''The Pepsodent Show'' is an American radio comedy program broadcast during the

Golden Age of 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 ...

. The program starred comedian

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and his sidekick Jerry Colonna along with Blanche Stewart and

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 ...

as high-society crazies Brenda and Cobina as well as a continuously rotating supporting cast and musicians which included, for a time,

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

Frances Langford Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nighting ...

and

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', in which he c ...

and his orchestra. ''The Pepsodent Show'', along with

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (born Edgar John Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, actor, comedian, vaudevillian and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Ch ...

's '' Chase and Sanborn Hour'',

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

's ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'', and

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program '' The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and fo ...

's ''

Texaco Star Theatre ''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave Mi ...

'', was one of the most listened-to programs during World War II. ''The Pepsodent Show'' was broadcast Tuesday nights at 10:00 over

NBC 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 ...

from September 27, 1938–June 8, 1948. For most of its run, ''Pepsodent'' followed ''

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 po ...

'' on Tuesdays and preceded ''

The Raleigh Cigarette Program ''The Raleigh Cigarette Program'' (alternatively known as ''The Raleigh Cigarette Program Starring Red Skelton'') was an American old-time radio comedy program that starred comedian Red Skelton. Skelton was, at the time, an up-and-coming comedian ...

'' starring

Red Skelton Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

Background

Pepsodent toothpaste

Pepsodent Pepsodent is an American brand of toothpaste with the minty flavor derived from sassafras. The brand was purchased by Unilever in 1942 and is still owned by the company outside of the United States and Canada. In 2003, Unilever sold the rights t ...

toothpaste sponsored the program for its entire 10-year run. Pepsodent was founded by Pepsodent Company based in Chicago in 1915. The namesake of Pepsodent came from

pepsin Pepsin is an endopeptidase that breaks down proteins into smaller peptides. It is produced in the gastric chief cells of the stomach lining and is one of the main digestive enzymes in the digestive systems of humans and many other animals, ...

. Pepsin is a digestive enzyme designed to break down and digest food deposits on the teeth. Pepsin was an ingredient used in early Pepsodent toothpaste. By the late 1920s, sales for Pepsodent had plummeted to the point of near bankruptcy. In an effort to boost sales, Pepsodent became the official sponsor of ''

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...

'', a continuation of WGN's popular ''

Sam 'n' Henry ''Sam 'n' Henry'' was a radio series performed by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll that aired on Chicago radio station WGN from 1926 through 1928. The ten-minute program is often considered the first situation comedy. Gosden and Correll rewor ...

'' starring

Freeman Gosden Freeman Fisher "Gozzie" Gosden (May 5, 1899 – December 10, 1982) was an American radio comedian, actor and pioneer in the development of the situation comedy form. He is best known for his work in the radio series ''Amos 'n' Andy''. Life and ...

and

Charles Correll Charles James Correll (February 2, 1890 – September 26, 1972) was an American radio comedian, actor and writer, known best for his work in the radio series ''Amos 'n' Andy'' with Freeman Gosden. Correll voiced the main character Andy Brown, a ...

. The first Pepsodent sponsored episode of ''Amos 'n' Andy'' aired on August 19, 1929. It was also during the run of ''Amos 'n' Andy'' that Pepsodent began advertising the supposed ingredient ''Irium''. Irium is another word for

sodium lauryl sulfate Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sometimes written sodium laurilsulfate, is an organic compound with the formula . It is an anionic surfactant used in many cleaning and hygiene products. This compound is the sodium salt ...

, an inexpensive

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conv ...

ic surfactant. Even though the advertising was convincing enough for people to actually believe that Irium is real, in a 1994 speech, then-

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...

chairman Reed Hundt claimed that the "Irium" mentioned in Pepsodent advertisements "didn't exist".

Bob Hope

Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope to British parents in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of E ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

on May 29, 1903. Hope, along with his parents and siblings emigrated to the United States aboard the SS ''Philadelphia'' and passed through

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mill ...

on March 30, 1908, before moving to Cleveland,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Hope first entered show business in the 1920s joining the Vaudeville circuit. Around 1928, Hope adopted the name Bob as he believed it was a more stage-friendly name. During the early 1930s, Hope began a gig with New York's

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria * Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, M ...

and also performed in his first Broadway play as part of the cast of 1930's ''Smiles''. Hope soon found himself a part of the cast of 1932's ''Ballyhoo of 1932'' and

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

's ''

Roberta ''Roberta'' is a musical from 1933 with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics and book by Otto Harbach. The musical is based on the novel ''Gowns by Roberta'' by Alice Duer Miller. It features the songs " Yesterdays", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", " ...

'' in 1933. In 1936, Hope shared star billing with

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary ''Variety'', February 22, 1984. S ...

and

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs ...

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

's Broadway musical ''

Red, Hot and Blue ''Red, Hot and Blue'' is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It premiered on Broadway in 1936 and introduced the popular song "It's De-Lovely," sung by Ethel Merman and Bob Hope. ...

''. Hope made his radio debut in 1933 during the talent portion of

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 Val ...

'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 ...

''. Hope appeared in his first feature film ''

The Big Broadcast of 1938 ''The Big Broadcast of 1938'' is a Paramount Pictures musical comedy film starring W. C. Fields and featuring Bob Hope. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, the film is the last in a series of ''Big Broadcast'' movies that were variety show anthologies ...

'' in 1938. His fellow co-stars included

W.C. Fields WC or wc may refer to: * Water closet or flush toilet Arts and entertainment * ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film * WC (band), a Polish punk rock band * WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California * Westside Connection, former h ...

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

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 ...

and

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway. She was honored ...

''The Intimate Revue''

After Hope's success on ''The Rudy Vallée Show'',

offered Hope his own radio show, ''The Intimate Revue'', the first of several precursors to ''The Pepsodent Show''. ''The Intimate Revue'' premiered 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 ...

on January 4, 1935. Sponsored by Emerson's

Bromo-Seltzer Bromo-Seltzer was a brand of antacid formulated to pain reliever, relieve pain occurring together with heartburn, upset stomach, or acid indigestion. It originally contained sodium bromide and acetanilide, both toxic substances which were event ...

, alongside Hope in the starring cast were singers

James Melton James Melton (January 2, 1904 – April 21, 1961), a popular singer in the 1920s and early 1930s, later began a career as an operatic singer when tenor voices went out of style in popular music around 1932–35. His singing talent was similar to ...

Jane Froman Ellen Jane Froman (November 10, 1907 – April 22, 1980) was an American actress and singer. During her thirty-year career, she performed on stage, radio and television despite chronic health problems due to injuries sustained in a 1943 plane cra ...

and

Patricia Wilder Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word '' patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United Stat ...

with musical accompaniment from Al Goodman. The program ended on April 5, 1935.Dunning, p. 105

''The Atlantic Family''

Hope's next radio program, ''The Atlantic Family'', was for Atlantic Oil. This program premiered 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 Entertainme ...

on September 14, 1935. The program ended its run nearly a whole year after it began on September 3, 1936. The program aired Saturdays at 7 for most of its run until moving to Thursdays at 7 for the last three months. Wilder came with Hope to this series alongside tenor Frank Parker with

Red Nichols Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader. Biography Early life and career Nichols was born in Ogden, Utah, United States. His father was a college music profes ...

and his Five Pennies providing the music.

''The Rippling Rhythm Revue/The Woodbury Soap Show'' and ''Your Hollywood Parade''

In May 1937, Hope signed a 26-week contract for the new ''The Rippling Rhythm Revue'', (alternative title: ''The Woodbury Soap Show'') sponsored by Woodbury soap. Hope began his 26 weeks on May 9, 1937 back on the Blue Network. The show's name derived from a musical gimmick by maestro

Shep Fields Shep may refer to: People Given name *Shep Fields, American band leader *Shep Goodman, American music producer and songwriter * Shep Gordon, American talent manager, Hollywood film agent, and producer * Shep Mayer, Canadian ice hockey player *Shep ...

in which Fields would blow bubbles while his orchestra played music. Along with Fields leading his orchestra and Hope in the role of host, Frank Parker from ''The Atlantic Family'' was again brought on as lead tenor. The program aired Sundays at 9 until the end of the 26 weeks on September 6, 1937. On December 29, Hope joined the cast of ''Your Hollywood Parade'' on NBC. Sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes, the program originally starred

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

and was a spin-off of the popular music program ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...

''. Airing Wednesdays at 10, Hope hosted the program for a single season ending his association with Lucky Strike on March 23, 1938.

Production

''The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope'' premiered on Tuesday night September 27, 1938, over the stations of the National Broadcasting Company. Hope was the star of the program with Jerry Colonna as Hope's sidekick. Each program usually began with an opening monologue by Hope, a little banter with Colonna, a couple exchanges and a few skits with other members of the cast and the week's guest stars and finally a concluding skit. The original ''Pepsodent'' cast consisted of Bob Hope, Jerry Colonna, Blanche Stewart and

. Stewart and Allman portrayed high-society crazies Brenda and Cobina, respectively.

Bill Goodwin William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Spr ...

was the program's original announcer,

Skinnay Ennis Edgar Clyde "Skinnay" Ennis Jr. (August 13, 1907 – June 3, 1963) was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and singer. Early years The son of Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Ennis, he was born Edgar Clyde Ennis Jr. in Salisbury, North Carolina, United S ...

was the program's original bandleader and

, 16 at the time, was the program's original vocalist. The program's cast changed often over the course of the ten years ''Pepsodent'' was on the air. In total, during the run of ''The Pepsodent Show'', listeners heard the arrival and departure of four announcers, five vocalists and three bandleaders. Among the program's other vocalists were

and

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sen ...

and among the bandleaders to be heard on the program were Les Brown and

. ''The Pepsodent Show'' soon became a part of the most listened-to radio programs in America and Bob Hope soon became a

household name Household name may refer to: * ''Household Name'' (album), a studio album by Momma * a popular brand, see brand awareness * a popular person, see celebrity * a term misused to exaggerate a product, see promotion Promotion may refer to: Marke ...

, due in part because of his opening monologue at the beginning of the program which has been noted as the most popular part of each episode. Originally Hope had a team of eight writers whom he paid out of his salary $2500 a week to compose the jokes and materials he used for the each show. Included in the original team of ''Pepsodent'' writers were Mel Shavelson,

Norman Panama Norman Kaye Panama (April 21, 1914 – January 13, 2003) was an American screenwriter, film producer and film director born in Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his partnership with Melvin Frank and their work on films such as '' Mr. Blan ...

, Jack Rose,

Sherwood Schwartz Sherwood Charles Schwartz (; November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011) was an American television screenwriter and producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, but he now is best known for creating the 1960s television series ''Gilligan's Island' ...

, and Schwartz's brother Al. His writing eventually grew to fifteen and some of the newcomers to the show included

Milt Josefsberg Milt Josefsberg (June 29, 1911 – December 14, 1987) was an American screenwriter. Career Milt Josefsberg's first big break came in 1938, when he was hired as writer on Bob Hope's radio program.Josefsberg, Milt: ''The Jack Benny Show'' (Arli ...

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 ...

and Hal Block.

World War II

The program saw its highest ratings during World War II. According to

Crossley Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group. More than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines ...

, ''Pepsodent'' was the no. 1 rated program on the air for two consecutive years (1942–43; 1943–44) receiving a Hooperating of 40.9 in 1942. As the war ensued, Hope tried to enlist in the service. However, he was told he could better serve as an entertainer. With that, Hope joined the

United Service Organizations The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

(USO). With his USO troupe, Hope traveled to the likes of

Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...

, England,

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and the South Pacific entertaining the servicemen and women in the military.Sterling, p. 179 Hope also became a regular performer on the

Armed Forces Radio Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

. Even with Hope constantly traveling overseas to perform for the troops, ''The Pepsodent Show'' still continued production. Soon after Hope joined the USO, ''The Pepsodent Show'' began broadcasting from military bases across the country. The May 6, 1941, installment of the radio series aired from March Army Air Force Field in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and i ...

. This was the first remote broadcast of Hope's coast-to-coast radio program and became the first of hundreds of radio and television broadcasts Hope performed for the entertainment of U.S. soldiers. Broadcasting in front of a live audience of soldiers and gearing the subject matter of the monologue to the troops, Hope fashioned a very successful variant on the radio comedy variety format. World War II-era stateside radio audiences, as well as the troops, appreciated Hope's soldier-directed monologues, which provided home audiences with a special affinity with the soldiers' lives and their contributions to the country. Gerd Horten, author of the book ''Radio Goes to War'', documents in this book, about seven ''Pepsodent'' episodes aired between 1941 and 1943 broadcast from different military bases across the nation.

Swan Soap and ''The Bob Hope Show''

After the war, ''The Pepsodent Show'' steadily began to decline in the ratings. By 1948, ratings were so low that Pepsodent pulled sponsorship and on Tuesday June 8, 1948, the last broadcast of ''The Pepsodent Show'' aired over NBC. Despite cancellation, Hope still continued on radio.

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 ...

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 ...

began sponsoring ''The Bob Hope Show''. ''The Bob Hope Show'' premiered on September 14, 1948 on NBC. By this point, most of the regulars from ''The Pepsodent Show'' left to further pursue their careers.

, who was the vocalist for ''The Pepsodent Show'' after

Gloria Jean Gloria Jean (born Gloria Jean Schoonover; April 14, 1926 – August 31, 2018) was an American actress and singer who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films from 1939 to 1959, and made numerous radio, television, stage, and nightclub app ...

's departure, was the only one of Hope's ''Pepsodent'' co-stars who continued to perform on ''The Bob Hope Show''.

Hy Averback Hyman Jack Averback (October 21, 1920 – October 14, 1997) was an American radio, television, and film actor who eventually became a producer and director. Early years Born in Minneapolis, Averback moved to California with his family when he w ...

was the announcer. Airing Tuesdays at 9, the program was at direct competition with the new sitcom ''

Life with Luigi ''Life with Luigi'' is an American radio situation comedy series which began September 21, 1948, on CBS Radio and broadcast its final episode on March 3, 1953. The action centered on Luigi Basco and his experiences as a newly arrived Italian immi ...

'', which aired at the same time on

. ''Life with Luigi'' proved to be the season's new hit, crushing ''The Bob Hope Show'' in the ratings. Like Pepsodent before, due to the poor ratings, Swan pulled its sponsorship of ''The Bob Hope Show'' in 1950. The last Swan-sponsored episode of the program aired on June 13. The next fall on October 3, ''The Bob Hope Show'' premiered under the sponsorship of Chesterfield cigarettes. Over the next five years, ''The Bob Hope Show'' aired under various sponsors, including

Jell-O Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert (genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a re ...

and

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporat ...

, in various timeslots until its final episode aired on April 21, 1955.

Broadcast history

''The Pepsodent Show''

For the entirety of the program's ten-year run (September 27, 1938 – June 8, 1948), ''The Pepsodent Show'' was broadcast on Tuesday nights from 10 to 10:30. ''The Pepsodent Show'' aired immediately after ''

'', another one of radio's most popular shows. For six years, (1941–44; 1945–48), ''The Pepsodent Show'' was followed by

's '' Raleigh Cigarette Program'' at 10:30.

''The Bob Hope Show''

Cast and crew

Cast

Main

* Jerry Colonna as Hope's madcap *Blanche Stewart as Brenda *

as Cobina *

Barbara Jo Allen Barbara Jo Allen (born Marian Barbara Henshall; September 2, 1906 – September 14, 1974) was an American actress. She was also known as Vera Vague, the spinster character she created and portrayed on radio and in films during the 1940s and 1 ...

as Vera Vague *

Trudy Erwin Trudy Erwin (born August 12, 1918 – October 29, 2000) was an American singer and actress in films who was a vocalist with the Kay Kyser orchestra in the 1940s. She recorded several hit songs including the 1943 duets with Bing Crosby "People Wil ...

as the Pepsodent girl

Crew

Music

=Conductors

= *

(bandleader; 1938-1943) *

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Thoug ...

(maestro; 1943-1946) *

(bandleader; 1946-1947) * Les Brown (bandleader; 1947-1948)

=Vocalists

= *

(1939-1940) *

(1939-1947) *

(1947-1948) *

(1947-1950)

Announcers

Bill Goodwin William Nettles Goodwin (July 28, 1910 – May 9, 1958),Palm Spr ...

Wendell Niles Wendell Niles (December 29, 1904 – March 28, 1994) was an announcer during the American golden age of radio and later in television. Early years Niles was born in Livingston, Montana and grew up there. He attended New York University and ...

* Art Baker *

Larry Keating Lawrence Keating (June 13, 1899 – August 26, 1963) was an American actor best known for his roles as Harry Morton on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', which he played from 1953 to 1958, and next-door neighbor Roger Addison on ''Miste ...

Producer-Directors

*Bill Lawrence *Norman Morrell *Bob Stephenson *Al Capstaff

Writers

Melville Shavelson Melville Shavelson (April 1, 1917 – August 8, 2007) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. He was President of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAw) from 1969 to 1971, 1979 to 1981, and 1985 to 1987. Biog ...

*Norman Sullivan *

* Jack Rose *

* Al Schwartz *

Melvin Frank Melvin Frank (13 August 1913 – 13 October 1988) was an American screenwriter, film producer and film director. He is known for his partnership with Norman Panama and their work on films such as ''Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'' (1948), ...

*Dave Murray * Larry Markes *

*Mort Lachman *Marv Fischer *Paul Laven * Jack Douglas * Hal Block *Ted McKay *Samuel Kurtzman *Fred Fox *Wilkie Mahoney

After ''Pepsodent''

After the end of ''The Pepsodent Show'', sales of Pepsodent toothpaste still were steady. Pepsodent also still continued to sponsor popular programs on the radio. Pepsodent sponsored CBS's popular comedy ''

My Friend Irma ''My Friend Irma'' is a media franchise that was spawned by a top-rated, long-running radio situation comedy created by writer-director-producer Cy Howard. The radio show was so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated the films, ...

'' in the evening and ''Arthur Godfrey Time'' and

Art Linkletter Arthur Gordon Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly or Arthur Gordon Kelly; sources differ; July 17, 1912 – May 26, 2010) was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of ''Art Linkletter's House Party, House Par ...

's ''

House Party A house party is a type of party where people gather at the residence of the party's host. Organization A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, ...

'' during the daytime. Pepsodent's sales began to decline during the 1960s as people became aware of the role of

fluoride Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts ty ...

in cavity protection. As brands such as Colgate, Crest and

Gleem Gleem is an American brand of oral hygiene products, including toothpastes and electric toothbrushes, owned by the Procter & Gamble. It was introduced as a toothpaste in the United States in 1952 and discontinued in 2014. Procter & Gamble later ...

began incorporating fluoride in their toothpastes, Pepsodent was hesitant to do so, leading to the increasing popularity of those three brands and the decline in popularity for Pepsodent. Pepsodent did eventually add fluoride in their toothpaste but not before sales for Pepsodent plummeted to an all-time low. In 2003, household-manufacturing company

Church & Dwight Church & Dwight is an American consumer goods company focusing on personal care, household products, and specialty products. The company was founded in 1846 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey. It is the parent company of well-known brands ...

purchased the Pepsodent brand rights in the United States from

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, ...

. Pepsodent continues to be sold today. As far as Bob Hope, after ''Pepsodent'' and ''The Bob Hope Show'', Hope moved into the new medium of television. Hope was most famous for his television specials on

, the first special airing in April 1950. The specials were often sponsored by

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...

(1955–61),

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...

(1963–73), and

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company until ...

(1975–85). Chrysler also sponsored ''

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre ''Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre'' is an American anthology series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967. The show was hosted by Bob Hope, but it had a variety of formats, including musical, dramatic ...

'', Hope's weekly anthology series on NBC during the 1960s. Hope also continued performing with the USO for 50 years until 1991 and was made an "honorary veteran" by President Bill Clinton in 1997. Hope was honored for his contributions to radio in 1990 when he was inducted into the

Radio Hall of Fame The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988. Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicatio ...

. Hope continued performing well into his 90s and died at the age of 100 on July 27, 2003 in his home in

Toluca Lake, California Toluca Lake is an affluent neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown. The name is also given to a private natural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owner ...

of pneumonia. Hope was interred in the Bob Hope Memorial Garden at

San Fernando Mission Cemetery The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located in the Mission Hills community of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The property adjoins the San Fernando Mission and Bishop Alemany Catholic High School. ThSan Fernando M ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

References

External links

Audio

Listen to four episodes of ''The Pepsodent Show'' at the Internet ArchiveListen to 20 episodes of ''The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope'' at Radio Echoes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepsodent Show 1938 radio programme debuts 1948 radio programme endings 1930s American radio programs 1940s American radio programs American comedy radio programs NBC radio programs