THE GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO

 

Dear George, 

We didn’t get television in our house until I was a freshman in college. Instead my siblings and I would gather on the window seat in our living room and listen to a bevy radio programs. We didn’t know it at the time, but the late 1940’s were part of the Golden Age of Radio, particularly in terms of comedy. Here are some of my favorites. 

THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM. The Jack Benny Program, which ran from 1932 to 1955, was my favorite. I still have good feelings whenever I think about it. The show opened with Don Wilson doing a commercial for Jell-O or Grape Nuts Flakes and then introducing Jack as the “master of ceremonies”. Gradually Mary Livingstone, Jack’s girlfriend (and actually his real wife Sayde Marks Benny), bandleader Phil Harris, and tenor Dennis Day would “walk on” to join in the conversation. This would involve running jokes like Jack’s feud with Fred Allen, his stinginess or his age (39); Phil’s drunkenness; Don’s obesity; or Dennis’s stupidity. At some point Jack would ask Dennis to do a song. Then the show would be devoted to a comedy sketch. Jack might get a phone call from his valet, Rochester, reporting some problem at his home. Or there would be a mini-play or a satire of a current movie. Finally the band would play a musical number, and Don Wilson would do a final commercial. Just 30 minutes, we always wished it would go on forever. 

THE FRED ALLEN SHOW. The Fred Allen Show came right after the Benny Show at 8:30 on Sunday nights on NBC. Benny and Allen were best of friends, but their make-believe exchange of insults on the air was so convincing that listeners were likely to think they were deadly enemies. The highlight of Fred Allen’s show was his stroll down the imaginary Allen’s Alley. There he met Mrs. Pansy Nussbaum in her Brooklyn tenement; pompous poets Falstaff Openshaw, Humphrey Titter, and Thorndyle Swinburne; farmer Titus Moody; and boisterous Southern senator Beauregard Claghorn. In 1947-48 about 29 million households tuned into the Allen show each week. 

FIBBER MCGEE AND MOLLY Many radio comedies revolved around married couples, and the most popular of these was Fibber McGee and Molly. The title characters were played by an actual married couple, Jim and Marian Jordan. Fibber was a teller of tall tales, and his patient, common sense wife often responded, “T’ain’t funny, McGee!” The McGees lived at 79 Wistful Vista, and their shenanigans included their many neighbors, e.g., Mayor LaTrivia, Doc Gamble, Wallace Wimple, Teeny, and Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve. A running gag in almost every show involved Fibber opening the hall closet, resulting in a massive, noisy avalanche of piled up junk crashing down on his and Molly’s heads. The show ran for 1254 episodes. 

THE GREAT GILDERSLEEVE. The Great Gildersleeve was a spinoff from Fibber McGee and Molly. A pompous windbag, Gildersleeve, originally played by Harold Peary, was the water commissioner of the town of Summerfield and the bachelor guardian of his independent-minded niece, Marjorie, and his mischievous nephew, Leroy. Gildersleeve was a member of the Jolly Boys Club which included pharmacist Peavey, barber Floyd Munsun, and Judge Horace Hooker. Episodes revolved around domestic challenges, civic duties, his rivalry with Judge Hooker, and his often chaotic romantic relationships. The show inspired four RKO feature films in the 1940s. 

DUFFY’S TAVERN. Archie, the star of the show played by Ed Gardner, was the fast-talking manager of Duffy’s Tavern. The show’s running gag was that Duffy was never seen or heard on the program. Archie only talked to him on the telephone at the beginning of each episode. He always began by saying, “Hello, Duffy’s Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin’. Duffy ain’t here. Oh — hello, Duffy.” Duffy’s was a seedy bar and grille on New York’s Third Avenue. Other characters included Duffy’s wacky daughter, Miss Duffy; Eddie the Waiter; tavern regular Clifton Finnegan; and Hollywood guest stars. Duffy was constantly involved in schemes that would make him rich. 

THE LIFE OF RILEY. The lead characters were Chester A. Riley, a blue-collar aircraft plant worker in California; his wife Peg; their kids Junior and Babs; and Digger O’Dell, the friendly undertaker. Riley’s famous line was, “What a revoltin’ development this is!” Riley was constantly getting into trouble, while Digger O’Dell gave him information that “helped him out of a hole.” OTHERS: The above shows are my favorites. Others which I would include in a more extensive list include The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show; The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet; The Burns and Allen Show; Our Miss Brooks; and The Aldrich Family. When television came into our lives, we thought it a superior medium because of seeing the characters and their scenes. However, when I look back, it’s those early radio shows that I remember most vividly and with greatest affection. 

Love, 

Dave 

 SOURCES: Wikipedia; Carl Amari and Martin Grams Jr., The Top 100 Classic Radio Shows (2017).