The Man Called X

Show Information based on John Dunning's book "On The Air"

Espionage melodrama (1944-1952) 30 minutes.

The Man Called X was conceived and initially produced as an FBI adventure series. But soon hero Ken Thurston became a nation-hopping agent described by announcer John Mclntire as "the man who crosses the ocean as readily as you and I cross town. He is the man who travels today as you and I will travel tomorrow. He is the man who fights today's war in his unique fashion, so that tomorrow's peace will make the world a neighborhood for all of us." Again, this was quickly modified, becoming the epigram best remembered: "Wherever there is mystery, intrigue, romance, in all the strange and dangerous places of the world, there you will find The Man Called X." This descriptive motif was lifted, almost literally, for the later series Dangerous Assignment.

Thurston, played suavely by British actor Herbert Marshall, traveled to India, Monte Carlo, and other exotic locales. His cases often involved mysterious women with shady pasts. Thurston's dubious ally, Pegon Zeldschmidt, had a streak of larceny in his soul but somehow managed to stay right with the law. He would help if the price was right.

CAST: Herbert Marshall as Ken Thurston, "the man called X," an international troubleshooter,
sent wherever intrigue lurked and danger was the by-word.
Leon Belasco as Pegon Zeldschmidt, Thurston's friendly nemesis.
Hollywood radio actors in support: Joan Banks, Will Wright, Peter Leeds, Harry Lang,
Carleton Young, Barbara Fuller, William Conrad, Lou Merrill, Stanley Waxman,
B. J. Thompson, George Niese, etc.

ANNOUNCERS: John Mclntire, 1944; Wendell Niles, 1947-48.

ORCHESTRA: Gordon Jenkins, CBS, 1944; Claude Sweeten and Felix Mills, 1944-45;
Johnny Green, 1947-48.

DIRECTORS: William N. Robson, CBS, 1944; Jack Johnstone for much of the run;
Dee Engelbach in the late run.

WRITERS: Milton Merlin, Sidney Marshall, etc.