Old Time Radio Comedy

The Life Of Riley "The Household Drudge" (09-10-48)

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:42:16 -0700

The Life Of Riley - Adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."Beginning October 4, 1949, the show was adapted for television for the DuMont Television Network, but Bendix's film contracts prevented him from appearing in the role. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred along with Rosemary DeCamp as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. John Brown returned as the morbid counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell ("Well, I guess I'll be... shoveling off"; "Business is a little dead tonight"). Television's first Life of Riley won television's first Emmy (for "Best Film Made For and Shown on Television"). However, it came to an end on March 28, 1950 because of low ratings and because Gleason left the show, thinking he could find a better showcase for his unique abilities. Groucho Marx received a credit for "story."

THIS EPISODE:
Household Drudge. September 10, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Prell Shampoo, Ivory Snow. Not auditioned. The neighborhood gang discuses married life at their regular poker gamme. William Bendix, Irving Brecher (producer, director), Hans Conried, Paula Winslowe, Alan Lipscott (writer), Reuben Ship (writer), Lou Coslowe (music), John Brown, Tommy Cook, Barbara Eiler, Regina Wallace, Ken Niles (announcer). 29:02.

Fibber McGee & Molly "Inherited Yacht" (03-28-39)

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:32:05 -0700

Fibber McGee and Molly premiered in 1935. The program struggled in the ratings until 1940, when it became a national sensation. Within three years, it was the top-rated program in America. Few radio shows were more beloved than Fibber McGee and Molly. The program’s lovable characters included Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Mrs. Uppington, Wallace Wimple, Alice Darling, Gildersleeve, Beulah, Myrt, and the Old Timer. 79 Wistful Vista was one of America’s most famous addresses and Molly’s warning to Fibber not to open the hall closet door (and his subsequent decision to do it) created one of radio’s best remembered running gags that audiences expected each week. Jim Jordan (Fibber) was born on a farm on November 16, 1896, near Peoria, Illinois. Marian Driscoll (Molly), a coal miner’s daughter, was born in Peoria on November 15, 1898. After years of hardship and touring in obscurity on the small-time show biz circuit, they arrived in Chicago in 1924, where they eventually performed on thousands of shows and developed 145 different voices and characters. Broadcast to the nation from WMAQ/Chicago, the show entertained America until March 1956, and continued on NBC’s Monitor until 1959. Jim Jordan died on April 1, 1988. Marian Jordan died on April 7, 1961. Fibber McGee and Molly was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989. First Broadcast date April 16, 1935. Last Broadcast date September 6, 1959.

The Milton Berle Show "Salute To Gambling" (02-03-48)

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:45:52 -0700

The Milton Berle Show - In 1934-36, Berle was heard regularly on The Rudy Vallee Hour, and he got much publicity as a regular on The Gillette Original Community Sing, a Sunday night comedy-variety program broadcast on CBS from September 6, 1936 to August 29, 1937. In 1939, he was the host of Stop Me If You've Heard This One with panelists spontaneously finishing jokes sent in by listeners. Three Ring Time, a comedy-variety show sponsored by Ballantine Ale was followed by a 1943 program sponsored by Campbell's Soups. The audience participation show Let Yourself Go (1944-45) could best be described as slapstick radio with studio audience members acting out long suppressed urges (often directed at host Berle). Kiss and Make Up, on CBS in 1946, featured the problems of contestants decided by a jury from the studio audience with Berle as the Judge. He also made guest appearances on many comedy-variety radio programs during the 1930s and 1940s. Scripted by Hal Block and Martin Ragaway, The Milton Berle Show brought Berle together with Arnold Stang, later a familiar face as Berle's TV sidekick. Others in the cast were Pert Kelton, Mary Schipp, Jack Albertson, Arthur Q. Bryan, Ed Begley, vocalist Dick Forney and announcer Frank Gallop. The Ray Bloch Orchestra provided the music for the series. Sponsored by Philip Morris, it aired on NBC from March 11, 1947, until April 13, 1948.

THIS EPISODE:
February 3, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Philip Morris. A salute to gambling. Miltie has a friendly poker game with the boys. Frank Gallop (announcer), Milton Berle, Ray Bloch and His Orchestra. 1/2 hour.

The Couple Next Door "Painter Quits" (11-17-58) and "Painting Party" (11-18-58)

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:31:06 -0700

The Couple Next Door was a Peg Lynch series which began in 1953-57 on Chicago's WGN, moving to the Mutual Broadcasting System in the summer of 1957. The married couple was played by Olan Soule and Elinor Harriot. It was revived on CBS Radio (December 30, 1957-November 25, 1960) with Peg Lynch and Alan Bunce as the unnamed married couple---essentially, it reprised Ethel and Albert but the new name was necessitated because Lynch had long since lost the rights to the original title. That still wasn't the end of the show---Lynch and Bunce brought the show to NBC's legendary weekend programming block Monitor in 1963, performing three- to four-minute vignettes not unlike the original fifteen-minute shows. Their presence continued a kind-of Monitor tradition of offering new material from classic radio favourites (including James and Marian Jordan of Fibber McGee and Molly fame, until Marian Jordan's death). Even more, it returned yet again in the 1970s, as a syndicated radio feature known as The Little Things in Life.

TODAYS SHOW: The Painter Quits (11-17-58) and Painting Party (11-18-58)

CBS network. Sponsored by: Glamorene, Beechnut Baby Foods.The system cue is added live. Peg Lynch (writer, performer, commercial spokesman), Alan Bunce (performer, commercial spokesman), Walter Hart (producer), Ted Pearson (announcer), Francie Meyers, Dawsa Duckworth

Hancock's Half Hour "Michelangelo Hancock" (11-18-56)

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:00:23 -0700

Hancocks Half Hour - Tony Hancock starred as an exaggerated version of his own character, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in East Cheam. Sid James played a criminally-inclined confidante who usually managed to con Hancock, while Bill Kerr appeared as Hancock's dim-witted Australian lodger. Moira Lister also appeared in the first series before being replaced by Andrée Melly for the next two, both playing love interests for Hancock's character. In the fourth and fifth series, Hattie Jacques played Griselda Pugh, live-in secretary to Hancock and occasional girlfriend of Sid James. The series broke from the variety tradition dominant in British radio comedy into the sitcom or Situation comedy genre. Instead of sketches, guest stars and musical interludes, humour developed from the characters and situations. Hancock's experiences were based in reality and observation. From the playlet "Look Back In Hunger" in The East Cheam Drama Festival episode, Galton and Simpson showed they were in touch with developments in the British theatre, the use of sighs and silent pauses in common with the work of Harold Pinter which began to emerge towards the end of the series' run. The measured pacing of these episodes were groundbreaking in the days of fast-talking Ted Ray, where every second of airtime had to be filled.

My Friend Irma "Al Goes To A Psychiatrist" (04-02-51)

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:23:40 -0700

My Friend Irma, created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard, was a top-rated, long-run radio situation comedy, so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated to films and television, while Howard scored with another radio comedy hit, Life with Luigi. Dependable and level-headed Jane Stacy (Cathy Lewis) narrated the misadventures of her innocent and bewildered roommate, Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), a dim-bulb stenographer. Wilson portrayed the character on radio, in two films and a TV series. The successful radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).

THIS EPISODE:
Al Goes To A Psychiatrist April 2, 1951. CBS network. Sponsored by: Pepsodent, Lifebuoy. Irma decides that Al needs a psychiatrist to make him want to work. The script was subsequently used on "My Friend Irma" on August 2, 1954. Marie Wilson, John Brown, Cathy Lewis, Cy Howard (creator, producer), Parke Levy (writer), Stanley Adams (writer), Rhoda MacLain (writer), Hans Conried, Gloria Gordon, Lud Gluskin (music director), Wendell Niles (announcer). 29:34.

Fibber McGee & Molly - "Kramer's Cash Register" (04-05-49)

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:49:05 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
April 5, 1949. NBC network, WMAQ, Chicago aircheck. Sponsored by: Johnson's Wax. Fibber is determined to fix the cash register at Kramer's Drug Store. Arthur Q. Bryan, Bill Thompson, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, Bud Stephan, Don Quinn (writer), Gale Gordon, Harlow Wilcox, Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Phil Leslie (writer), Richard LeGrand, The King's Men. 29:38.

Duffy's Tavern "Poker Game" (11-02-43)

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:40:00 -0700

Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures, get-rich-quick-scheming, and romantic missteps of the title establishment's malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner.

THIS EPISODE:
November 2, 1943. Program #25. Blue network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Guest Charles Coburn is "enticed" into a poker game down at the tavern. Charles Coburn, Ed Gardner, Florence Halop, Peter Van Steeden and His Orchestra. 1/2 hour.

The Amos & Andy Show "Kingfish Think Sapphire Is Out To Kill Him" (05-11-45)

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:42:41 -0700

Amos 'n' Andy was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. The show began as one of the first radio comedy serials, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. After the series was first broadcast in 1928, it grew in popularity and became a huge influence on the radio serials that followed. Amos 'n' Andy creators Gosden and Correll were white actors familiar with minstrel traditions. They met in Durham, North Carolina in 1920, and by the fall of 1925, they were performing nightly song-and-patter routines on the Chicago Tribune's station WGN. Since the Tribune syndicated Sidney Smith's popular comic strip The Gumps, which had successfully introduced the concept of daily continuity, WGN executive Ben McCanna thought the notion of a serialized drama could also work on radio. He suggested to Gosden and Correll that they adapt The Gumps to radio. They instead proposed a series about "a couple of colored characters" and borrowed certain elements of The Gumps. Their new series, Sam 'n' Henry, began January 12, 1926, fascinating radio listeners throughout the Midwest. That series became popular enough that in late 1927 Gosden and Correll requested that it be distributed to other stations on phonograph records in a "chainless chain" concept that would have been the first use of radio syndication as we know it today. When WGN rejected the idea, Gosden and Correll quit the show and the station that December. Contractually, their characters belonged to WGN, so when Gosden and Correll left WGN, they performed in personal appearances but could not use the character names from the radio show.

THIS EPISODE:
May 11, 1945. NBC network. Commercials deleted. The Kingfish is convinced that Sapphire plans to kill him for the insurance money. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Ernestine Wade, Lou Lubin, Harlow Wilcox (announcer). 23:05.

Our Miss Brooks - "Mr. Conklin Loses His Hearing" (01-01-56)

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:39:27 -0700

Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.

THIS EPISODE:
January 1, 1956. CBS network. Sponsored by: Colgate Toothpaste, Lustre Creme Shampoo, Palmolive Soap. "What The Board Of Education Means To Me." Walter's essay and Mr. Conklin's deafness. A funny show! The program may be dated January 4, 1956. Al Lewis (director, writer), Eve Arden, Jane Morgan, Richard Crenna, Leonard Smith, Verne Smith (announcer), Jeff Chandler, Gloria McMillan, Larry Berns (producer), Wilbur Hatch (music), Bob Lemond (announcer), Gale Gordon. 29:50.

People Are Funny "Goats Milk" (02-07-50)

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:14:21 -0700

People are Funny was a television game show that premiered and ended on NBC from 1954-1961. It was shot in the outside world and dared people to do stunts for fun for spectators. This was done to "reveal the true nature" of their guests. This show was considered a predecessor to most of the reality game shows we know today, such as "Survivor" and MTV's "Jackass." Art Linkletter was the more well-known host of the show. Viewers grew up with him, but not just on People are Funny. He was also seen on Life With Linkletter (1950-52 & 1969-70), Art Linkletter's House Party (1952-69), and The Art Linkletter Show (1963).

THIS EPISODE:
February 7, 1950. NBC network. Sponsored by: Raleigh, Sir Walter Raleigh Tobacco. The first contestant tries to milk a goat on stage. "The Cinderella Girl" from Omaha returns...and gets a job in the movies! Art Linkletter (host), Rod O'Connor (announcer). 29:37.

The Jack Benny Program "Little Red Riding Hood" (12-19-37)

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:27:47 -0700

The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny - Benny had been only a minor vaudeville performer, but he became a national figure with The Jack Benny Program, a weekly radio show which ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS, and was consistently among the most highly rated programs during most of that run. With Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor, Benny came to radio on The Canada Dry Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933. Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934. He continued with sponsors General Tires, Jell-O and Grape Nuts. Lucky Strike was the radio sponsor from 1944 to the mid-1950s. The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's notorious "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired reruns of old radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny. Benny was remarkable in many ways, but in none more than this: he built a character of every sour ingredient in life, but somehow his real personality trickled through and made it wonderful. Would a real miser act that way before 30 million people each week? The Benny of the air was a fraud, a myth, a creation. It should have surprised no one to learn — after years of toupee jokes that played so well into the vanity theme — that Benny never wore one. He overtipped in restaurants, gave away his time in countless benefit performances, and was lavish in his praise of almost everyone else. The Jack Benny Program is a classic comedy that is truly one of the best-loved programs from the Golden Age of Radio. It started life as The Canada Dry Program in 1932 on the Blue Network and finished off as The Lucky Strike Program on CBS in 1955. In between, it kept the audience in stitches and established Benny as one of America's all-time great comedians.

THIS EPISODE:

December 19, 1937. Red network. Sponsored by: Jell-O. Kenny sings, "Once In A While." The cast does its version of, "Little Red Riding Hood," with Andy Devine as Grandma! Jack Benny, Don Wilson, Phil Harris and His Orchestra, Mary Livingstone, Kenny Baker, Andy Devine, Harry Baldwin, Ed Beloin (writer, performer), Blanche Stewart, Bill Morrow (writer). 29:32.

You Bet Your Life "Secret Word Spoon" (01-18-50).

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:47:59 -0700

You Bet Your Life - Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs. Directed by: Robert Dwan.

THIS EPISODE:
January 18, 1950. NBC network. Dust. Sponsored by: Elgin-American. The secret word is "spoon". Groucho Marx, George Fenneman (announcer), Mike Wallace (commercial spokesman, billed as "Myron Wallace"), Jerry Fielding (music), John Guedel (producer), Robert Dwan (director), Bernie Smith (director), Frank Martuccio. 29:45.

Fibber McGee & Molly "Trolley Rider" (11-01-49)

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:37:46 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
November 1, 1949. NBC network, WMAQ, Chicago aircheck. Sponsored by: Johnson's Wax. Fibber and Molly ride the trolleys all day to win a prize for the best suggestion. Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Harlow Wilcox, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, The King's Men, Gale Gordon, Arthur Q. Bryan, Richard LeGrand, Bill Thompson. 29:34.

The Honest Harold Hemp "Marvins Gang" (05-02-51)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:10:29 -0700

Honest Harold Hemp lived with his mother and nephew and did a radio homemaker's program. The series received undeserved negative ratings and general negative attitude of the critics. The HONEST HAROLD scripts were well crafted with well developed characters and had excellent acting and production values. Many people, including Harold Peary, believed that THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE would not survive without Peary. However, Willard Waterman assumed the role and most listeners didn't notice the difference, as Mr. Waterman did an excellent job in capturing the essence of the Gildersleeve character. This may have been the single greatest blow to the survival of HONEST HAROLD. There were just too many similarities between the two series. Also, the series was without a sponsor, although some of the last shows were sponsored by the US Armed Forces. The series lasted only one season. The regular cast consisted of Harold Peary, Gloria Holiday, Joseph Kearns, Mary Jane Croft and Parley Baer. The announcer was Bob Lamond. The series was directed by Norman MacDonnell. Writers for the series were Harold Peary, Bill Danch, Jack Robinson and Gene Stone. Music was by Jack Meakin.

THIS EPISODE:
May 2, 1951. CBS network. Sustaining. Not auditioned. A pile of lumber has disappeared. The clues lead to little Marvin and his friends. Harold Peary, Gene Stone (writer), Jack Robinson (writer), Jack Meakin (composer, conductor), Norman Macdonnell (director), Gloria Holiday, Joseph Kearns, Jane Morgan, Parley Baer, Butch Cavell, Bob Bailey, Jeffrey Silver, Sammy Ogg, David Light, Bob Lemond (announcer). 29:26.

The Life Of Riley "Uncle Baxter Moves In" (01-31-48)

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:39:32 -0700

The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film and continued as a long-running television series during the 1950s. The show began as a proposed Groucho Marx radio series, The Flotsam Family, but the sponsor balked at what would have been essentially a straight head-of-household role for the comedian. Then producer Irving Brecher saw Bendix as taxicab company owner Tim McGuerin in the movie The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942). The Flotsam Family was reworked with Bendix cast as blundering Chester A. Riley, riveter at a California aircraft plant, and his frequent exclamation of indignation---"What a revoltin' development this is!"---became one of the most famous catch phrases of the 1940s. The radio series also benefited from the immense popularity of a supporting character, Digby "Digger" O'Dell (John Brown), "the friendly undertaker."Beginning October 4, 1949, the show was adapted for television for the DuMont Television Network, but Bendix's film contracts prevented him from appearing in the role. Instead, Jackie Gleason starred along with Rosemary DeCamp as wife Peg, Gloria Winters as daughter Barbara (Babs), Lanny Rees as son Chester Jr. (Junior), and Sid Tomack as Gillis, Riley's manipulative best buddy and next-door neighbor. John Brown returned as the morbid counseling undertaker Digby (Digger) O'Dell ("Well, I guess I'll be... shoveling off"; "Business is a little dead tonight"). Television's first Life of Riley won television's first Emmy (for "Best Film Made For and Shown on Television"). However, it came to an end on March 28, 1950 because of low ratings and because Gleason left the show, thinking he could find a better showcase for his unique abilities. Groucho Marx received a credit for "story."

THIS EPISODE:
January 31, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Prell Shampoo, Ivory Snow. Not auditioned. The return of Uncle Baxter, once again. Will Babs get a schaolarship when the college Dean comes to visit? William Bendix, Irving Brecher (producer, director), Hans Conried, Paula Winslowe, Alan Lipscott (writer), Reuben Ship (writer), Lou Coslowe (music), John Brown, Tommy Cook, Barbara Eiler, Regina Wallace, Ken Niles (announcer). 29:02.

Duffy's Tavern "No More IOU's" (04-13-49)

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:05:18 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
April 13, 1949. NBC network origination, Nostalgia Broadcasting Corporation syndication. Commercials added locally. Suspecting that one of his non-paying customers is really a millionaire, Archie holds an open house at Duffy's. Duffy himself enters his tavern, but is not heard. Ed Gardner, Eddie Green, Charlie Cantor, Alan Reed, Ken Christy. 26:02.

Blondie & Dagwood "Storm In A Teacup" (1938)

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:25:00 -0700

Blondie was a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950. After Penny Singleton was cast in the title role of the feature film Blondie (1938), co-starring with Arthur Lake as Dagwood, she and Lake repeated their roles December 20, 1938, on The Bob Hope Show. The appearance with Hope led to their own show, beginning July 3, 1939, on CBS as a summer replacement for The Eddie Cantor Show. However, Cantor did not return in the fall, so the sponsor, Camel Cigarettes chose to keep Blondie on the air Mondays at 7:30pm. Camel remained the sponsor through the early WWII years until June 26, 1944. In 1944, Blondie was on the Blue Network, sponsored by Super Suds, airing Fridays at 7pm from July 21 to September 1. The final three weeks of that run overlapped with Blondie's return to CBS on Sundays at 8pm from August 13, 1944, to September 26, 1948, still sponsored by Super Suds. Beginning in mid-1945, the 30-minute program was heard Mondays at 7:30pm. Super Suds continued as the sponsor when the show moved to NBC on Wednesdays at 8pm from October 6, 1948, to June 29, 1949. Ann Rutherford took over the radio role of Blondie in 1949, and at times, Patricia Van Cleve and Alice White were also heard as Blondie. In its final season, the series was on ABC from October 6, 1949, to July 6, 1950, first airing Thursdays at 8pm and then (from May) 8:30pm. The radio show ended the same year as the Blondie film series (1938-50)

THIS EPISODE:

(1938) Blondie is arrested for littering.Penny Singleton, Anne Rutherford, Alice White, Patricia Van Cleve,Arthur Lake, Leone Ledoux, Tommy Cook, Larry Sims, Bobby Ellis, Jeffrey Silver, Leone Ledoux, Marlene Aames, Norma Jean Nilsson, Joan Rae. Announcers: Harlow Wilcox.

The Great Gildersleeve "Leroy Smokes A Cigar" (11-23-41)

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:34:25 -0700

The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957) was the arguable founding father of the spin-off program, as well as one of the first true situation comedies (as opposed to sketch programs) in broadcast history. Hooked around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio hit Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest period in the 1940s, when Harold Peary graduated the character from the earlier show into the sitcom and in a quartet of likeable feature films at the height of the show's popularity.

THIS EPISIODE:
November 23, 1941. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Parkay. The day Leroy and his friend sampled Gilderlseeve's cheap cigars. Harold Peary, Walter Tetley, Lurene Tuttle, Lillian Randolph, Leonard L. Levinson (writer), William Randolph (composer, conductor), Jim Bannon (announcer). 29:32.

The Amos & Andy Show "Sunday Monday Or Always" (02-25-44)

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:50:57 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
February 25, 1944. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Replacing "The Great Gildersleeve." Andy is convinced that he's written the hit tune, "Sunday, Monday, Or Always." He and The Kingfish go into the song writing business! Guests are Kay Kyser, Harry Babbitt. Also Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen (the real composers of the tune). See cat. #57323 for a network recording of this broadcast in better audio condition, but with the commercials deleted. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Kay Kyser, Harry Babbitt, Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen, Kay Kyser and His Orchestra (music fill), Georgia Carroll (vocal). 29:42.

Our Miss Brooks "Cafeteria Boycott" (03-13-49)

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:59:25 -0700

Our Miss Brooks, an American situation comedy, began as a radio hit in 1948 and migrated to television in 1952, becoming one of the earlier hits of the so-called Golden Age of Television, and making a star out of Eve Arden (1908-1990) as comely, wisecracking, but humane high school English teacher Connie Brooks. The show hooked around Connie's daily relationships with Madison High School students, colleagues, and pompous principal Osgood Conklin (Gale Gordon), not to mention favourite student Walter Denton (future television and Rambo co-star Richard Crenna, who fashioned a higher-pitched voice to play the role) and biology teacher Philip Boynton ( Jeff Chandler), the latter Connie's all-but-unrequited love interest, who saw science everywhere and little else anywhere.

THIS EPISODE:
March 13, 1949. CBS network. Sponsored by: Palmolive Soap, Lustre Creme Shampoo, Palmolive Shave Cream. A boycott of the Madison High School cafeteria is being planned by the students. Eve Arden wins an award from Radio Mirror Magazine on the air. Eve Arden, Jane Morgan, Gloria McMillan, Gale Gordon, Verne Smith (announcer), Bob Lemond (announcer), Leonard Smith, Gerald Mohr, William Conrad, Richard Crenna, Jeff Chandler, Al Lewis (writer, director), Wilbur Hatch (music). 29:50.

Dad's Army "Battle School" (04-01-74)

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:34:29 -0700

Dad's Army - 1968 and 1977, and there were a total of eighty episodes spread over nine series, as well as three Christmas specials. Most episodes were also adapted for radio. The show was set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea, on the south coast of England, making the Home Guard the front line of defence against an invasion by the enemy forces across the English Channel, which formed a backdrop to the series. The first episode, The Man and the Hour, began with a scene set in the "present day" of 1968, in which Mainwaring addressed his old platoon as part of the contemporary "I'm Backing Britain" campaign. It was a flash-back to the founding of the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon by Mainwaring after he had heard Anthony Eden's 1940 radio broadcast. The final episode, Never Too Old, focused on the wedding of Corporal Jones and Mrs. Fox, which was interrupted as the platoon were put on full invasion alert. The first two series were in black and white. There are three lost episodes from series two. Only film copies made of the episodes from these series survive; copies of series one were made for overseas sales, but there was little interest, so none were made of any series two episodes. The three episodes that exist do so because two were film recorded to show Columbia Pictures executives and another needed to be edited post-production.

The Abbott & Costello Show "Lou Joins The Circus" (05-09-44)

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:35:58 -0700

Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy. Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"---whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines---the team are also the only comedians known to have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bud Abbott was born in Asbury Park, NJ, October 2, 1897 and died April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. Lou Costello was born in Paterson, NJ, March 6, 1906 and died March 3, 1959 in East Los Angeles, California. After working as Allen's summer replacement, Abbott and Costello joined Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy on The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1941, while two of their films (Buck Privates and Hold That Ghost) were adapted for Lux Radio Theater. They launched their own weekly show October 8, 1942, sponsored by Camel cigarettes. The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (usually, by singers such as Connie Haines, Marilyn Maxwell, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Skinnay Ennis, and the Les Baxter Singers). Regulars and semi-regulars on the show included Artie Auerbrook, Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian, Mel Blanc, Wally Brown, Sharon Douglas, Verna Felton, Sidney Fields, Frank Nelson, Martha Wentworth, and Benay Venuta. Ken Niles was the show's longtime announcer, doubling as an exasperated foil to Abbott & Costello's mishaps (and often fuming in character as Costello insulted his on-air wife routinely); he was succeeded by Michael Roy, with annoncing chores also handled over the years by Frank Bingman and Jim Doyle. The show went through several orchestras during its radio life, including those of Ennis, Charles Hoff, Matty Matlock, Jack Meaking, Will Osborne, Freddie Rich, Leith Stevens, and Peter van Steeden. The show's writers included Howard Harris, Hal Fimberg, Parke Levy, Don Prindle, Ed Cherokee, Len Stern, Martin Ragaway, Paul Conlan, and Ed Forman, as well as producer Martin Gosch. Sound effects were handled mostly by Floyd Caton. Abbott and Costello moved the show to ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) five years after they premiered on NBC. During their ABC period they also hosted a 30-minute children's radio program(The Abbott and Costello Children's Show), which aired Saturday mornings with vocalist Anna Mae Slaughter and announcer Johnny McGovern.

THIS EPISODE:
May 9, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Pipe Tobacco. Costello wants to join the circus. Abbott loses his place in the script. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Carl Hoff and His Orchestra, Amy Arnell (vocal), Bert Cordon (sound effects), John Pawlek (engineer), Ken Niles (announcer), Elvia Allman, Sharon Douglas (doubles), Mel Blanc (quadruples), Sidney Fields, Don Prindle (writer), Ed Forman (writer), Don Bernard (producer, director), Andrew Potter (producer, director). 29:46.

Fibber McGee & Molly "Hole In One" (05-15-51)

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:49:04 -0700

May 15, 1951. NBC network. Sponsored by: Pet Milk. It's that time of year again and Fibber has brought his golf clubs down from the attic. Molly gets a hole in one! Not auditioned. Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Harlow Wilcox, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, The King's Men, Don Quinn (writer), Phil Leslie (writer), Max Hutto (director), Bill Thompson, Gale Gordon, Arthur Q. Bryan, Richard LeGrand, Bob Bruce. 29:15.

The Jack Benny Show "Jack Gets A Parking Ticket" (01-17-54)

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:47:07 -0700

The Lucky Strike Program Starring Jack Benny - Benny was remarkable in many ways, but in none more than this: he built a character of every sour ingredient in life, but somehow his real personality trickled through and made it wonderful. Would a real miser act that way before 30 million people each week? The Benny of the air was a fraud, a myth, a creation. It should have surprised no one to learn — after years of toupee jokes that played so well into the vanity theme — that Benny never wore one. He overtipped in restaurants, gave away his time in countless benefit performances, and was lavish in his praise of almost everyone else.

Benny had been only a minor vaudeville performer, but he became a national figure with The Jack Benny Program, a weekly radio show which ran from 1932 to 1948 on NBC and from 1949 to 1955 on CBS, and was consistently among the most highly rated programs during most of that run. With Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a sponsor, Benny came to radio on The Canada Dry Program, beginning May 2, 1932, on the NBC Blue Network and continuing there for six months until October 26, moving the show to CBS on October 30. With Ted Weems leading the band, Benny stayed on CBS until January 26, 1933. Arriving at NBC on March 17, Benny did The Chevrolet Program until April 1, 1934. He continued with sponsors General Tires, Jell-O and Grape Nuts. Lucky Strike was the radio sponsor from 1944 to the mid-1950s. The show returned to CBS on January 2, 1949, as part of CBS president William S. Paley's notorious "raid" of NBC talent in 1948-49. There it stayed for the remainder of its radio run, which ended on May 22, 1955. CBS aired reruns of old radio episodes from 1956 to 1958 as The Best of Benny.

THIS EPISODE:
January 17, 1954. Program #364. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. After lunch with the gang, Jack gets a Beverly Hills parking ticket. AFRS program name: "The Jack Benny Program." The program was recorded January 13, 1954. Dennis Day, Don Wilson, Sara Berner, Eddie Anderson, Frank Nelson, Mel Blanc, Milt Josefsberg (writer), Al Gordon (writer), Hal Goldman (writer), Hilliard Marks (producer, transcriber), John Tackaberry (writer), Jack Benny, Bob Crosby. 25 minutes.

You Bet Your Life "Secret Word Tree" (05-24-50)

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:48:04 -0700

Groucho Marx - You Bet Your Life matches wits with the American public in four episodes of this classic game show. Starting on the radio in 1947, You Bet Your Life made its television debut in 1950 and aired for 11 years with Groucho as host and emcee. Sponsored rather conspicuously by the Dodge DeSoto car manufacturers, the show featured two contestants working as a team to answer questions for cash prizes. Another mainstay of these question and answer segments was the paper mache duck that would descend from the ceiling with one hundred dollars in tow whenever a player uttered the "secret word." The quiz show aspect of "You Bet Your Life" was always secondary, to the clever back-and-forth between host and contestant, which found Groucho at his funniest. It's in these interview segments that "You Bet Your Life" truly makes its mark as one of early television's greatest programs. Directed by: Robert Dwan.

Host : Groucho Marx
Announcers : Jack Slattery, briefly, then George Fenneman;
Mike Wallace for Elgin-American
Orchestra : Billy May with a 10-piece band; later, Jack Meakin, Jerry Fielding
Creator-Producer-Director : John Guedel
Directors : Bernie Smith, Bob Dwan
Writers : Ed Tyler, Hy Freedman
Theme : Hooray for Captain Spaulding, by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby,
from the Marx Brothers film Animal Crackers

My Friend Irma "Way To A Man's Heart" (4-11-47)

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:28:06 -0700

My Friend Irma, created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard, was a top-rated, long-run radio situation comedy, so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated to films and television, while Howard scored with another radio comedy hit, Life with Luigi. Dependable and level-headed Jane Stacy (Cathy Lewis) narrated the misadventures of her innocent and bewildered roommate, Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), a dim-bulb stenographer. Wilson portrayed the character on radio, in two films and a TV series. The successful radio series with Marie Wilson ran on CBS Radio from April 11, 1947 to August 23, 1954. The TV version, seen on CBS from January 8, 1952 until June 25, 1954, was the first series telecast from the CBS Television City facility in Hollywood. The movie My Friend Irma (1949) starred Marie Wilson and Diana Lynn but is mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers, resulting in even more screen time for Martin and Lewis in the sequel, My Friend Irma Goes West (1950).

THIS EPISODE:
April 21, 1953. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Way To A Man's Heart". Irma decides to improve her cooking skills: hold onto your stomach! Cathy Lewis, Hans Conried, John Brown, Leif Erickson, Marie Wilson. 25:48.

The Burns and Allen Show "George Sells Chicken Farm" (03-14-46)

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:40:48 -0700

Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen.Burns wrote most of the material, and played the straight man. Allen played a silly, addleheaded woman. Both attributed their success to the other, to the ends of their lives. Early on, the team had played the opposite roles until they noticed that the audience was laughing at Gracie's straight lines, so they made the change. Burns and Allen developed their popular routine over more than three decades of stage, radio, film, and television. Historians of popular culture have often stated that Allen was a brilliant comedian, whose entire career consisted of engaging in dialogues of "illogical logic" that left her verbal opponents dazed and confused, and her audiences in stitches. During a typical 23-minute episode of the Burns and Allen show, the vast majority of the dialogue and speaking parts were written for Allen, who was credited with having the genius to deliver her lengthy diatribes in a fashion that made it look as though she was making her arguments up on the spot. (One running gag on the TV show was the existence of a closet full of hats belonging to various visitors to the Burns household, where the guests would slip out the door unnoticed, leaving their hats behind, rather than face another round with Gracie.) A continuing joke on the show was that George would say, "Say good night, Gracie," and Gracie would say, "Good night Gracie!" Ralph Pape used the catchphrase for the title of his play, Say Goodnight, Gracie, produced by Steppenwolf in 1983, and the phrase lives on as a title of other books and stage productions.

Fibber McGee & Molly "The Employment Agency" (06-22-36)

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:39:08 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
January 13, 1936. "The Employment Agency" NBC network. Sponsored by: Johnson's Wax. Shamed into visiting an employment agency, Fibber gets a job as a tutor for two wealthy children. However, Fibber thinks he's working in a dog kennel. O. C. Hewlett, of The Burlington Liar's Club, appears on the program to confirm Fibber as a champion, but amateur "liar." Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Rico Marcelli and His Orchestra, Kaye Donna (vocal), Isabel Randolph, O. C. Hewlett. 29:28.