Old Time Radio Comedy

The Abbott & Costello Show "Radio Station With Alan Ladd" (03-30-44)

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:41:41 -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.

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The Red Skelton Raleigh Show "Barbers" (09-17-46)

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:12:26 -0700

The Raleigh Cigarette Program Starring Red Skelton - After 1937 appearances on The Rudy Vallee Show, Skelton became a regular in 1939 on NBC's Avalon Time, sponsored by Avalon Cigarettes. On October 7, 1941, Skelton premiered his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, developing routines involving a number of recurring characters, including punch-drunk boxer Cauliflower McPugg, inebriated Willie Lump-Lump and "mean widdle kid" Junior, whose favorite phrase ("I dood it!") became part of the American lexicon. There was con man San Fernando Red with his pair of crosseyed seagulls, Gertrude and Heathcliffe, and singing cabdriver Clem Kadiddlehopper, a country bumpkin with a big heart and a slow wit. Clem had an unintentional knack for upstaging high society slickers, even if he couldn't manipulate his cynical father: "When the stork brought you, Clem, I shoulda shot him on sight!" Skelton also helped sell WWII war bonds on the top-rated show, which featured Ozzie and Harriet Nelson in the supporting cast, plus the Ozzie Nelson Orchestra and announcer Truman Bradley. Harriet Nelson was the show's vocalist. It was during this period that Red divorced his first wife Edna and married his second wife Georgia. Red and Georgia's only child, son Richard, was born in 1945. Georgia continued in her role as Red's manager until the 1960s. Skelton was drafted in March 1944, and the popular series was discontinued June 6, 1944. Shipped overseas to serve with an Army entertainment unit as a private, Skelton had a nervous breakdown in Italy, spent three months in a hospital and was discharged in September 1945. He once joked about his military career, "I was the only celebrity who went in and came out a private." On December 4, 1945, The Raleigh Cigarette Program resumed where it left off with Skelton introducing some new characters, including Bolivar Shagnasty and J. Newton Numbskull. Lurene Tuttle and Verna Felton appeared as Junior's mother and grandmother. David Forrester and David Rose led the orchestra, featuring vocalist Anita Ellis. The announcers were Pat McGeehan and Rod O'Connor. The series ended May 20, 1949, and that fall he moved to CBS. Ironically, given that his peak of popularity came with his television show, in recent years recordings of the Red Skelton radio show have become much easier to come by than the TV show.

THIS EPISODE:

September 17, 1946. NBC network. Sponsored by: Raleigh, Sir Walter Raleigh Tobacco. The Skelton Scrapbook of Satire: Brothers. Volume 2, Chapter 3, "The Store Haircut," with Clem Kadiddlehopper. Chapter 5, "The Little Boy and The Barber," with "The Mean Widdle Kid." Red Skelton, Rod O'Connor, Anita Ellis, David Forrester and His Orchestra, GeGe Pearson, Pat McGeehan, Verna Felton, Wonderful Smith. 29:22.

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The Burns & Allen Show "Gracie Sends Sam Spade To Jail" (02-10-49)

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:38:38 -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.

THIS EPISODE:

Maxwell House Coffee Time. February 10, 1949. NBC network. Sponsored by: Maxwell House Coffee. West coast broadcast. The Maxwell House production commercial features, "The Rhapsody In Blue." George and guest Howard Duff are at the Beverly Hills police station. Gracie helps "Sam Spade" solve the murder of Mr. Benson. The system cue has been deleted. Bill Goodwin, Howard Duff, Joseph Kearns, Eric Snowden, Harry Lubin and His Orchestra, Tobe Reed (announcer), Paul Henning (writer), Keith Fowler (writer), George Burns, Gracie Allen. 29:30.

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The Amos & Andy Show "Leroy Strikes It Rich" (11-11-47)

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:31:12 -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:

November 11, 1947. NBC network. "Getting Brother-in-Law Out" aka "Leroy Strikes It Rich". Sponsored by: Rinso, Lifebuoy. In an effort to get brother-in-law Leroy out of the house, the Kingfish convinces Leroy that he has the Bubonic Plague! The system cue has been deleted. The date is subject to correction. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, The Jubalaires, Jeff Alexander and His Orchestra, Ernestine Wade, Bert Wheeler (commercial spokesman), Eddie Green, Art Gilmore (anouncer). 29:27.

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My Little Margie "30 Days To Live" (12-12-54)

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:06:59 -0700

My Little Margie is an American situation comedy that alternated between CBS and NBC from 1952 to 1955. The series was created by Frank Fox and produced in Los Angeles, California by Hal Roach, Jr. and Roland D. Reed. My Little Margie premiered on CBS as the summer replacement for I Love Lucy on June 16, 1952. Its success prompted NBC to give it a regular berth - Saturday at 7:30 pm - on its fall schedule, where it lasted for two months. In January 1953, it returned to CBS, where it remained until July. Two months later, it was back on NBC, where its final broadcast was on August 24, 1955. In an unusual move, the series -- with the same leads -- aired original episodes on CBS Radio, concurrently with the TV broadcasts, from December 1952 through August 1955. Only 23 radio broadcasts are known to exist in recorded form. Set in New York City, the series starred Gale Storm as 21-year-old Margie Albright and former silent film star Charles Farrell as her widowed father, 50-year-old Vern Albright. Both shared the same apartment at the Carlton Arms Hotel. Mr. Albright was the vice president of the investment firm of Honeywell and Todd, where his boss was George Honeywell (Clarence Kolb). Honeywell's partner in the firm was played by George Meader. George's daughter Roberta (Hillary Brooke) was Vern's girlfriend, and Margie's boyfriend was Freddy Wilson (Don Hayden). Mrs. Odetts (Gertrude Hoffman) was the Albrights' next-door neighbor and Margie's sidekick in madcap capers reminiscent of Lucy and Ethel in I Love Lucy. When Margie realized she had blundered or got into trouble, she made an odd trilling sound. Also in the cast were Willie Best as the elevator operator and Dian Fauntelle.

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Milton Berle Show "Income Taxes" (03-09-48)

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:02:04 -0700

Milton Berle, (July 12, 1908 - March 27, 2002), born Milton Berlinger. five-story walkup at 68 West 118th Street in New York City, New York. appeared a child actor in many silent films, beginning with The Perils of Pauline (1914) and at the age of 6. 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. His last radio series was The Texaco Star Theater, which began September 22, 1948 on ABC and continued until June 15, 1949, with Berle heading the cast of Stang, Kelton and Gallop, along with Charles Irving, Kay Armen and double-talk specialist Al Kelly. It employed top comedy writers (Nat Hiken, brothers Danny and Neil Simon, Aaron Ruben), and Berle later recalled this series as "the best radio show I ever did... a hell of a funny variety show." It served as a springboard for Berle's rise as television's first major star.

THIS EPISODE:

March 9, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Philip Morris. A salute to income taxes. Miltie figures out his income tax. Frank Gallop (announcer), Milton Berle, Ray Bloch and His Orchestra. 1/2 hour.

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The Life Of Riley "Good Neighbor Week" (10-05-46)

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:18:56 -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:

October 5, 1946. NBC network. Sponsored by: Teel, Dreft. Riley and Gillis are named "ideal neighbors," if only they'll stop beating each other up! Ken Carpenter (announcer), Paula Winslowe, Irving Brecher (producer), Lou Coslowe (music), Don Bernard (director), Elvia Allman, Herb Vigran, William Bendix, John Brown, Tommy Cook. 29:39.

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The Aldrich Family "Henry's Engagement" (10-10-39)

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:06:48 -0700

The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (1939-1953), is remembered first and foremost for its unforgettable introduction: awkward teen Henry's mother calling, "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!" A top-ten ratings hit within two years of its birth (in 1941, the showm carried a 33.4 Crossley rating, landing it solidly alongside Jack Benny and Bob Hope), the show is considered a prototype for teen-oriented situation comedies to follow on radio and television and is a favourite if dated find for old-time radio collectors today. The Aldrich Family as a separate radio show was born as a summer replacement for Jack Benny in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O---which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time. The Aldriches ran in that slot from October 10, 1939 until May 28, 1940, moving to Thursdays, from July 4, 1940 until July 20, 1944. After a brief hiatus, the show moved to CBS, running on Fridays from September 1, 1944 until August 30, 1946 with sponsors Grape Nuts and Jell-O,.before moving back to NBC from September 05, 1946 to June 28, 1951 on Thursdays and, then, its final run of September 21, 1952 to April 19, 1953 on Sundays.

THIS EPISODE:

October 10, 1939 - Henry's Engagement - NBC network. Sponsored by: Postum. Trying to get Doris Townsend jealous, Henry's parents naturally conclude that Henry's engaged. The date is approximate. The system cue has been deleted. Ezra Stone, Clifford Goldsmith (writer), Harry Von Zell (announcer), Jack Miller (composer, conductor). 29:21.

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Life with Luigi "Luigi Needs Driver's License" (02-27-49)

Thu, 28 May 2009 19:50:50 -0700

Life with Luigi was a radio comedy-drama series which began September 21, 1948 on CBS. The story concerned Italian immigrant Luigi Basco, and his experiences as an immigrant in Chicago. Many of the shows take place at the US citizenship classes that Luigi attends with other immigrants from different countries, as well as trying to fend off the repeated advances of the morbidly-obese daughter of his landlord/sponsor. Luigi was played by J. Carrol Naish, an Irish-American. Naish continued in the role on the short-lived television version in 1952, and was later replaced by Vito Scotti. With a working title of The Little Immigrant, Life with Luigi was created by Cy Howard, who earlier had created the hit radio comedy, My Friend Irma. The show was often seen as the Italian counterpart to the radio show The Goldbergs, which chronicled the experience of Jewish immigrants in New York.

THIS EPISODE:

CBS network. Sustaining. Not auditioned. Luigi wants a driver's license. J. Carrol Naish, Alan Reed, Cy Howard (creator, producer), Mac Benoff (writer, director), Lou Derman (writer), Hans Conried, Mary Shipp, Joe Forte, Ken Peters, Jody Gilbert, Lyn Murray (music director). 29:14.

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Our Miss Brooks "Peanut The Great Dane" (05-22-49)

Sun, 24 May 2009 10:44:07 -0700

May 22, 1949. CBS network. Sponsored by: Palmolive Soap, Lustre Creme Shampoo, Palmolive Shave Cream. Miss Brooks finds herself in charge of "Peanuts," a huge Great Dane. Eve Arden, Verne Smith (announcer), Jane Morgan, Richard Crenna, Leonard Smith, Gale Gordon, Gloria McMillan, Jeff Chandler, Mary Jane Croft, Pinto Colvig, Larry Berns (producer), Al Lewis (director, writer), Wilbur Hatch (music), Bob Lemond (announcer). 29:45.

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Granby's Green Acres "Granby Lays An Egg" (07-31-50)

Tue, 19 May 2009 18:43:39 -0700

Granby's Green Acres - Broadcast History: July 3 - August 21, 1950, CBS. 30m, Mondays at 9:30. Cast: Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet as John and Martha Granby, ex-bank teller and wife who moved to the country to become farmers. Louise Erickson as Janice, their daughter. Parley Baer as Eb, the hired hand. Announcer: Bob LeMond Music: Opie Cates Writer-Producer-Director: Jay Sommers. Granby's Green Acres grew out of characters played by Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet on the Lucille Ball series My Favorite Husband. The names were changed, but the basic characters remained the same.

THIS EPISODE:

July 31, 1950. CBS network. "Mr. Granby Lays An Egg". Sustaining. The farm need chickens, so Granby buys two hundred of them, all roosters! Gale Gordon, Bea Benaderet, Parley Baer, Louise Erickson, Horace Murphy, Rye Billsbury, Jay Sommers (writer, director), Jack Harvey (writer), Dave Swift (writer), Opie Cates (composer, conductor), Johnny Jacobs (announcer). 29:43.

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The Beulah Show "2 Episodes" (03-23-53) and 10-09-53)

Sat, 16 May 2009 08:18:19 -0700

The Beulah Show is an American situation-comedy series that ran in radio on CBS from 1945 to 1954, and in television on ABC from 1950 to 1953. It is notable for being the first sitcom to star an African American. Originally portrayed by Caucasian actor Marlin Hurt, Beulah Brown first appeared in 1939 when Hurt introduced and played the character on the Hometown Incorporated radio series and in 1940 on NBC radio's Show Boat series. In 1943, Beulah moved over to That's Life and then became a supporting character on the popular Fibber McGee and Molly radio series in late 1944. In 1945, Beulah was spun off into her own radio show, The Marlin Hurt and Beulah Show, with Hurt still in the role. Beulah was employed as a housekeeper and cook for the Henderson family: father Harry, mother Alice and son Donnie. After Hurt died of a heart attack in 1946, he was replaced by another white actor, Bob Corley, and the series was retitled The Beulah Show. When black actress Hattie McDaniel took over the role on November 24, 1947, she earned $1000 a week for the first season, doubled the ratings of the original series and pleased the NAACP which was elated to see a historic first: a black woman as the star of a network radio program. McDaniel continued in the role until she became ill in 1952 and was replaced by Lillian Randolph, who was in turn replaced for the 1953-54 radio season by her sister, Amanda Randolph.

TODAY'S SHOW: The Building Permit (03-23-53) and Cutting Onions (10-09-53)

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The Amos & Andy Show "Sign On The Dotted Line" (03-10-44)

Tue, 12 May 2009 18:34:43 -0700

The Amos & Andy Show - Amos Jones and Andy Brown worked on a farm near Atlanta, Georgia, and during the episodes of the first week, they made plans to find a better life in Chicago, despite warnings from a friend. With four ham and cheese sandwiches and $24, they bought train tickets and headed for Chicago where they lived in a State Street rooming house and experienced some rough times before launching their own business, the Fresh Air Taxi Company. With the listening audience increasing in the spring and summer of 1928, the show's success prompted the Pepsodent Company to bring it to the NBC Blue Network on August 19, 1929. At this time the Blue Network was not heard on stations in the West. Western listeners complained to NBC, they wanted to hear the show. Under special arrangements Amos 'n' Andy debuted coast-to-coast November 28, 1929 on NBC's Pacific Orange Network and continued on the Blue. At the same time, the serial's central characters -- Amos, Andy and George "The Kingfish" Stevens -- relocated from Chicago to Harlem. Amos was naïve but honest, hard-working and (after his 1933 marriage to Ruby Taylor) a dedicated family man. Andy was more blustering, with overinflated self-confidence. Andy, being a dreamer, tended to let Amos do most of the work. Their lodge leader, the Kingfish, was always trying to lure the two into get-rich-quick schemes. Other characters included John Augustus "Brother" Crawford, an industrious but long-suffering family man; Henry Van Porter, a social-climbing real estate and insurance salesman; Frederick Montgomery Gwindell, a hard-charging newspaperman; William Lewis Taylor, the well-spoken, college-educated father of Amos's fiancee; and "Lightning", a slow-moving Stepin Fetchit-type character. The Kingfish's catch phrase "Holy mackerel!" soon entered the American lexicon.

THIS EPISODE:

March 10, 1944 - Sign On The Dotted Line - NBC network. Commercials deleted. Andy and Madame Queen are back together again, despite The Kingfish's plans to share the $600 windfall. The system cue has been deleted. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Harlow Wilcox (announcer). 26:40.

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The Great Gildersleeve - "Gildy In The Hospital" (01-09-44)

Sat, 09 May 2009 17:51:38 -0700

The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957), initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, [1] was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. Built around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest success in the 1940s. Actor Harold Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off and later in a quartet of feature films released at the height of the show's popularity. On Fibber McGee and Molly, Peary's Gildersleeve was a pompous windbag who became a consistent McGee nemesis. "You're a haa-aa-aa-aard man, McGee!" became a Gildersleeve catch phrase. The character was given several conflicting first names on Fibber McGee and Molly, and on one episode his middle name was revealed as Philharmonic. Gildy admits as much at the end of "Gildersleeve's Diary" on the Fibber McGee and Molly series (10/22/40). He soon became so popular that Kraft Foods — looking primarily to promote its Parkay margarine spread — sponsored a new series with Peary's Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve as the central, slightly softened, and slightly befuddled focus of a lively new family.

THIS EPISIODE:

January 9, 1944 - Gildy In The Hospital - NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Parkay, Kraft Mustards. Gildersleeve plans to stay in bed a little longer, and finds himself in the hospital! Harold Peary, John Whedon (writer), Sam Moore (writer), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Lurene Tuttle, Walter Tetley, Lillian Randolph, Shirley Mitchell, Earle Ross, Claude Sweeten (music director). 29:29.

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The Life of Riley "The Boss's Son-In-Law" (10-22-44)

Tue, 05 May 2009 19:14:18 -0700

THIS EPISODE:

October 22, 1944. "The Boss's Son-In-Law" - Blue network, KECA, Los Angeles aircheck. Sponsored by: American Meat Institute. Riley's boss is unhappy with his family situation. Riley tries to size up the new son-in-law. Not auditioned. William Bendix, John Brown, Ken Niles (announcer), Ken Christy, Barton Yarborough, Don Bernard (director), Lou Coslowe (music), Dink Trout. 29:32.

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The Burns & Alen Show "George Owes Phone Company Bill" (09-09-40)

Fri, 01 May 2009 20:48:45 -0700

THIS EPISODE:

September 9, 1940. NBC network. Sponsored by: Spam. George wants to pay a 25.00 Phone bill Gracie insists he dosen't pay and ends up costing him much more. Early redition of "I'll Never Smile Again". Bill Goodwin, Elliott Lewis, Gale Gordon, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Hans Conried, Meredith Willson and His Orchestra, Tobe Reed (announcer), Verna Felton. 29:32.

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The Jack Benny Program "Ghost Of Diamond Jim Brady" (08-15-54)

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:47:27 -0700

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Our Miss Brooks "Weighing Machine" (12-05-48

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:58:24 -0700

December 5, 1948. CBS network. Sponsored by: Palmolive Soap, Lustre Creme Shampoo, palmolive Shaving Cream. The Weighing Machine. Mrs. Davis tells Connie's fortune with tea leaves. A tall, dark man, make that 3 tall dark men are entering her life. Eve Arden, Verne Smith (commercial spokesman), Gloria Gordon, Gerald Mohr, Gloria McMillan, Hal March, Gale Gordon, Jeff Chandler, Richard Crenna, Larry Berns (producer), Al Lewis (writer, director), Wilbur Hatch (music), Bob Lemond (announcer). 29:47.

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Duffy's Tavern - Guest "Milton Berle" (01-05-43)

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:58:57 -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:

January 5, 1943 - Blue network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Zigfield Follies. Guest Milton Berle. Joe Venuti and His Orchestra (music fill), Carole Landis, Ed Gardner, Milton Berle, Clark Dennis, Helen Lynd, Peter Van Steeden and His Orchestra. 1/2 hour.

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Abbott & Costello "Department Store Job" (Claire Trevor) 05-11-44

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:15:12 -0700

Abbott and Costello Show - 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 11, 1944. Red network. Sponsored by: Camels. Costello has just returned from his uncle's farm, where he's been working. Costello gets a Mother's Day job at Beaglebottom's Department Store. Guest Claire Trevor visits the store to buy perfume. The final commercial and system cue have been deleted. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Freddie Rich and His Orchestra, Connie Haines, Ken Niles (announcer), Elvia Allman, Mel Blanc, Claire Trevor. 29:15.

The Great Gilderswleeve "Selling The Drug Store" (02-22-42)

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:28:04 -0700

The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957), initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. Built around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest success in the 1940s. Actor Harold Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off and later in a quartet of feature films released at the height of the show's popularity. On Fibber McGee and Molly, Peary's Gildersleeve was a pompous windbag who became a consistent McGee nemesis. "You're a haa-aa-aa-aard man, McGee!" became a Gildersleeve catch phrase. The character was given several conflicting first names on Fibber McGee and Molly, and on one episode his middle name was revealed as Philharmonic. Gildy admits as much at the end of "Gildersleeve's Diary" on the Fibber McGee and Molly series (10/22/40). He soon became so popular that Kraft Foods — looking primarily to promote its Parkay margarine spread — sponsored a new series with Peary's Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve as the central, slightly softened, and slightly befuddled focus of a lively new family.

THIS EPISIODE:

February 22, 1942. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Parkay, Kraft Dinner. Peavey's drug store up for sale. Harold Peary, Walter Tetley, Sam Moore (writer), John Whedon (writer), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Earle Ross, Lurene Tuttle, Shirley Mitchell, Lillian Randolph, Ben Alexander, Claude Sweeten (music director). 29:20

Amos & Andy "Easter Hat" (03-30-45)

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:03:48 -0700

THIS EPISODE:

March 30, 1945. CBS network. Sponsored by: Rexall. Sapphire is determined to get a new Easter outfit, but George suspects she's stolen a closet full of dresses. The date is subject to correction. A similar script was used on the show on December 28, 1952 and March 25, 1951, with Sapphire suspected of stealing a mink coat. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Lou Lubin, Jeff Alexander (music), Ernestine Wade, Johnny Lee, John Brown, Amanda Randolph, Verna Felton, Ken Niles (announcer), Joe Connelly (writer), Bob Mosher (writer), Bob Ross (writer), Griff Barnett (commercial spokesman). 29:38.

The Life Of Riley "Riley The Bookie" (12-02-49)

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:46:17 -0700

THIS EPISODE:

"Riley The Bookie" December 2, 1949 NBC network. Sponsored by: Teel. Junior is caught betting on the horses. What will be his fate? William Bendix, John Brown, Ken Carpenter (announcer), Paula Winslowe, Scotty Beckett, Lou Coslowe (music), Dink Trout, Sharon Douglas, Don Bernard (director). 29:22.

My Friend Irma "The Lonely Hearts Club" (01-26-48)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:25:23 -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:

"The Lonely Hearts Club" - January 26, 1948. CBS network. Sponsored by: Swan Soap ($100,000 fur contest), Spry. Not auditioned. Irma gives up on Al and joins a Lonely Hearts club. The script was subsequently used on "My Friend Irma" on January 27, 1952. Marie Wilson, Cathy Lewis, John Brown, Cy Howard (creator, producer, director, writer), Parke Levy (writer), Hans Conried, Frank Bingman (announcer). 30:12.

Burns & Allen Maxwell House Coffee Time "New Mink Coat" (02-05-48)

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:06:56 -0700

THIS EPISODE:

Maxwell House Coffee Time - February 5, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Maxwell House Coffee. The Maxwell House production number commercial is based on the song, "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning." Gracie wants a fur coat, so George is going hunting! Bill Goodwin, Elliott Lewis, Gale Gordon, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Hans Conried, Meredith Willson and His Orchestra, Tobe Reed (announcer), Verna Felton. 29:32.

The Jack Benny Jell-O Program "The Train Porter" (03-28-37)

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:19:51 -0700

The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny - Jack 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:

March 28, 1937. Red network, KFI, Los Angeles aircheck. Sponsored by: Jell-O. Jack is taking a cross-country train trip back to Los Angeles. This is Rochester's first appearance on the program (as a Pullman porter who first line is, "Yes, Mr. Bunny"). Kenny Baker sings, "Trust Me" (and hits a sour note!). Eddie Anderson, Andy Devine, Kenny Baker, Harry Baldwin, Pat C. Flick, Joe Franz (triples), John Gibson, Hilliard Marks, William Royale (doubles), Blanche Stewart, Jack Benny, Ed Beloin (writer), Bill Morrow (writer), Don Wilson, Phil Harris and His Orchestra, Verna Felton, Mary Livingstone. 30:02.

Our Miss Brooks "Movies At School" (11-14-54)

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:02:33 -0700

"Movies At School" - November 21, 1948. CBS network. Sponsored by: Palmolive Soap, Lustre Creme Shampoo, Colgate Toothpowder. Miss Brooks has been chosen "Model American School Teacher" by Snap Magazine. Verne Smith (announcer), Eve Arden. 1/2 hour.

The Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet "Jury Duty" (01-16-48)

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:45:28 -0700

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949, to June 18, 1954.The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, an American radio and television series, was once the longest-running, live-action situation comedy on American television, having aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966 after a ten-year run on radio. Starring Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Hilliard (she dropped her maiden name after the couple ended their music career), the show's sober, gentle humor captured a large, sustaining audience, although it never rated in the top ten programs, and later critics tended to dismiss it as fostering a slightly unrealistic picture of post-World War II American family life. When Skelton was drafted, Ozzie Nelson was prompted to create his own family situation comedy. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949, to June 18, 1954. In an arrangement that amplified the growing pains of American broadcasting, as radio "grew up" into television (as George Burns once phrased it), the Nelsons' deal with ABC gave the network itself the right to move the show to television whenever it wanted to do it---they wanted, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications, to have talent in the bullpen and ready to pitch, so to say, on their own network, rather than risk it defecting to CBS (where the Nelsons began) or NBC. Their sons, David and Ricky, did not join the cast until five years after the radio series began. The two boys felt frustrated at hearing themselves played by actors and continually requested they be allowed to portray themselves. Prior to April 1949, the role of David was played by Joel Davis (1944-45) and Tommy Bernard, and Henry Blair appeared as Ricky. Since Ricky was only nine years old when he began on the show, his enthusiasm outstripped his ability at script reading, and at least once he jumped a cue, prompting Harriet to say, "Not now, Ricky." Other cast members included John Brown as Syd "Thorny" Thornberry, Lurene Tuttle as Harriet's mother, Bea Benaderet as Gloria, Janet Waldo as Emmy Lou, and Dick Trout as Roger. Vocalists included Harriet Nelson, the King Sisters, and Ozzie Nelson. The announcers were Jack Bailey and Verne Smith. The music was by Billy May and Ozzie Nelson. The producers were Dave Elton and Ozzie Nelson.

Beulah "Summer Heat" (08-13-45)

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:46:50 -0700

THIS EPISODE:

August 13, 1945. CBS network, KNX, Los Ageles aircheck. Sponsored by: Tums. We're having a heat wave! Cleaning the basement and keeping cool. Marlin Hurt (triples), Carol Stewart, Albert Sack and His Orchestra, Phil Leslie (writer), Helen Mack (producer, director), John Brown, Katharine Carr, Jess Kirkpatrick, Ken Niles (announcer). 29:42.

The Great Gildersleeve "Leroy Makes Nitro" (12-27-42)

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:41:52 -0700

THIS EPISIODE:

December 27, 1942. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Parkay, Kraft Dinner. Gildersleeve gets a letter "S. W. A. K." from Leila Ransom, but he can't find a private place to read it. Then, there's Leroy's bottle of nitroglycerine! Arthur Q. Bryan, Billy Mills (composer, conductor), Earle Ross, Harold Peary, John Whedon (writer), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Lillian Randolph, Lurene Tuttle, Richard LeGrand, Verna Felton, Walter Tetley. 29:35.

Maxwell House CoffeeTime "Gracie Takes Up Crime Solving" (03-06-47)

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:45:05 -0800

Maxwell House Coffee Time (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.

THIS EPISODE:

March 6, 1947. NBC network. Sponsored by: Maxwell House Coffee. Not auditioned. Gracie's been listening to "The Tall Man" on the radio and wants to be a detective with George. George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bill Goodwin, Meredith Willson and His Orchestra, Lurene Tuttle, Elliott Lewis, Lou Merrill, Mel Blanc (as "The Postman"), Paul Henning (writer), Keith Fowler (writer). 28:42.

The Life Of Riley "Lay Offs" (09-08-45)

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:27:11 -0800

September 8, 1945. NBC network. Sponsored by: Teel. Riley gets a two week vacation with pay, but everyone thinks he's been fired! This is possibly the first show of the series sponsored by Teel. William Bendix, John Brown, Ken Carpenter (announcer), Paula Winslowe, Scotty Beckett, Lou Coslowe (music), Dink Trout, Sharon Douglas, Don Bernard (director). 29:22.

Duffy's Tavern "With Clifton Fadiman" (06-15-43)

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:17:47 -0800

THIS EPISODE:

June 15, 1943. Blue network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Guest Clifton Fadiman visits the Tavern and delivers Archie's lecture in contemporary literature. Tito Guizar sings. Part of the AFRS music fill and the system cue has been deleted. Clifton Fadiman, Ed Gardner, Tito Guizar, Shirley Booth, Peter Van Steeden and His Orchestra. 28:02.

My Friend Irma "The Reward" (12-01-47)

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:13:21 -0800

The Amos & Andy Show "One Step Ahead Of The Law" (06-16-44)

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:56:45 -0800

The Abbott & Costello Show "Bring 'Em Back Alive Costello" (12-12-46)

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:00:26 -0800

THIS EPISODE:

December 12, 1946. NBC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Pipe Tobacco. 10:00 P. M. Abbott and Costello go hunting. Don't miss the cast singing, "Bring 'Em Back Alive Costello." The show contains interesting special material and original music. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Skinnay Ennis and His Orchestra, Marilyn Maxwell (vocal), Jim Doyle (announcer). 29:27.

Our Miss Brooks "American Tragedy" (07-02-46)

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:41:50 -0800

July 2, 1946. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. Miss Brooks is planning a weekend alone with Mr. Boynton in the woods. Will it be an "American Tragedy?" Eve Arden, Jane Morgan, Richard Crenna, Gloria McMillan, Gale Gordon, Jeff Chandler, Lud Gluskin (music). 24:50.

Fibber McGee & Molly "Fixing Doc's Car" (04-06-48)

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:09:01 -0800

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.

THIS EPISODE:
April 6, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Johnson's Wax. Fibber decides to tune up Doc Gamble's car. The closet is heard. Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, The King's Men, Harlow Wilcox, Don Quinn (writer), Phil Leslie (writer), Arthur Q. Bryan, Gale Gordon, Bill Thompson. 29:12.

The Great Gildersleeve "Leroy Is Arrested" (03-17-46)

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 22:37:02 -0800

March 17, 1946. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Velveeta, Kraft Mustards. Leroy has been arrested...for stealing lumber! "The Jolly Boys" sing, "They Called It Ireland." A touching, well-written story. The script was repeated March 12, 1947, at the request of The Boy's Clubs Of America. Arthur Q. Bryan, Earle Ross, Harold Peary, Jack Meakin (music), John Laing (announcer), John Whedon (writer), Ken Christy, Lillian Randolph, Louise Erickson, Richard LeGrand, Sam Moore (writer). 29:28.

The Martin & Lewis Show "Guest Burt Lancaster" (08-09-49)

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:54:29 -0800

The Martin & Lewis Show - On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings. Their last film together was "Hollywood or Bust" (1956). On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team.

THIS EPISODE:

August 9, 1949. NBC network. Sustaining. Dean's first tune is "Darktown Strutter's Ball." The boys visit the circus and meet guest Burt Lancaster under the big top, where he's an acrobat. Jerry's a lion tamer and a trapeze artist! Burt Lancaster, Dick Stabile and His Orchestra, Flo McMichaels, Robert L. Redd (producer, director), Dick McKnight (writer), Ray Allen (writer), Mort Lachman (writer), Ben Alexander (announcer), Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis. 29:39.

The Life Of Riley "A Statue For The Piano" (09-27-47)

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:36:29 -0800

THIS EPISODE:
September 27, 1947. NBC network. Sponsored by: Prell, Ivory Snow. Riley buys a statue of Venus de Milo, with a clock and a radio in her stomach, lights in her hair, and a cigar lighter in her nose. She's just beautiful! The date above may not be accurate. William Bendix, Ken Carpenter (announcer), Alan Reed, John Brown, Barbara Eiler, Tommy Cook. 29:23.

Duffy's Tavern "Susan Hayward & Frank Buck" (07-25-43)

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:56:31 -0800

THIS EPISODE:

JULY 25, 1943. Program #19. Blue network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Archie the big game hunter. Don't miss Miss Duffy's version of, "Chant Of The Jungle." Frank Buck looks at Miss Duffy and remarks, "I'd never bring her back alive." Susan Hayward, Frank Buck, Clark Dennis (vocal), Ed Gardner, Shirley Booth, Peter Van Steeden and His Orchestra, Howard Duff (AFRS announcer), Charlie Cantor, Alan Reed. 30:05.

Raleigh Cigarette Program (Red Skelton) "It Pays To Look Well" (05-21-46)

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:56:55 -0800

The Raleigh Cigarette Program - After 1937 appearances on The Rudy Vallee Show, Skelton became a regular in 1939 on NBC's Avalon Time, sponsored by Avalon Cigarettes. On October 7, 1941, Skelton premiered his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program, developing routines involving a number of recurring characters, including punch-drunk boxer Cauliflower McPugg, inebriated Willie Lump-Lump and "mean widdle kid" Junior, whose favorite phrase ("I dood it!") became part of the American lexicon. There was con man San Fernando Red with his pair of crosseyed seagulls, Gertrude and Heathcliffe, and singing cabdriver Clem Kadiddlehopper, a country bumpkin with a big heart and a slow wit. Clem had an unintentional knack for upstaging high society slickers, even if he couldn't manipulate his cynical father: "When the stork brought you, Clem, I shoulda shot him on sight!" Skelton also helped sell WWII war bonds on the top-rated show, which featured Ozzie and Harriet Nelson in the supporting cast, plus the Ozzie Nelson Orchestra and announcer Truman Bradley. Harriet Nelson was the show's vocalist. It was during this period that Red divorced his first wife Edna and married his second wife Georgia. Red and Georgia's only child, son Richard, was born in 1945. Georgia continued in her role as Red's manager until the 1960s. Skelton was drafted in March 1944, and the popular series was discontinued June 6, 1944. Shipped overseas to serve with an Army entertainment unit as a private, Skelton had a nervous breakdown in Italy, spent three months in a hospital and was discharged in September 1945. He once joked about his military career, "I was the only celebrity who went in and came out a private." On December 4, 1945, The Raleigh Cigarette Program resumed where it left off with Skelton introducing some new characters, including Bolivar Shagnasty and J. Newton Numbskull. Lurene Tuttle and Verna Felton appeared as Junior's mother and grandmother. David Forrester and David Rose led the orchestra, featuring vocalist Anita Ellis. The announcers were Pat McGeehan and Rod O'Connor. The series ended May 20, 1949, and that fall he moved to CBS. Ironically, given that his peak of popularity came with his television show, in recent years recordings of the Red Skelton radio show have become much easier to come by than the TV show.

THIS EPISODE:

The Raleigh Cigarette Program Starring Red Skelton. May 21, 1946. NBC network. Sponsored by: Raleigh, Sir Walter Raleigh Tobacco. The Skelton Scrapbook of Satire: "Living Well." Chapter 134 "The Cowboy and The Tailor," with Deadeye. Chapter 135 "Home Tailoring," with "The Mean Widdle Kid." Red Skelton, Rod O'Connor, Anita Ellis, David Forrester and His Orchestra, GeGe Pearson, Pat McGeehan, Verna Felton. 29:31.

Maxwell House Burns & Alen "Harpo Marx Reporter" (05-09-46)

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:24:39 -0800

Maxwell House Coffee Time Burns and Allen Show 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.

THIS EPISODE:

May 9, 1946. NBC network. Sponsored by: Maxwell House Coffee, Jell-O Pudding. Gracie's planning to write a newspaper column about national affairs. Guest Harpo Marx is going to be her assistant (he's heard whistling and honking, not talking of course). Harp also plays, "Stardust." Not auditioned. George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bill Goodwin, Meredith Willson and His Orchestra, Mel Blanc, Harpo Marx. 29:56.

The Adventures Of Archie Andrews "The New TV Set" (05-21-49)

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:55:16 -0800

Archie Andrews, created in 1941 by Bob Montana, is a fictional character in an American comic book series published by Archie Comics, a long-run radio series, a syndicated comic strip and animation -- The Archie Show, a Saturday morning cartoon television series by Filmation, plus Archie's Weird Mysteries. Montana's characters were heard on radio in the early 1940s. Archie Andrews began on the Blue Network on May 31, 1943, switched to Mutual in 1944, and then continued on NBC from 1945 until September 5 1953. Archie was first played by Charles Mullen, Jack Grimes and Burt Boyar, with Bob Hastings as the title character during the NBC years.The sponsor was Swift Products. The Cast: Harlan Stone, Alice Yourman, Arthur Kohl, Gloria Mann, Rosemary Rice.

THIS EPISODE:

May 21, 1949. NBC network. Sustaining. Mr. Andrews has purchased a new television. When the family tries to watch a program, complications result. The concept of watching a television in your is treated as a novelty. Bob Hastings, Harlan Stone, Alice Yourman, Smith Hall (?), Gloria Mann, Rosemary Rice, John McGovern, Kenneth MacGregor (producer, director), Dick Dudley (announcer), Carl Jampel (writer). 30:03.

Our Miss Brooks "Rumours" (07-31-49)

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:31:13 -0800

July 31, 1949. CBS network. Sponsored by: Palmolive Soap, Lustre Creme Shampoo, Colgate Tooth Powder. Rumor has it that Miss Brooks is leaving Madison High and going to move to Connecticut! The story has an interesting tie-in with the winner of a Colgate sweepstakes. The program may be dated July 1, 1949. Eve Arden, Gale Gordon, Jane Morgan, Richard Crenna, Verne Smith (announcer), Gloria McMillan, Jeff Chandler, Wilbur Hatch (music), Al Lewis (writer, director), Larry Berns (producer), Gloria Blondell, Bob Lemond (announcer). 29:42.

The Abbott & Costello Show "Making A Movie" (02-17-44)

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:16:53 -0800

The Amos & Andy Show "Christmas Show" (12-19-54)

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:51:56 -0800

THIS EPISODE:

December 22, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Rinso. The program's traditional Christmas show. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, The Paul Taylor Chorus, Harlow Wilcox (announcer). 29:40.

My Friend Irma "Christmas Party" (12-22-47)

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:33:26 -0800

The Burns & Allen Show "Gracie's Christmas Dream" (12-24-41)

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:47:01 -0800

Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet "Christmas Gifts" (12-19-48)

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:28:43 -0800

Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet - The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949, to June 18, 1954.The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, an American radio and television series, was once the longest-running, live-action situation comedy on American television, having aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966 after a ten-year run on radio. Starring Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Hilliard (she dropped her maiden name after the couple ended their music career), the show's sober, gentle humor captured a large, sustaining audience, although it never rated in the top ten programs, and later critics tended to dismiss it as fostering a slightly unrealistic picture of post-World War II American family life. When Skelton was drafted, Ozzie Nelson was prompted to create his own family situation comedy. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949, to June 18, 1954. In an arrangement that amplified the growing pains of American broadcasting, as radio "grew up" into television (as George Burns once phrased it), the Nelsons' deal with ABC gave the network itself the right to move the show to television whenever it wanted to do it---they wanted, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications, to have talent in the bullpen and ready to pitch, so to say, on their own network, rather than risk it defecting to CBS (where the Nelsons began) or NBC. Their sons, David and Ricky, did not join the cast until five years after the radio series began. The two boys felt frustrated at hearing themselves played by actors and continually requested they be allowed to portray themselves. Prior to April 1949, the role of David was played by Joel Davis (1944-45) and Tommy Bernard, and Henry Blair appeared as Ricky. Since Ricky was only nine years old when he began on the show, his enthusiasm outstripped his ability at script reading, and at least once he jumped a cue, prompting Harriet to say, "Not now, Ricky." Other cast members included John Brown as Syd "Thorny" Thornberry, Lurene Tuttle as Harriet's mother, Bea Benaderet as Gloria, Janet Waldo as Emmy Lou, and Dick Trout as Roger. Vocalists included Harriet Nelson, the King Sisters, and Ozzie Nelson. The announcers were Jack Bailey and Verne Smith. The music was by Billy May and Ozzie Nelson. The producers were Dave Elton and Ozzie Nelson.

THIS EPISODE:
December 19, 1948. NBC net. Sponsored by: International Silver. Ozzie and Harriet decide to be "sensible" this year and not give Christmas presents. The program runs late and is cut off the air by NBC. Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Hilliard, Verne Smith (announcer), Tommy Bernard, Henry Blair, Billy May (composer, conductor). 29:28.

Jack Paar Show "With Jack Benny" (08-17-47)

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:12:54 -0800

Television and radio pioneer Jack Paar has been called the most imitated personality in broadcasting. He virtually created the late-night talk show format as the host of The Tonight Show , one of television's longest continuously running programs. The Washington Post said, "Jack Paar was genuine, and the footprints he left on the loony moonscape of television are enormous; they will be there forever." As the stars of stage and screen were rising around him, Paar was becoming an icon himself, on television sets in the homes of millions of Americans across the country. During the Golden Age of television, Paar was its golden boy, charming guests and viewers alike. From 1957 to 1962, Paar was the king of late-night television as host of The Tonight Show, which NBC eventually renamed The Jack Paar Show. He turned it from a typical variety format into something very different. With a rare combination of intelligence, irreverence and intuition, he invented a new genre of programming that would become ubiquitous to television.Paar helped launch the careers of such performers as Carol Burnett, Woody Allen and Liza Minnelli, but his guests weren't limited to the glitterati. He discussed religion with Billy Graham, visited Albert Schweitzer in Africa, and talked politics with Richard Nixon, all before the transfixed eyes of the American television audience.

The Life Of Riley "17th Anniversary" (11-08-47)

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:59:52 -0800

THIS EPISODE:
November 8, 1947. NBC network. Sponsored by: Prell Shampoo, Ivory Snow. Not auditioned. Junior and Babs plan an anniversary party for their parents. William Bendix, Irving Brecher (producer, director), Ken Carpenter (announcer), Alan Lipscott (writer), Reuben Ship (writer), Paula Winslowe, John Brown. 29:44.

Duffy's Tavern "Archie Wants To Patent Electricity" (02-23-49)

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:13:19 -0800

THIS EPISODE:

February 23, 1949. NBC network origination, Nostalgia Broadcasting Corporation syndication. Commercials added locally. Slippery McGuire sells Archie a patent on electricity! Alan Reed appears as "Slippery McGuire." Ed Gardner, Eddie Green, Charlie Cantor, Alan Reed, Gloria Erlanger. 24:20.

Abbott & Costello Show "Christmas Shopping" (12-14-44)

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:38:00 -0800

THIS EPISODE:
December 14, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert. Bud and Lou take a trolley downtown to go Christmas shopping. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Freddie Rich and His Orchestra, Connie Haines, Ken Niles (announcer), Mel Blanc, Artie Auerbach. 29:34.

The Milton Berle Show "Salute To Women" (02-24-48)

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:10:50 -0800

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. His last radio series was The Texaco Star Theater, which began September 22, 1948 on ABC and continued until June 15, 1949, with Berle heading the cast of Stang, Kelton and Gallop, along with Charles Irving, Kay Armen and double-talk specialist Al Kelly. It employed top comedy writers (Nat Hiken, brothers Danny and Neil Simon, Aaron Ruben), and Berle later recalled this series as "the best radio show I ever did... a hell of a funny variety show." It served as a springboard for Berle's rise as television's first major star.

The Great Gildersleeve "The Fortune Teller" (03-01-42)

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:47:10 -0800

March 1, 1942. NBC network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. Gildersleeve offers to help in fund raising and is minipulated into becoming a Fortune Teller. Andy White (writer), Bud Hiestand (announcer), Earle Ross, Jack Meakin (music), John Elliotte (writer), Lillian Randolph, Marylee Robb, Richard LeGrand, Walter Tetley, Willard Waterman. 28:38.

Fibber McGee & Molly "Stock In The Transit Co" (10-4-52)

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:22:12 -0800

THIS EPISODE:
October 14, 1952. NBC network. Sponsored by: Reynolds Aluminum. Fibber has purchased a share of stock in the Wistful Vista Transit Company. He and Molly tour their new holdings. Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Harlow Wilcox, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, The King's Men, Phil Leslie (writer), Keith Fowler (writer), Max Hutto (director), Bill Thompson, Richard LeGrand, Arthur Q. Bryan, Marvin Miller, Betty Moran, Theodore Von Eltz. 29:33.

The Amos & Andy Show "Radio & TV Delivery Job" (04-04-54)

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:00:01 -0800

The Amos 'n' Andy Show - 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:
April 4, 1954. CBS network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Television Job". The Kingfish gets Andy into the TV repair business. After disaster strikes, Andy tells it to the judge whose nickname is, "Twenty-Year Johnson." See cat. #92217 for a network, sponsored version of this broadcast. Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Jeff Alexander (music), Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Joe Connelly (writer), Bob Mosher (writer), Ernestine Wade, Johnny Lee, Amanda Randolph, Cliff Howell (director), Tommy Moore, Jean Vander Pyl, Will Wright, Ken Christy. 25 minutes.

You Bet Your Life "Secret Word Is Name" (12-28-49)

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:04:31 -0800

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:
12-28-49 NBC network Sponsored by: Elgin-American. One of the contestants is tackle for the Green Bay Packards". Secret Word "Name." The system cue is added live. Groucho Marx, George Fenneman (announcer), Mike Wallace (commercial spokesman, billed as "Myron Wallace"), Robert Dwan (director), Bernie Smith (director), Jerry Fielding (music), John Guedel (producer), Henrietta Adair. 30:12.

My Friend Irma "Irma Wins A Trip To England" (05-26-53)

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:50:12 -0800

My Friend Irma - In 1947 Marie Wilson starred in the radio sitcom "," throughout its radio run, in a 1952-54 television series and in two films that introduced the new comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Her open, grinning face belying her age, Wilson continued doing her dumb-blonde act into the 1960s, starring in summer stock and dinner-theater productions of Born Yesterday and appearing in commercials. Marie Wilson's last TV assignment was a voice-over role in the 1970 animated cartoon series Where's Huddles?; two years later, she died of cancer at the age of 56. Marie Wilson is, of course, Irma Peterson. The "friend" narrator Jane is played by Cathy Lewis (wife of Elliot Lewis, "Remley" on Phil Harris/Alice Faye Show). John Brown is Irma's boyfriend Al. Professor Kropotkin is played by the hilarious Hans Conreid. Irma's boss, Mr. Clyde, is played by Alan Reed.

THIS EPISODE:
May 26, 1953. CBS net origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. "Coronation Show". Irma has won an all-expense-paid trip to England. Marie Wilson, Mary Shipp, Cy Howard (creator), Gloria Gordon, John Brown. 25:18.

The Abbott & Costello Show "Visit To A Sanitarium" (01-13-44)

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:45:12 -0800

The Clitheroe Kid "Thinking About A Holiday" (06-27-71)

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:39:40 -0800

The Clitheroe Kid was James Robertson Clitheroe, Jimmy Clitheroe to most, who by some strange coincidence did come from the town of that name without having to change his family name! At his full height he was 4ft 3in, and played the naughty schoolboy from 1958 to 1972. Although plausable from a distance, he was not really able to pass himself off as a youngster close up, so a TV career did not really take off too well, but at the peak of his fame the radio show was raking in about 10 million listeners, although by the end this had dropped to a tenth of that figure. Clitheroe was a very private person, and the shows became a sort of escape for him, as well as the release from the worries of his diminutive size, but despite this, his popularity increased and increased, making this series one of the longer running on the radio - a total of 17 series. It is surprising then that with such a success, and with such a long run that the shows are rarely broadcast. The humour was very obvious and probably wouldn't stand up in todays climes, but there has been one release from the BBC radio collection, so if you wanted to hear some of the shows, you can hunt this down in the shops. I would like to thank Tony Lang for the following information about the series. I do not have any of this series on tape myself, so if anyone has comments to make I would be most grateful. The scripts were generally written by James Casey and Frank Roscoe, with the shows production by James Casey. The series sprang from a single show broadcast on 24-4-56 as part of a Variety Playhouse series The pilot series did not have individual names for the episodes. The producer was Geoff Lawrence, with the music supplied by the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra, conducted by Alyn Ainsworth, and broadcast in the North of England only.

The cast consisted of Jimmy Clitheroe, Eddie Leslie (1-6), Peter Sinclair (1-3, 5-10), Judith Chalmers (2-10), Rosalie Williams (2, 5-6, 8), Fred Fairclough (2), Brian Truman (3,10), John Broadbent 3), Bob Monkhouse (4), Jack Watson (4), Herbert Smith (4,8), Jack Howarth (5, 7-8, 10), Fred Ferris (5, 7-10), Shirley King (6), Violet Carson (7-8, 10), Tom Harrison (9-10), Patrick Wells (9)

The Jack Benny Show (Jello Program) "Alexander Graham Bell" (05-28-39)

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:56:08 -0800

Jack 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:

The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny. May 28, 1939. Red net. Sponsored by: Jell-O. Kenny sings, "Melancholy Moon." The cast does its version of, "Alexander Graham Bell." Phil sings, "Snug As A Bug In A Rug." Don Wilson, Jack Benny, Kenny Baker, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris and His Orchestra, Eddie Anderson, Sam Hearn, Harry Baldwin, Ed Beloin (writer, performer), Bill Morrow (writer), Blanche Stewart (doubles). 29:35.

The Amos & Andy Show "Andy The Sailor" (05-25-45)

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:20:54 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
May 25, 1945. NBC network. Commercials deleted. Andy impersonates a sailor and is lucky enough to be the millionth visitor to the "Harlem Canteen." Harlow Wilcox (announcer), Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll. 27 minutes.

The Life Of Riley "Football Pool Card" (11-01-47)

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:25:47 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
November 1, 1947. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Junior picks a pretty good football pool, which gets Riley a promotion. The date is subject to correction. William Bendix. 1/2 hour.

The Abbott & Costello Show "Spanish Acting School" (05-03-45)

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:28:46 -0700

The Abbott and Costello Show - 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 3, 1945. NBC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert. Costello wants to become a dramatic actor from Brazil...another Carmen Veranda! Bob Matthews (an ex-aerial gunner) sings for the first time on the show (and sounds like an off-key Mel Torme). Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Will Osborne and His Orchestra, Bob Matthews, Connie Haines, Ken Niles (announcer), Mel Blanc. 29:28.

My Favorite Husband "The Quiz Show" (10-23-48)

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:59:25 -0700

My Favorite Husband began as a radio sitcom on CBS Radio. The show starred Lucille Ball and Richard Denning as Liz and George Cooper (Liz and George Cugat in early episodes). The couple lived at 321 Bundy Drive in the ficticious city of Sheridan Falls, and were billed as "two people who live together and like it." The main sponsor was Jell-O, and an average of 3 "plugs" for Jell-O were made in each episode. The program ran from 1948 through 1951, throughout which 124 episodes were aired. The program initially portrayed the couple as being a well-to-do banker and his socially prominent wife. Shortly into the show's run, three new writers, Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and Jess Oppenheimer took over the scripting tasks, and the characterization of the couple was altered somewhat. Along with the change of the couple's last name to Cooper, the couple was also portrayed as being more middle-class, and thus more accessible to the average listener. When Lucille Ball was asked to do a television version of the show (with Jell-O remaining as sponsor), CBS insisted on Richard Denning continuing as her co-star. However, she said that she would not do a husband-and-wife sitcom without her real-life husband Desi Arnaz being the husband. The network reluctantly agreed to this (thus reworking the concept into "I Love Lucy"), but Jell-O dropped out. However the three radio writers did agree to do the switch to the "I Love Lucy" show. Many of the "My Favorite Husband" radio episodes were subsequently reworked into I Love Lucy episodes, especially early in the TV show's run. For example, the 1948 radio episode entitled "Quiz Show" inspired the I Love Lucy episode called "Redecorating," with some lines being exactly the same. Many of the actors who had done the "My Favorite Husband" radio show also appeared on "I Love Lucy", sometimes in episodes where they reprised their roles using a reworked "Husband" script.

THIS EPISODE:
March 18, 1949. CBS network origination, AFRTS rebroadcast. Liz thinks she's gotten a call from a radio quiz show and won the jackpot. So of course, she sells the car and furniture. Lucille Ball, Richard Denning, Gale Gordon, Frank Nelson, Isabel Scott Rorick (creator). 25 minutes.

The Martin & Lewis Show "Guest William Boyd" (08-02-49)

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:50:19 -0700

The Martin and Lewis Show - On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings. Their last film together was "Hollywood or Bust" (1956). On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team.

THIS EPISODE:
August 2, 1949. NBC network. Sustaining. Dean's first tune is "Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue." Dean, Jerry, and Soapy Leonard go on vacation to the High Sierras, where they meet guest William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy). Sheldon Leonard, William Boyd, Sy Rose (writer), Mort Lachman (writer), Dick Stabile and His Orchestra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Flo McMichaels, Robert L. Redd (producer, director), Dick McKnight (writer), Ray Allen (writer), Ben Alexander (announcer). 29:38.

Lum & Abner "Three Episodes" (02-18-53) (02-19-53) (02-20-53)

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:45:31 -0700

Lum and Abner , The Adventures of two small town shop keepers in the Town of Pine Ridge Arkansas Lum and Abner were Broadcast from 1931 until 1954. Lauck and Goff had known each other since childhood and attended the University of Arkansas together (joining the Sigma Chi Fraternity together while there). They performed locally and established a blackface act which led to an audition at radio station KTHS in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Prior to the audition, the two men decided to change their act and portray two hillbillies, since there were already an overabundance of blackface acts at the time. After only a few shows in Hot Springs, they were picked up nationally by NBC, and Lum and Abner, sponsored by Quaker Oats, ran until 1932. Lauck and Goff performed several different characters, modeling many of them after real-life residents of Waters, Arkansas. After the Quaker contract expired, Lauck and Goff continued to broadcast over two Texas stations, WBAP (Fort Worth) and WFAA (Dallas). In 1933, Ford Motor Company became their sponsor for approximately a year. Horlick's Malted Milk, the 1934-37 sponsor, offered a number of promotional premium items, including almanacs and fictional Pine Ridge newspapers. During this period, the show originated from Chicago's WGN, one of the founding members of the Mutual Broadcasting System. In 1936, the city council of Waters changed the town's name to Pine Ridge. Postum cereal sponsored Lum and Abner in 1938-39, before Alka-Seltzer picked up the duo for eight years. Over the course of its life, Lum and Abner appeared on all of the major radio networks, CBS and ABC (formerly NBC Blue), in addition to NBC and Mutual. Starring: CHESTER LAUCK [1902-1980] AND NORRIS "TUFFY" GOFF [1906-1978] CHET PLAYED LUM EDWARDS (EDDERDS),GRAND-PAPPY SPEARS, AND CEDRIC WEEHUNT. TUFFY PLAYED ABNER PEABODY DICK HUDDLESTONE MOUSEY GRAY AND SQUIRE SKIMP ALONG WITH MOST OF THE OTHER PEOPLE PASSING THROUGH TOWN.

TODAY'S SHOW: 02-18-53 "Abner Has AShort-Wave Transceiver" 02-19-53 "Starting A Radio Station" 02-20-53 "Cedric Tries To Tune In The Boys On Their Radio Station".

Fibber McGee & Molly "The One Hundred Thousand Dollar Stamp" (11-14-50)

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:47:29 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
November 14, 1950. NBC network. Sponsored by: Pet Milk. Fibber begins a search for a rare postage stamp worth $100,000! Harlow Wilcox, Bill Thompson, Gale Gordon, The King's Men, Billy Mills and His Orchestra, Richard LeGrand, Danny Richards Jr., Don Quinn (writer), Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Phil Leslie (writer), Max Hutto (director). 29:29.

The Life Of Riley "The Geiger Counter" (10-14-49)

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:17:58 -0700

My Friend Irma "Bon Voyage" (05-10-48)

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:10:33 -0700

The Amos & Andy Show "Ink Flow Company" (12-01-44)

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:42:25 -0700

The Amos 'n' Andy Show 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:
December 1, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Rinso, Lifebuoy. Andy and The Kingfish are selling "Ink-Flow" pens in competition with none other than Miss Blue (of "Buzz Me Miss Blue" fame)! Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll sing the Rinso jingle as "Amos 'n' Andy." Charles Correll, Freeman Gosden, Harlow Wilcox (announcer), James Basquette, Lou Lubin, Madeline Lee. 30:02.

Our Miss Brooks "The Frog" (02-20-49)

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:35:17 -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:
February 20, 1949. CBS network. Sponsored by: Palmolive Soap, Lustre Creme Shampoo, Palmolive Shave Cream. (Gold Rush contest) Miss Brooks decides to get a girl frog for Mr. Boynton's pet frog, MacDougal. Eve Arden, Richard Crenna, Gloria McMillan, Bob Lemond (announcer), Verne Smith (announcer), Jane Morgan, Jeff Chandler, Al Lewis (writer, director), Wilbur Hatch (music), Gerald Mohr, Gale Gordon, Larry Berns (producer). 29:47.

The Great Gildersleeve "Back Yard Camping" (07-16-52)

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:40:39 -0700

You Bet Your Life "Secret Word Is Door" (03-01-50)

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:50:45 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
March 1, 1950. NBC network. Sponsored by: Elgin-American. The secret word is "Door". 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.

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet "March 3rd Dilemna" (03-02-47)

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:03:36 -0700

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949, to June 18, 1954.The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, an American radio and television series, was once the longest-running, live-action situation comedy on American television, having aired on ABC from 1952 to 1966 after a ten-year run on radio. Starring Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Hilliard (she dropped her maiden name after the couple ended their music career), the show's sober, gentle humor captured a large, sustaining audience, although it never rated in the top ten programs, and later critics tended to dismiss it as fostering a slightly unrealistic picture of post-World War II American family life. When Skelton was drafted, Ozzie Nelson was prompted to create his own family situation comedy. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet launched on CBS October 8, 1944, making a mid-season switch to NBC in 1949. The final years of the radio series were on ABC (the former NBC Blue Network) from October 14, 1949, to June 18, 1954. In an arrangement that amplified the growing pains of American broadcasting, as radio "grew up" into television (as George Burns once phrased it), the Nelsons' deal with ABC gave the network itself the right to move the show to television whenever it wanted to do it---they wanted, according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications, to have talent in the bullpen and ready to pitch, so to say, on their own network, rather than risk it defecting to CBS (where the Nelsons began) or NBC. Their sons, David and Ricky, did not join the cast until five years after the radio series began. The two boys felt frustrated at hearing themselves played by actors and continually requested they be allowed to portray themselves. Prior to April 1949, the role of David was played by Joel Davis (1944-45) and Tommy Bernard, and Henry Blair appeared as Ricky. Since Ricky was only nine years old when he began on the show, his enthusiasm outstripped his ability at script reading, and at least once he jumped a cue, prompting Harriet to say, "Not now, Ricky." Other cast members included John Brown as Syd "Thorny" Thornberry, Lurene Tuttle as Harriet's mother, Bea Benaderet as Gloria, Janet Waldo as Emmy Lou, and Dick Trout as Roger. Vocalists included Harriet Nelson, the King Sisters, and Ozzie Nelson. The announcers were Jack Bailey and Verne Smith. The music was by Billy May and Ozzie Nelson. The producers were Dave Elton and Ozzie Nelson.

THIS EPISODE:
March 3rd Dilemna - March 2, 1947. ABC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. Not auditioned. School report card day. Some good, some not so good. Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Hilliard, David Nelson, Ricky Nelson, Verne Smith (announcer), John Brown. 25:31.

The Real McCoys-"The Matchmaker" (1-23-58)

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:48:37 -0700

The Matchmaker adapted for radio aired on January 23,1958. The Real McCoys was a situation comedy that aired on the ABC network from 1957 through 1962. It aired for one more season on CBS before its end in 1963. The series revolved around the lives of a mountain family who originally hailed from West Virginia. The McCoys moved to California where they became dirt farmers. The family consisted of Grampa Amos McCoy, the head of the family played by Walter Brennan, his grandson Luke played by Richard Crenna, Luke's new bride Kate played by Kathleen Nolan, teenage sister Hassie played be Lydia Reed, and 11-year-old brother Little Luke played by Michael Winkelman. The Real McCoys paved the way for such rural hits as The Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show.

*Show notes from The Old Time Radio Researchers Group

Abbott & Costello "Matrimonial Agency" (10-26-44)

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:53:26 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
October 26, 1944. NBC network. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert. Costello's cousin Hugo has gotten married. The boys plan to open a matrimonial agency. Costello's "kid brother" Sebastian (played by Costello) pretends to be Abbott's son. Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Freddie Rich and His Orchestra, Connie Haines, Paul Giles (trumpet), Ken Niles (announcer), Artie Auerbach, Dick Mack (director). 29:30.

The Martin & Lewis Show "Jane Russell" (12-14-51)

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:57:51 -0700

The Martin and Lewis Show - On July 25, 1946, Jerry began a show business partnership with Dean Martin, an association that would soon skyrocket both to fame. It started when Jerry was performing at the 500 Club in Atlantic City and one of the other entertainers quit suddenly. Lewis, who had worked with Martin at the Glass Hat in New York City, suggested Dean as a replacement. At first they worked separately, but then ad-libbed together, improvising insults and jokes, squirting seltzer water, hurling bunches of celery and exuding general zaniness. In less than eighteen weeks their salaries soared from $250.00 a week to $5,000.00. For ten years Martin and Lewis sandwiched sixteen money making films between nightclub engagements, personal appearances, recording sessions, radio shows, and television bookings. Their last film together was "Hollywood or Bust" (1956). On July 25th of that year the two made their last nightclub appearance together at the Copacabana, exactly ten years to the day since they became a team.

THIS EPISODE:
August 30, 1949. NBC network. Sustaining. Dean's first tune is, "Your Lips Tell Me No, No, But There's Yes, Yes, In Your Eyes." After Florence quits, Dean and Jerry hire guest Jane Russell to be their new secretary. Don't miss the line where Jerry says "I'd know Jane Russell if I were within a hundred yards of her...blindfolded!" At this point, the audience cracks up! Jane Russell, Dick Stabile and His Orchestra, Flo McMichaels, Ben Alexander (announcer), Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Robert L. Redd (producer, director), Dick McKnight (writer), Ray Allen (writer), Mort Lachman (writer), Sy Rose (writer), Sheldon Leonard. 29:37.

My Friend Irma "Irma's Boss Buys A Race Horse" (06-02-53)

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:50:49 -0700

Amos & Andy "The Census Taker" (04-16-50)

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:07:31 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
The Amos 'n' Andy Show. April 16, 1950. CBS network. Sponsored by: Rinso. The Kingfish appoints Andy an official census taker. A woman thinks Andy's going to rob her, the Kingfish dreams that he's going to the "chair!" Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Lou Lubin, Ernestine Wade, Johnny Lee, Willard Waterman, Jean Vander Pyl, Roy Glenn, Jeff Alexander (music), Ken Carpenter (announcer). 29:48.

The Life Of Riley "Junior Quits School" (09-22-45)

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:55:05 -0700

Blondie "The Gypsy Queen" (04-22-40)

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:24:14 -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:

April 22, 1940. CBS network. Sponsored by: Camels. Not auditioned. Dagwood has bought a trailer and names it, "The Gypsy Queen". Arthur Lake, Penny Singleton, Bill Goodwin (announcer), Leone LeDoux, Hanley Stafford, Ashmead Scott (writer, director), Billy Artz (conductor). 29:32.

The Great Gildersleeve "Gildy Gets Eyeglasses" (02-11-48)

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:45:08 -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:
February 11, 1948. NBC network. Sponsored by: Kraft Parkay (jingle), Kraft Dinner. Gildersleeve gets a pair of glasses, even though he really doesn't need them! Oh yeah? Lillian Randolph (as "Birdie") joins announcer John Wald in one of the commercials. Andy White (writer), Bea Benaderet, Earle Ross, Harold Peary, John Elliotte (writer), John Wald (announcer), Lillian Randolph, Louise Erickson, Richard LeGrand, Walter Tetley. 29:31.

Fibber McGee & Molly "The Gildersleeve Memory Course" (03-14-39)

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:26:26 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
March 14, 1939. NBC network. Sponsored by: Johnson's Wax. Molly does not appear. Fibber takes a memory course and promptly forgets where he put a ten carat diamond! Jim Jordan, Harold Peary, Isabel Randolph, Mel Blanc, Bill Thompson, Harlow Wilcox, Billy Mills and His Orchestra. 1/2 hour.

You Bet Your Life "Secret Word Is Food" (09-21-59)

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:02:50 -0700

You Bet Your Life - Groucho Marx matches wits with the American public in 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:
September 21, 1959. NBC network. Sponsored by: Elgin-American. The secret word is "Food". 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.

The Jack Benny Program "Last Night At The Kern Theater" (05-10-53)

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:32:31 -0700

The Jack Benny Program - 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:

From San Francisco at the Kern Theater. The cast discusses their time in San Francisco, on this, the last of three consecutive shows from the city. United States mints are used as a running gag in this episode, as is Don Wilson's "I carry a lot of weight in this town" bit. Rochester calls from Sausilito, doing nothing, the "main industry" there. The cimmaron roll bit is referenced. "Your Mother and Mine" - Dennis Day; "Chinatown, My Chinatown" - The Sportsmen Quartet. Special Guest: Lt. Governer Goodwin Knight.

The Abbott & Costello Show "New Press Agent" (03-08-45)

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:13:59 -0700

THIS EPISODE:
New Press Agent - March 8, 1945 - NBC net. Sponsored by: Camels, Prince Albert Pipe Tobacco. Costello gets a new press agent. 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.

The Amos & Andy Show "Raiding The Piggy Bank" (09-09-47)

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:58:59 -0700

THIS EPISODE:

September 30, 1947. Program #72. NBC network origination, AFRS rebroadcast. "Piggy Bank Show". The Stevens' twenty fifth anniversary piggy bank is empty and must be refilled...quickly! Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Jeff Alexander and His Orchestra, The Jubalaires, James Basquette, Eddie Green, Ernestine Wade, Art Gilmore (nouncer). 30:09.

Father Knows Best "Time For A New Car" (06-08-50)

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:23:36 -0700

Father Knows Best, a family comedy of the 1950s, is perhaps more important for what it has come to represent than for what it actually was. In essence, the series was one of a slew of middle-class family sitcoms in which moms were moms, kids were kids, and fathers knew best. Today, many critics view it, at best, as high camp fun, and, at worst, as part of what critic David Marc once labeled the "Aryan melodramas" of the 1950s and 1960s. The brainchild of series star Robert Young, who played insurance salesman Jim Anderson, and producer Eugene B. Rodney, Father Knows Best first debuted as a radio sitcom in 1949. In the audio version the title of the show ended with a question mark, suggesting that father's role as family leader and arbiter was dubious. The partner's production company, Rodney-Young Enterprises, transplanted the series to television in 1954--without the questioning marker--where it ran until 1963, appearing at various times on each of the three networks. Young and Rodney, friends since 1935, based the series on experiences each had with wives and children; thus, to them, the show represented "reality." Indeed, careful viewing of each of the series' 203 episodes reveals that the title was actually more figurative than literal. Despite the lack of an actual question mark, father didn't always know best. Jim Anderson could not only lose his temper, but occasionally be wrong. Although wife Margaret Anderson, played by Jane Wyatt, was stuck in the drudgery of domestic servitude, she was nobody's fool, often besting her husband and son, Bud (played by Billy Gray). Daughter Betty Anderson (Elinor Donahue)--known affectionately to her father as Princess--could also take the male Andersons to task, as could the precocious Kathy (Lauren Chapin), the baby of the family.

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

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

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

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

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.