''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 earl ...

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

Joan Davis Josephine "Joan" Davis (June 29, 1912 – May 23, 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 ea ...

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

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

''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, saxophonist, bandleader, actor, and entertainer. He was the first male singer to rise from local radio broadcasts in New York Ci ...

'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 American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. 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, 1898 – June 6, 1979) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, radio host, singer, drummer and vaudevillian. He was best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and his farmhand counterpart Hickory in the 193 ...

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. 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, Goodwin & Company, and Kinney Brothers. The company was one of the or ...

. The program's supporting cast included Sharon Douglas,

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 known for voicing many Disney animated films, such as the Fairy Godmother, the Queen of Hearts, and Flora. She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother- ...

. 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 Sealtes ...

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 the United States in 1941 to compete with Ivory. Description Swan, like Ivory, was a floating soap. Still, Lever had developed and patented a new manufacturing method that st ...

, the show replaced ''

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

''. 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 (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

. 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 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 (né 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 Fathe ...

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 ...

, 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 A ...

, 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". 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, activist, and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He had an extensive career in theatre, film, radio, and television that spanned nearly 70 years, ...

. 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 ...

, 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 old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'' 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.

Cast

Characters and the actors who portrayed them were as follows: *Penny Prentiss - Shirley Mitchell *Tom Hinkle - Andy Russell, Shepard Menken *Simon Hackaday - Harry von Zell, Willard Waterman *Davis's father -

Joseph Kearns Joseph Sherrard Kearns (February 12, 1907 – February 17, 1962) was an American actor, who is best remembered for his role as George Wilson ("Mr. Wilson") on the CBS television series '' Dennis the Menace'' from 1959 until his death in 1962. He ...

Ken Niles 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.

Production

After March 3, 1950,

sponsored the program for $8,500 per week, with 21 weeks on the air guaranteed. Commercials promoted Roi-Tan cigars. Complementing the on-air advertising, the company placed images of Davis as a

cigar store Indian The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an advertisement figure, in the likeness of a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American, used to represent tobacconists. The figures are often three-dimensional wooden sculptures measuring fr ...

, "brandishing a tomahawk, moccasins, and a feathered headdress" on cigar boxes and on displays in stores. American ended its sponsorship in March 1950. CBS wanted to keep it on a sustaining basis, but Davis declined. The show returned in July and August 1950 as a summer replacement for ''

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, ...

''. ''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.

Critical response

A review of the July 4, 1949, episode in the trade publication ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' said the situations in the episode "are just plain contrived and tired". The review added that Davis's "talents merit a better break than she's getting."

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