. ''The Joan Davis Show'' is a title applied — in some cases specifically and in other cases generically — to several

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 programs in the United States, some of which had other distinct titles as indicated below. Comedian

Joan Davis Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1907 – May 22, 1961) was an American comedic actress whose career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television. Remembered best for the 1950s television comedy ''I Married Joan'', Davis had a successful earl ...

starred in the programs, all but one version of which were broadcast 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 ...

''The Sealtest Village Store'' (1943-1945)

Singer

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 joining the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II left

Sealtest Dairy Sealtest Dairy is a Good Humor-Breyers brand for dairy products. Formerly a division of National Dairy Products Corporation (precursor to Kraft Foods) of Delaware, it produced milk, cream, ice cream, and lemonade. The Sealtest brand was also late ...

with no star for ''The Rudy Vallee Show'', which it sponsored. Therefore, the program was revamped and renamed ''The Sealtest Village Store''. Davis was promoted from cast member to star in the new program, which debuted on July 8, 1943, on

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 ...

. Her character was the proprietor of the title store, a woman who "chased men and pined for a steady beau".

Jack Haley John Joseph Haley Jr. (August 10, 1897 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 1939 Metro-G ...

joined the cast as the male lead in the role of Davis' helper in the story, apparently because NBC officials were dubious that a female star could be successful as the sole lead in a program. David C. Tucker, in his biography of Davis, described the program as "a ratings winner for NBC from 1943 through 1945". The musical void left by Vallée's departure was filled by singer

David Street David Street (born Patrick Devlin; December 13, 1917 – September 3, 1971) was an American actor and singer in the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Street was born Patrick Devlin in Los Angeles, California. While in high school, he formed a trio ...

. Davis emerged as a strong presence behind the scenes as well as on the air. Her disagreements with producer Tom McAvity over what was best for the show eventually led to McAvity's leaving the program, to be replaced by Robert Redd. As the end of Davis' contract with the sponsor approached, her agents contacted other potential sponsors, which did not sit well with officials at Sealtest. As a result, they went against a radio custom and did not allow her to say goodbye to listeners of her final ''Village Store'' program on June 28, 1945. Davis rebutted the sponsor's charge of disloyalty by reminding the company executives via a "scorching reply" that a year earlier she had stayed with Sealtest rather than accept a significantly higher salary from the

American Tobacco Company The American Tobacco Company was a tobacco company founded in 1890 by J. B. Duke through a merger between a number of U.S. tobacco manufacturers including Allen and Ginter and Goodwin & Company. The company was one of the original 12 members of ...

. The program's supporting cast included

Sharon Douglas Sharon Douglas (born Rhoda-Nelle Rader; October 16, 1920 – June 18, 2016) was an American film and radio actress, most active in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L.M. Rader, Douglas was born in Stephens County, Okla ...

Shirley Mitchell Shirley J. Mitchell (November 4, 1919 – November 11, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress. Early life Mitchell was born in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of Sam Mitchell & Mary Ann Daniels, Jews who emigrated to America to esc ...

, and

Verna Felton Verna Arline Felton (July 20, 1890December 14, 1966) was an American actress, best known for providing many voices in numerous Disney animated films. She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople in Hanna-Bar ...

. The Fountainaires Quartet and Eddie Paul and his orchestra provided music. Robert L. Redd was the director, with Ray Singer and

Dick Chevillat Dick Chevillat (December 31, 1905 – May 10, 1984) was an American writer and producer who worked in radio, film, and television. Early in his career, Chevillat wrote for ''The Jack Benny Program'' and for the Marx Brothers, and then for Sealtest- ...

as writers.

''The Joan Davis Show'' or ''Joanie's Tea Room'' (1945-1947)

After leaving ''The Sealtest Village Store'', Davis began her new program on September 3, 1945, on CBS. Sponsored by

Swan Soap Swan was a brand of soap introduced by the Lever Brothers Company in 1941 to compete with Ivory. Swan may have been advertised as a soap that could be used in the kitchen as a hand soap or in the bathroom to bathe the baby. Actually, during the r ...

, the show replaced ''

The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', sometimes called ''The Burns and Allen Show'', was a half-hour television situation comedy broadcast from 1950 to 1958 on CBS. It starred George Burns and Gracie Allen, one of the most enduring acts in ...

''. The premise had Davis as proprietor of Joanie's Tea Room, which resulted in use of that expression as an alternate title. Its final broadcast was on June 23, 1947. Like her character on the previous show, in this program Davis sought romance, especially with the program's singer, Andy Russell. That pursuit brought her in conflict with Barbara Weatherby, daughter of the town's banker. Meanwhile, Davis spurned the attentions of announcer

Harry von Zell Harry Rudolph von Zell (July 11, 1906 – November 21, 1981) was an American announcer of radio programs, and an actor in films and television shows. He is best remembered for his work on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show''. Life and ...

. A noticeable change from the Sealtest show was that this program had few guest stars, relying primarily on

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

. Others heard on the program, in addition to Davis, Russell, and von Zell, were Verna Felton as Rosella Hipperton III and Cousin Corneila, Shirley Mitchell and Sharon Douglas as Barbara Weatherby, Si Wills as Serenus,

Wally Brown Wallace Edgar Brown (October 8, 1904 – November 13, 1961) was an American actor and comedian. In the 1940s, he performed as the comic partner of Alan Carney. Early years Wallace Edgar Brown was born in Malden, Massachusetts, the son of Her ...

as himself, and

Ben Gage Ben Gage (born Benjamin Austin Gage, October 29, 1914 – April 28, 1978) was an American radio singer and announcer, occasional off-screen film singer dubbing the voice of non-singing actors, and television actor active from 1937 to 1975. ...

as Dr. Ronald Crenshaw.

Bob LeMond Robert West LeMond, Jr. (April 11, 1913 – January 6, 2008) was an American radio and television announcer who was best known as the voice who announced for the television shows '' Leave It to Beaver'' and ''Ozzie and Harriet''. LeMond was also ...

was an announcer.

Paul Weston Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the F ...

and Jack Meakin and their orchestras provided music in the first and second seasons, respectively. Dave Titus and Dick Mack produced and directed. Writers included

Harry Crane Harry Crane (April 23, 1914 – September 13, 1999) was an American comedy writer who helped to create the concept for ''The Honeymooners'' and its signature characters.Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...

, Jack Harvey, Nat Linden, Herbert Little, Bob O'Brien, Joe Quillan,

Jay Sommers Jay Sommers (January 3, 1917September 25, 1985) was an American producer, director and comedy writer whose career spanned four decades. He wrote more than 90 television comedy episodes, produced 63, and was creator and producer of the ''Green Ac ...

, Si Wills, and David Victor.

''Joan Davis Time'' (1947-1948)

1945 Press Photo Singer Andy Russell And Comedienne Joan Davis On CBS Radio Show

After Swan Soap ended its contract with Davis midway through the original four-year span, ''Joan Davis Time'' debuted on October 11, 1947, as a revised version of ''Joanie's Tea Room'', with Davis still owner of the tea shop. The program focused on "Joan's efforts to improve her life and find a steady boyfriend"—a premise that was reinforced by the show's theme song, "

Nobody's Sweetheart "Nobody's Sweetheart", also known as "Nobody's Sweetheart Now" and "You're Nobody's Sweetheart Now", is a popular music, popular song, written in 1924 in music, 1924, with music by Billy Meyers and Elmer Schoebel, and lyrics by Gus Kahn and Ernie ...

". Humorous incidents arose from Davis' interactions with the tea shop's regular customers as well as with other people she met. Other than Davis, the main characters were her friend Mabel, played by Sharon Douglas, and tea shop manager Lionel, played by

Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television. He is best remembered for his role as majordomo Max on the 1980s mystery television series ''Hart to Hart''. Early ...

. Other regulars were

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 ...

, Verna Felton, and Andy Russell. The Choraleers provided vocal music, while

Lud Gluskin Ludwig Elias "Lud" GluskinState of New York Certificate and Record of Birth, January 4, 1899. (December 16, 1898 – October 13, 1989) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader.Donnelly, K.J. and Philip Hayward (2012''Music in Science Fiction ...

, John Rarig, and Paul Weston led their orchestras. Announcers were Ben Gage, Bob LeMond, and Harry von Zell. The producer was Dick Mack. The program ended on July 3, 1948.

''Leave It to Joan'' (1949)

''Leave It to Joan'' debuted on CBS on July 4, 1949, as a summer replacement for the first half hour of ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' and ran until August 22, 1949. Davis portrayed a sales clerk in a department store who lived with her father. Most of the plots evolved from her interactions with the store's staff, and each episode featured a guest star. Shirley Mitchell played Penny Prentiss, Andy Russell played Tom Hinkle, Harry von Zell played Simon Hackaday, and

Joseph Kearns Joseph Sherrard Kearns
TV Guide. July 15–21, 1961, Savetheorgan.org; retrieved September 28, 2011.

played Davis' father.

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 ...

was the announcer, and

Lyn Murray Lyn Murray (born Lionel Breeze, August 13, 1909 – May 20, 1989) was a composer, conductor, and arranger of music for radio, film and television. Early years Born in London, Murray was the son of a violinist. Before entering a career in music, ...

led the orchestra. The sponsor was Roytan cigars. ''Leave It to Joan'' was the basis for an unsuccessful television pilot, ''Let's Join Joanie'', which was broadcast on January 12, 1951, on CBS. The TV version had Davis in the role of a sales clerk in a hat store.

References

External links

Logs

Streaming

''The Joan Davis Show''

Episodes of ''The Joan Davis Show'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library

''The Sealtest Village Store''

*[http://otrrlibrary.org/OTRRLib/Library%20Files/S%20Series/Sealtest%20Village%20Store/ Episodes of ''The Sealtest Village Store'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library (later episodes are not from Joan Davis' tenure as star)] {{DEFAULTSORT:Joan Davis Show, The 1943 radio programme debuts 1940s American radio programs CBS Radio programs NBC radio programs American comedy radio programs