Aired 1/1/2023
Hello. Happy New Year and welcome to the Unforgettable Radio Theater. As the announcer said, I’m Mike Alexander and I’ll be taking you back to The Golden Age of Radio. While there we’ll listen to some of the classic program of that time. I have the time portal all ready to go. So, take a seat while I let you know about this week’s trip back.
Since this is the beginning of the new year, our trip will take us back to 1942 and 1950 to listen to episodes dealing with new year’s parties.
Last week I asked a question about character actor Howard McNear. He appeared in hundreds of radio shows and TV programs. In 1961, he was cast as a vague, chatty barber on a very popular TV sitcom. I asked for the name of the sitcom and the character McNear played. The answer was The Andy Griffith Show and the character Mc Near played was Floyd the barber. Everyone who emailed had the answers right. That hint about Ron Howard being part of the cast was dead giveaway.
Okay. It’s time to start the first journey of the new year to the Golden Age of Radio.
1st Show
It’s off to Wednesday, December 27, 1950 to listen to an episode from the Harold Peary Show. The show was sometimes referred to as Honest Harold, the name of the character Harold Peary portrayed. When Peary left NBC for CBS, he tried to take his show, The Great Gildersleeve, with him. Kraft Foods, the show’s sponsor, would not allow him to take his Great Gildersleeve character with him to CBS. So Peary created this show. The new show also borrowed a few Gildersleeve plot devices, such as running for mayor and engagements to two women. In what was probably a desperate attempt to recreate the Gildersleeve magic, actress Shirley Mitchell, virtually reprised her Gildersleeve role of Leila Ransom, under the name of Florabelle Breckenridge.
I am setting the time portal’s radio dial to Wednesday, December 27, 1950 for “New Year’s Dance” episode of The Harold Peary Show.
The director of the show was Norman Macdonnell. You may remember him as the creator of Gunsmoke and Fort Laramie. Macdonnell, a solid radio veteran, had directed radio comedies before, so he had a flare for directing comedy. Radio authority John Dunning says in his “On the Air, The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio,” “Despite the lack of rating power and the general negative attitude of the critics, Harold was the near-equal of Gildersleeve in several aspects. Shows on tape reveal funny writing and well-drawn characters, and the supporting cast and production crew were first-rate.” While that might have been true, the show never caught on. The show only ran for one season, from September 1950 until June 1951.
