''Ma Perkins'' (sometimes called ''Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins'') is an American radio

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

that was heard on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from 1933 to 1949 and on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from 1942 to 1960. It was also broadcast in Canada, and

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

carried it in Europe. The program began on

WLW WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One. WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provides ...

in Cincinnati, Ohio, where it was broadcast from August 14, 1933 to December 1, 1933. Its network debut occurred on NBC on December 4, 1933. Between 1942 and 1949, the show was heard simultaneously on both networks. During part of its run on NBC, that network's coverage was augmented by use of transcriptions. Beginning April 1, 1935, nine stations broadcast the transcriptions.

Oxydol Oxydol is a brand of laundry detergent sold in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It was created in 1914 by Thomas Hedley Co. of Newcastle upon Tyne and purchased by Procter & Gamble in 1927. It was P&G's first laundry soap. In t ...

dropped its sponsorship in 1956. The program continued with various sponsors until 1960. The series was produced by

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

and

Anne Hummert Anne Hummert (née Schumacher) (January 19, 1905 – July 5, 1996) was the leading creator of daytime radio serials or soap opera dramas during the 1930s and 1940s, responsible for more than three dozen series. Biography She was born in Baltimore ...

with scripts by

Robert Hardy Andrews Charles Robert Douglas Hardy Andrews (October 19, 1903 – November 11, 1976) was a novelist, screenwriter and radio drama scriptwriter. Career Andrews began his career as a reporter for the ''Chicago Daily News'', and edited the newspaper's maga ...

Orin Tovrov Orin Tovrov (April 30, 1911 - August 16, 1980) was an American screenwriter. He is known as the creator of the long-running soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and televis ...

, and others. ''Ma Perkins'' began August 14, 1933, on WLW in Cincinnati. On December 4 of that year, it graduated to the NBC Red network. On NBC and CBS the series ran for a total of 7,065 episodes. "America’s mother of the air" was portrayed by actress

Virginia Payne Marie Virginia Payne (June 19, 1908 - February 9, 1977 in Cincinnati, Ohio) was an American radio actress, best known for her 27-year role as the title character in the radio soap opera ''Ma Perkins''. In 1939-1940, she played Mrs. Kerry Carter ...

, who began the role at the age of 19 and never missed a performance during the program's 27-year run. Kindly, trusting widow Ma Perkins had a big heart and a great love of humanity. She always offered her homespun philosophy to troubled souls in need of advice. ''Ma Perkins'' is widely credited with giving birth to storytelling and content-based advertising.

Characters and story

Ma owned and operated a lumber yard in the town of Rushville Center (population 4000), where the plotlines pivoted around her interactions with the local townsfolk and the ongoing dilemmas of her three children, Evey, Fay and John. One of her children died during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Ma's daughter Fay was played by Marjorie Hannan, Isabelle Krehbiel and Rita Ascot. Gilbert Faust had the role of John. Evey Perkins was played by Lillian White, Dora Johnson, Laurette Fillbrandt and

Kay Campbell Catherine "Kay" Campbell (August 12, 1904 – May 27, 1985) was an American actress. Early years Campbell began her career as a model in Chicago, and she was a graduate of the University of Chicago. Radio In 1937, Campbell starred in '' ...

, who later became known for playing Grandma Kate Martin on the television soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

''. Shuffle Shober, Ma's best friend, was played by Charles Egelston (and later Edwin Wolfe). Murray Forbes was heard as Willie Fitz, and

Cecil Roy Cecil H. Roy (October 2, 1900 – January 26, 1995) was an American radio actress who was well known in radio broadcasting of the 1930s and 1940s as The Girl of a Thousand Voices.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biograph ...

portrayed Junior Fitz. In "Sounds from the Past," Chris Plunkett offered an overview of the series: :Typical of Hummert productions, Ma Perkins had her share of tears, crises, and drama, but with a plotline much slower paced than the average soap opera. In a typical year, no more than three or four major complications were covered --interspersed by long "quiet spells," filled with (brutally) protracted discussions on the meaning of life amid the ever-changing tapestry of family, friends and the small town around them... Early in the drama’s run Ma was portrayed as quite combative and spiteful, but her character soon developed (and softened) into the kindhearted sage and conscience of the entire community. There were various dramas that unfolded over the years, some more far-fetched than others. Two of the more memorable plot stretches involve Ma exposing a black market baby-napping ring, and Ma harboring Soviet political dissidents inside her home.Norm's Radio: "Sounds from the Past" by Chris Plunkett
/ref> When the show ended on Friday, November 25, 1960, the day after

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden a ...

, it was one of only eight entertainment shows still on the CBS radio network. The last episode was the only one in which Virginia Payne's name was mentioned, by Payne herself in a farewell speech. In all other episodes, the announcer at the close of the show would run down the names of all the actors in the cast (but one), and then say, "... and Ma Perkins."

Cast

- Ma Perkins *Charles Egelston - Shuffle Shober, Ma's best friend (1933-1958) *Edwin Wolfe - Shuffle Shober (1958-1960) *Dora Johnson - Evey Perkins (1933-1944) *Laurette Fillbrandt - Evey Perkins (1944-1945) *

- Evey Perkins (1945-1960) *Isabelle Krehbiel - Fay Perkins (1933) *Rita Ascot - Fay Perkins *

Margaret Draper Margaret Ruth Draper (November 20, 1916 – October 14, 2011) was an American actress and international service worker. Early years Draper was born in 1916, the third of six children born to Delbert Morley Draper and Frances Mary Rogers. ...

- Fay Perkins *Gilbert Faust - John Perkins

References

Listen to

''Ma Perkins'' radio shows from 1950 (52 episodes)Dick Bertel interview with Virginia Payne on Hartford's WTIC (January, 1973)

External links

* {{US radio soaps 1933 radio programme debuts 1960 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs 1960s American radio programs American radio soap operas NBC radio programs CBS Radio programs

Characters and story

Cast

See also

References

Further reading

Listen to

External links