The Adventures of Harry Nile

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The Adventures of Harry Nile is a radio drama series created by veteran radio writer and producer Jim French. It has been in continuous production since 1991 and is syndicated nationally as part of the Imagination Theatre package. The series made its original debut on January 1, 1976 over Seattle radio station KVI and continued for 24 episodes before French left the station to pursue other interests. In the late 80s Jim returned to broadcasting joining the staff of the local CBS affiliate KIRO. In 1990 he was asked if he knew who owned the rights to the Nile shows? Through a bit of foresight in the 1970s Jim retained the rights to all of his scripts and characters and it wasn't long before the original 24 episodes along with two that had been produced but never aired were running on Sunday nights. In 1991 Jim began writing and producing new Nile shows with one new episode playing every month, first only locally and then in 1996 nationally. As of this writing over 190 installments have been done.

From his 1976 debut until his death in October of 2004 the part of Harry Nile was played by Phil Harper. Since Harper's passing, the show has starred Larry Albert.

SERIES DESCRIPTION

Harry Nile, a fictional private detective in Los Angeles and Seattle during the 1940's and 50's, is the title character of this New-Time Radio detective series. Like many private eyes, Harry started out as a cop. Harry's real last name is actually Niletti; he changed it before he joined the force to protect his family from potential retaliation by the Mob. As a rookie on the Chicago Police Department, Harry was recruited by the department's Internal Affairs Division.

When his Blues singer wife is killed in a night club shooting, Harry's life hits the skids. He turns up precinct-wide police corruption and is eventually forced to resign from the Chicago police force. After he runs up substantial gambling debts and is unable to pay them, Harry agrees to travel to L.A. to do a "little favor" for the holder of his markers, a Windy City casino owner/crime boss. The "little favor" involves the murder of a Los Angeles crime boss. Harry manages not to do the deed and ends up staying on the West Coast, working as a private eye, first in Los Angeles, and later, in Seattle.

Harry is definitely not a hard-boiled P.I. He seldom uses his gun or gets into a fight, but he's no wimp. This guy can be tough when necessary. Here's a detective who is a real human being. He'll never be rich or have a fancy office; he's usually one step ahead of the bill collectors. Even after years in the business, he's not completely cynical. He cares about his clients and his greatest strength is his humanity.

He's aided in his investigations by his associate Murphy, a red-haired, former librarian played by Pat French, who made her debut in the episode "The Twenty Dollar Trackdown." Murphy is not the stereotype P.I.'s secretary; this lady is no dummy. She was initially enamored by the supposed glamour of the P.I. business and sometimes accompanies Harry on cases. For several years, she was Harry's unpaid assistant. Now she's basically Harry's partner and great at finding important information. While she has always been infatuated with Harry, she's smart enough not to push it.