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Fibber McGee's Closet!!

4/23/2015

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The Johnson Wax Program with Fibber McGee and Molly was one of the most popular and longest running shows of the golden age of radio appearing on NBC from 1935 until 1959 it starred Jim and Marian Jordan... Fibber McGee and Molly, who live in the little house at 79 Wistful Vista, was known for memorable characters, famous catch phrases and running gags but The Johnson Wax Program had thee most famous radio gag of all of the golden age with Fibber McGee's closet.

As a chance to do a  great sound effect gag (First heard on the episode I've attached)Fibber McGee's closet was a treasured moment on the show...How it would play out was once maybe a season for some reason someone would need something from the hall closet in the McGee house, the door would open and Molly would usually scream "don't open that closet" and a thunderous clatter of items would crash to the floor, which would lead to a thunderous applause of the audience...The show did a great job of not over doing this gag and using it always with the great enjoyment of the studio audience. One episode McGee used the closet to catch a robber who held the couple up in their house.

Growing up my Mom would describe our hall closet as Fibber McGee's closet which usually was a signal for a good ole closet cleaning. I think everyone could relate to having a messy catch all closet or a junk drawer that held all the useful things to good to throw out but don't quite have a home; for a generation the term would be a happy reminder of how radio held a mirror and we could laugh at ourselves.

Enjoy!!!
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The Great Gildersleeve and the Baby!

4/17/2015

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During the Fall of 1948 The Great Gildersleeve starring the talented Harold Perry, would have one of it most famous storylines....while on a shopping trip with his nephew Leroy, Gildy returns to his car to find a surprise...a baby girl!!! Here is this first episode of the story arc...

Gildersleeve would take the baby in and in true Gildy fashion it effects his relationships with his household and his lady friends and the laughs are plenty.

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The sponsor, the Kraft Foods Company, would run a contest during 4 month storyline on helping Gildy in naming the baby...They would use this later in the series run when Gildy's niece Marjorie would marry and have her own twins which they needed help naming. Contests were a radio staple and helped the sponsors to sell more products by having radio listener's send letters with "box-tops" which was a proof of purchase and give away a grand prize like automobiles or kitchen appliances.


The story would end with the annual Christmas episode and Gildy throughs a very special first Christmas for the baby that he now had fallen in love with...but the episode would end differently then it began and we hear one of the saddest episode in the comedies history. (I cry everytime!) It's truly worth listing too!!!

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Mr. and Mrs. George Burns

4/11/2015

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George Burns and Gracie Allen would go down as one of the most successful comedy teams in radio history...Real life husband and wife and vaudeville team George and Gracie would bring their talents to radio 1932 on the Guy Lombardo Show and Gracie's dingbat with smarts character caught on right away and they were off and running, by 1934 the had their own show. It was obvious Gracie was the star attraction but George was the comic brains behind the scene, knowing what would be funny for Gracie's style. It was Burns idea in 1942 to change the show's format to a beleaguered husband and his zany wife sitcom which worked and brought the show high ratings. His idea would be a commonly copied theme on television for 30 years (I love Lucy!). Gracie's "illogical logic" would be the bases of most shows and George would be caught in the middle of some kind of crazy plan. The show had a few regular characters, Womanizer Announcer Bill Goodwin, Gracie's man hungry best friend Tootsie Sagwell played by Elvia Allman and Mel Blanc played "the happy postman". ( They even had a pet duck, Herman voiced by Donald Duck voice artist Clarence Nash.) The show would continue on radio until 1950 and move to TV successfully until 1958, when Gracie retired due to illness.

What's obvious from listening to this show was first how much these two people deeply loved each other, but also how talented they were. No one stupid could play a character like Gracie did without being very, very smart and George used his comic humor to keep her with great material and smart enough to play the straight man. It was a comedy marriage that was made in heaven.

I could grab two dozen hilarious episodes but I choose this one because it's just a great example of George Burns and Gracie Allen amazing talents!
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Stan Freberg, Great Humorist, Dies at 88

4/8/2015

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Stan Freberg the wonderful satirist who created the hilarious hit recording "St. George and the Dragonet" lampooning Jack Webb and Dragnet, died of natural causes, he was 88. Famous for his Advertising genius and his many quips at the silliness of political correctness. He was inducted in the Radio Hall of Fame.

Freburg was also know for the great 1950's kids show Beany and Cecil, but he worked a lot on Radio and CBS gave him his own show in 1957, The Stan Freberg Show which co-starred cartoon voice artist Draws Butler (Huckleberry Hound) and June Foray (Rocky/Natasha on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show). His zany sense of humor usually poked fun at popular culture.

Here is a last show from the The Stan Freberg Show ...The Best of Episode.
 
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Top 10 Sci-Fi/Horror Episodes of the Golden Age of Radio

4/6/2015

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As a kid my friends and I would have sleep overs during our summer breaks out in one of our backyards and we almost was would bring out the trusty transitter radio and fumble around some late night OTR offering. The absolute best luck was when we would find
The Inner Sanctum Mysteries, Suspense, Light's Out, The Shadow, The Whistler or CBS Radio Mystery Theater. These shows would thrill and spook us and we loved it!!!


So here are my favorite Top 10 Sci-Fi/ Horror episodes of all time...The could really go in any order because they are all amazing....


10)
The House on Cypress Canyon from Suspense- A couple buys a new house and encounters something terrifying.

9)
The Cold Equation from X-minus One- A woman stows away on a spaceship with deadly circumstances. 

8) Revolt of the Worms from
Lights Out- (A great example of sound effects genius!) Science gone wrong!

7) Northern Lights from Quiet, Please- Science gone wrong again but this time at the north pole.

6)
Donovan's Brain from Suspense-Starring the Amazing Orson Welles in a twist on Frankenstein.

5)
The Martian Death March from Dimension X-Is this a social commentary or Sci-Fi?

4)
Whence Came You? from Quiet, Please- Just listen you won't be disappointed!

3)
Oxychloride X from Lights Out- Arch Obler classic showing his knack for Sci-Fi.

2)
Zero Hour from Dimension X or Suspense-I love this show!!! The kids are playing a new game but why?

1) The All-Time best shocker is
The Thing on the Fourble Board from Quiet, Please- I remember the first time I listen to this...I sat with my mouth open for minutes after!!! So well done...Classic...Listen to at night but not alone!!!

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