Ransom Sherman (October 15, 1898 – November 26, 1985) was an American radio and television personality and writer.

Early years

Sherman and his family moved from

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh) is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...

, to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

when he was 14. He attended a technical school in Chicago, but singing began to interest him more than the school's offerings. That pleased his parents, both of whom were musicians — his father a violinist and his mother a pianist. He sang in an amateur production of ''The Mikado'', but when he was in college he played bass fiddle in the orchestra. He attended Michigan, Northwestern, and Ripon for his college studies but never graduated.

Career

Sherman sold shoes at

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

and sang and played saxophone in clubs and at banquets in the Chicago area until he traveled to Europe in 1923. After he returned, he began selling insurance. When he visited radio station KYW to call on some prospects for policies, he became interested in radio. He continued to visit stations until, at age 33, one gave him an audition that resulted in a job. One of Sherman's early radio shows was ''The Doctors'', a comedy on which he cultivated his ability to ad-lib. Following that, he was on a variety show for a short time, after which he became master of ceremonies on ''

Club Matinee ''Club Matinee'' is an American old-time radio variety show. It was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from 1937 to 1943 and on ABC from 1945 to 1946. Format ''Club Matinee'' featured comedy and music, with the two sometimes combined in the form of ...

'' on the

Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...

. He starred in, and wrote scripts for, '' Hap Hazard'', a comedy-variety show that was the summer replacement for ''

Fibber McGee and Molly ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' (1935–1959) was a longtime highly popular husband-and-wife team radio comedy program. The situation comedy was a staple of the NBC Red Network from 1936 on, after originating on NBC Blue in 1935. One of the most p ...

'' on NBC radio in 1941. He retained the title role when the show returned to the air in January 1942. He was also heard on ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' portraying Wallace Wimple, Uncle Dennis, and the old-timer. Ransom co-starred with

Leo Carrillo Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo (; August 6, 1880 – September 10, 1961), known professionally as Leo Carrillo, was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist. He was best known for playing Pancho in the television ...

in ''Fiesta Ranch'', a comedy-musical radio program, in 1943. In 1944, he starred in ''Nitwit Court'', the summer replacement for ''

Duffy's Tavern ''Duffy's Tavern'' is an American radio situation comedy that ran for a decade on several networks ( CBS, 1941–42; NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; and NBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast. The program often featured ...

''. Sherman worked in Hollywood for nine years, appearing in some films before he returned to Chicago. Films in which he appeared included ''

Yankee Fakir ''Yankee Fakir'' is a 1947 American mystery film directed and produced by W. Lee Wilder and written by Richard S. Conway. The film stars Douglas Fowley, Joan Woodbury, Clem Bevans, Ransom M. Sherman, Frank Reicher and Marc Lawrence. The film was ...

'', ''Whiplash'' (1949) and ''

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer ''The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer'' (released as ''Bachelor Knight'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1947 American screwball romantic comedy-drama film directed by Irving Reis and written by Sidney Sheldon. The film stars Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, a ...

'' (1947). A visit to

Dave Garroway David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depressi ...

's television program led him to try TV. During the summer of 1950, he had a 30-minute program five nights a week on NBC. Radio and TV columnist Larry Wolters described the show as "a light and airy thirty minutes of whimsical humor, gentle satire, bewildering non sequiturs, and a grab-bag of nonsense and foolishness". A feature of the summer program was Sherman's parodying of how-to-do-it segments of TV shows. An article in ''Life'' magazine described Sherman's character in the segments as "the most appallingly inefficient Mr. Fixit who ever nailed his thumb to a board." In October 1950, he began the ''Ransom Sherman Show'', which originated at WNBQ in Chicago and was broadcast on NBC-TV Monday through Friday afternoons. That program lasted three months.

Personal life

Sherman and his wife, Helen, had a son and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, Ransom 1898 births 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male radio actors American male television actors Radio personalities from Chicago Year of death missing