The Fat Man

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's "The Fat Man" was an adaptation of a popular American Broadcasting Company series, which followed the adventures of Brad Runyon, private eye, who serves as the narrator.

The stories had a distinctive opening:

"There he goes into that drug store. He's stepping on the scales . . . ."

Then a robotic voice says, "Weight: 239 pounds. Fortune: Danger."

(Music) Voice says, "Who is it?"

Another voice answers, "The Fat Man."

The American version ran from 1946 to 1951 and inspired a movie of the same name in 1951. Most of radio show episodes appear to have been lost, but copies of the movie can still be found.

The Australian version ran for a series of 52 episodes from 1954 and 1955; a majority of the episodes have survived. More info at the Wikipedia Fat Man page.

Series description provided by Frank Bell.