 Gil Dowd's name is synonymous with old-time radio programming that originated from West Coast studios in the late 1940s and 1950s. Dowd's roots stretch halfway across the country, however, to Winona, Minnesota, where he was born, on March 1, 1914. His birth name, Giles Budlong Dowd, Jr., would eventually be shortened to the professional name that is so familiar to hobbyists today. After just one year of college, Dowd ended up in the radio business. His earliest known work was at L.A.'s K.H.J., working as a sound effects artist and writer for Calling All Cars before the outbreak of World War II. After being discharged from the armed services, Dowd turned again to radio script writing and attached his name to some of the most memorable series of all time. Upon taking over the adventures of Sam Spade in 1947, Dowd found himself teamed with Bob Tallman, who became his collaborator for the next two years, not only on Spade, but also on the voyage of the Scarlet Queen. Gil Dowd's scripts were also used on series such as Fort Laramie, Gunsmoke, and Suspense. He was beginning to find more work in motion pictures and television throughout the 1950s when he died from hepatitis at the young age of 43 on December 17, 1957.