“Detec-a-tives Black and Blue, Good Men Tried and True”

Categories: Did You Know|Published On: October 17, 2003|Views: 5|

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Ever wonder where the buddy-cop-comedy genre came from? It didn’t begin
with shows like Car 54, Where Are You?. It dates all the way back to
1932, when Los Angeles radio station KHJ first aired Adventures of Detectives
Black and Blue
.

The syndicated show followed the exploits of Jim
Black and his partner, Frank Blue. Black and Blue began as shipping clerks from
Duluth with daydreams of bringing down bad guys. Of course, neither had any law
enforcement knowledge. But all that was remedied when they decided to take a
correspondence course to earn their “Detectives degree.”

As you may
imagine, hilarity ensued.

Even with their official degrees, born sleuths
these two weren’t. The radio schtick focused on their bumbling and botching, but
each episode ended happily, as they captured criminals in comical
capers.

The show lasted for two years, thanks to sponsors Iodent
toothpaste and Folger’s coffee. Each sponsor released brass Detectives Black and
Blue badges in the show’s inaugural year. Iodent also released a fabric
double-billed detective’s cap (checkered and printed with Iodent and the radio
show title on the front bill).


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