''The Judy Canova Show'' is 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-variety program. It was broadcast on CBS July 6, 1943 – June 27, 1944, and on NBC January 13, 1945 – June 30, 1951, and December 29, 1951 – May 28, 1953. Each version differed from the others to some extent, although comedy and music remained the focal points. The program is notable for being the medium in which

Judy Canova Judy Canova (November 20, 1913 – August 5, 1983),Although one source gives her birth date as November 20, 1916, (DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland ...

found her greatest success.

CBS version

Background

Originally titled ''Rancho Canova'', the program began as a summer replacement for a show that starred

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

. The sponsor later decided to not bring ''The Al Jolson Show'' back but to continue the Canova program instead. When Canova's program went off the air, it was replaced by ''Colgate Theater of Romance'', which dramatized famous love stories.

Premise

The program's premise was that the fictional version of Judy Canova moved from a rural area to California in hopes that her Aunt Aggie could help her to become more sophisticated. Episodes included situation-comedy segments related to Canova's interactions with family and friends, one of whom was Benchley Botsford, her love interest. Canova usually sang three songs in each episode, including one just after the show came on and one just before it went off.

Characters and cast

Besides Canova, characters and the actors who portrayed them are shown in the table below:

Elvia Allman Elvia Beatrice Allman (September 19, 1904 – March 6, 1992) was an American actress in Hollywood films and television programs for over 50 years. She is best remembered for her semi-regular roles on ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' and ''Petticoat J ...

and

Hans Conried Hans Georg Conried Jr. (April 15, 1917 – January 5, 1982) was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's ''Peter Pan'' (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's ''Dudle ...

were also heard regularly in a variety of roles, and the Sportsmen Quartet sang. Announcers were

Ken Niles Ken Niles (December 9, 1906 – October 31, 1988) was an American radio announcer. Niles was born in Livingston, Montana. He was married to Nadia Niles, and had two children, Kenneth Niles and Denise Niles. His brother, Wendell Niles, was also a ...

Howard Petrie Howard Alexander Petrie (November 22, 1906 – March 24, 1968) was an American radio, television, and film actor. Early life Howard Petrie was born in Beverly, Massachusetts on November 22, 1906. When Howard was three years old his family ...

, and Verne Smith; Orchestra leaders were

Opie Cates Opie Cates (10 October 1909, in Arkansas – 6 November 1987, in Oklahoma) was an American clarinet player and band leader in the 1930s and 1940s, during the swing era, who became a radio drama, radio actor. Life and career Cates was born Opal Ta ...

Charles Dant Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

, and

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 ...

. The program was created by J. Donald Wilson and produced initially by

Diana Bourbon Diana Bourbon (born Ruth Hunt; August 28, 1900 – March 19, 1978) was an American actress, journalist, producer, director, and writer. She wrote for ''The'' ''New York Times'' from 1923 to 1927. Early life Diana Bourbon was born Ruth Hunt i ...

, who was succeeded by Carlton Alsop. The sponsor was

Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health ca ...

NBC version

In the NBC version, the fictional Canova was a film actress who lived in California with her maid and had a weekly radio program. As in the previous version, Canova sang in the show, usually between acts. Besides Canova, characters and the actors who portrayed them are shown in the table below: George Neise was also heard regularly in a variety of roles, and the Sportsmen Quartet and The Southerners sang. Howard Petrie was the announcer, and Charles Dant led the orchestra. Joe Rines produced and directed, with Fred Fox, Henry Hoople, John Ward, Bill Demling. and Arthur Phillips as writers.

Unfulfilled plans

In April 1954, the trade publication ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reported that CBS planned to have a 90-minute program that would have Canova as star and feature stars of both films and recordings. Apparently that plan never reached fruition.

References

External links

Logs

Log of episodes of ''The Judy Canova Show'' from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio LogsLog of episodes of ''The Judy Canova Show'' from Old Time Radio Researchers GroupLog of episodes of ''The Judy Canova Show'' from radioGOLDINdex

Streaming

Episodes of ''The Judy Canova Show'' from OTR.Network LibraryEpisodes of ''The Judy Canova Show'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judy Canova Show, The 1943 radio programme debuts 1953 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs CBS Radio programs NBC radio programs American music radio programs