Mr. District Attorney was for many years the nation's best-liked crime show. It was inspired by the exploits of Thomas E. Dewey, Mew York's racket-busting DA of the late '30s, whose front-page was against racketeers and corruption swept him into the governor's office and culminated in two series runs for the presidency.

The radio character was created by Ed Byron, one-time staffer at WLW, Cincinnati, who had given up law studies for a career on the air. Phillips H. Lord, venerable radio man and producer of Gang Busters, had coined the Mr. District Attorney, title and had worked with Byron on a serial based on Dewey's colorful character. Byron then bought the title, agreeing to credit Lord and pay him royalties on the subsequent series. Throughout the long run, the DA remained unnamed: he answered to the title "Mister Disctrict Attorney" or, in conversation with his sidekick Harrington and his secretary Miss Miller, to "Chief" or "Boss." The show was a dynamic departure, propelled by Byron's almost uncanny instinct for scooping the news. _{John Dunning}