Radio
Legends:
The Great Gildersleeve, Volume 1
Liner notes written by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.
In
the early 1940s, actor-singer Harold 'Hal' Peary was savoring the fruits of show
business success from his enormously successful role as Throckmorton P.
Gildersleeve on radio's "Fibber McGee & Molly." A regular on the program since
1937, Peary had played a variety of different parts - among them Gooey-Fooey, a
Chinese laundryman and Perry, the Portuguese Piccolo Player - but one day he
talked series writer Don Quinn into give him a much meatier part. Quinn, who had
created a number of different one-shot characters named "Gildersleeve" (actor
Cliff Arquette had played the first Gildersleeve character back in 1936), cast
Peary in various "Gildersleeve" occupations - optometrist, dentist, etc. - until
finally settling him into the role of girdle company tycoon and pompous
next-door neighbor to Fibber McGee on October 17, 1939.
The problem for Peary was that he had become so identified with the Gildersleeve
character that it soon became impossible for him to play other roles.
Furthermore, Peary felt that his musical talents had been sidelined due to his
being locked into the part. In 1941, he seriously considered giving up the role
-- causing both NBC and Johnson's Wax a great deal of consternation as they did
not want to lose the actor's services.
An idea soon developed: why not "spin-off" the Gildy character into his own
series? Peary found himself quite amenable to this arrangement, for he felt he
had a better chance of resurrecting his love of music on a show in which he was
the star. Having accepted "an offer he couldn't refuse," Peary's Throckmorton P.
Gildersleeve bid goodbye to his employees at the Gildersleeve Girdle Works (and
also toodle-oo to his wife and nagging mother-in-law, both of whom were never
mentioned again) and hopped a train to the nearby town of Summerfield. With the
exception of a handful of guest appearances on "Fibber McGee & Molly," Gildy
had, for all intents and purposes, left Wistful Vista for good.
There was, however, a teensy snag.
Everyone involved with the May 14, 1941 audition show assumed that long-time
"Fibber" sponsor Johnson's Wax would take the new Gildersleeve program under its
wing as well. But the boys from Racine, Wisconsin took a pass and instead of
subsidizing Peary's show as "Fibber McGee & Molly's" summer replacement, they
went with another series, "Hap Hazard," instead. Fortunately, the Gildersleeve
audition was so well received that the Kraft Foods Company signed on to pay the
bills - and "The Great Gildersleeve" made its official debut over NBC Radio on
August 31, 1941. It soon became a solid hit for the network, enjoying a
sixteen-year run that would end on March 21, 1957.
Gildy's overnight train jaunt to Summerfield in the debut broadcast quickly
established the premise of the brand-new comedy: the former Wistful Vista
resident was traveling to oversee the estate of his recently departed young
sister and her husband and also to supervise the upbringing of their surviving
children: Marjorie (first played by veteran radio actress Lurene Tuttle, then
Louise Erickson and Mary Lee Robb) and Leroy (the delightful Walter Tetley). On
the train, Gildersleeve soon ran afoul of the man who would replace Fibber McGee
as his nemesis and feuding partner: Judge Horace Hooker, played to crotchety old
man perfection by actor Earle Ross. The Judge took an instant dislike to Gildy
and was wary as to whether he was up to the task of supervising two orphans,
thus necessitating Gildy's move to Summerfield and leaving his business and
friends behind in Wistful Vista.
In a wonderful essay entitled "Wistful Vista to Summerfield, or: Fibber and
Gildy and How They Grew", radio historian Elizabeth McLeod draws the definitive
distinction on the night-and-day differences between the two programs:
Contrasted with Fibber's cartoony approach, Gildersleeve was a show firmly
grounded in the Real World. Its characters were far more textured than Fibber's
supporting cast, and thus far more realistic. Where Fibber drew its laughs from
setups and punch lines and absurdity, Gildersleeve's humor was much more subtle,
playing off simple human foibles. And when John Whedon and Sam Moore took over
the scripting of the series in 1942, the town of Summerfield itself began to
come alive. The semi-serial format adopted by Whedon and Moore allowed for
characters to be given remarkable depth. In listening to the Gildersleeve shows
of the mid-forties, one gets the feeling of peeking in on short slices of
reality - and that when the show signs off for the week, it's easy to imagine
the characters going on with their lives off-mike until you hear them again in
the next episode. In many ways, Gildersleeve became the "One Man's Family" of
situation comedy.
I think McLeod is dead-solid perfect in her analysis of Gildersleeve, and there
are also several different factors to explain why the show continues to resonate
with fans today. I pointed out earlier that, as a result of his move to
Summerfield, Gildersleeve's marital status reverted to a state of bachelorhood.
Yet, although the Great Man had no strings attached, he was no doubt one of the
most romantically inclined characters in the history of sitcoms. It was, quite
honestly, an interesting phenomenon for a comedy show to prominently feature a
middle-aged man "on the prowl." He had an endless parade of girlfriends and
fiancées, chief among them the flirtatious Southern belle Leila Ransom, played
by Shirley Mitchell. Leila, who always pronounced Gildy's first name with a few
extra syllables ("Thrawk-maaahhhtin"), was unique in that she actually managed
to get him to the altar in a broadcast dated June 27, 1943. Fortunately for
confirmed bachelors everywhere, fate stepped in and graciously allowed Gildy an
escape before he was manacled to Leila till death did they part. Other
girlfriends included schoolteacher Eve Goodwin, played by Bea Benaderet, whom
Gildy romanced and proposed to during his mayoral campaign in the 1943-44
season; Miss Adeline Devereaux (the wonderful Una Merkel), Leila's equally
coquettish cousin; and nurse Kathryn Milford (Cathy Lewis). "The Great
Gildersleeve" could arguably be called the story of a boy and his libido.
As Ms. McLeod mentioned, another interesting facet to "The Great Gildersleeve"
was its semi-serialized format. Serials (be they adventure-oriented children's
programs or soap operas) were quite popular during the Golden Age of Radio, and
the Gildersleeve show would often weave a continuous storyline throughout its
plots from season to season. (The aforementioned mayor's race and a lengthy plot
involving an abandoned baby in the 1948-49 season are good examples). But
audiences didn't have to listen on a week-by-week basis to understand what was
going on; the Gildersleeve shows were still fairly stand-alone affairs that
allowed the casual listener to catch up with unfamiliar plotlines even if they
had missed a few broadcasts. (This also works to the benefit of today's
listeners, since the show does appear to have several broadcasts that
disappeared into the mists of time.) The series also took a "Gasoline
Alley"-like approach to some of its characters, particularly niece Marjorie, who
later in the show's run got married to a man named Bronco Thompson, played by
Richard Crenna, and gave birth to twins. (I would be remiss, though, if I didn't
point out that Marjorie's character was actually close to 20 years old when the
series debuted and that, somehow, she managed to regress back to high-school age
during the subsequent seasons. Perhaps she drank from the same fountain of youth
that kept Helen Trent thirty-five all those years.)
The twenty shows in this Radio Legends collection date from the first two years
of "The Great Gildersleeve's" run and include the first program of the series,
in which Gildy takes that fateful train ride to Summerfield. Here is the
complete content of this ten-CD collection - excellent sounding family
entertainment from one of the best and most enduring situation comedies of all
time:
Gildy Arrives in Summerfield
Sunday, August 31, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
Leroy's Paper Route
Sunday, September 14, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
The Girlfriend
Sunday, September 21, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
The Hiccups
Sunday, September 28, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
Investigating City Government
Sunday, October 5, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
School Pranks
Sunday, October 19, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
A Visit from Oliver
Sunday, October 26, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
Gildy Minds the Baby
Sunday, November 2, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
Birdie Quits
Sunday, November 9, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
The Canary Won't Sing
Sunday, November 30, 1941 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
The Matchmaker
Sunday, January 25, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
Leroy Runs Away
Sunday, February 1, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
Auto Class
Sunday, February 8, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
Ship Christening
Sunday, May 3, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
Dinner for Judge Hooker
Sunday, May 31, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
The Sneezes
Sunday, June 7, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
The Play
Sunday, June 14, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
The Father's Day Chair
Sunday, June 21, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
In Love
Sunday, June 28, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
The Vacation
Sunday, August 30, 1942 - 30:00 - NBC
Sponsored by Kraft Foods
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