The Aldrich Family

The Aldrich Family was a popular radio teenage situation comedy from 1939 through 1953. In 1941, the program carried a 33.4 Crossley rating which placed it solidly in the top ten alongside Jack Benny and Bob Hope. First heard as a summer replacement for Jack Benny, it began on Sunday, July 2, 1939 on NBC, where it ran until October 1, 1939.

The program was then given its own time slot, Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m., where it was sponsored by Jell-O. The series ran in that slot from October 10, 1939 until May 28, 1940; it then aired on Thursdays, from July 4, 1940 until July 20, 1944.

In 1944, after a brief hiatus, it moved to CBS, where it ran on Fridays from September 1, 1944 until August 30, 1946 with sponsors Grape Nuts and Jell-O. The final move was back to NBC for two runs: from September 05, 1946 to June 28, 1951 on Thursdays and then its final run of September 21, 1952 to April 19, 1953 on Sundays.

Ezra Stone was the first actor to portray Henry Aldrich, the inept teenager around whom the show was built (and who influenced later creations such as Archie Andrews). The character originated in a Broadway play, What a Life by Clifford Goldsmith, and Stone played the role on stage and in skits on both Rudy Vallee and Kate Smith's programs, beginning in 1938, before the full half-hour series began. Stone portrayed the character on radio until he left for service in the Army in 1942. The role then fell to Norman Tokar (1942-1943), Dickie Jones (1943-1944) and Raymond Ives (from mid-1945 until November 1945).

Ezra Stone then resumed his roles until 1952 when Bobby Ellis took over the role as the final Henry. Supporting players and characters included Henry's best friend Homer Brown (Jackie Kelk for most of the run, and Jack Grimes, Michael O'Day, and John Fiedler in the final season); parents Sam Aldrich (House Jameson) and Alice Aldrich (Katharine Raht); girlfriend Kathleen Anderson (Mary Shipp, amongst others); and Homer's parents Mr. Will Brown (Ed Begley and Arthur Vinton) and Mrs. Brown (Agnes Moorehead), amongst many others. Early in the run, Eddie Bracken was heard occasionally as Henry's friend Dizzy Stevens. Among the announcers heard were Harry Von Zell, Dan Seymour, and Dwight Weist.

Notable lines: Mrs. Aldrich: "Hen-RY! Henry Aldrich!" Henry: "Coming, Mother!"