Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:49 — 6.8MB)
The manhunt has come to an end when Lum and Cedric came back, bringing Diogenes Smith with them. Wonderful World! Full confessions are made, and Lum is on hand in the Jot ‘Em Down store to explain more details.
Abner and grandpap comment that Diogenes Honest man contest was just a fake, to cover up his counterfeit operation. Lum tells how he and Cedric tracked Diogenes down to St Louis, and discovered his real name. Diogenes enters to tell how his time in Pine Ridge has changed his life. Learning a lesson from the honest citezens of the town, he proclaims his new lease on life, despite facing time in prison.
He also tells how he didn’t originally intend to give away the money in his contest, but now he will leave the $10k with Lum and Abner to decide how to spend it. The money is for real, and not counterfeit money.
PS: Roswell Graham is Diogenes real name. More than that, it’s the combined real names of the script writer and the actor who played Diogenes. Roswell Rogers began writing for Chet Lauck and Tuffy Goff right after their first movie, and stuck with the show to the end. Franklin Graham was a top notch voice actor, and appeared in many cartoon shorts of the era. He came to an untimely death in 19540 when he committed suicide. Roz Rogers lived until just a few years ago, and was active in preparing the Jot ‘Em Down Journal through the early years of the National Lum and Abner Society. The NLAS is the official fan club of Lum and Abner, and still has an active fan base. Do a search on Facebook for the Lum and Abner Radio Group and check it out.
