" Charlie Wild was a product of the Red Scare, NBC’s hurry-up attempt to salvage something when congressional finger-pointing resulted in the loss of sponsorship for radio’s most popular detective, Sam Spade. Both Howard Duff (who played Spade) and author Dashiell Hammett had been “listed” in Red Channels, making Spade sponsor Wildroot Cream Oil increasingly unhappy. After weeks of indecision, Wildroot dropped Spade and shifted to a new detective hero, hopefully cut from the same cloth. The final Wildroot Spade show was Sept. 17, 1950. The following Sunday Charlie Wild premiered from the opposite coast (New York). Howard Duff appeared in character on the first broadcast with a vocal telegram, wishing the new hero well. It would be Duff’s last radio appearance for six years, "