Premier Collections:
One Man's Family
Liner notes written by Ivan Shreve, Jr.

Click to listen to an audio sample

“…Dedicated to the mothers and fathers of the younger generation, and to their bewildering offspring…”

Renowned radio playwright Carlton E. Morse is certainly no stranger to fans of old time radio, with a resume of programs that includes “I Love a Mystery,” “His Honor the Barber,” and “Family Skeleton.” However, it is his long-running radio serial “One Man’s Family” - a Peabody Award-winning ode to domesticity - that stands out as his greatest creation; from April 29, 1932 to May 8, 1959 this prestigious half-hour drama entertained audiences with a weekly examination into the lives of an authentic (if extremely well-off) American family, the Barbours of Sea Cliff, San Francisco.

Morse, who had been hired by NBC in San Francisco to write “blood-and-thunder” radio serials, pitched the idea of a drama about a close-knit San Francisco clan to his reluctant network bosses, having been inspired by John Galsworthy’s “The Forsythe Saga.” The powers that be weren’t particularly sold on the concept, and in fact told the writer-director-producer to be prepared for a quick cancellation. But the show caught on in a big way with radio audiences; shortly after its local debut it was assigned a berth on the NBC West Coast Network and went coast-to-coast a year later in 1933. At the height of its popularity - it garnered a C.A.B. rating of 28.7 in its 1939-40 season - it was securely nestled among the nation’s top five radio programs. In 1949, when the show’s longtime sponsor, Standard Brands, announced it was pulling out, the NBC network found itself inundated with 75,000 letters of support; the show soldiered on, sustained, until the format was changed to a five-day-a-week quarter-hour beginning in June of 1950.

The first program introduced the seven members that at that time made up the Barbour brood, including patriarch Henry (J. Anthony Smythe), a conservative stockbroker who ruled with an iron hand, and his wife Fanny (Minetta Ellen), a sweet and gentle soul who generally supported her husband but effectively kept his excesses in check. Their offspring were eldest son Paul (Michael Raffetto), oldest daughter Hazel (Bernice Berwin), twins Clifford (Barton Yarborough) and Claudia (Kathleen Wilson) and youngest son Jack (Page Gilman). Morse cast in these roles actors with whom he was personally acquainted, and many of their character’s traits were liberally borrowed from the performers themselves. The cast also maintained an impressive degree of longevity working on the series; the original seven stuck together for close to 11 years and two of them - Smythe and Gilman - went the entire distance from debut to cancellation.

By the time “One Man’s Family” ended its twenty-seven year run, the population on the show numbered nearly 100 characters; Barbour family members not only were overly marriage-minded but bred like rabbits as well. Interestingly, in spite of the show’s reputation as the epitome of decency and family values, listeners often mailed letters in protest of the frequency of the program’s characters to play dramatic scenes in b-e-d. Indeed, much of Morse’s output - in which it’s none-too-subtly hinted that many members of the Barbour clan are a tad on the dysfunctional side - remains surprisingly contemporary; in an essay on the show written by radio historian Elizabeth McLeod, it’s pointed out that a 1949-51 storyline that examines the romantic fixation Paul Barbour’s ward Teddy had on her benefactor was very much ahead of its time. “That Morse was able to treat such a psychologically-complex, highly-charged, relentlessly adult storyline as delicately as he did - and yet as powerful as he did - is true testimony to his skill as a dramatist,” she rightfully asserts.

“One Man’s Family” has often been dismissed as just glossy soap opera, but Morse’s superior scripting and dramatic scope often allowed the show to transcend that genre. Raised on Radio author Gerald Nachman observes, “It could be as sentimental, saccharine and romantic as soap opera, but it was rarely as melodramatic, as full of soap operatic agony, dark, dire events, preposterous coincidences, wrenching plot twists, and the overwrought ladies’ magazine-fiction tone of routine soaps.” The series worked more as a continuous radio novel, with its episodes set up as “books” and “chapters”, and concentrated more on characterizations than plot. As Morse himself once explained, “Plot didn’t worry me. Plots always come to me out of the relationships.”

“One Man’s Family” became fully rooted in the pop culture of its time—often parodied by radio comedians, including Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, who paid it tribute with their uproarious parodies of the lives of “Butcher” clan in “One Fella’s Family.” (“Fanny, Fanny, Fanny…” “Oh, shut up and stop mumbling, you senile old man!”) Like so many programs of radio’s Golden Age, it tried to spread its wings and garner further success on television - twice, in fact, with a prime-time run from 1949 to 1952 which included the likes of Eva Marie Saint, Tony Randall and Mercedes McCambridge in the cast and a daytime version during the 1954-55 season.

“My own sorrow is not so much in the cessation of the show as such as in the put out,” lamented creator Morse to a Los Angeles newspaper reporter shortly after the show concluded its lengthy radio run with Chapter 30, Book 141 on May 8, 1959. “One more marker has been torn down…the sign posts for sound family life are now few, and I feel like the loss of “One Man’s Family” is just another abandoned lighthouse.”

Gone…but certainly not forgotten, as the First Generation Radio Archives is pleased to present this six-CD set containing nearly six hours of original radio broadcasts from the pen of Morse and Harlan Ware. Twenty-one original episodes, including four uncirculated broadcasts (one of which contains an announcing “blooper” that brings a fascinating glimpse of the backstage to OMF fans everywhere) direct from newly discovered 16" lacquer discs, one half-hour broadcast from December, 1941 and sixteen other digitally restored episodes.

Here's the complete content of this outstanding collection:

Book 40, Chapter 13: The Last of 1941
As the Barbour family rings in 1942, they engage in a spirited discussion on what they can do to assist in the war effort in a rare episode broadcast only three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Son Paul also regales all those assembled with humorous tales of his experiences in the First World War.
Sunday, December 28, 1941 – 30:00 – NBC Red, sponsored by Tenderleaf Tea

Book 98, Chapter 3: The Barbours Sweat It Out
Henry, Fanny and Hazel nervously await news on Paul’s return trip home from Tokyo—but a radiogram from the eldest Barbour son does little to assuage their anxiety.
Wednesday, September 24, 1952 – 15:00 – NBC, sponsored by Miles Laboratories
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Book 99, Chapter 21: The Practical Aspect of Christmas
While anticipating a visit from Father Barbour, Jack and Betty discuss their Christmas gift list; upon his arrival, Henry asks both of them not to give Pinky anything this year, as he’s planning to send him a check to invest in his fledgling potato-peeler business.
Monday, December 15, 1952 – 15:00 – NBC, sponsored by Miles Laboratories
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Book 99, Chapter 22: Margaret’s Triumph
Henry and Fanny receive a Christmas package from Cliff, and Father Barbour reads out loud a Christmas letter he’s composed to his son to Fanny and Hazel. Margaret returns home from school and announces that she’s won first prize in the speech contest.
Tuesday, December 16, 1952 – 15:00 – NBC, sponsored by Miles Laboratories
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Book 99, Chapter 27: Paul Arrives For Christmas
The eldest Barbour son has arrived at Sea Cliff for the holidays, and spends time exchanging well wishes from the family. Paul tells his parents that it’s possible his frequent trips to the Orient may be a thing of the past if a promotion comes through.
Tuesday, December 23, 1952 – 15:00 – NBC, sponsored by Miles Laboratories
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Book 125, Chapter 46: The Cure (AFRTS #206)
Paul informs an under-the-weather Pinky that his fiancée Greta has his seal of approval while she and her grandmother are at the Barbours’ for a dinner party. Greta assures Pinky that she doesn’t care if he is left out of his cousin Consider’s will.
Monday, March 4, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 125, Chapter 47: Final Proposition (AFRTS #207)
Henry informs Hazel and Hank that Cousin Consider is leaving town. After Hank lectures Consider on the precarious state of his health, the old man tries to convince Pinky to call off his wedding to Greta and travel with him along the Hungarian borders to assist refugees.
Tuesday, March 5, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 125, Chapter 48: The Unsigned Document (AFRTS #208)
Pinky seeks advice from Jack regarding Consider’s new will—it hasn’t been signed, and the youngster faces a moral dilemma as to whether he should send the document on to Hawaii. Later, Pinky agonizes on his hard-luck lot in life in a letter he’s composed to his uncle Clifford.
Wednesday, March 6, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 125, Chapter 49: The Letter in the Wastebasket (AFRTS #209)
Hazel treats Paul to breakfast-in-bed, and fills her brother in on the recent events involving Pinky, Greta and Consider. She’s concerned about her son’s state of mind, and the situation becomes even more serious when Henry discovers the letter Pinky had planned to send Cliff.
Thursday, March 7, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 126, Chapter 16: Certified Mail for Henry Barbour (AFRTS #231)
The Barbours’ mailman tells Hazel that he has a certified letter for her father; Henry has also received a phone call from the operator informing him that Margaret needs to speak with him—but when the call is returned, it’s only Margaret’s father-in-law, who tells the Barbour patriarch that she’s anxiously awaiting a reply to a letter she sent that Henry has lost.
Monday, April 8, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 126, Chapter 17: Talk of a Wedding (AFRTS #232)
Paul is attempting to do what he can for Toni and her fiancé, who’s been detained by immigration officials, and he tells Hazel, Hank and Pinky of Claudia’s plans to arrange a wedding for the young couple.
Tuesday, April 9, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 126, Chapter 18: A Moment of Indiscretion (AFRTS #233)
Nicky has had a chat with Pinky regarding his impending nuptials, in which he advises the youngster not to expect too much out of marriage. When Pinky blurts out what Nick told him to Hazel, Hank and Claudia, Claudia becomes visibly upset with her husband.
Wednesday, April 10, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 126, Chapter 19: Questionnaire at Midnight (AFRTS #234)
Pinky is reading a book on “modern marriage” that Greta has recommended to him—and is encouraged by a high score obtained while taking a test in the book. Meanwhile, Father Barbour has finally received his certified letter.
Thursday, April 11, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 126, Chapter 31: Father Barbour Congratulates the Opposition (AFRTS #246)
Claudia and Henry discuss the competition between General Roderick Stone and Harvey DeWitt Clinton for Teddy’s favor; Father Barbour pretends to be neutral, but it’s difficult for him to disguise his preference for the general and his dislike for Clinton.
Monday, April 29, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS
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Book 126, Chapter 32: A Crowded Day at the Barbours (AFRTS #247)
The family receives word that Margaret has given birth to a baby boy, and Henry contracts laryngitis while telling everyone the news. The Barbour’s also suspect that Henry was responsible for having Mr. Clinton called back to the home office in Detroit.
Tuesday, April 30, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS
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Book 126, Chapter 33: New Move in an Old Game (AFRTS #248)
Pinky drops in on Jack and Betty when he learns that Jack has new information regarding cousin Consider’s will—apparently Consider has sent back the document unsigned, which means the old will still stands. Mother and Father Barbour learn that Margaret is naming the baby after Paul, Jack and Clifford.
Wednesday, May 1, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS
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Book 126, Chapter 34: The Forgotten Birthday (AFRTS #249)
The Barbour’s wait for Hazel and Dan to return to Sea Cliff after visiting Margaret and Paul reads a letter from Teddy in which she forgives Henry for his machinations involving General Stone and Mr. Clinton. Later, Pinky confides in his grandfather and brother that he and Greta have had a falling out because he forgot her birthday.
Thursday, May 2, 1957 – 15:00 – AFRTS
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Book 129, Chapter 55: Report from Pebble Beach (AFRTS #456)
Nicky discusses with Paul a report he’s received about Penelope’s boyfriend Bruce Conrad, who apparently capitulated with the enemy after being captured in Korea. Paul also had reason to fire Conrad once he discovered the young man was using his freight line for a smuggling operation.
Friday, March 14, 1958 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 129, Chapter 56: Lost in the Fog (AFRTS #457)
A heavy fog supplies the background for Hazel and Dan’s night out, a letter from Pinky (who’s in Tahiti with cousin Consider), and the disappearance of Henry Barbour, who’s yet to return from his walk. Greta also has news from Norway for Hank: her grandmother is contrite for her estrangement from her daughter and fiancé and wants her to return home to make amends.
Monday, March 17, 1958 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 129, Chapter 57: An Eight-Car Collision (AFRTS #458)
Fanny has discovered that Henry’s car is missing from the garage after thinking he just went for a walk. Jack and Hank help Henry home after finding him amongst an eight-car pile-up, and the investigating officer expresses concern over the elder Barbour’s ability to operate an automobile.
Tuesday, March 18, 1958 – 15:00 – AFRTS

Book 129, Chapter 58: The Truth About Andy (AFRTS #459)
Father Barbour’s favorite granddaughter Margaret pays a surprise visit to Sea Cliff and the two of them discuss Andy’s new girlfriend Bonnie. Henry reveals to Paul that he’s upset about being kept in the dark about Andy’s romance and accuses him and other family members of withholding information about the girl.
Wednesday, March 19, 1958 – 15:00 – AFRTS

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