Bucolic was the watchword for many TV sitcoms during the 1960s: a trend that had actually started earlier (back in 1957) with The Real McCoys, but was in full swing at the start of the decade with th ...
Andy Griffith (1926-2012)(Post)In 1979, veteran radio producers Fletcher Markle and Elliott Lewis attempted to resurrect the lost art of radio drama with The Sears Radio Theater, a program that followed in the footsteps of such ...
Happy Birthday, Tom Conway!(Post)Thomas Charles Sanders was born on this date in 1904 to English parents in St. Petersburg, Russia. Old-time radio fans, of course, know him as Tom Conway, and know that he played two famous detec ...
Doris Singleton (1919-2012)(Post)The recurring character of Caroline Appleby, rival/nemesis of housewife Lucy Ricardo on the classic television sitcom I Love Lucy, was first introduced in the episode “The Club Election”—though th ...
“Well…that’s My Little Margie…”(Post)The studio of legendary movie producer Hal Roach was known in the industry as the “Lot of Fun.” He quickly learned that his many years of producing quality two-reel comedy shorts in the silent and ...
The Man Who Taught America How to Sing(Post)The small town of Tyrone, Pennsylvania added Fredrick Malcolm Waring to its population on this date in 1909—of course, Fredrick would shorten his name to the friendlier “Fred,” and during his teenage ...
“Two people who live together…and like it!”(Post)Old-time radio author-historian Jim Cox describes My Favorite Husband as “a dress rehearsal for the main event” in his indispensable reference book The Great Radio Sitcoms. “My Favorite Husband w ...
Happy Birthday, Andy Clyde!(Post)The actor who entertained fans on radio, television and in the movies as Hopalong Cassidy’s sidekick California Carlson was born on this date in 1892 in Blairgowrie, Scotland. Yes, Andrew Allan Cl ...
Happy Birthday, George Burns!(Post)He’s acknowledged by many to have been one of the finest straight men in comedy—if not the finest. This, however, does George Burns a disservice. The man born on this date in 1896 immodestly att ...
Happy Birthday, Lloyd Bridges!(Post)The classic TV favorite Sea Hunt could facetiously–-but truthfully–-be described as “the one that got away.” Every one of the major television networks took a pass on the proposed series from prod ...
Happy Birthday, Charles Farrell!(Post)Unless you’re like me and have turned all of your extracurricular activity hours over to watching endless episodes of TV reruns, the name of actor Charles Farrell might not be an immediately famil ...
“Murray Hill 4-0098…”(Post)On this date in 1943, “radio’s outstanding theatre of thrills,” Suspense, first presented the most popular episode in its nearly twenty-year broadcast history (1942-62). Written by Lucille Fletcher ( ...