Mayor of the Town (radio program)
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''Mayor of the Town'' is a
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
comedy-drama in the
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. From September 6, 1942, to July 3, 1949, it was broadcast at various times on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
,
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, Mutual and
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.


Format

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
starred as the unnamed mayor of a community typical of those in other radio programs of the era, such as Summerfield in ''
The Great Gildersleeve ''The Great Gildersleeve'' is a radio situation comedy broadcast in the United States from August 31, 1941 to 1958. Initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, it was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. The series was built a ...
'' and River's End in ''
Dr. Christian ''Dr. Christian'' is a radio series with Jean Hersholt in the title role. It aired on CBS Radio from November 7, 1937 to January 6, 1954. In 1956, the series was adapted for television where it aired in syndication until 1957. Hersholt had portr ...
''. Stories dealt with typical small-town situations that involved the mayor. The mayor's housekeeper, Marilly (
Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...
), and his ward, Butch (Conrad Binyon) usually played key roles in episodes. One
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 ...
reference noted the similarity of ''Mayor of the Towns plots to those of ''
The Great Gildersleeve ''The Great Gildersleeve'' is a radio situation comedy broadcast in the United States from August 31, 1941 to 1958. Initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, it was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. The series was built a ...
'', citing "the grumbling but kindly mayor interacting with a number of interesting town characters."Reinehr, Robert C. and Swartz, Jon D. (2008). ''The A to Z of Old-Time Radio''. Scarecrow Press, Inc. . P. 173. A review of the program in the trade publication ''Billboard'' had little positive to say. The writer opined that except for selling the sponsor's product, ''Mayor of the Town'' "is otherwise devoid of merit." By way of explanation, he added, "From its very inception, almost every phase of 'Mayor of the Town' is the most palpable of contrivance; stock characters, stock plot and the lowest grade of corn." In contrast, radio historian John Dunning commented that ''Mayor of the Town'' "gave a realistic portrait of rural living."Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. . P. 400. "Often the stories were coming-of-age pieces," he wrote, "focusing on the mayor's special relationship with Butch."


Personnel

In addition to Barrymore, Moorehead and Binyon, actors on ''Mayor of the Town'' included Gloria McMillan (Sharlee Bronson, Butch's girlfriend), Priscilla Lyon (Holly-Ann, the mayor's granddaughter) and Bill Wright (the sheriff). Dunning noted that Barrymore's involvement went beyond his acting. "He insisted on meticulous attention to detail, even though others were in charge of production. Barrymore had a way of knowing what lines were wrong and why." The announcer was Frank Martin.
Wilbur Hatch Wilbur Hatch (May 24, 1902 – December 22, 1969), was an American music composer who worked primarily in radio and television. He was born in Mokena, Illinois, and died in Studio City, California.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An I ...
led the orchestra. Music directors were
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 Bernard Katz. Con Maffie played organ for the show. The director was Jack Van Nostrand.Alicoate, Jack, Ed. (1948). ''The 1948 Radio Annual''. Radio Daily Corp. P. 952. Writers were Howard Blake, Leonard St. Clair, Howard Breslin, Charles Tazwell, Jean Holloway and Erna Lazarus.


Television version

In 1954, a syndicated television version of ''Mayor of the Town'' aired in the United States. It starred Thomas Mitchell as Mayor Thomas Russell,
Kathleen Freeman Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1923August 23, 2001) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed acerbic maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors and relatives, almost in ...
as Marilly, and David Saber as Butch.


References

{{Reflist


External links


Audio


Streaming episodes from Old Time Radio Researchers Group library

One set of streaming episodes from Internet Archive

Another set of streaming episodes from Internet Archive


Logs


Episodic log from RadioGOLDINdex



Script


Script for "A Christmas Carol" on ''Mayor of the Town''
1940s American radio programs American radio dramas CBS Radio programs Mutual Broadcasting System programs NBC radio programs ABC radio programs Radio programs adapted into television shows 1942 radio programme debuts 1949 radio programme endings