Granby's Green Acres

''Granby's Green Acres'' is a radio situation comedy from the United States. It was broadcast on CBS July 3, 1950 – August 21, 1950, as a summer replacement for ''Lux Radio Theatre''.

Premise

''Granby's Green Acres'' featured a former banker "who knew little about farming and proved it every week".

Characters and cast

Three of the main characters on ''Granby's Green Acres'' were much like those heard on many other situation comedies on radio: a husband, his "somewhat addled and impractical" wife, and "their breathless teenage daughter".Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. . P. 244. Radio historian John Dunning wrote that the husband and wife were "inspired by characters heard on the Lucille Ball show, ''My Favorite Husband''." In fact, radio regulars Gale Gordon and Bea Benaderet (who played John and Martha Granby) also played Mr. and Mrs. Atterbury on ''My Favorite Husband''. Dunning noted, "The names were changed, but the basic characters remained the same."

''Granby's Green Acres'' was Benaderet's "one and only full-fledged starring role on radio". Two other regulars were also familiar to radio listeners. Louise Erickson played Janice, the Granbys' daughter, and Parley Baer played Eb, the farm's hired hand.Terrace, Vincent (1981), ''Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930-1960''. A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. . P. 105. The storekeeper, Will Kimble, was played by Howard McNear in the first episode and by Horace Murphy in subsequent broadcasts.

Bob LeMond was the announcer, and Opie Cates was the music director.

Critical response

A review in the trade publication ''Variety'' called ''Granby's Green Acres'' "a brave but futile effort to put together a situation comedy around Gale Gordon". It said that the episode reviewed had "a tepid script" and that the actors "couldn't improve the show's mediocrity."

Television adaptation

Although ''Granby's Green Acres'' was not transferred directly to television, as were many old-time radio programs, it was the inspiration for ''Green Acres''. The television program followed two popular programs (''The Beverly Hillbillies'' and ''Petticoat Junction'') produced by Paul Henning, as Jeffrey Westhoff explained:

CBS asked Henning to create a third show. To avoid the stress of running three shows at once, Henning asked ''Petticoat'' writer Jay Sommers to create and produce this new program. Sommers proposed reviving ''Granby's Green Acres'', changing the farmer's name and shortening the title. This meant that Benaderet's old radio show had become a spinoff of her television show.

History

In 1948, ''Granby's Green Acres'' was auditioned for a slot on ABC radio with Hanley Stafford originally set to star.

The show's creator, Jay Sommers, based its concept on memories of time he spent as a boy on a farm near Greendale, New York. His stepfather went broke trying to make the farm successful.

Of the eight episodes that aired in 1950, five remain in existence, as does the unaired pilot episode.

References

External links

Review
in '' The Billboard'' (p. 8), July 15, 1950

Episodic logs

Episodic log of ''Granby's Green Acres'' from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs

Episodic log of ''Granby's Green Acres'' from radioGOLDINdex
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Episodic log of ''Granby's Green Acres'' from the Old Time Radio Researchers Group

Streaming audio

Episodes of ''Granby's Green Acres'' from the Internet Archive

Episodes of ''Granby's Green Acres'' from the Old Time Radio Researchers Group LibraryGranbys Green Acres on Old Time Radio Outlaws

1950s American radio programs
CBS Radio programs
American comedy radio programs