Jack
Bishop was a
Network Radio research writer and the creator of Mr. District Attorney.
Mr. District Attorney was first heard on NBC radio on April 3, 1939. It
began as a nightly 15-minute serial broadcast. Thomas E. Dewey, New
York's famous racket-busting district attorney in the late 1930s, was
the inspiration for the character. Dewey was front-page news in his war
against corruption and crime. It swept him into the governorship of New
York and enabled him to run for the presidency of the United States.
Ed Byron, once a radio script writer, was in the process of developing
his own radio production when District Attorney Dewey was making
headlines. Byron, motivated by Dewey's activities, decided to develop
the Mr. District Attorney character and to write shows around the
headlines. The program began with Dwight Weist playing the unnamed
district attorney who was a vigorous prosecutor of criminals. In the
opening episode, the D.A. had just been elected after a tough campaign
against racketeers. His sidekick, Harrington (who was never given a
first name), and his secretary, Miss Miller, always called him "Chief"
or "Boss". Throughout the network run, the D.A. remained nameless.
On June 27, 1939, the show moved into a 30-minute weekly slot for a
summer run sponsored by Pepsodent toothpaste. Pepsodent had been
sponsoring Bob Hope who went on vacation for the summer. To keep the
time slot, Pepsodent picked upon the new program. When Hope returned,
Pepsodent decided to keep both shows, moving Mr. District Attorney to a
Sunday night slot. In that time slot, the show swept the ratings. The
show remained among the top 10 for many years.
In 1940, the program was sponsored by Bristol-Myers and moved to NBC on
Wednesday nights. It was in this new time slot that it introduced its
memorable opening:
"MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY!
CHAMPION OF THE PEOPLE!
GUARDIAN OF OUR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
TO LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS!"
The opening was followed by Peter Van Steeden's orchestra playing the
theme and the echoed oath of the D.A. saying:
". . . and it shall be my duty as district attorney nnot only to
prosecute to the limit of the law all persons accused of crimes
perpetrated within this county, but to defend with equal vigor the
rights and privileges of all its citizens."
The program came to an end in 1952.
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