HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Granby's Green Acres'' is a
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
from the United States. It was broadcast on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
July 3, 1950 – August 21, 1950, as a summer replacement for ''
Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...
''.


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 ''My Favorite Husband'' was an American radio program and network television show. The original radio show, starring Lucille Ball, shaped into the famous sitcom ''I Love Lucy''. The series was based on the novels ''Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Recor ...
''." In fact, radio regulars
Gale Gordon Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor who was Lucille Ball's longtime television foil, particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J ...
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 s ...
(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 Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Chester" ...
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 Howard Terbell McNear (January 27, 1905 – January 3, 1969) was an American stage, screen, and radio character actor. McNear is best remembered as the original voice of Doc Adams in the radio version of ''Gunsmoke'' and as Floyd Lawson (Flo ...
in the first episode and by Horace Murphy in subsequent broadcasts. Bob LeMond was the announcer, and
Opie Cates Opie Cates (10 October 1909 – 6 November 1987) was an American clarinet player and band leader in the 1930s and 1940s, during the swing era, who became a radio drama, radio actor. Early life and career Cates was born Opal Taft Cates, the son of ...
was the music director.


Critical response

A review in the trade publication ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' 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 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 earl ...
programs, it was the inspiration for ''
Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television absurdist sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first br ...
''. The television program followed two popular programs (''
The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...
'' and ''
Petticoat Junction ''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, an ...
'') produced by
Paul Henning Paul William Henning (September 16, 1911 – March 25, 2005) was an American TV producer and screenwriter. Most famous for creating the television sitcom ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', he was also crucial in developing the "rural" comedies ''Pet ...
, 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 ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
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
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923003021/http://www.radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=Granby%27s+Green+Acres , date=2017-09-23
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