The Aldrich FamilyProgram Guide by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

“Hen-reeeeeeeee! Henry Aldrich!”

In the mid-1930’s, a struggling actor-turned-playwright named Clifford Goldsmith seriously considered trading half-interest of a play he’d recently written to a clothier in exchange for a heavy coat in order to brave the winter elements. Goldsmith’s success in show business was best described by the old saw that “if it weren’t for bad luck, he’d have no luck at all.” He had no reason to believe that his play, What a Life!, would catch fire any more than his previous creations—but it did. It premiered at New York’s Biltmore Theater on April 13, 1937 and ran for 538 consecutive performances.

One of the characters in the play, who answered to “Henry Aldrich,” was played by a young actor named Ezra Stone. Stone had performed in previous presentations (including Room Service and Brother Rat), and though only in his teens, served

as a production assistant to George Abbott…the legendary producer who had agreed to take on Goldsmith’s play. Abbott wasn’t convinced at first that Stone was right for the part, and was leaning toward hiring Eddie Bracken. But, when Stone mimicked the vocal patterns of a former schoolmate whose voice had a tendency to crack in moments of stress, he soon convinced Abbott that he was the one. Stone’s Aldrich received enthusiastic notices from critics. The actor found

CD 7B: “Trip to Washington” - March 3, 1949Mr. Aldrich is putting his foot down. Homer is not going to be accompanying the family on their upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. Friends and family soon start to put pressure on Sam to take Homer along. Featuring Howard Smith, Ethel Wilson, Bernard Lenrow, Judith Abbott, Parker Fennelly, Norman Tokar, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 8A: “Blind Date” - April 7, 1949Homer asks Henry to take Agnes’ cousin Martha to a school dance. Henry’s all too willing to help out his old chum…but a talk with his father about blind dates starts to give him pause. Featuring Judith Abbott.

CD 8B: “Date With a Tall Girl” - April 28, 1949Henry’s made a date to take a girl named Helen to a dance…before he realized that she’s taller than him. Henry and Homer try to figure out how to make up the difference in height, but only succeed in making Mr. Aldrich think he’s shrinking! Featuring Judith Abbott, Howard Smith, and Leona Powers.

www.RadioSpirits.comPO Box 1315, Little Falls, NJ 07424

© 2013 RSPT LLC. All rights reserved. For home use only.Unauthorized duplication prohibited.

Program Guide © 2013 Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. and RSPT LLC. All Rights Reserved.

45712

Katharine Raht and Ezra Stone

2 7

his signature role in Henry Aldrich, and would bring the character to radio as the chief protagonist of one of medium’s most beloved and enduring family situation comedies: The Aldrich Family.

Entertainer Rudy Vallee, the host of The Royal Gelatin Hour, had seen What a Life! and asked Goldsmith to pen a number of eight-to-ten minute sketches based on the play for his Thursday night program. These sketches featured Stone, actress Leah Penman (who played Henry’s mother), and others from the stage production. Kate Smith, whose popular Kate Smith Hour also aired on Thursday nights, followed suit and made the Aldrich Family a feature on her show for 39 weeks during the 1938-39 season. Kate’s sponsor, General Foods, believed that The Aldrich Family could stand on its own as a half-hour program, and underwrote the series during the summer of 1939, when it aired as Jack Benny’s replacement. In the fall of 1939, the program landed a spot on NBC Blue’s schedule, and would become a radio staple for the next thirteen years.

The premise of The Aldrich Family was quite simple: the show’s main character, a “typical teenager” named Henry, went through the painful awkwardness of adolescence with often hilarious results. Henry was a decent, likeable sort who managed to turn everything he touched into catastrophe. Within the course of a half-hour, he could start out by placing a simple phone call and somehow manage to tie up every phone in Centerville (the fictional town in which he lived). He had the usual teenage difficulties with girls and money, and often found himself up to his neck in trouble through no fault of his own. He was completely without malice, and rarely did any of his mischief drift into serious areas where the law might have to get involved. His father, Sam Aldrich, was an attorney, and well

adept at keeping his son on the straight-and-narrow. Henry’s devoted mom was Alice, and his older sister was Mary. He got along fairly well with everyone in the house, although Mary enjoyed seeing her brother squirm as he tried to extricate himself from the each weekly complication.

Classic film fans will no doubt recognize this family comedy concept as being similar to the Andy Hardy movies that were produced by MGM at this time, beginning with A Family Affair in 1937. Indeed, there were unquestionably a great deal of similarities between Andy and Henry. Both of their fathers were employed in

CD 5A: “Cousin Lionel” -January 6, 1949Henry and Charlie Clark have a million dollar bet that Henry has a more famous ancestor than Charlie. It’s fortuitous that Cousin Lionel of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is paying the family a visit. Featuring Norman Tokar, Judith Abbott, Bernard Lenrow, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 5B: “Dinner Date With Kathleen” - January 20, 1949Kathleen is coming over to dine with the Aldriches, and Henry wants everything to be just right. Maybe he should have told his mother that Homer and Agnes have been invited, too. Featuring Mary Shipp, Judith Abbott, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 6A: “Formal Wear” - January 27, 1949Henry has tickets to the dance, but no tuxedo. Homer has a tux, but can’t afford admission to the event. After the boys agree to talk to each other’s fathers, their situations are reversed. Featuring Norman Tokar, Mary Shipp, Howard Smith, Judith Abbott, Ward Wilson, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 6B: “Shoveling Snow” - February 3, 1949Henry and Homer team up to shovel the snow off the Aldrich’s and Brown’s driveways. A deal struck with Willie Marshall traps the two of them into whitewashing his aunt’s basement. Featuring Norman Tokar, Howard Smith, Leona Powers, Parker Fennelly, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 7A: “Geometry Homework” - February 10, 1949Henry and Homer have planned to go ice skating with Kathleen and Agnes, but Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich insist that Henry get his geometry homework done before engaging in recreation. Mr. Aldrich plans to help Henry…until Homer’s father invites him to go bowling. Featuring Howard Smith, Parker Fennelly, Thelma Ritter, Mary Shipp, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

Ezra Stone stars as Henry Aldrich

Mary Shipp is featured as Kathleen

6 3

the legal profession (the senior Hardy was a judge), their families were the same size and included a spinster aunt (Milly with the Hardy family, Harriet with the Aldriches), and each of the boys ran around with a sidekick that was not much help when it came to staving off any potential calamity. (It should be noted, however, that Henry’s bosom buddy Homer Brown was a far more interesting personage than Andy Hardy’s chum “Beezy” Anderson.)

The misadventures of Andy Hardy and Henry Aldrich both made for big screen entertainment. Henry Aldrich became a fixture at the flickers beginning in 1939 with an adaptation of What a Life, which premiered five days after the radio show finished its summer run. The movie, written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, starred former Our Ganger Jackie Cooper as Henry…with future gossip maven Hedda Hopper as his ma. A follow-up to the film, Life with Henry, was released in 1941 with an original screenplay co-written by Aldrich Family creator Goldsmith. This film again featured Cooper, reprising his role as Henry. (Eddie Bracken, who lost out on the role of Henry on stage, played Henry’s sidekick “Dizzy” Stevens in this one.) After those two films, Henry became the protagonist (as played by Jimmy Lydon) in an entertaining series of B-pictures that began in 1941 with Henry Aldrich for President and concluded in 1944 with Henry Aldrich’s Little Secret. Most of these programmers were scripted by Val Burton, directed by Hugh Bennett, and featured a healthy dose of physical humor, frequently culminating in wild slapstick finishes.

Within two years of its premiere as a stand-alone program, The Aldrich Family was so popular with radio audiences that its ratings often matched the numbers of the big-time radio comedians like Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy. The Aldrich Family moved to NBC in July 1940, landing a Thursday night time slot for General Foods (Jell-O and Postum) at 8:30pm. It then shifted to CBS for two seasons, beginning in the fall of 1944, on Friday nights at 8pm. It moved back to NBC in 1946 for a five-year-run back on Thursday nights. Its last season on the air was on NBC during the 1952-53 season, as a sustained program heard on Sunday evenings at 7:30pm.

CD 2A: “Henry Forgets To Mail A Letter” - October 23, 1941A letter that Henry forgot to mail ends up soaking wet and delivered to the wrong party. Will there be hard feelings? Will there be anyone to deliver the lecture to his mother’s women’s club? Will Henry be able to put things right?

CD 2B: “Muscle Building Course” - November 6, 1941Henry’s attempts to become better acquainted with Nancy Adams are being stymied by the athletic Bill Turner, Center High’s big man on campus. Henry decides that a muscle building course will help him get the inside track in the competition for Nancy’s attention. Featuring Bernard Lenrow.

CD 3A: “Girlfriend” - January 22, 1942Henry needs twenty-five cents to take Loretta to the dance…and a ride to the country club as well. Mr. Aldrich is dragooned into providing the loan, and pressed into service as chauffeur. Featuring George Powers.

CD 3B: “Selling Christmas Cards” - June 18, 1942Henry and Homer are going to sell Christmas cards to raise money for war bonds…but, their samples appear to have been lost in the mail. The usual chaos ensues.

CD 4A: “Baby Sitting or Movies” - October 21, 1948Kathleen wants Henry to take her to the new Walter Pidgeon film that’s playing in town. Unfortunately, Mr. Aldrich has made arrangements for Henry to look after the Ferguson baby so that the parents can play bridge. Featuring Ethel Wilson, Norman Tokar, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 4B: “Detention or Basketball Game” - October 28, 1948Henry breaks a glue pot in shop class and his teacher assigns him detention for the afternoon, ruining his plans to go with Kathleen to the basketball game. But, Mr. Nelson starts to reconsider the punishment when he realizes that he won’t get to attend the game with a pretty teacher he fancies. Featuring Mary Shipp, Bernard Lenrow, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

Jackie Kelk stars as Homer Brown

Poster for the first Henry Aldrich movie, What a Life

4 5

Henry Aldrich was the role Ezra Stone was born to play, and play it he did through most of the program’s long run. However, when he was called on by Uncle Sam in 1942, he relinquished the part to Norman Tokar, who took over the role from 1942 to 1943. (Tokar was frequently heard on the show as Willie Marshall, one of Henry’s schoolmates…and in addition penned many of the show’s scripts in its later years with Ed Jurist.) The voice of Pinocchio, Dickie Jones, replaced Tokar from 1943 to 1944, and then the role of Henry was handed off to Raymond Ives. Ezra finally returned to The Aldrich Family in November of 1945 and continued doing his perpetually puberty-cracked voice until 1951.

It would be Bobby Ellis as Henry in the 1952-53 season, because he was also playing the role on television.

In the role of Homer Brown, Jackie Kelk almost went the distance (he was replaced in 1952 by John Fiedler, Jack Grimes and Michael O’Day. At the same time that The Aldrich Family was on the air, Kelk could also be heard as Jimmy Olson on The Adventures of Superman. (Kelk observed in later years that he looked more like Henry Aldrich than Stone did, saying “Ezra was this little fat man who wore a vest and smoked cigars.”) The Aldrich Family inspired a great deal of stability in its casting. After a few broadcasts as Mrs. Aldrich, Leah Penman handed the role to Katharine Raht, who played Alice until 1951. The same goes for Mr. Aldrich, who was played by House Jameson for the same length of time. (Clyde Fillmore was Sam in the early broadcasts of the show.) Tom Shirley and Regina Wallace starred as Mr. & Mrs. Aldrich in the show’s final radio season.

By the end of the 1940’s, Henry was not only popular on radio and in the movies, but he also conquered the world of comics. Dell Comics published a Henry Aldrich comic book series that ran for 22 issues between 1950 and 1954. He also, as noted earlier, made the transition to television. The Aldrich Family premiered on NBC-TV on October 2, 1949 and ran for four seasons as a live situation comedy. Though a few holdovers from the radio program were featured—including Jameson as Mr. Aldrich, Kelk as Homer, Leona Powers as Mrs. Brown, Howard Smith as Mr. Brown, and Ethel Wilson as Aunt Harriet—the show went through five Henrys: Robert Casey, Richard Tyler, Henry Girard, Kenneth Nelson and Bobby Ellis. Ezra Stone was not called on to reprise the role that made him

famous, but he did direct several episodes of the series. In fact, Stone found his calling behind the camera in later years, and became a well-known TV director for such shows as I Married Joan, The Munsters and Julia.

Henry Aldrich had a lot of competition in the “typical teenager” sweepstakes during his radio heyday: there was also That Brewster Boy and Archie Andrews (based on the popular comic book/comic strip), A Date with Judy, Meet Corliss Archer and Junior Miss. I have had more than one old-time radio fan tell me that they find The Aldrich Family corny and far too sentimental, but I have a genuine affection for the series. Its performances are earnest, the writing well-done, and the program itself harkens back to a sweetly simpler time. We think you’ll agree once you start listening to these wonderful shows in this collection of classic broadcasts.

The Aldrich FamilyStarring

Ezra Stone

FeaturingHouse Jameson, Katharine Raht, and Jackie Kelk

WithHarry Von Zell and Dan Seymour announcing

CD 1A: “ Rabbits and Pigeons” - February 20, 1940Henry has hit upon a surefire idea to generate needed revenue for his mother’s birthday gift: he’s going to raise rabbits! A chat with the plumber convinces Henry that carrier pigeons might be a better way to go. Featuring Alan Reed.

CD 1B: “Henry’s Hot Idea Cools Off” - November 7, 1940Mr. Aldrich lectures Henry on the importance of doing things when he’s told, like making sure there’s coal for the furnace. Henry gets the idea that there might be some money to be made in taking care of other people’s furnaces. Featuring Norman Tokar.

One of Dell’s 1950’s Henry Aldrich Comics coversDickie Jones, Katharine Raht, and House Jameson

4 5

Henry Aldrich was the role Ezra Stone was born to play, and play it he did through most of the program’s long run. However, when he was called on by Uncle Sam in 1942, he relinquished the part to Norman Tokar, who took over the role from 1942 to 1943. (Tokar was frequently heard on the show as Willie Marshall, one of Henry’s schoolmates…and in addition penned many of the show’s scripts in its later years with Ed Jurist.) The voice of Pinocchio, Dickie Jones, replaced Tokar from 1943 to 1944, and then the role of Henry was handed off to Raymond Ives. Ezra finally returned to The Aldrich Family in November of 1945 and continued doing his perpetually puberty-cracked voice until 1951.

It would be Bobby Ellis as Henry in the 1952-53 season, because he was also playing the role on television.

In the role of Homer Brown, Jackie Kelk almost went the distance (he was replaced in 1952 by John Fiedler, Jack Grimes and Michael O’Day. At the same time that The Aldrich Family was on the air, Kelk could also be heard as Jimmy Olson on The Adventures of Superman. (Kelk observed in later years that he looked more like Henry Aldrich than Stone did, saying “Ezra was this little fat man who wore a vest and smoked cigars.”) The Aldrich Family inspired a great deal of stability in its casting. After a few broadcasts as Mrs. Aldrich, Leah Penman handed the role to Katharine Raht, who played Alice until 1951. The same goes for Mr. Aldrich, who was played by House Jameson for the same length of time. (Clyde Fillmore was Sam in the early broadcasts of the show.) Tom Shirley and Regina Wallace starred as Mr. & Mrs. Aldrich in the show’s final radio season.

By the end of the 1940’s, Henry was not only popular on radio and in the movies, but he also conquered the world of comics. Dell Comics published a Henry Aldrich comic book series that ran for 22 issues between 1950 and 1954. He also, as noted earlier, made the transition to television. The Aldrich Family premiered on NBC-TV on October 2, 1949 and ran for four seasons as a live situation comedy. Though a few holdovers from the radio program were featured—including Jameson as Mr. Aldrich, Kelk as Homer, Leona Powers as Mrs. Brown, Howard Smith as Mr. Brown, and Ethel Wilson as Aunt Harriet—the show went through five Henrys: Robert Casey, Richard Tyler, Henry Girard, Kenneth Nelson and Bobby Ellis. Ezra Stone was not called on to reprise the role that made him

famous, but he did direct several episodes of the series. In fact, Stone found his calling behind the camera in later years, and became a well-known TV director for such shows as I Married Joan, The Munsters and Julia.

Henry Aldrich had a lot of competition in the “typical teenager” sweepstakes during his radio heyday: there was also That Brewster Boy and Archie Andrews (based on the popular comic book/comic strip), A Date with Judy, Meet Corliss Archer and Junior Miss. I have had more than one old-time radio fan tell me that they find The Aldrich Family corny and far too sentimental, but I have a genuine affection for the series. Its performances are earnest, the writing well-done, and the program itself harkens back to a sweetly simpler time. We think you’ll agree once you start listening to these wonderful shows in this collection of classic broadcasts.

The Aldrich FamilyStarring

Ezra Stone

FeaturingHouse Jameson, Katharine Raht, and Jackie Kelk

WithHarry Von Zell and Dan Seymour announcing

CD 1A: “ Rabbits and Pigeons” - February 20, 1940Henry has hit upon a surefire idea to generate needed revenue for his mother’s birthday gift: he’s going to raise rabbits! A chat with the plumber convinces Henry that carrier pigeons might be a better way to go. Featuring Alan Reed.

CD 1B: “Henry’s Hot Idea Cools Off” - November 7, 1940Mr. Aldrich lectures Henry on the importance of doing things when he’s told, like making sure there’s coal for the furnace. Henry gets the idea that there might be some money to be made in taking care of other people’s furnaces. Featuring Norman Tokar.

One of Dell’s 1950’s Henry Aldrich Comics coversDickie Jones, Katharine Raht, and House Jameson

6 3

the legal profession (the senior Hardy was a judge), their families were the same size and included a spinster aunt (Milly with the Hardy family, Harriet with the Aldriches), and each of the boys ran around with a sidekick that was not much help when it came to staving off any potential calamity. (It should be noted, however, that Henry’s bosom buddy Homer Brown was a far more interesting personage than Andy Hardy’s chum “Beezy” Anderson.)

The misadventures of Andy Hardy and Henry Aldrich both made for big screen entertainment. Henry Aldrich became a fixture at the flickers beginning in 1939 with an adaptation of What a Life, which premiered five days after the radio show finished its summer run. The movie, written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, starred former Our Ganger Jackie Cooper as Henry…with future gossip maven Hedda Hopper as his ma. A follow-up to the film, Life with Henry, was released in 1941 with an original screenplay co-written by Aldrich Family creator Goldsmith. This film again featured Cooper, reprising his role as Henry. (Eddie Bracken, who lost out on the role of Henry on stage, played Henry’s sidekick “Dizzy” Stevens in this one.) After those two films, Henry became the protagonist (as played by Jimmy Lydon) in an entertaining series of B-pictures that began in 1941 with Henry Aldrich for President and concluded in 1944 with Henry Aldrich’s Little Secret. Most of these programmers were scripted by Val Burton, directed by Hugh Bennett, and featured a healthy dose of physical humor, frequently culminating in wild slapstick finishes.

Within two years of its premiere as a stand-alone program, The Aldrich Family was so popular with radio audiences that its ratings often matched the numbers of the big-time radio comedians like Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy. The Aldrich Family moved to NBC in July 1940, landing a Thursday night time slot for General Foods (Jell-O and Postum) at 8:30pm. It then shifted to CBS for two seasons, beginning in the fall of 1944, on Friday nights at 8pm. It moved back to NBC in 1946 for a five-year-run back on Thursday nights. Its last season on the air was on NBC during the 1952-53 season, as a sustained program heard on Sunday evenings at 7:30pm.

CD 2A: “Henry Forgets To Mail A Letter” - October 23, 1941A letter that Henry forgot to mail ends up soaking wet and delivered to the wrong party. Will there be hard feelings? Will there be anyone to deliver the lecture to his mother’s women’s club? Will Henry be able to put things right?

CD 2B: “Muscle Building Course” - November 6, 1941Henry’s attempts to become better acquainted with Nancy Adams are being stymied by the athletic Bill Turner, Center High’s big man on campus. Henry decides that a muscle building course will help him get the inside track in the competition for Nancy’s attention. Featuring Bernard Lenrow.

CD 3A: “Girlfriend” - January 22, 1942Henry needs twenty-five cents to take Loretta to the dance…and a ride to the country club as well. Mr. Aldrich is dragooned into providing the loan, and pressed into service as chauffeur. Featuring George Powers.

CD 3B: “Selling Christmas Cards” - June 18, 1942Henry and Homer are going to sell Christmas cards to raise money for war bonds…but, their samples appear to have been lost in the mail. The usual chaos ensues.

CD 4A: “Baby Sitting or Movies” - October 21, 1948Kathleen wants Henry to take her to the new Walter Pidgeon film that’s playing in town. Unfortunately, Mr. Aldrich has made arrangements for Henry to look after the Ferguson baby so that the parents can play bridge. Featuring Ethel Wilson, Norman Tokar, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 4B: “Detention or Basketball Game” - October 28, 1948Henry breaks a glue pot in shop class and his teacher assigns him detention for the afternoon, ruining his plans to go with Kathleen to the basketball game. But, Mr. Nelson starts to reconsider the punishment when he realizes that he won’t get to attend the game with a pretty teacher he fancies. Featuring Mary Shipp, Bernard Lenrow, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

Jackie Kelk stars as Homer Brown

Poster for the first Henry Aldrich movie, What a Life

2 7

his signature role in Henry Aldrich, and would bring the character to radio as the chief protagonist of one of medium’s most beloved and enduring family situation comedies: The Aldrich Family.

Entertainer Rudy Vallee, the host of The Royal Gelatin Hour, had seen What a Life! and asked Goldsmith to pen a number of eight-to-ten minute sketches based on the play for his Thursday night program. These sketches featured Stone, actress Leah Penman (who played Henry’s mother), and others from the stage production. Kate Smith, whose popular Kate Smith Hour also aired on Thursday nights, followed suit and made the Aldrich Family a feature on her show for 39 weeks during the 1938-39 season. Kate’s sponsor, General Foods, believed that The Aldrich Family could stand on its own as a half-hour program, and underwrote the series during the summer of 1939, when it aired as Jack Benny’s replacement. In the fall of 1939, the program landed a spot on NBC Blue’s schedule, and would become a radio staple for the next thirteen years.

The premise of The Aldrich Family was quite simple: the show’s main character, a “typical teenager” named Henry, went through the painful awkwardness of adolescence with often hilarious results. Henry was a decent, likeable sort who managed to turn everything he touched into catastrophe. Within the course of a half-hour, he could start out by placing a simple phone call and somehow manage to tie up every phone in Centerville (the fictional town in which he lived). He had the usual teenage difficulties with girls and money, and often found himself up to his neck in trouble through no fault of his own. He was completely without malice, and rarely did any of his mischief drift into serious areas where the law might have to get involved. His father, Sam Aldrich, was an attorney, and well

adept at keeping his son on the straight-and-narrow. Henry’s devoted mom was Alice, and his older sister was Mary. He got along fairly well with everyone in the house, although Mary enjoyed seeing her brother squirm as he tried to extricate himself from the each weekly complication.

Classic film fans will no doubt recognize this family comedy concept as being similar to the Andy Hardy movies that were produced by MGM at this time, beginning with A Family Affair in 1937. Indeed, there were unquestionably a great deal of similarities between Andy and Henry. Both of their fathers were employed in

CD 5A: “Cousin Lionel” -January 6, 1949Henry and Charlie Clark have a million dollar bet that Henry has a more famous ancestor than Charlie. It’s fortuitous that Cousin Lionel of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is paying the family a visit. Featuring Norman Tokar, Judith Abbott, Bernard Lenrow, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 5B: “Dinner Date With Kathleen” - January 20, 1949Kathleen is coming over to dine with the Aldriches, and Henry wants everything to be just right. Maybe he should have told his mother that Homer and Agnes have been invited, too. Featuring Mary Shipp, Judith Abbott, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 6A: “Formal Wear” - January 27, 1949Henry has tickets to the dance, but no tuxedo. Homer has a tux, but can’t afford admission to the event. After the boys agree to talk to each other’s fathers, their situations are reversed. Featuring Norman Tokar, Mary Shipp, Howard Smith, Judith Abbott, Ward Wilson, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 6B: “Shoveling Snow” - February 3, 1949Henry and Homer team up to shovel the snow off the Aldrich’s and Brown’s driveways. A deal struck with Willie Marshall traps the two of them into whitewashing his aunt’s basement. Featuring Norman Tokar, Howard Smith, Leona Powers, Parker Fennelly, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 7A: “Geometry Homework” - February 10, 1949Henry and Homer have planned to go ice skating with Kathleen and Agnes, but Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich insist that Henry get his geometry homework done before engaging in recreation. Mr. Aldrich plans to help Henry…until Homer’s father invites him to go bowling. Featuring Howard Smith, Parker Fennelly, Thelma Ritter, Mary Shipp, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

Ezra Stone stars as Henry Aldrich

Mary Shipp is featured as Kathleen

The Aldrich FamilyProgram Guide by Ivan G. Shreve, Jr.

“Hen-reeeeeeeee! Henry Aldrich!”

In the mid-1930’s, a struggling actor-turned-playwright named Clifford Goldsmith seriously considered trading half-interest of a play he’d recently written to a clothier in exchange for a heavy coat in order to brave the winter elements. Goldsmith’s success in show business was best described by the old saw that “if it weren’t for bad luck, he’d have no luck at all.” He had no reason to believe that his play, What a Life!, would catch fire any more than his previous creations—but it did. It premiered at New York’s Biltmore Theater on April 13, 1937 and ran for 538 consecutive performances.

One of the characters in the play, who answered to “Henry Aldrich,” was played by a young actor named Ezra Stone. Stone had performed in previous presentations (including Room Service and Brother Rat), and though only in his teens, served

as a production assistant to George Abbott…the legendary producer who had agreed to take on Goldsmith’s play. Abbott wasn’t convinced at first that Stone was right for the part, and was leaning toward hiring Eddie Bracken. But, when Stone mimicked the vocal patterns of a former schoolmate whose voice had a tendency to crack in moments of stress, he soon convinced Abbott that he was the one. Stone’s Aldrich received enthusiastic notices from critics. The actor found

CD 7B: “Trip to Washington” - March 3, 1949Mr. Aldrich is putting his foot down. Homer is not going to be accompanying the family on their upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. Friends and family soon start to put pressure on Sam to take Homer along. Featuring Howard Smith, Ethel Wilson, Bernard Lenrow, Judith Abbott, Parker Fennelly, Norman Tokar, and Meredith Willson and His Talking People.

CD 8A: “Blind Date” - April 7, 1949Homer asks Henry to take Agnes’ cousin Martha to a school dance. Henry’s all too willing to help out his old chum…but a talk with his father about blind dates starts to give him pause. Featuring Judith Abbott.

CD 8B: “Date With a Tall Girl” - April 28, 1949Henry’s made a date to take a girl named Helen to a dance…before he realized that she’s taller than him. Henry and Homer try to figure out how to make up the difference in height, but only succeed in making Mr. Aldrich think he’s shrinking! Featuring Judith Abbott, Howard Smith, and Leona Powers.

www.RadioSpirits.comPO Box 1315, Little Falls, NJ 07424

© 2013 RSPT LLC. All rights reserved. For home use only.Unauthorized duplication prohibited.

Program Guide © 2013 Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. and RSPT LLC. All Rights Reserved.

45712

Katharine Raht and Ezra Stone