''A Day in the Life of Dennis Day'' is an American

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

. It was broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from October 3, 1946, to June 30, 1951. It is also sometimes referred to as ''The Dennis Day Show'' (not to be confused with the television program of the same name).

Format

For most of the program's time on the air,

Dennis Day Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent. Early life Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the ...

played a

soda jerk Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is an American term used to refer to a person — typically a young man — who would operate the soda fountain in a pharmacy (shop), drugstore, preparing and serving carbonated drink, soda drinks and ice cream sodas. T ...

who sang as he worked. His character was naive, innocent, and prone to making wisecracks, much like the character Day played on ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

''. Radio historian John Dunning wrote, "His he character'sname was Dennis Day, but not, he emphasized, the same Dennis Day as that bright young man on the air with Jack Benny." Plots often derived from problems with his girlfriend and her parents. Before the show ended, it changed to a variety format. Being the star of his own program was a departure from Day's previous experience as a regular on Benny's show. "I'm just as scared as I was in 1939 hen he joined Benny's show" he said. "You know, you get used to being a stooge. This one I'll have to carry myself."

Personnel

Day starred as himself in the program, which began after he was discharged from the Navy in 1946. Mildred Anderson (played at different times by Bettie Miles, Barbara Eiler, and

Sharon Douglas Sharon Douglas (born Rhoda-Nelle Rader; October 16, 1920 – June 18, 2016) was an American film and radio actress, most active in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L.M. Rader, Douglas was born in Stephens County, Okla ...

) was Day's girlfriend. Mildred's parents, Herbert and Clara Anderson (played by Francis "Dink" Trout and

Bea Benaderet Beatrice Benaderet ( ; April 4, 1906 – October 13, 1968) was an American actress and comedienne. Born in New York City and raised in San Francisco, she began performing in Bay Area theatre and radio before embarking on a Hollywood career that ...

, respectively), owned the boarding house in which Day lived. Homer Willoughby (played by

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

) owned the drugstore in which Day worked. Announcers were Frank Barton, Verne Smith, and

Jimmy Wallington Jimmy Wallington was an American radio personality. After playing small roles in a few Hollywood films, he was the announcer for several popular radio shows in the 1940s and 1950s. For his work on radio, Wallington has a star on the Hollywood Wa ...

Ken Carson Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr. (born April 11, 2000), known professionally as Ken Carson, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence following the release of his second studio album '' X'' (2022), which be ...

sang for commercials. Instrumental music was by

Robert Armbruster John Robert Sommers Armbruster (October 9, 1897 – June 20, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, pianist and songwriter. He also recorded piano rolls under the pseudonyms of: Henri Bergman, Edwin Gabriel, Robert Romayne, Robert Summers.Th ...

and

Charles Dant Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

. The producer was Bill Harding.

References

External links

Logs

Log of some episodes of ''A Day in the Life of Dennis Day'' from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio LogsLog of some episodes of ''A Day in the Life of Dennis Day'' from radioGOLDINdex

Streaming

Episodes of ''A Day in the Life of Dennis Day'' from the Internet ArchiveEpisodes of ''A Day in the Life of Dennis Day'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group LibraryEpisodes of ''A Day in the Life of Dennis Day'' from Zoot Radio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day in the Life of Dennis Day, A 1946 radio programme debuts 1951 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs NBC radio programs American comedy radio programs