Pat Novak for Hire was broadcast from San Francisco and debuted in 1946 as an ABC Sunday night West Coast series. Ben Murphy starred as the hard-boiled Novak during the West Coast run, but Jack Webb made the role his own when series was revived on February 13, 1949 over the entire ABC national network. Jack Webb's hard-boiled portrayal set the style for a new generation of radio detectives. The radio series was reborn as Johnny Modero, Pier 23 when it was revamped as a 1947 Mutual summer series.
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