Broadway's My Beat: The Lily Nelson Murder Case (EP4923)

Summary

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The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Broadway's My Beat: The Lily Nelson Murder Case (EP4923)

Date: March 4, 2026
Host: Adam Graham

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Episode Overview

This episode showcases "The Lily Nelson Murder Case" from the classic radio drama series "Broadway's My Beat." Detective Danny Clover is drawn into the mysterious death of Lily Nelson, a celebrated Broadway actress found dead in her lavish brownstone. The story explores the blurred lines between love, obsession, and fame, and asks whether Nelson's demise is suicide, murder, or something more complicated. The narrative delves into the complex relationships surrounding Lily—her admirers, her psychiatrist, and a devoted young fan—ultimately revealing the painful cost of living on the world's brightest stages.

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Main Discussion Points & Story Flow

1. The Scene of Tragedy

[02:23 - 05:00]

• Danny Clover narrates Broadway’s nighttime ambiance, preparing listeners for the sorrow beneath its glitter.
• Discovery: Lily Nelson is found dead, her wrists slashed, in her ornate home—mirrors and chandeliers reflecting a lonely, violent end.
• First witness: Frank Colombo, her devoted chauffeur, explains his concern after Lily failed to answer her door, a break from her usual routine.
• "I'm the man who's seen Lily Nelson cry. You know what a woman feels for a man when she lets him see it cry?" — Frank Colombo [06:00]

2. Investigating Lily’s Circle

• Frank Colombo's Interview:
  • He expresses a deep, unspoken love for Lily, suggesting he alone saw her vulnerability.
• Producer Jason Gieber:
  • Described as Lily's "star maker," Gieber claims he wasn’t in love with Lily, despite their close professional relationship.
  • Offers cynical insights:
    • "Lily meant money to me and heartache and laughs I could count on the fingers of my left hand." — Jason Gieber [09:12]
  • Points to two significant men in Lily’s life: David Knight (director) and Dr. Kovac (psychiatrist).

3. Psychological Layers

[11:13 - 13:49]

• Dr. Kovac (Psychiatrist):
  • Dismisses suicide: "Lily was too much in love with herself to have mutilated even a hair on her head. As for slashing her wrists, agree with me. Ridiculous." [12:14]
  • Suggests Lily was admired by many but unable to reciprocate love, giving her passion solely to acting.

4. David Knight – The Director’s Torment

[14:24 - 17:56]

• David Knight is emotionally shattered, replaying a phonograph recording of Lily's voice.
• He confesses to "murder," but clarifies he means it metaphorically—he feels responsible for her death due to spurning her love.
  • "I suppose I owed it to her to love her. But I couldn't love her then. You're telling me she committed suicide. But it was my fault she did." — David Knight [17:13]
• Knight is overcome by guilt, but Clover recognizes he's not the murderer in the literal sense.

5. The Secret Admirer: Janie Cochran

[19:19 - 21:51]

• Janie, a teenage fan and aspiring actress from Mount Vernon, shares her secret mentorship with Lily.
  • "We had a secret friendship. Lily's and mine." — Janie Cochran [21:07]
• The relationship was meaningful to Janie but unknown to Lily’s other acquaintances.

6. Piecing Together Motive and Truth

[21:51 - 25:00]

• Clover presses Dr. Kovac further:
  • The psychiatrist asserts, "Every particle of love that Lily had to give, she gave to the theater ... What was there left for Lily to give another? Nothing." [23:31]
  • Implies Lily's inability to reciprocate love destroyed her relationships.

7. Mirroring the Past—Janie as Heir Apparent

[25:07 - 27:28]

• Janie and David Knight discuss working together; Janie hopes to become the next "Lily Nelson."
• Clover warns her: "I think you ought to go back to Mount Vernon. Because what happened to Lily Nelson might happen to you." [25:54]
• The truth emerges: Lily's tragedy was not solely caused by unrequited love, but also by the consuming nature of theatrical obsession and the expectations of those around her.
• Knight confesses Lily begged him to kill her because she couldn't love, again blurring lines between emotional and literal guilt.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Frank Colombo's heartbreak:
  "I'm the man who's seen Lily Nelson cry. You know what a woman feels for a man when she lets him see it cry?" — Frank Colombo [06:00]

• Jason Gieber’s cynicism on stardom:
  "Lily meant money to me and heartache and laughs I could count on the fingers of my left hand." — Jason Gieber [09:12]

• Dr. Kovac on Lily’s essence:
  "Lily was too much in love with herself to have mutilated even a hair on her head." [12:14]
  "Every particle of love that Lily had to give, she gave to the theater." [23:31]

• David Knight’s admission:
  "I suppose I owed it to her to love her. But I couldn't love her then. You're telling me she committed suicide. But it was my fault she did." — David Knight [17:13]

• Janie Cochran’s innocence:
  "We had a secret friendship. Lily's and mine." [21:07]

• Danny Clover’s warning to Janie:
  "Because what happened, Lily Nelson might happen to you." [25:54]

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Key Timestamps

• [02:23] – Opening narrative, discovery of Lily Nelson’s body
• [06:00] – Frank Colombo’s emotional confession
• [09:02] – Jason Gieber on Broadway’s cold realities
• [12:00] – Dr. Kovac dismisses the suicide theory
• [14:24] – David Knight’s guilt and grief
• [21:02] – Janie Cochran recounts her friendship with Lily
• [23:31] – Dr. Kovac: Lily’s love given only to her craft
• [25:54] – Danny warns Janie about repeating Lily’s fate
• [27:28] – Knight’s final confession and Janie’s departure

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Host Commentary Highlights

Adam Graham’s Reflections [32:54]:

• Praises episode’s psychological depth: “It was a more psychological story ... not a hardened criminal and there’s at least enough of a level of guilt that Danny’s going to be able to get him to tell the truth.”
• Commends J. Novello’s performance as Dr. Kovac, noting how his attitude reflects the mental health perspectives of the era.
• Observes the episodes insight into fame: “People know of her performances and her characters and they assume they know her. They expect some sort of romantic, reciprocal relationship ... not just some random stage door Donnie, but powerful men in her industry also expected that sort of interest.”
• Contrasts this episode with previous ones, noting its continuing relevance regarding the pressures and expectations faced by female public figures.

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Themes & Takeaways

• Obsession with Fame: Lily’s tragedy is rooted in her total devotion to the theater, leaving no space for personal love or happiness.
• Unrequited and Consuming Love: All who surrounded Lily—chauffeur, producer, director, psychiatrist, admirer—projected their desires onto her, not recognizing her inability to reciprocate.
• The Price of Stardom: The narrative exposes the emotional loneliness often hidden behind the glare of celebrity.
• Cyclical Patterns: Janie’s eagerness to follow in Lily’s footsteps hints at the repeating dangers awaiting those who seek validation solely in the limelight.

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Final Thoughts

“Broadway’s My Beat: The Lily Nelson Murder Case” is a nuanced, bittersweet episode that uses a classic mystery framework to explore fame, loneliness, and the cost of living for applause rather than affection. The storytelling is atmospheric and layered, combining noir-style narration with structurally rich character studies, making it a standout installment in the series.

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Transcript

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

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[Commercial Announcer]

Foreign

[Podcast Host Adam Graham]

welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're going to bring you this week's episode of Broadway's My Beat. But first, I do want to encourage you. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. Our listener support and appreciation campaign continues to you can become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $2 per month at patreon.greatdetives.net now from October 6, 1951, here is the Lily Nelson murder case.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Broadway's My Beat From Times Squ Square to Columbus Circle but Gaudius, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway is my beat with larry thor as detective danny clover. Broadway's glitter is soft, easy on the eye. The glint of pavements has not yet reached its nighttime sheen. The stone is still warm from the touch of twilight and the neon has not yet bled into scarlet. The voices that screamed against the day are quieter now, the walk slower. It's the in between time when the day has not yet yielded to wanton night. It's the end of a tear time before the next one scars your cheek. It's your time, kid, so hold it close. Broadway's clock spins fast, And where the dust touches night it walks you through the arch on Washington Square, past the woman whose fearful Eyes are on a child balanced on the edge of a fountain. Across a quiet street and into a brownstone hung with mirrors and crystal. And death is reflected many times over. The man who kneels beside it gives you the moment to consider it. Then offers it to you.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Lily Nelson. Last Wrists. Last week, my wife made me buy tickets to her play. All I could get was sometime next June. She was sold out that far. Last Wrists.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You got here fast.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Beautiful, Danny. So? I never thought I'd stand so close to her.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I said, you.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Yeah, yeah. How I got here. It was phoned in, Danny. Anonymous call. Said Lily Nelson was in trouble.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Anonymous.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

We got a tracer on it. By the time you get back to headquarters.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Maybe you found her like this.

[Jason Gieber]

Yeah.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

The door was open. I walked under all these crystal chandeliers, past all the mirrors underlying in front of this one. Just like that. That material, it's like a veil, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

No one with her.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I look through the house. No one.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Will she leave a note, anything? Nothing, Danny.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Just the razor blade by her side, that's all. Lily Nelson. You gotta go to ticket scalpers, beg him to sell you a ticket. Overpriced, just so you can watch her. Where should she kill herself? For what?

[Detective Danny Clover]

And suddenly catch the image of yourself in a ceiling to floor mirror. The dark gray suit, striped tie. Shoes slightly scuffed. And on the floor next to them, blond hair, white face, negligee and slashed wrists. Image of a policeman at work. Turn your back on it. Put a subordinate in charge, walk out. And back at headquarters, be assured that other policemen had been at work. The anonymous phone call had been traced. The caller apprehended, arrested, brought downtown, was waiting for you. So flip a switch on the intercom. Yeah, Danny. Bring him in, Gino.

[Jason Gieber]

Right.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Wait. Wonder briefly at the pattern of it. Repeat it too often. Why a beautiful woman, the peak of her career, must have the fine edge of a razor tooth. The opening door closes your mind to it.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

In here.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That'll be all, Gino. All right, you can sit. I wasn't sure. That's why I called.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I knocked the way I always do,

[Detective Danny Clover]

and she didn't answer. And right away, I. I can't explain it.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I had a feeling this.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Sit down.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

That's the only way I can explain it. The feeling.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Go ahead. Sit down. What's your name?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Colombo.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Frank Colombo.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

You see, the real what do you do, Frank? I drive her. I'm her chauffeur. That's why. Think there could be any other reason why a guy like me could knock on her Door. What do you know about it?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Just take it easy, Frank. Tell me about it.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

7:00-clock-call for her to take us at suited. She didn't answer my knock. Never happened before. I got worried. I called you police.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Why didn't you give your name?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Maybe I was being crazy. Being worried. But you don't know. You don't know. Know what, Frank?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Why shouldn't I worry?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

You know what? She was Lily Nelson. I know. You know I drove her, mister. You think I cared about the men

[Detective Danny Clover]

who sat with her?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

They didn't last.

[Jason Gieber]

None of them.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I did. I've seen her cry. Oh, seen her cry when she was alone, sitting there in the back of the car, crying. I'm the man who's seen Lily Nelson cry. You know what a woman feels for a man when she lets him see it cry?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah, Danny. You never said it, but better get him, Tino.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Gonna happen one day. She'd find out I wasn't like the rest.

[Detective Danny Clover]

She'd look at me. And in the moment against his being taken away, listen to the man cry out his love. The waited for love night dreamed reflected in a rear view mirror. Finally it was all spilled out. The words became syllables of anguish and loss. Watch the officer take his arm gently lead him to a place where pain is made articulate, given reason, noted in files. Then gather up the publicized elements that had contrived to give life to Lily Nelson. Then taken it from her. Her appearance one night in a mediocre play. The two line favorable review. The nurturing of it until it became columns and stardom. And at the crest of it, the play now running, the Forsaken. Starring Lily Nelson. Produced by Jason Gieber, Crane Theater. And remember that Broadway whispered of Gieber as the star maker, the first to give Lily a leading role. Without him, Lily would have remained a walk on a spear carrier. Go to the theater, ask for him. He told he was in his office at the head of the balcony. Find him suffering over the night's box office report.

[Jason Gieber]

Someone told you you could see me? They were wrong.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Police.

[Jason Gieber]

It's still wrong.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Lily Nelson was.

[Jason Gieber]

You came here to tell me about Lily personally, out of your own mouth. What's the technical phrase for the butchering of Lily's wrists?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Tell me.

[Jason Gieber]

I'd want to know. I'm eager for crumbs of information.

[Detective Danny Clover]

So am I. That should make it easier for us.

[Jason Gieber]

You walk through my theater and saw the empty seat. That's what it is without Lily. Rows of emptiness. Tomorrow I close the plate because your

[Detective Danny Clover]

box office report Shows a loss.

[Jason Gieber]

You're trying to shame me, policeman. It won't work. Lily meant money to me and heartache and laughed. I could count on the fingers of my left hand. It's all here in the box office report.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You sound like a man who.

[Jason Gieber]

Now you're going to say I was in love with him. That what you're going to say?

[Detective Danny Clover]

All right. You're in love with her.

[Jason Gieber]

I know you'd be wrong. No, not me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But Lily.

[Jason Gieber]

All the major male stops from here to Hollywood and back, maybe. And a few crests and crowns across the ocean. Never me. He didn't touch me that way. The emotional climate between us said Nicks Nix.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Jason Nicks. Then all Lily was to you was.

[Jason Gieber]

Ah, punk kid I saw in a play once. She had something. Radiance, size, dimension, depth.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Who knows what.

[Jason Gieber]

All I know is I brought it

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

out in her once.

[Jason Gieber]

I drank champagne from her slipper. I was so pleased with the performance she gave. Then passed the slipper around to her escort.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

You gave her all that and she's dead.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Why?

[Jason Gieber]

Maybe her current flames are burning low. Excuse the cliche.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who would they be?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Who?

[Jason Gieber]

The one that gives the columnist their daily bread. The love of Lily for the boy who directed her in this play. David Knight.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The other?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Who else?

[Jason Gieber]

A psychiatrist. Dr. Kovac of Park Avenue. He's loved by tons of women. Lily wasn't one to be left standing out in the rain. Something else for you of the police.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

What?

[Jason Gieber]

Whatever. I probed out of Lily to make her give a performance. The one emotion I couldn't get from her was the emotion for self destruction. A very definite lack.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

In here, Ms. Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Thank you, Doctor.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Please be seated. Those cigars and the humidor by your arm.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Dr. Kovac.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

At first an understanding tonight, as you see. And I entertain friends of mine. You called me away from them. Therefore you interrupt.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It's a matter of importance, Doctor.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

You see, there is no malice, merely the statement that you interrupt. So if you will be brief.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It's about Lily Nelson.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Yes.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You were her doctor, her psychiatrist?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Yes.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I want you to tell me about her.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

About her?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Listen, Doctor, a woman is dead. It looks like suicide. It probably is suicide. The reason I'm questioning you is routine police procedure. Just to satisfy ourselves. It was suicide. So we know.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

It was not suicide.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

It was not suicide.

[Detective Danny Clover]

How do you know?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Dear man, Lily did not slash her wrists. How does one know something I know?

[Detective Danny Clover]

All right, you know. How do you know it and the police don't know it?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

But you have already said it. So Nicely. I am a psychiatrist. Lily was too much in love with herself to have mutilated even a hair on her head. As for slashing her wrists, agree with me. Ridiculous.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'm not so sure. She was found dead in front of a mirror.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Wouldn't that fit in with what you said? Not on the contrary. Lily couldn't bear the shock of seeing herself in pain. You're telling me she was murdered, Dr. Mary. That she did not commit suicide. Now if you.

[Detective Danny Clover]

In a minute. A woman like Lily Nelson would have a lot of admirers.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Wouldn't she, dear man? They will meet admirer upon admirer. You dear man. I'm old enough to well a facet of Lily Nelson. She was in love with me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I see.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Which of course you do not. She loved me as all women love their psychiatrists. It was Lily's protection of herself for telling me her secrets.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What about her secrets?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

None really this fashionable for an actress to have a psychiatrist. She was neurotic, Mr. Grover. To a degree dependent upon your tolerance and comprehension. Mildly neurotic, I would say. But then, aren't you?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

All of us. Now if you will pardon me. Thank you, Mr. Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And be ushered out of the library by him. And pass the guests who resented alien feet walking through a string quartet. Finally walked through a door and get out. Then one more stop to make to the other man whose name had been told me. David Knight. David Knight. Director of Lily Nelson's show. Go to him. Ask him whether he thought Lily Nelson committed suicide.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

What do you want?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Police.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I have to shut up. Listen.

[Janie Cochran]

I shall not feel the rest.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Listen.

[Janie Cochran]

It's Lily. I shall not hear the nightingale sing on as if in pain and dreaming

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

through the twilight that doth not rise

[Janie Cochran]

nor thin Haply I may remember

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

and haply may forget that was living Lily Nelson.

[Detective Danny Clover]

She made that record for you.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Lily Nelson.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Mr. Knight.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Who are you? What do you want?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I told you. I'm from the police.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Ever since I heard, ever since the news was told me I've been here listening to her. She's talking to me.

[Janie Cochran]

Listen.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Listen to Louie.

[Janie Cochran]

When I am dead, my dearest, sing no sad song for me. Plant thou no roses at my head. No.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Lily. Lily. I killed you. I killed you. I'm a murderer. Murderer.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You are listening to Broadway's My Beat. Written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin and starring Larry Thor as detective Danny Clover. When it's October and autumn catches hold Broadway comes up with a miracle. The leaves of of red and gold are pasted in flight in shop windows the Stuffed squirrels nibble at plastic acorns. The mannequins smile their autumn smile. An emotion compounded of wax and the new mink coat. Minor miracles may also be observed. Pink in cheeks, a spring of your step and fresh air. It's a new time on Broadway. It's a new season. Open the installment account, kid. The world is yours. And where I was was a world compounded on a different stuff. Pain and grief. The smashed remnants of two lives. And the residue of all of it. A man named David Knight. A man who said he was a murderer.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I killed it. Killed it?

[Detective Danny Clover]

You held her down and slashed her wrists and watched her die.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Killed it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Why? Why? You don't know why. Because you loved her and.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Because I loved her. Oh, no. Because she loved me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

She loved me. I wouldn't have her love. She killed her, sir. You mean you didn't kill her? Yes, I did. It's my fault she's dead. Don't you see? Don't you understand?

[Detective Danny Clover]

No, I don't.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I suppose I owed it to her to love her.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But I couldn't love her then. You're telling me she committed suicide.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

But it was my fault she did. Don't you understand that I'm a murderer? I'm a killer.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I killed Olene Nelson just as surely as if I. You didn't kill her. It wasn't your fault. I'll show you. Don't be a fool.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Show it you.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You've got a gun.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Why don't you shoot me?

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's what you want me to do, isn't it?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Yeah. Because of what I did to her.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I can book you for assault, Mr. Knight. Not for murder. You okay?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Yes. I'm sorry.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Forget it.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

It's funny. Lily's dead now. She's dead, and all of a sudden I'm in love with her.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And give the boy his release and his own cognizance. Watch him kneel to the floor. Gather up the fragments of poetry. Once spoken only for him by Lily Nelson. And now only jagged pieces of a phonograph record. Watch as he holds them for a moment. Then flings them into the wastebasket. Then leave him with it. Then walk the edge of a night to a room where sleep will come to you. Because it's a long time coming. Fill in the darkness with a memory of a girl who lay in death before ceiling high mirror. And list the varying opinions of her dying. Her chauffeur, who was frightened because Lily hadn't answered a door. Her producer, who found in Lily no emotion. That would warrant her suicide. Her psychiatrist, who thought the same but for a different reason. Her director, who believed her dead because of a love he wouldn't bestow on her. Finally, sleep had entered the room. In the morning, back to the office. Back to the paperwork.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Bonnie.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Come in. Gino,

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I give you. Bless you. It's nice of you to think of me at moments like this.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Not at all.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Me in the midst of my. Bless you. Who needs it? Just hand me the Doskin tissue in my breast puck.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Here you are, Kino. Thank you.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Now to the affairs of the day which amount to practically nil. Ms. Lily Nelson, beloved star of the stage was indeed beloved male admirers. To stun the imagination, we knocked when we entered Danny Clover's office. Miss.

[Janie Cochran]

I'm sorry. At the death of man.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It's all right. What can I do for you?

[Janie Cochran]

I'm Jeannie Cochran. I feel you ought to know about me.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Oh?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Why?

[Janie Cochran]

I was a great and true friend of Lily Nelson.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And you'll want to tell me about it.

[Janie Cochran]

Of course I do.

[Detective Danny Clover]

All right, Ms. Carter.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Tell me.

[Janie Cochran]

It started last year. I came to New York. You see, my home is in Mount Vernon. I came to New York and I had a grand idea. It was Thanksgiving vacation and I was on my high school paper and I thought it'd be a grand idea to get an interview with Lily. And I did.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I see. Then what happened?

[Janie Cochran]

Lily was so nice to me. When I told her about my dramatics and hours and all my school plays. You know what she said?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

No, I don't.

[Janie Cochran]

She said I had the making of a great actress. I didn't believe her, but she was really serious. Oh, of course she was. He came up to Mount Vernon and visited me. Mother was flabbergasted then really started to come up and stay almost every weekend. Mother fixed up a room so we could be alone together while we were working.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's funny. I've talked to a lot of people who knew Ms. Nelson. None of them ever mentioned you.

[Janie Cochran]

We kept it a secret. It was our secret. Lily's and mine.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

What else did she do for you every weekend?

[Janie Cochran]

Presents. What? This one dress I'm wearing. Picnics and rides. So many things.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did you ever meet any of her other friends?

[Janie Cochran]

Oh, never. We had a secret friendship.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

No.

[Janie Cochran]

Well, it's all over, isn't it? Mr. Clover.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Again. I must tell you. Mr. Clover, you disturb at bad times. Many patients wait upon me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'm sure they'll understand when you told them how a policeman came to you for help.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

You are in need of it also. And you use your authority.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You told me before. All of us are. You, me, everybody.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

And your trouble, dear man?

[Detective Danny Clover]

People keep things from me, smile to themselves when I leave a room because they're so much smarter than I am.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Dear man, this is no extraordinary ailment you suffer. Well, it is ordinary.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It bothers me you smile to yourself when I leave a room.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Dr. Kovac, I did not.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I asked you for Lily Nelson's secrets. You told me there weren't any.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Even if there had been, I have the right, as a professional man, as a man of stature in your community, to deny them to anyone.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Our community has a law against people who withhold evidence in murders.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Your conclusion then, dear man, is that Lily was murdered.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Let's kick it around for a while, shall we, doctor?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I could permit myself to be taken by the law, to be prosecuted, harassed,

[Detective Danny Clover]

and you'd keep your mouth shut. We'll hire our own psychiatrists, dig into every secret Lily ever shared with anyone.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

You threaten, dear man.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Let's call it an alternative.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Lily will be remembered as the Lucian third actress of her time. A Bernard, A Doucet. A flame of classic beauty. A passion brought to life for men whose lives were empty, unperceived. You wish to destroy this. This memory of Lily?

[Detective Danny Clover]

We believe she was murdered.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

And I too. Yeah.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Nan, you told me she was loved. Admirers by the legion, you said.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I was not lying.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But Lily.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Please. Let me gather my thoughts away to. Please. Perhaps this will make it clear. It is true Lily was loved. But in her, there was no love to return. Go on. Lily had not the capacity for love. She pretended to be seen her admirers with me too. Every particle of love that Lily had to give, she gave to the theater. Every emotion she had was. How do I present it on the stage for people to feel every passion, every desire, every. What was there left for Lily to give to another? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Thank you, doctor. For what? That you now have motive for the murder. And for this you will destroy the image of Lily Nelson. You say to me thank you. I cannot say to you, you are welcome. My other patients wait upon me. Mr. Clover. Oh, come on, Mr. Clover. Come on in. Can I get you something?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Bourbon? Scotch? I'm not interrupting something, am I?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

What do you mean?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Two drinks over there.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I've been clumsy. No, you're not interrupting. Vinnie, come on in.

[Janie Cochran]

Hello, Mr. Colbert.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It's late, Ms. Cochran. Don't you have to get back to Mount Vernon?

[Janie Cochran]

No. I called Mother. She knows where I am.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What are you doing?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Here.

[Janie Cochran]

I had an idea. I've just told it to Mr. Knight. He seems to agree with me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

An idea about what?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

This child's a fine actress.

[Detective Danny Clover]

She wants me to work with her.

[Janie Cochran]

After all, Lily taught me so much. Mr. Knight's already listened to me read. She says I even sound like Lily.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

She does, Mr. Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's why you want to work with her.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

The best reason in the world for you.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I can create another Lily Nelson with this child.

[Janie Cochran]

Child? I'm going to learn not to be a child. That's why I came here.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I think you ought to go back to Mount Vernon.

[Janie Cochran]

Janie, don't be stupid.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I think you ought to go back to Mount Vernon. Because what happened, Lily Nelson might happen to you.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

What do you mean? What happened to Lily?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Murdered by you.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I told you that. But I was just. I know, upset.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But you really did murder. It really did slash her wrist. Oh, no.

[Janie Cochran]

That's not right. Mr. Knight told me what happened. He didn't love Lily, so she killed herself.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

That's the way it was, Jane.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Not exactly. Lily wasn't in love with anybody. Her doctor told me that. She was in love with one thing, the theater. It was her obsession. She didn't have the energy to love anything else.

[Janie Cochran]

Mr. Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I know, Janie.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

She had time for you because in

[Detective Danny Clover]

you, Lily saw herself a new star. Another Lily Nelson.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Young, fresh. It's funny, huh? When something's funny, I laugh. And I'm laughing. Listen, Mr. Knight.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Lily Nelson had a hundred admirers. You were just one of them. They all tried to make love to her and she could never return it. She cried about it as a man or chauffeur who's seen her weep just for that reason.

[Janie Cochran]

That's right. Billy told me about that.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

She loved me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

No, you loved her. She couldn't love you.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

You killed her.

[Janie Cochran]

I want to go home.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Don't listen to him, Janie. And you, Janie.

[Detective Danny Clover]

So much like Lily. Your voice, the way you carry yourself. That's why you're here with him, Janie.

[Janie Cochran]

Let me go home, Mr. Knight. I'll come back. I'll come back tomorrow, I promise.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Would she teach you that, too? Jenny, please.

[Janie Cochran]

I promise.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

There.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do you hear?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

You hear that, Mr. Clover? The way she said it. Let's go, Mr. Knight. I'll tell you what's going to happen to you, Janie.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What happened to Lily?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Listen to me, Mr. Clover. You think the chauffeur was the only

[Detective Danny Clover]

man who saw Lily cry?

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

I saw her cry, too, before she died. She got down on her knees and cried. She said she wanted to love me. She said she couldn't love me. She couldn't love anybody. So she begged me to kill her because she couldn't love. She begged me, begged that I killed her. Do what he says, Janie. Go home.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Broadway is having itself a time. It's cocky and needling people to step over the line. It makes a big muscle and dares the nighttime. It's frenzy and big noise, mostly the noise. Otherwise you'd hear a heartbreak. It's Broadway, the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway, My Beat. Broadway is My Beat stars Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover with Charles Calvert as Tartaglia and Jack Crucian as Mugavan. The program was produced and directed by Elliot Lewis with musical score composed and conducted by Alexander Courage. In tonight's story, Paul Freeze was heard as David Knight, Joyce McCluskey as Janie Cochran, Jane Ovelo as Dr. Kovac, Ed Max as Jason Geber, Ed and Clayton Post as Frank Colombo.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Bill Anders speaking.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Broadway Is My Beat has come you through the worldwide facilities of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Podcast Host Adam Graham]

Welcome back. Well, I ranked last week's episode over the Kohl's and so I really do have to praise this one. I enjoyed it and I thought it was very well done. It was a more psychological story and really this is one of those cases where at the end of the day, Danny did not have a case if the guy hadn't confessed. But the guy's not a hardened criminal and there's at least enough of a level of guilt that Danny's going to be able to get him to tell the truth. There were also some really good performances in this. I love J. Novello. His character is just so interesting to listen to and has a unique perspective, a mix of ethics, but also a respect for the Persona of who his patient had been. And his opinions were kind of reflective of what you would hear from from the mental health profession at the time. Certainly not we would hear today, but it does capture the view of that era. I also found Mugavin's scene interesting because Mugavin is just the matter of fact professional. This murder affects him in a very different way. And it's such an interesting scene because Danny is tried to lead him back to the facts. He's like, I really just need you to be the guy who gives me the facts and I'll go brood about it. That's how this works. But Mugavin having this feeling, this connection, it actually does illustrate maybe some of the challenge that she was facing and where some of her strain might have come from. People know of her performances and her characters and they assume they know her. They expect some sort of romantic, reciprocal relationship. Now, if it's just some random stage door Donnie, that's one thing. But as this episode shows, it's not just that powerful men in her industry who helped make her career also expected that sort of interest and all sorts of wealthy men would go to Broadway shows, would fund Broadway shows, and so an incredible amount of pressure that she's under. So while last week's show was one that I don't think was actually true to any period that ever happened, this week's episode, I think, actually has some relevance to some of the things that go on in today's world. Now it's time to thank our Patreon Supporter of the Day and I want to go ahead and thank Jeffrey, patreon Supporter since October 2023, currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of $7.14 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Jeffrey, and that will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software and be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from. We'll be back next Wednesday with another episode of Broadway's My Bait, but join us back here tomorrow for Dragnet, where

[Detective Danny Clover]

the morgue say when they're going to post the body Some sometime today. We ought to have the results first thing tomorrow morning.

[Janie Cochran]

Miss Harmon, I think she's a lot better now. Sergeant. Roberta, the officers would like to talk to you a few minutes if you feel up to it. All right. Who killed my mother? Have you found out?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Not yet, Roberta. And we think you might be able to help her.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

So.

[Janie Cochran]

It's so hard to believe. I just saw her this morning. She was all right then.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Well, you try to take it easy, Roberta. We'll make it as brief as possible. Now, you and your mother are the only people living at your house.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

No one else?

[Janie Cochran]

No. Me and my mother, that's all. My father used to live with us. He doesn't anymore.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And how long has it been since your father left?

[Janie Cochran]

I'm not sure. About five years, I think. He and Mama didn't get along. They got divorced.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do you see your father at all anymore? I mean, does he ever come to your house to visit?

[Janie Cochran]

He did once. It was about a year ago, I think. Wasn't much good. Me and my mother argued all the time he was there and he left. He hasn't been back since.

[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

Has he been in contact at all with your mother?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do you know? Does he write her letters? Call her on the phone?

[Janie Cochran]

No. The last time was when he came to our house. I haven't heard anything about him since. I don't even know where he is. I don't care. I guess I hardly even knew.

[Podcast Host Adam Graham]

I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to box Thirteenreatetectives.net Follow us on Twitter at radiodetectives and check us out on Instagram. Instagram.com Great detectives from Boise, Idaho, this is your host Adam Graham signing off.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[ZipRecruiter Announcer]

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[Various Characters (including Frank Colombo, David Knight, Dr. Kovac, Janie Cochran)]

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