''Our Gal Sunday'' is an American soap opera 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 ...

, network broadcast via

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 Entertainmen ...

from March 29, 1937, to January 2, 1959, starring Dorothy Lowell and, after Lowell's 1944 death,

Vivian Smolen Vivian Smolen (March 7, 1916 – June 11, 2006) was an actress in the era of old-time radio. She is best known for her work in soap operas, especially portraying Sunday Brinthrope, the title character in ''Our Gal Sunday'' and Laurel, the daughte ...

in the title role. The origin of this radio series was a 1904 Broadway production, ''Sunday'', which starred

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

. This play was the source of the

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "

That's all there is, there isn't any more "That's all there is, there isn't any more" was a phrase Ethel Barrymore used to rebuff curtain calls. The line entered the national consciousness of the United States in the 1920s and 1930s and has often been referenced and parodied. Origins A ...

Characters and story

The Hummerts adapted the Broadway play into a long-running melodramatic radio serial about a Colorado orphan who marries a British aristocrat. It began when two grizzled miners, Jackie and Lively, found a child abandoned and left at the door of their mountain cabin. She was given the name Sunday because that was the day she entered their lives. Later, her last name was given as Smithson. As an adult, she was desired by her childhood friend, Bill Jenkins. She fell under the spell of wealthy Englishman Arthur Brinthrope, who came to check his silver mine. Arthur was shot by Jackie, who wanted to prevent him from running away with Sunday. Arthur's brother, Henry, arrived, eventually marrying Sunday. The couple moved to their Black Swan Hall estate in Virginia, where they lived with their adopted son, Lonnie, and their two natural children, Caroline and Little Davy, who was crippled by a hit-and-run driver. Dorothy Lowell had the title role from 1937 to 1944. When she died in childbirth at age 28, she was replaced by

, who portrayed Sunday from 1944 to 1959. Leading reference sources claim that Lowell continued to star in the radio program until 1946, but those books and websites are obviously incorrect since Lowell died in 1944. The show opened with this question: "

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

" was the series' theme music. The announcers were Ed Fleming, Jim Fleming,

John Reed King John Reed King (October 25, 1914 – July 8, 1979) was an American radio and television game show host who hosted numerous game shows during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Career King was one of the announcers for ''The American School of the Air' ...

, Art Millett,

Bert Parks Bert Parks (born Bertram Jacobson; December 30, 1914 – February 2, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979. Early life Parks was bor ...

, Charles Stark, Warren Sweeney and John A. Wolfe.

References

Listen to

''Our Gal Sunday'' (September 21, 1939)

External links

Short story in Radio and Television Mirror (February 1940, page 12) based on ''Our Gal Sunday''
{{US radio soaps 1937 radio programme debuts 1959 radio programme endings 1930s American radio programs 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs American radio soap operas CBS Radio programs

Characters and story

See also

References

Listen to

External links