Farewell to Radio

[Yhtapmys]

I'm listening to the Nov. 28, 1948 Fred Allen Show.

http://ia331329.us.archive.org/1/items/otr_fredallen/481128__Is_Radio_Comedy_Suffering.mp3

In it, one of Fred's characters recites a poem which sums up radio catchphrases and situations of the day. It's cute, so I thought I'd transcribe it.

Farewell
Farewell to you, old radio jokes!
I can stand you no longer.
California weather and Airwick,
Asuza and Cucamonga.

Who's on first? Jolson's age.
How big is Durante's nose?
Cantor with his five daughters.
How sloppy are Crosby's clothes?

Allen's Alley. The Mean Widdle Kid.
Sinatra looking so bony.
Fibber McGee and his closet.
Tell me, which twin has the tony?

Coming, mother! Listen, Gracie...
At long last, I've made my decision.
So farewell to you, old radio jokes!
I'm turning to television.

Evidently, Fred tired of Allen's Alley. In his last season, he dumped it in favour of a similar concept called Main Street with some of the same characters. In this one, the poem above is recited by one Humphrey Titter. I think that's Peter Donald playing him (had this been a few years earlier, Falstaff Openshaw would have done this; Allen seems to have liked writing comedy poems).

Considering everyone remembers Allen's Alley, and no one remembers Main Street, I can only imagine NBC's reaction when he told them he was dumping his show's most popular feature.

In this same show, Mrs. Nussbaum is doing Benny put-downs and the bit falls flat. What's funny about saying they're not listening after the commercial break?

Yhtapmys

[Gerry O.]

It probably wasn't that big of a deal to NBC. When Fred started doing the "Main Street" segment, he was still using the familiar "Allen's Alley" characters (Claghorn, Moody, Nussbaum and Cassidy). It wasn't until a little later that "Main Street" introduced new characters like Sergei Stroganoff (played by Kenny Delmar) and Humphrey Titter (played by Peter Donald). All that was really different at first was the sound of traffic noises between the character bits instead of door knocks.

Also, the idea of "Main Street" was probably welcomed by NBC, as the entire Fred Allen show was being revamped, largely due to the stiff competition from "Stop The Music" on ABC. Something "fresh and different" for the Allen show was probably looked on as a positive by the sponsor and network.

Personally, I like the "Main Street" episodes, with the mental image of Fred locking his Ford and walking down the street with Portland. It brings back the "mental picture" imagery of Fred's 1930's "Town Hall Tonight" shows, with the big parade and the crowd of townspeople heading towards Town Hall. That imagery was absent from Fred's shows during most of the 1940's, and he often complained that he missed it.

When "Town Hall Tonight" was revamped into the hour-long "Fred Allen Show" in 1939 (in which all references to, and mental images of, a "town hall" and townspeople were removed), Fred wrote in a letter to a friend that now his show was just like every other radio comedy show.....just a bunch of actors standing around a microphone reading a script.