Old Time Radio Comedy ran the spectrum from the
early situation comedy of Jack Benny to the country style humor of
Lum and Abner and everywhere in between.
America has a lasting love affair with comedy
radio and those lovable personalities that made everyone burst out
laughing. Our Miss Brooks, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Life of
Riley, Duffy's Tavern, Dean martin and Jerry Lewis, My Friend
Irma, My Favorite Husband with Lucille Ball, Ozzie and Harriet,
Abbott and Costello, The Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Minnie Pearl,
Mae West, Amos and Andy, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Eddie Cantor, Al
Jolson, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Father Knows Best, The
Bickersons, The Aldrich Family, Bringing Up Father, Moon Mullins,
Mel Blanc, Henry Morgan, Jean Shepherd, Stan Freberg and the list
goes on and on!
Plus that's just the American Shows. Old
Time Radio and thus Old Time Radio Comedy was a worldwide
phenomena. With magnificent radio shows originating from England,
Europe, Africa, Australia and elsewhere.
So, where to tap in to all of this wealth?
The giant Old Time Radio archives to be found at such great OTR
websites as Bookzap and Radio Treasury contain more comedy
routines, shows and entertainment than most could listen to in a
lifetime! These two great sites have it all and with crystalline
clear sound quality. Below are just a few of the most memorable
and wqell loved old time radio show collections that you can
acquire on Bookzap or Radio Treasury. Below at the end of this
article you can find the link to these two exemplary websites.
Jack Benny, among the most beloved
American entertainers of the 20th century, was know by many as the
"King of Comedy". Jack Benny was an extraordinarily sweet comedian
who could crwack you up wjust by looking at you!
Our Miss Brooks was a big comedy hit on
radio from the beginning. Within just months of its debute the
show landed several honors. It depicted a woman comic in a new way
which was niether clutzy or scatterbrained.
Fibber McGee and Molly were arguable the
most loveable couple on odl time radio. The Humor was so funny and
the characters so familiar and memorable that this series ran in
one form or another for about full two decades.
The Life of Riley,
The Life of Riley was an early version of a
typical American situation comedy, it was co-developed by Gummo
the non-performing member of the Marx Brother family. The Life of
Riley appeared on both radio and television in the 1940s and
1950s. It helped to introduce "nuclear family" concept to American
broadcasting. THE LIFE OF RILEY was an early version of the "dumb
husband" type of comedy, which is a formula often repeated still
in TV sitcoms.
Duffy's Tavern
Duffy's Tavern was heard on the radio from
1940 to 1952 and was widely loved from the beginning by both
critics and the working-class. Though DUFFY'S TAVERN made the
transition to television in 1954, it only lasted for one season.
Duffy's Tavern ran for years on radio but didn't translate as well
to film or television.
An American radio situation comedy which
aired on both CBS and NBC, Duffy's Tavern often featured famous
stage and film guest stars. But the show almost always centered
around the misadventures, schemes, and romantic missteps of the
title establishment's manager, Archie, played by Ed Gardner.
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a
little-known vaudeville team when they made their screen debuts in
a movie adaptation of the 1940s radio show MY FRIEND IRMA (1949).
They became the biggest comedy team of the late 1940s and early
1950s. They were especially a popular team in the 1950s, making
many movies, television appearnces, and several comedy radio
performances together.
My Friend Irma
My Friend Irma, created by
writer-director-producer Cy Howard, was a top rated, long-running
radio situation comedy. It was so popular in the late 1940s that
its success escalated to films and television.
My Friend Irma, played by Marie Wilson,
tells the tales of a very dim-witted blonde secretary named Irma
Peterson, and the daily high-jinx that she gets into with her
various screwy friends.
My Favorite Husband with Lucille Ball
My Favorite Husband was Lucille Ball’s very
popular late 1940s radio program which preceded her famous Lucy
Ricardo character of I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball was one of radio
and television's foremost pioneers, and many believe, the
pre-eminent woman in the history of American comedy.
Ozzie and Harriet
Before they got their own radio show (1944),
Ozzie and Harriet were regulars on Red Skelton's radio show.
However, When Skelton was drafted into the military in 1944, Ozzie
and Harriet were offered the vacated time slot. So they filled it
with The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
The children of Ozzie and Harriet were
originally played by actors. But were soon the actors were
replaced by their own two sons, David and Ricky Nelson.
An early portrayal of the conventional
American nuclear family, with Dad bringing home the bacon and Mom
cooking it for him and the kids, Ozzie and Harriet was a very
popular and entertaining show for many years on radio during the
40's and later TV during the 50's.
Abbott and Costello
Abbott and Costello were among the most
successful comics at making the transition from burlesque to radio
and film. A quintessential American comedy duo, Abbott and
Costello's work in radio, film, and television made them one of
the most popular comedy teams in history. Not known for droll or
witty humor, they were outright comics relying more on verbal than
physical humor.
The Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were masters of slapstick
and double entendre comedy which enabled them to get past the
censors of their time. Somewhat less well know is the fact that
they were also gifted they were also musicians. The Marx brothers
were American radio, stage, and film stars who during the 1930's
domiated comedy with their lunatic antics.
W.C. Fields,
Of comedy Fields once said, "The funniest
thing about comedy is that you never know why people laugh.
After Vaudeville, W.C. Fields made many
films during his career, but he also continued to perform on the
radio. Fields could always deliver the clever phrase, and he
delighted radio listeners with his long standing feud with Charley
McCarthy.
Amos and Andy
Amos and Andy were simple down to earth
characters for the purpose of comedy. They were black characters
portrayed by white actors wearing blackface makeup. Amos and Andy
were a very popular comedy team on radio, but NAACP objections to
the show occurred because it was considered to stereotype African
Americans.
Bob Hope,
Bob Hope was a comedian from the latter days
of vaudeville who achieved wonderful success in radio and
television. He was definately a triple-threat superstar of radio,
film and television during the 1940s and 1950s. Bob Hope, was the
king of the spontaneous one-liner, a beloved performer, and a
great supporter of our men in uniform. Bob Hope was among the
first performers to entertain the troops.
George Burns and Gracie Allen
Burns and Allen were a very popular American
comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen.
Married for forty years, Burns and Allen first met on the
vaudeville circuit in the 1920's. The were considered by many to
be the finest husband/wife comedy team of all time.
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best was first a radio series
on NBC Radio. The show debuted in August of 1949. Four years
later, the show moved to CBS television and was a popular TV
series throughout the 1950's and early 60's. It was a situational
comedy in the setting of a typical Midwestern community. Father
Knows Best's Andersons portrayed the ideal middle class American
family.
The Bickersons
The Bickersons was a popular American radio
comedy program that aired from 1946 to 1951. The battling couple
may have seemed to have no business being married at all, but
their show was funny and it functioned as an early prototype later
comic couples as Ralph and Alice Kramden of The Honeymooners and
Peg and Al Bundy of Married With Children.
The Aldrich Family
The Aldrich Family was so popular situation
comedy across America that it aired for almost 14 years from 1939
through 1953.
Of course there are many more great ccomedy
acts that sprung up during the golden age of old time radio. These
are but a few of the the most popular in my opinion. If you want
to revisit some of these shows, or thousands of other old time
radio programs I highly recommend visiting Bookzap or Radio
Treasury and enjoying the shows!
