Please note: The picture used in this listing may not be for the item offered for sale. We have over 600 shows on our website, and we just want to give you a general idea of what our discs look like. Each show or series we offer has unique graphics printed on the CD or DVD. All of our discs are high gloss, with great cover artwork. The discs are all commercial grade High Gloss, and are waterproof and smudge proof. The discs we offer do not use adhesive labels, generic cover art, or thermal printing. They are all printed using Primera commercial disc printers. You can read more about our discs, and a couple of other things EddiesOTR does differently below the show description.

The Fat Man
MP3 CD 47 Episodes
                             
 
One of old time radio's most beloved mystery and detective shows was The Fat Man. Based on the character created by Dashiell Hamett, The Fat Man starred J. Scott Smart in the title role. The Fat Man had a real name though, Brad Runyon.

The beginning of each episode of this old time radio great starts with: There he goes, into that drugstore. He's stepping on the scales. Weight? 237 pounds. Fortune? Danger. Whoooooo is it? J. Scott Smart replies....The Fat Maaaan!!!

Brad Runyon, aka The Fat Man was neither a hard boiled Sam Spade, nor a Philo Vance type. Somewhere in the middle, he was a serious detective, but couldn't be the lady's man, or tough guy type of detective either. That just didn't fit in to the Fat Man persona. The cases all revolved around the ultimate crime, murder. The Fat Man premiered in 1946 on ABC.

The Fat Man started as what's referred to as a sustained show, meaning there wasn't a major sponsor. But as soon as The Fat Man hit the airwaves it became very popular, very fast. It then became sponsored by major companies, one of which was Pepto Bismal. Not sure of the connection there, but it is a bit comical for the sponsor to be a company that made products for an upset stomach, to have such a spokesman as The Fat Man.

The series hinted the weight of The Fat Man to be about 237-241 pounds, depending on the episode. But the actor who played the part, J. Scott Smart weighed 270 pounds, and was only 5' 7". It's said that he felt it took a fat man to play a fat man. Not only was Smart a good old time radio actor, he had a very distinctive voice as well. Smart was known to be quick witted and had many varied interests, including being a jazz fanatic. He also had the right to make script changes, not a very common thing in the world of old time radio.

The character created by Hammett, and the choice of Smart to be the leading man for this series made for one of the most popular and memorable detective shows on old time radio.

As what happened often in old time radio, a Hollywood movie was made out of the series and the movie itself was very popular. Smart played the role of the Fat Man in the movie as well, and had a couple of co-stars you may have heard of including Rock Hudson and Jayne Meadows.

There was also an Australian version of The Fat Man made. Although Smart didn't play in that version, it's quite good. The Fat Man is a show that will fit in any old time radio collection, not just for detective and crime fans, but fans of drama and well written stories as well. There are 47 episodes on one MP3 CD, which will also include some of the Australian episodes. Each episode is Approx. 30 minutes. Please note that this series was updated on Aug 29, 2012 with the addition of 36 Australian episodes, which you are sure to enjoy as well.

The audio quality in this set is good, but not great. Just a touch below what  we usually like to sell, but still very listenable. The quality is pretty much what most old time radio listeners are used to. But it is still the best quality version available. You won't be sorry with this set!
Features
  • One of the best crime and detective shows in old time radio.
  • The Fat Man was popular when aired, and one of our best sellers now.
  • Now includes some of the Australian shows.
  • Most complete collection available.

We appreciate you taking the time to look at what we offer. If you have purchased Old Time Radio Shows from other vendors on eBay, then buy from us you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise!

As stated above. All of our Cds and DVDs are printed using commercial High Gloss blanks. We then use great looking cover artwork which is unique to each show we offer. The High Gloss discs are then printed using commercial Primera Disc Printers. These types of printers offer photo quality printing on each disc.

Then the best part…the highest audio quality show for any series we offer. EddiesOTR spends about half of our workweek looking for better audio quality shows, and for those elusive hidden episodes. In fact, if you have purchased from other vendors, then look at the .MP3 ID Tag on your .MP3 player, you may see the tagline for our company, EddiesOTR. Some vendors simply purchase our discs then copy them. We consider it a compliment to the work we have put into the hobby of listening to old time radio.

FAQ:

1. Will my disc play on any device?
Generally speaking, NO! Most of what we sell on eBay is in the .MP3 format, and will play back in your computer, and any other device labeled as .MP3 capable. The good news here is that most newer  CD Players, and newer cars are now manufactured with .MP3 playback capability.


2. How fast will I get my order?
We ship by next business day, So if you order on a Friday, it probably won’t ship until Monday. Sometimes if we’re all caught up, we will get out on Saturday though, Our FREE SH is via USPS 1st Class Mail. Which means you’re looking at 2-4 days depending on where you live. If you need your order fast, we offer USPS Priority Mail at a very reasonable price. Using this service normally takes 1 or 2 days off of your ship time.
Sometimes it’s a bit confusing using the shipping timetable eBay uses by default, but Priority Mail will get there faster!


3. How good are the shows?
 Easy, the best versions of each show we offer. Some old time radio shows are now 80 years old, even the newer ones are 50-60 years old. Recording and broadcast standards are not what we’re used to now, so please keep that in mind. Unless otherwise specified, our shows are at a high enough quality that an OTR listener will have no problems listening to these shows. From time to time we offer shows that are superior or slightly inferior quality. When we offer a show like that, we’ll put it in the show description.


4. Payments & Returns?
 We can only accept Pay Pal for payment on items purchased on eBay. We also sell on our retail website which accepts all major credit cards. There are no returns for any item we sell. If by chance one of our carefully packaged products gets damaged during transit, let us know, and we’ll get a replacement out to you right away.

There are no returns based on show quality. Old time radio by nature is not a perfect item. However Eddiesotr offers the finest audio quality….period. You won’t, or shouldn’t be disappointed in that regards.


5. Show selection, and Regular Audio Cds. If there is a show you are interested in, and you don’t see it listed on eBay, let us know. We more than likely have it. We do the majority of our business on our website, Amazon, and Private Label shows that sell in retail locations.

If there is a series or show you would like as a Regular Audio CD which plays anywhere, let us know. About 1/3 of the shows we sell on our website are Regular Audio CDS.

Now with all the fine print out of the way, we welcome you to try us out. 

You may pay a few cents more from us than other vendors, but once you get our product, you’ll see why it’s worth that extra bit. You’ll also notice many if not most of our shows consists of more discs. That is because we duplicate at the highest bit rate we can find the show as. Higher bit rates generally mean higher audio quality. Everything from disc quality, show quality, and packaging, all adds up, and just like everything else in life…..You get what you pay for!

Regards to all,

Eddie