Broadway Is My Beat: The Lona Hanson and the Fighter Murder Case 01/10/1953

Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio

Detective Danny Clover investigates the disappearance and violent assault of Lona Hanson, a young woman whose apartment was found torn apart

Key takeaways

• Lona Hanson was last seen at a boxing match where she became obsessed with fighter Julio Rios.
• The bloodstains in her apartment suggest violent assault, but not by Lona herself.

Main topics

• Crime scene analysis
• Urban nightlife and its dangers

Notable quotes

Broadway's My Beat, from Clam's Third at the Columbus Circle. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world.

Conclusion

The episode concludes with Detective Danny Clover uncovering a violent confrontation between Lona Hanson

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) Welcome to Choice Classic Radio, where we bring to you the greatest old-time radio shows. Like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube, and thank you for donating at choiceclassicradio.com. Speaker 7 (0:25) Broadway's My Beat, from Clam's Third at the Columbus Circle. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Speaker 4 (0:37) Broadway's My Beat, with Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. Speaker 7 (0:46) In the early morning of January, a kind of winter stillness lies against Broadway. The squall of night sounds has been twisted from its drain, spent by the revelers of darkness. The grating of a million feet, drifting lament of clarinet, bursts and shatter of trumpets, stilled now, and pavement frosted with mist, and walking it, the early trickle of time-carred people, and the other ones, the searchers of the nighttime, mourning and still searching, and moving on to the prodding of wind. The same wind that purrs through winter ruins. Speaker 7 (1:21) Ride it now to Ebb of Broadway, downtown and east, the village side street, chill and morning silence, the brownstone and the room in it and the disorder of the night violence, chairs overturned, shatter and splinter of mirror underfoot, spill of things where fury had lurched, and on carpet still moist to the touch, the pattern of stains. Speaker 2 (1:40) They're blood, aren't they? Our men Speaker 7 (1:42) will be here in a little while, Miss Longdale. Check it and fill them up. Speaker 2 (1:44) How much does it take for you people Speaker 7 (1:46) to... Speaker 2 (1:46) Take it easy, Speaker 7 (1:46) Miss G. Speaker 2 (1:47) How much does it take? This room, the way it's been torn apart, if you know the way Lona keeps it. Every time I visit her, it's neat and pretty and shiny with her nice things. Just lovely. And now those things. And you say, take it easy. Something terrible's happened to her, something awful. To Lona, and you... You... Find her. Please, find her. We'll find Speaker 7 (2:08) her. Just try to tell me about it. With Miss Long. Speaker 2 (2:12) She called me last night. She said, come to the fights with me. Lona likes those things, the prize fights. She's always going to Lona's. Speaker 3 (2:19) Go on. Speaker 2 (2:20) And last night she asked me. I don't like them, but Lona asked, begged me to go. Said she wouldn't go unless I did, so I went with her. Where? Speaker 7 (2:27) Where'd you go? Speaker 2 (2:28) On 37th Street someplace on the west side, I don't know. Speaker 7 (2:32) 37th Street Arena? Speaker 2 (2:33) I've never been, I guess so. Anyway, a boy there, one of the fighters, on the program that said, Julie O'Rios. And Lola got very excited about him and screamed and laughed. I never saw her like that, never. Speaker 7 (2:46) Miss Long. And when Speaker 2 (2:47) Miss Julio knocked out the other fellow, Lola sat very still for a long time with her eyes closed. And she said, I'm going backstage to meet that boy. You go home, Alice, she said. And I said, you've gone insane, Lola? And she said, go home, Alice. Speaker 2 (3:04) I went home. And Speaker 7 (3:05) this morning? Speaker 2 (3:05) This morning, I called and called and no answer. So I came by to ask about things on my way to work. And a door was open and her bed not slept in. And the room, like this. He beat her and hurt her. Took her away. Speaker 7 (3:23) I'll need a description, Miss Long. Speaker 2 (3:25) Lona? Lona Hanson. Real pretty. Tall. With soft, natural blonde hair. I got a snapshot in my person last summer. Lona and me on a beach. Here. This is Lona. Lovely. Speaker 7 (3:47) I want to take it with me, just for a while. Until... Where's Speaker 6 (3:53) the detective? Waiting outside? Yeah, Speaker 7 (3:55) send him in, Mugman. Speaker 7 (3:59) The mechanics then of determining violence. The scraping and dilution. So many drops of the product in an enamel container. So many drops of reagent. Solution turns blue, as human blood will do under these conditions. Reaction time, immediate. Conclusion also, immediate. Something had happened to Lona Hanson. Leave there. Call headquarters and put out an all-point on Lona Hanson. Winter ride now. Uptown and turn off at 37. Speaker 7 (4:28) And the 37th Street Arena is an old armory, converted. Stop clock hung on the wall over an old regimental insignia. Hamburger stand where once was a gun rack. Announcement of next week's fight pasted next to a bronze roll of honor. And the grandstand being adjusted from last night's card to tonight's basketball game. Across the floor and into an office. The man seated at the desk is very happy. Speaker 5 (4:53) Danny! Danny, boy! Have a seat, baby. Take off the shoes and pop up the feet. Boy, I'm glad to see you. Where you been? Working, Speaker 7 (5:00) Nick. Speaker 5 (5:00) Try your work. Everybody works. Everybody else enjoys. Why can't you? Why don't you come around sometime? Say my name at the gag. Thanks. Speaker 7 (5:06) How you been, Nick? Speaker 5 (5:07) Lovely. Had some nice fight cards. Couple of independent teams. Used me for home court. This basketball now. Speaker 7 (5:13) Let's talk about a fighter on last night's card, Nick. Speaker 5 (5:15) Julio Rios. Speaker 7 (5:16) Yeah, how'd you know? Speaker 5 (5:17) Who else is anyone else talking about? Last night the people watched six flights, 11 bums and Julio Rio. Speaker 7 (5:22) Kid's good, huh? Speaker 5 (5:23) Real good, Denny. Flash and flash, a boxer and a finisher. Gorgeous. I say gorgeous because how does a guy say another guy's pretty? In the face, I mean, in the body. You should have heard the dames in the car when this kid took off his bat full. And when he cut the bum, he fought the pieces. My sweeper must have swept up three pounds of enamel fingernail clippers. How'd you Speaker 7 (5:42) find him, Nick? Speaker 5 (5:43) A couple of weeks ago, his manager came to me. What's Speaker 7 (5:44) the manager's name? Speaker 5 (5:45) Ford, Bud Ford. The kind of nabbish kind of manager. But once in a while... Well, go on. Well, Bud comes to me and says, you've got this, boy. I can't use the word choice, but last night I need a substitute welder. I call Bud, he brings around this Julio Rio, stop this. Nothing else, huh? Except the vain screamed, and Bud was happy, and Julio was happy, and they said they were going to celebrate. Speaker 7 (6:04) Okay,