A
BYTE OUT OF HISTORY
Retired FBI Special Agent Jack French Talks About
FBI Cases...On the Radio Dial
10/24/05
|
"FBI-Washington" Program Director
Harry Nelson (left), discusses research
material with FBI exec C. D. DeLoach
(center) as announcer Fred Foy looks
on. |
"You're back in
the Magic Carpet Theatre of the air for
the last act of "The
Arizona Mail Train Hold-Up." This
is a dramatization of an actual case
from the Federal Investigation Files
at Washington, D.C. Tom Vance and his
son John were tracked to their ranch
by United States Postal Inspector Irwin
after the hold-up of the Arizona Mail
Train. Bill Vance, another son, is a
deputy in the sheriff's office but Tom
and John Vance admit making the trail
from the scene of the hold-up, claiming
it was made the day before the crime,
when they were riding the range. Inspector
Irwin may have some important clues....he
followed the trail carefully, even examining
a fire which the man made......Now our
second act is about to begin.....Special
Agent Five is awaiting instructions from
headquarters. (WHISTLE) ON WITH THE SHOW!"
It's a fact: 73 years ago,
October 25, 1933, "The Lucky Strike
Hour" became
the first radio program to dramatize FBI
cases on a national network. Which made
us ask ourselves: Just what's the history
of FBI cases on American airwaves anyway?
Neal Schiff, FBI broadcaster of the FBI,
This Week
radio show since 1990, interviewed former
FBI executive Jack French to find out.
Mr. Schiff: Jack, from
your years in the FBI and your research
into early radio, can you talk a little
about The Lucky Strike Hour's "Special
Agent Five"?
Mr. French: We were
glad to participate in this program, Neil,
but I don't think we realized at first
how it would benefit us and, even more,
how it would end up benefiting the public.
This first show created a lot of interest
in FBI cases and gave us a way to tell
the American people about our work and
our jurisdiction. Once the public understood
what we lawfully could and could not do
in closed cases, it was a relatively
easy step to ask for help in tracking fugitives
in open cases. "Special Agent
Five" was a fictitious agent who appeared
in some 15 Lucky Strike shows that were
based on real cases. Some of these same
cases were used again in the Jimmy Stewart
film “The FBI Story.”
Mr. Schiff: Tell us
about some of the radio shows that followed
this one?
Mr. French: "Gangbusters" was
a good one. Phillips H. Lord produced it
from 1936 to 1957, and it came on strong:
you heard screaming sirens, Thompson sub-machine
guns blasting, and prisoners marching into
their cells at the opening of every show.
And, you know, it helped us catch over
100 criminals—all because each show
would end with detailed descriptions, locations,
and the criminal tendencies of selected
fugitives. To my mind, it was really the
beginning of a wonderful anti-crime partnership
between the FBI and the American people.
Mr. Schiff: Other shows?
Mr. French: Lots of
them. "Counterspy," from 1942
to 1957. "The FBI in Peace and War," from
1944 to 1958. "This is Your FBI," from
1945 to 1953, had William Woodson, Frank
Lovejoy, and then Dean Carleton narrating
crime dramas. "Top Secrets of the
FBI" in the 40s. There was also the
espionage thriller "I Was a Communist
for the FBI" for a short time in the
50s, with Dana Andrews playing undercover
agent Matt Cvetic. But I have to tell you,
Neil, that the one I really want to talk
about is your show.
Mr. Schiff: My show!
Okay, but you better have your facts right.
Mr. French: First of
all, happy birthday. 40 years old just
last month, originally called "FBI—Washington" and
in a 5-minute format.
Mr. Schiff: Right—and
thanks so much for remembering.
Mr. French: As you
know, "FBI—Washington" debuted
in 1965 as an interview show with FBI executives...and
with a very distinctive interviewer: Fred
Foy, that easily recognized golden voice
that announced "The Lone Ranger" show.
At that time, as you can imagine, we covered
a lot of topical issues—not just
criminal violations, espionage, and Top
Ten fugitives, but civil rights developments,
Viet Nam War protests, communist cases,
and what were then high tech advances in
crime detection.
Mr. Schiff: I didn't
come along until the 80s, Jack, and I started
as the FBI coordinator of that "FBI—Washington" show
when ABC great George Ansbro hosted the
show. In fact, he began hosting the show
in 1967. It was in 1990 that we adapted
it into a one-minute format and called
it "FBI, This Week." Since then
we've focused on sound bites of FBI Executives,
Special Agents, Scientists, and Professional
Support employees talking about their areas
of expertise—including today's issues
of terrorism, economic and national espionage,
cyber crimes, other major crimes, laboratory
successes, and even fingerprint processing
and identification efforts in the Criminal
Justice Information Services Division.
Mr. French: You've
carried on a great tradition, Neil, and
taken it to the next step—not just
with FBI,
This Week but
also with your Gotcha
series, which highlights some incredibly
interesting closed cases in every area
of FBI jurisdiction.
Mr. Schiff: Thanks,
Jack. And thanks for filling in a fascinating
corner of FBI history. Parts of this interview
will appear on my show, so I think it's
fair to sign off by saying, "I'm Neal
Schiff of the Bureau and that's what's
happening at the FBI, This Week."
Thanks to Tobacco Documents Online
at tobaccodocuments.org for supplying
the original transcript of the radio
show, now in the public domain.