All American Old Time Radio Show
Classic Collections
Comedy
These early radio episodes are true American treasures and are must
listening to for anyone who grew up in that era. For those a bit younger, it
is a window into how your parents and grandparents entertained themselves.
Remember, this was the time before most folks had a TV. If you have any interest in nostalgia and
entertainment history, you can not afford to pass up these true American
Treasures.
It Pays to Be Ignorant was a very popular radio comedy show whose
popularity remained steady during a run on three networks for such
sponsors as Philip Morris, Chrysler and DeSoto. The show was a spoof
on the more authoritative, academic intellectual panel series as
Quiz Kids and Information Please. The beginning of the show parodied
"Doctor I.Q.” The satirical series featured "a board of experts who are dumber
than you are and can prove it". Tom Howard was the quizmaster who
asked questions of dim-bulb panelists Harry McNaughton, Lulu
McConnell and George Shelton. However, the panelists would get the
answer wrong, providing outrageously funny answers instead, followed
by an even more uproarious rationale for their answer. So sit back and laugh till your sides
hurt with over 17 hours and 35 episodes of It Pays to Be Ignorant.
The
Alan Young Show was a radio and television series presented in
diverse formats over a nine-year period and starring
Canadian-English actor Alan Young. It began on NBC radio as a summer
replacement situation comedy in 1944, featuring vocalist Bea Wain.
It moved to ABC with Jean Gillespie portraying Young's girlfriend
Betty. The program was next broadcast by NBC for a 1946-47 run and
was off in 1948. When it returned to NBC in 1949, Louise Erickson
played Betty and Jim Backus was heard as snobbish playboy Hubert
Updike III.
There are
over 45 episodes and better then 22 hours of wonderful life and
hilarity with Alan Young….On a personal note, Mr. Ed is my second
favorite show of all time and part of my own DVD collection.
Easy Aces, a
long-running American serial radio comedy (1930-1945), was
trademarked by the low-keyed drollery of creator and writer Goodman
Ace and his wife, Jane, as an urbane, put-upon realtor and his malaprop-prone wife. A 15-minute program, airing as often as five
times a week, Easy Aces wasn't quite the ratings smash that such
concurrent 15-minute serial comedies as Amos 'n' Andy, The
Goldberg’s or Vic and Sade were. Its unobtrusive,
conversational, and clever style, and the cheerful absurdism of its
storylines, built a loyal enough audience of listeners and critics
alike to keep it on the air for 15 years. So
sit back with one of radio’s longest running comedies and laugh over
the Jane-isms and natural banter between Ace and Jane, like so many
other listeners did for 15 years. You have over 54 hours to enjoy
and 236 episodes of comedy all wrapped into one enjoyable package.
The
Halls of Ivy is an NBC radio sitcom that ran from 1950-1952. It was created by
Fibber McGee & Molly co-creator/writer Don Quinn before being
adapted into a CBS television comedy (1954-55) produced by ITC
Entertainment and Television Programs of America. British
husband-and-wife actors Ronald Colman and Benita Hume
starred in both versions of the show. The Halls of Ivy
featured Colman as William Todhunter Hall, the president of small,
Midwestern Ivy College, and his wife, Victoria, a former British
musical comedy star who sometimes felt the tug of her former
profession, and followed their interactions with students, friends,
and college trustees. So sit back and
enjoy over 37 hours and 76 plus episodes of radio programming that
was ahead of its time, forward looking, and willing to tackle
controversial topics, and get some good laughs at the same time.
Phil Harris-Alice Faye
Show - The Phil Harris and Alice Faye Show was a comedy radio program which
ran on NBC from 1948 to 1954. It evolved from an earlier music and
comedy variety program, The Fitch Bandwagon. Singer-bandleader Phil
Harris and his wife, actress-singer Alice Faye, became the earlier
show's breakout stars, and the show was retooled into a full
situation comedy, with Harris and Faye playing fictionalized
versions of themselves as a working show business couple raising two
daughters in a slightly madcap home. With
better then 50 hours, and over 120 episodes you can laugh each and every
day.
Duffy's Tavern - an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942;
NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1951), 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
malapropos-prone, metaphor-mixing manager, Archie, played by the
writer/actor who co-created the show, Ed Gardner. The final show on radio
was broadcast on December 28, 1951. The show featured many high-profile
guest stars, including Fred Allen, Mel Allen, Nigel Bruce, Bing Crosby,
Boris Karloff, Veronica Lake, Bob Hope, Peter Lorre, Tony Martin, Gene
Tierney, Arthur Treacher, Alan Ladd, Marie McDonald and Shelley Winters. There are over 80 episodes
and better then 40 hours of wonderful hilarity contained on the CD.
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.
There are over 60 episodes
and better then 30 hours of wonderful old time hilarity contained on the CD.
Abbott and Costello Radio Show - Abbott and Costello were a comedy duo whose work in radio, film and
television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy.
The Abbott and Costello Show mixed comedy with musical interludes (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 Auerbach ("Mr. Kitzel"), 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.
So sit back, relax and laugh until your sides
hurt with over 50 hours and better then 100 episodes by one of the
legendary comedy duos of our time.
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - This is a show I grew up with. While I remember listening to the reruns of
the original radio show, my experience with the Nelson's was mainly with the
TV show, and now on DVD. Now you get a chance to listen to the beginnings of
the family known as America's Family. Here are 76
wonderful episodes, about 38 hours of listening pleasure.
Jack Benny Old Time Radio Show
- Jack Benny was one of the biggest
stars in classic American Radio, he was a comedian, vaudeville performer,
and radio, television, and film actor. With his signature violin (which he
played very well) or his “Well” gesture, he had his audience laughing their
heads off. Jack Benny’s character was named Jack Benny, he was also just
about everything the actual Jack Benny himself was not: cheap, petty, vain
and self-congratulatory. His masterful comic rendering of these traits
became the vital linchpin to the Benny’s show’s success. Enjoy over
690 episodes, with better then 290 hours of classic humor, so sit back, and
laugh and laugh till you can’t laugh any more with Jack Benny and his cast
of characters.
A
Day In The Life Of Dennis Day - Dennis Day was born in NYC on May
21, 1916. From 1944 through 1946, he served in the US Navy as a Lieutenant.
On his return to civilian life, he continued to work with Jack Benny while
also starring in his own show, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day (1946-1952),
where he plays a naive soda jerk boarding at the home of the parents of his
girlfriend, Mildred Anderson. The show also show cased Day's beautifully
sung songs, usually two per show. It also let him step out of character in
many of the scenes, which, of course, led to some outrageous stories. With
excellent performances by Day, Barbara Eiler and John Brown , plus all the
great music, it’s a must to add to your old time radio collection.
So sit back and enjoy better then 22 hours, in over 45
episodes, of great performances featuring the wonderful voice of Dennis Day.
Burns and Allen Old Time
Radio Show - Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns
and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in
vaudeville, films, radio and television. They are two of our favorite
people, and after listening to them, we know they will become your favorites
too.
For our preview we have a real special
treat with Frank Sinatra and George Burns having a singing contest! So sit back and laugh till you cry, listening to the comedic talents of the
Burns and Allen couple. Can guarantee you won’t want to “Say goodnight,
Gracie” but want more, and you have it over 200 episodes and 85 plus hours
on a two CD set !
My Favorite Husband - premiered as a
radio situation comedy on CBS Radio. It starred
Lucille Ball and Richard Denning as Liz and George Cooper. You'll hear real flashes of the comedic genius Lucy shoed on her TV show.
If you treasures Lucille Ball, you can't miss this early radio work by
her. It is pure genius. There are over 100
episodes and better then 50 hours of laughter contained on the CD.
Father Knows Best - with Robert Young, was a popular radio sitcom of the 1950s, which
portrayed a vision of middle-class American life of the era. There are over 90 episodes
and better then 45 hours of wonderful 1950s life and hilarity contained on the CD.
Our Miss Brooks - This great series starred Eve Arden as
Connie Brooks, a very engaging but harried English teacher, a role for which
she won an Emmy. Our Miss Brooks first aired on CBS on July 19, 1948. There are over 110 episodes
and better then 50 hours of wonderful times with a cast you will come to
think of as friends.
The Life of Riley -
with William Bendix in the title role, was a popular radio situation comedy
series of the 1940s and continued as a long-running television series during
the 1950s.
The idea of a regular Joe getting put out and put upon by life's daily grind
is a classic comedy concept, and so the Life of Riley appears still fresh
after all these years. The TV show was one of my favorites as I was growing
up and I wish it was available on DVD. Until then, I will continue to
relive my youth, and enjoy one of America's classic sitcoms. There are over 185 episodes
and better then 90 hours of wonderful 1940s & 50s life and hilarity contained on the CD.
Amos
n' Andy - Amos n' Andy began March 19, 1928, 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. The series began as Sam n'
Henry (January 12, 1926), and was about two Alabama men who came to Chicago
to find their fortunes. With it’s serial form, it was very popular, as
listeners tuned in daily to follow the lives of both men. It was later
changed to Amos n' Andy. There are well over 100 hours and 265 episodes
of Amos n' Andy on this 3 CD set.
Vic and Sade - The most popular show of its kind in the
history of radio. During its fourteen-year-run on radio, Vic and Sade, won
numerous awards and were atop the ratings for many years running. According
to Time, Vic and Sade had 7,000,000 devoted listeners in 1943.The central characters, known as
"radio's home folks," were accountant Victor Rodney Gook, played by Art Van Harvey, his wife Sade played by
Bernadine Flynn, and their adopted son Rush, played by Bill Idelson. The
three lived on Virginia Avenue in "the small house halfway up in the next
block." The program was presented with a low-key ease and naturalness, and
Rhymer's humorous dialogue was delivered with a subtleness that made even
the most outrageous events seem commonplace and normal.
There are well over 55 hours and
320 episodes
of Vic and Sade on this 3 CD set.
Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy
Show - Edgar John Bergen was a multi-talented
man in that he was an actor and radio performer, and was best known as a
ventriloquist. His first performances were in vaudeville and one-reel movie
shorts. However, his real success was on the radio for The Edgar
Bergen/Charlie McCarthy Show. While Bergen was not the most technically
skilled ventriloquist, his sense of comedic timing was superb, and he
handled Charlie's snappy dialogue with aplomb. With guests like
Marilyn Monroe, Joan Blondell, Mae West, Don Ameche, W.C. Fields, Judy Garland,
Roy Rogers, Jack Benny and many many more is it any surprise that under
various sponsors, they were on the air from
December 17, 1937 to July 1, 1956.
There are over 130 episodes
included on the two CD set, giving you over 70 hours of the Bergen comedic
wit.
Lum and Abner - Was
an American radio comedy which aired as a network program from 1932 to 1954;
becoming an American institution in its low-keyed, arch rural wit. One of a
series of 15-minute serial comedies that dotted American radio at its height
as America's number one home entertainment. The creation of co-stars Chester Lauck (who played
Columbus "Lum" Edwards) and Norris Goff (Abner Peabody), Lum and Abner were
co-owners of the Jot 'em Down Store in the then-fictional town of Pine
Ridge, Arkansas. They were always stumbling upon moneymaking ideas only to
get themselves fleeced by nemesis Squire Skimp, before finding one or
another way to redeem themselves. So sit back, relax and spend your free evenings (or
whatever time of day you do your listening) with Lum and Abner. Who knows
your creative juices might be stirred to come up with a “unique idea”
yourself. Enjoy! There are over
1625 episodes
on a 10 CD set (or 2 DVD set), giving you over 418+ hours of
low-keyed, arch rural wit.
Fibber McGee and Molly
- The radio show Fibber McGee and Molly played a major role in
determining the full form of what became classic, old-time radio. One
of the longest-running comedies in the history of classic radio in the
United States, Fibber McGee and Molly has stood the test of time in many
ways, from its 1935 premiere until its end in 1959, the series was a
pinnacle of American popular culture. Enjoy over
640 Episodes, with better then 290 hours of classic, wholesome humor.
Fred Allen's Town Hall Tonight
- Fred Allen was a fantastic comedian whose absurdist, pointed radio show
(1934–1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists
in the classic era of American radio.
Allen first hosted The Linit Bath Club Revue on CBS, moving the show to NBC
and becoming The Salad Bowl Revue (in a nod to new sponsor Hellmann's
Mayonnaise) later in the year. The show became The Sal Hepatica Revue
(1933-34), The Hour of Smiles (1934–35), and finally Town Hall Tonight
(1935–40). Allen's perfectionism (odd to some, considering his deft ad-libs)
caused him to leap from sponsor to sponsor until Town Hall Tonight allowed
him to set his chosen milieu (either an urbane small town or a small
neighborhood in the big city, depending on your interpretation) and finally
established Allen as a bona fide radio star.
Enjoy the talents of the man who would go on to influence radio and,
much later, television. With over 160 episodes
and better then 100 hours of Fred Allen comedic wit contained on 2 CDs, you
will be laughing till your sides hurt.
Red Skelton -
Red Skelton (Richard Bernard) was a comedian who was best known as a top
radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career
began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway,
films, radio, TV, clubs and casinos, while pursuing another career as a
painter. He was born July 18, 1913 in Vincennes, Indiana We lost him on
September 17, 1997 in Palm Springs, California. On October 7,
1941, Skelton premiered his own radio show, The Raleigh Cigarette Program,
developing routines involving a number of recurring characters.
Red Skelton will have you laughing till the tears start flowing, with over 125+ episodes
and better then 64 hours contained on 2 CDs. So grab
that box of tissues and start listening.
The Great Gildersleeve
- ran from 1941 to 1957. The show was arguably the first spin-off
program, as well as one of the first true situation comedies (as opposed to
sketch programs) in broadcast history. Built around a character who had been
a staple on the classic radio sit-com Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great
Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest success in the 1940s.
Sit back and enjoy some great laughs listening to the trials and
tribulations of The Great Gildersleeve. With over 250 hours and 510 episodes
filled with side splitting laughter, you won’t want to miss a moment of the
fun.
