ATC71: Discussing Old Time Radio Comedies with Guest Guy Jones [Bonus Episode]

We share some thoughts on some of our favorite Old Time Radio comedy shows in this episode. We are joined in the studio by Andrew's father, Guy Jones, who is a wealth of knowledge about OTR. We dive into lots of behind the scenes info about the actors, things that took place in the studio, how some shows were connected to others and even play a couple short clips from two shows. You'll hear how Lou Costello lived up to the saying "The show must go on", find out if Jack Benny really was a skinflint, learn why Hal Peary was replaced as Gildersleeve, and much more.

Producer's Note: We had a couple moments in the recording of this episode where there is a bit of background noise which can be heard. We did our best to minimize it and hope it does not detract from the content too much. Thanks!

Download Episode 71

"I think it was really an era in America where kids,...moms and dads had a greater sense of imagination than people do today." - Guy Jones

The following are the OTR comedy shows that we focused on for the majority of this episode:

• The Jack Benny Show
• Abbott and Costello
• The Life of Riley
• The Baby Snooks Show (also called Baby Snooks And Daddy)
• Father Knows Best
• Fibber McGee And Molly
• The Great Gildersleeve
• Our Miss Brooks
• My Favorite Husband
• The Amos & Andy Show

Other Resources:

Book about Jack Benny's career, written by him and his daughter
Sunday Nights At Seven

Many of these OTR comedies can be purchased through our Amazon Store

Question:

Old-time.com called The Alan Young Show the worst OTR comedy variety show. How do you feel about that?

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