''The Halls of Ivy'' is an American

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 ...

that ran from 1950 to 1952 on

NBC radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...

, created by '' Fibber McGee & Molly'' co-creator/writer

Don Quinn Don Quinn (November 18, 1900 – December 30, 1967) was an American comedy writer who started out as a cartoonist based in Chicago. According to sources, Quinn's career as a cartoonist was short-lived but his career as a writer began after he rea ...

. The series was adapted into a CBS television comedy (1954–55) produced by

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

and

Television Programs of America Television Programs of America, Inc (TPA) was a New York-based US television production company in the 1950s. TPA had a Canadian subsidiary, Normandie Productions. This television production and distribution company was best known for '' Fury, ...

. British husband-and-wife actors

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...

and Benita Hume starred in both versions of the show. Quinn developed the show after he had decided to leave ''Fibber McGee & Molly'' in the hands of his protégé Phil Leslie. ''The Halls of Ivy's'' audition program featured radio veteran Gale Gordon (then co-starring in '' Our Miss Brooks'') and

Edna Best Edna Clara Best (3 March 1900 – 18 September 1974) was a British actress. Early life Born in Hove, Sussex, England, she was educated in Brighton and later studied dramatic acting under Miss Kate Rorke who was the first professor of Drama at ...

in the roles that ultimately went to the Colmans, who demonstrated a flair for radio comedy during the late 1940s recurring roles on '' The Jack Benny Program''.

Radio series

''The Halls of Ivy'' featured Ronald Colman as William Todhunter Hall, the president of small,

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

Ivy College, and Benita Hume as his wife, Victoria, a former British musical comedy star who sometimes feels the tug of her former profession, and followed their interactions with students, friends, and college trustees. Others in the cast included Herb Butterfield as testy board chairman Clarence Wellman,

Willard Waterman Willard Lewis Waterman (August 29, 1914 – February 2, 1995)Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . was an American ...

(then starring as Harold Peary's successor as '' The Great Gildersleeve'') as board member John Merriweather, 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 ...

, Elizabeth Patterson, and Gloria Gordon as the Halls' maids. Alan Reed (television's Fred Flintstone) appeared periodically as the stuffy English teacher, Professor Heaslip. Other actors who appeared included Virginia Gregg, Lee Patrick,

Jean Vander Pyl Jean Thurston Vander Pyl (October 11, 1919 – April 10, 1999) was an American voice actress. Although her career spanned many decades, she is best known as the voice of Wilma Flintstone for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon ''The Flintstones''. In a ...

, Rolfe Sedan, Sidney Miller, William Tracy,

Sam Edwards Sam George Edwards (May 26, 1915 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor. His most famous role on television was as banker Bill Anderson on ''Little House on the Prairie''.D.S.S. Form 1 Military Draft Registration Card completed on October 16, ...

Arthur Q. Bryan Arthur Quirk Bryan (May 8, 1899 – November 30, 1959) was an American actor and radio personality. He is best remembered for his longtime recurring role as well-spoken, wisecracking Dr. Gamble on the radio comedy ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' and f ...

Barton Yarborough William Barton Yarborough (October 2, 1900 – December 19, 1951) was an American actor who worked extensively in radio drama, primarily on the NBC Radio Network. He is famous for his roles in the Carlton E. Morse productions '' I Love a My ...

, James Gleason, Jerry Hausner and other actors. The series ran 109 half-hour radio episodes from January 6, 1950, to June 25, 1952, with Quinn, Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee writing many of the scripts and giving free if even more sophisticated play to Quinn's knack for language play, inverted cliches and swift puns (including the show's title and lead characters), a knack he'd shown for years writing ''Fibber McGee & Molly''. Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee continued as a writing team; their best-known play is '' Inherit the Wind''. Cameron Blake, Walter Brown Newman, Robert Sinclair, and Milton and Barbara Merlin became writers for the program as well. In subject matter, the program was often notably ahead of its time, forward looking, and willing to tackle controversial topics. "Hell Week," first broadcast on January 2, 1952, boldly addressed the unforeseen dangers of college fraternity hazing. "The Leslie Hoff Painting" (September 27, 1950) and "The Chinese Student" (February 7, 1950) both openly countenanced and dealt with instances of racial bigotry. Another episode centered on an unmarried student's pregnancy. But listeners were surprised to discover that the episode of January 24, 1951, "The Goya Bequest"—a story examining the bequest of a Goya painting that was suspected of being a fraud hyped by its late owner to avoid paying customs duties when bringing to the United States—was written by Colman, who poked fun at his accomplishment while taking a rare turn giving the evening's credits at the show's conclusion. A further treat was the episode of November 22, 1951, in which

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

appeared as himself, in a storyline involving his accepting Victoria Hall's invitation to perform for charity at Ivy College. The sponsor was the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company ("The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous"). Nat Wolff produced and directed. Henry Russell handled the music and co-wrote the theme with Vick Knight. Radio veteran Ken Carpenter was the announcer. The radio program received a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

in 1950.

Television series (1954–1955)

For the television series the Colmans and Butterfield repeated their radio roles with

Mary Wickes Mary Wickes (born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser; June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995) was an American actress. She often played supporting roles as prim, professional women, secretaries, nurses, nuns, therapists, teachers and housekeepers, who made ...

as Alice, the Halls' housekeeper, and Ray Collins, later of '' Perry Mason'', as Professor Merriweather. The TV version premiered on October 19, 1954, and ran for 38 half-hour black-and-white episodes. Its last airing was October 13, 1955. Many television episodes are missing so that some credits and episode titles are unknown. It is known, however, that Ronald Colman personally supervised production of the TV series, with

William Frye William Pierce Frye (September 2, 1830 – August 8, 1911) was an American politician from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, Frye spent most of his political career as a legislator, serving in the Maine House of Representatives and the ...

as producer, under executive producer Leon Fromkess. John Lupton, later of the western series '' Broken Arrow'', and Jerry Paris, later of ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Product ...

'', appeared in some episodes as students. The creator of the television version was Don Quinn and virtually all of the scripts were adapted from those originally heard on radio.

played Professor Warren, head of the college's history department, a role he also had on the radio program. ''The Halls of Ivy'' aired at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesdays, after ''

The Red Skelton Show ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his televis ...

'', for alternate sponsors

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

and

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco's ...

References

External links

''The Halls of Ivy'' article and log

Internet Archive: ''The Halls of Ivy''
*
Retro Galaxy: 1951 script excerpt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halls Of Ivy, The American comedy radio programs 1950s American radio programs Peabody Award-winning radio programs Radio programs adapted into television shows NBC radio programs 1950s American sitcoms 1954 American television series debuts 1955 American television series endings CBS original programming Television series based on radio series Television series by ITC Entertainment Black-and-white American television shows 1950s American college television series

Radio series

Television series (1954–1955)

References

Further reading

External links