s cases came to him in the course of his work, and they often involved an artistic angle. He had no fans on the police force; as an unlicensed amateur, he was even worse than a private eye butting in on their territory. However, he had a confidant and frequent partner in Sanderson “Sandy” Taylor, the attorney for Gregory Hood Importers and a close friend. Sandy was along for the ride to provide back-up (and to stand in as an audience surrogate when Hood explained how he’d cracked the case). If the relationship between Greg and Sandy sounds similar to the partnership between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, it’s no coincidence. The Casebook of Gregory Hood was the brainchild of Anthony Boucher and Dennis Green, the scriptwriters for The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as a summer replacement for Holmes and Watson. Hood and Holmes shared not only writers, but also a sponsor (Petri Wine - “the family that took time to bring you good wine”); an announcer (actor and occasional pitchman Harry Bartell); and a format where the announcer would visit the characters and hear about their latest adventure. As an unofficial detective, Gregory Hood usually came by his cases by accident. Dinner parties ended in murder; rare antiques were stolen; and one mystery began when Greg and Sandy were on a camping trip in the mountains. In the episode we’ll hear this week, pulling over to aid a man in distress on the side of the road lands Hood in a murder case. Radio’s first Gregory Hood was Gale Gordon, an actor better known today for his comedic chops than dramatic roles. He played Mayor LaTrivia on Fibber McGee & Molly; Mr. Scott, the sponsor’s representative on The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show; and most famously the stuffy Principal Osgood Conklin on Our Miss Brooks. Gordon co-starred on My Favorite Husband, the radio show that spawned I Love Lucy on television. He was Lucille Ball’s first choice to play Fred Mertz, but his commitment to the Our Miss Brooks TV series cost him the job. He’d go on to work with Ball in her later TV shows The Lucy Show (as her harried boss, Mr. Mooney), Here’s Lucy, and Life with Lucy. Gordon was a master of the comedic slow burn, and he may not be the first name that springs to mind when you think of a radio detective. But in addition to those laugh roles, he starred as The Whistler on radio, and he was the first actor to portray Flash Gordon on the air. Gordon could convey the sophistication and charm of Gregory Hood, but he could also get across the resolve and determination to close a case. Like Jackson Beck’s Philo Vance, Gregory Hood was a man who appeared deceptively harmless to his enemies only to later reveal a sharp mind and a nose for information. Gordon played Gregory Hood for the first 17 episodes of the program. During that run, Sandy Taylor was played by several actors, including Bill Johnstone (Lt. Guthrie of The Line-Up) and Howard McNear. When Gordon stepped out, Elliott Lewis assumed the title role. Lewis was still a few years away from directing Broadway is My Beat and Suspense. He was about to begin his role of ne’er-do-well sidekick Frankie Remley on The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show; ironically, his Remley and Gordon’s Scott would frequently feud on that program in what amounted to fights Gregory Hood had with himself. Lewis kept the role for the duration of the program’s run on the Mutual network. The program came back for a 1950-1951 run on ABC with Jackson Beck and other actors taking on the role. Gregory Hood is a classic example of the gentleman detective, a character just as important to crime fiction as his hard-boiled brother. Pat Novak and Sam Spade covered the waterfront, but Gregory Hood could be counted on to detect the clues and crack the cases among society’s upper crust.