''Young Widder Brown'' was a daytime radio drama series broadcast on NBC from 1938 to 1956.
[Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 361.] Sponsored by Sterling Drugs and Bayer Aspirin,
[Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 778.] it daily examined the life of "attractive Ellen Brown, with two fatherless children to support."
The convoluted storyline focused on the efforts of Ellen, in her early thirties, to bring up her two children in the small town of Simpsonville, West Virginia, where she supported herself by running a tearoom, despite continual tragedies in her life.
(Another source refers to Simpsonville as "a small Midwestern town.")
[
Produced by Frank and ]Anne Hummert
Anne Hummert (née Schumacher) (January 19, 1905 – July 5, 1996) was the leading creator of daytime radio serials or soap opera dramas during the 1930s and 1940s, responsible for more than three dozen series.
Biography
She was born in Baltimore ...
, this soap opera series opened with the theme music "In the Gloaming" as rendered by organist John Winters. Heard in the title role during the 18-year run were Florence Freeman
Florence Freeman (January 14, 1836 – August 8, 1883) was an American sculptor.
Freeman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, daughter of Peter Wilder Freeman and Frances Ann Dorr. After studying with Richard Saltonstall Greenough, she went to ...
(1938–54) and Wendy Drew (1954–56). Ellen Brown was romanced by Peter Turner ( Bud Collyer) and Anthony Loring ( Ned Wever). Ellen's children were Janey (Marilyn Erskine) and Mark (Tommy Donnelly).
Directors for the series included Martha Atwell, Richard Leonard and Ed Slattery. The announcer was George Ansbro
George Ansbro (January 14, 1915 – November 5, 2011) was a radio announcer for NBC and ABC for six decades, working with soap operas, big bands, quiz shows and other programs.
Early years
Ansbro was born January 14, 1915, in Brooklyn, New ...
.
See also
* List of radio soaps
References
{{US radio soaps
American radio soap operas
1930s American radio programs
1940s American radio programs
1950s American radio programs
NBC radio programs