''The Bob Burns Show'' (also known as ''The Arkansas Traveler'') was an American

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 early ...

comedy program that starred comedian Bob Burns. The program derived from a character Burns performed for five years on

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

's ''

Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety progra ...

'' entitled "The Arkansas Traveler". The program originally premiered as ''The Arkansas Traveler'' on September 16, 1941 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 Entertainmen ...

. In 1943, Bob Burns moved his program over to the

Red Network Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

of the

National Broadcasting Company 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 ...

. The January 7 broadcast was the first episode to use the title ''The Bob Burns Show''. The program moved from its Thursdays at 7:30 timeslot to Sundays at 6:30 for its last season on September 29, 1946. The program concluded its run on May 25, 1947. Two failed revival attempts of the program aired between November 1947 and July 1949. Both audition programs were sponsored by

Dreft Dreft is a laundry detergent in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and other markets. First produced by Procter & Gamble in 1933, it was the first synthetic detergent. The Fairy brand of washing-up liquid and Cascade brand of dishwasher ...

but never made air.The Bob Burns Vintage Radio Log at otrsite.com Other principal actors on the program included actors

Ginny Simms Virginia Ellen SimmsSleeve notes from ''Ginny Simms – I'd Like To Set You To Music'', Jasmine JASCD 118, 2001. (May 25, 1913 – April 4, 1994) was an American popular singer and film actress. Simms sang with big bands and with Dinah Shore, ...

Edna Mae Oliver Edna May Oliver (born Edna May Nutter, November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the better-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. ...

, Ann Thomas,

James Gleason James Austin Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter born in New York City. Gleason often portrayed "tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold." Life and career Gleason w ...

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

and

Shirley Ross Shirley Ross (born Bernice Maude Gaunt, January 7, 1913 – March 9, 1975) was an American actress and singer, notable for her duet with Bob Hope, "Thanks for the Memory" from ''The Big Broadcast of 1938''. She appeared in 25 feature films bet ...

Bob Burns and the ''Kraft Music Hall''

Bob Burns (born Robin Burns) grew up in the town of

Van Buren, Arkansas Van Buren ( ) is the second-largest city in the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area and the county seat of Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. The city is located directly northeast of Fort Smith at the Interstat ...

. As a boy, Burns played trombone and cornet in the town's "Queen City Silver Cornet Band". Before radio, Burns was known as a musician, creating his own string band at the age of 13. During his teeming years, Burns invented an instrument which he called a "

bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the ...

" out of a gas pipe. The bazooka functioned like a crude trombone and had a narrow range. The bazooka would become a permanent part of Burns' comedy act. In 1930, Burns' radio career began as a character on a local Los Angeles radio program called ''The Fun Factory'' as the character "Soda Pop". After several jobs at several different radio stations in Los Angeles in 1935, Burns went to New York and got a spot on

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Vall ...

's ''

The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour ''The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour'' (also known as ''The Rudy Vallée Show'', ''The Fleischmann Yeast Hour'', and ''The Fleischmann Hour'') was a pioneering musical variety radio program broadcast on NBC from 1929 to 1936, when it became ''The Roya ...

''. In his book on

, author John Dunning quotes ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' in describing Bob Burns as "...resembling

Gene Tunney James Joseph Tunney (May 25, 1897 – November 7, 1978) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1915 to 1928. He held the world heavyweight title from 1926 to 1928, and the American light heavyweight title twice between 1922 and 1923 ...

but..." having a voice "...like

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

".Dunning (1998), p. 103 After the death of Rogers in August 1935 in an Alaskan plane crash, Burns decided to leave ''The Fleischmann Hour''. With assistance of bandleader and radio personality

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...

, Burns landed a 26-week engagement on singer

's ''

''. The engagement began when Crosby took over hosting duties of the program in January 1936. Burns became an audience favorite with his "Arkansas Traveler" character. Burns created the character sometime after World War I and performed the act on stage. The character was patterned after Col.

Sandford C. Faulkner Sandford C. Faulkner (March 3, 1803August 4, 1874), better known as Sandy Faulkner, was an American planter, raconteur and fiddler who personified the mid- 19th century folk song " Arkansas Traveler," for which he received writing credit. It ha ...

, teller of tall tales, fiddle player, and composer of the popular fiddle tune "

The Arkansas Traveler Arkansas Traveler or Arkansas Traveller may refer to: * Arkansas Traveler (folklore), a figure of 19th-century American folklore said to have originated with Sandford C. Faulkner Music * ''Arkansas Traveler'' (Michelle Shocked album), album *' ...

". On each episode of ''Kraft Music Hall'', Burns would make his way to the microphone, say "I remember one time back in Van Buren, Arkansas...", then would proceed in telling a fictional account of his fictitious relatives and townspeople including but not limited to characters Uncle Fud, Aunt Peachy and Grandpa Snazzy, characters that would follow Burns with him to ''The Bob Burns Show''. Burns was so popular on the program that he was asked to stay past the original twenty-six weeks. Burns stayed on the ''Kraft Music Hall'' for another five years until 1941. At this point, Burns was receiving $5,000 an episode and

Kraft The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

considered this too expensive for their liking. So Burns was let go from his contract and went on to his own radio show, ''The Arkansas Traveler''.

''The Arkansas Traveler''

''The Arkansas Traveler'' premiered on

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

on Tuesday September 16, 1941. The program was described as partly monologue and partly situation comedy. In the original cast was Burns playing the Arkansas Traveler and

portraying the eccentric nurse,

Hildegarde Withers Hildegarde Withers is a fictional character, an amateur crime-solver, who has appeared in several novels, short stories and films. She was created by American mystery author Stuart Palmer (1905–1968). Character Miss Withers "whom the census e ...

, that she had popularized in film.

was the program's original vocalist. The program's music was originally provided by Billy Artz and

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

and his band, the City Slickers. The program's original sponsor was

Campbell's Soup Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...

. The program's second season premiered on October 7, 1942. The season premiered to good ratings, however, a month into season two, cast regular Edna Mae Oliver died of intestinal issues at the age of 59. With a minor change in cast, the move to Wednesdays at 9. Sponsorship changed from Campbell's over to

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...

' Lifebuoy soap. CBS broadcast the last episode of ''Arkansas Traveler'' on December 30, 1942.

''The Bob Burns Show''

On January 7, 1943, the program was picked up by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

for its

. The program's title was changed to ''The Bob Burns Show'' and moved to Thursday nights at 7:30. The program's format was slightly altered with the change in networks. To replace Oliver, actress Ann Thomas was brought in to portray the role of Sharon O'Shaughnessy, Burns'

comic foil A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

. Actors

and

were also brought in to participate in more contemporary sketches with Burns. The musical accompaniment also changed with

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Loui ...

and

Ray Sinatra Raymond Dominic Sinatra (November 1, 1904 – November 1980) was an Italian-born American conductor, best known as the music director of Mario Lanza. Life Ray Sinatra was born in Agrigento, Sicily, Italy, in 1904. He was a second cousin of Fran ...

(cousin of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

) becoming the musicians of the program. The 1943–1946 years proved to be the best and highest-rated years of the program. The beginning of season four saw the departure of vocalist Simms on the program and the inclusion of her replacement singer

. Season five saw the inclusion of black comedians

Mantan Moreland Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 – September 28, 1973) was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actress in several films. E ...

and Ben Carter. Moreland left the program after Carter's death in December 1946. The program's sixth season proved to be its last. A change in sponsor from Lifebuoy to American Foods and a change in timeslot from Thursdays at 7:30 to Sundays at 6:30 proved to be the program's demise. The final episode was broadcast on May 25, 1947. Burns never committed to a weekly series again. His last appearance was on

Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York ...

's ''

Toast of the Town ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...

'' in 1955. Burns died on February 2, 1956, of kidney cancer.

Failed revival attempts

On November 25, 1947, an audition show was held for possibly a seventh season of ''The Bob Burns Show'' or for a proposed new program entitled ''The Bob Burns Program'' sponsored by

. The episode starred Burns and some of his old cast members and reunited Burns with his old musical director Spike Jones. The audition show never made air and the proposed new series was thrown out. The second proposed ''Bob Burns Program'' audition show took place on July 1, 1949. Again Burns was reunited with Jones and his band. The vocalist for this show was

Cindy Walker Cindy Walker (July 20, 1918 – March 23, 2006) was an American songwriter, as well as a country music singer and dancer. She wrote many popular and enduring songs recorded by many artists. She adopted a craftsman-like approach to her songwr ...

and featured

Jack Pepper Jack Pepper (born Edward Jackson Culpepper; June 14, 1902 – April 1, 1979) was an American vaudeville dancer, singer, comedian, musician, and later in life a nightclub manager. Pepper began entertaining on the vaudeville circuit in his y ...

and Tony Romano in the cast.

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

handled orchestration. This show also never made air.

Broadcast history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bob Burns Show, The 1947 radio programme endings 1941 radio programme debuts 1941 establishments in the United States 1947 disestablishments in the United States