''Let's Pretend'', created and directed by
Nila Mack, was a
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 ...
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
series for children. Prior to being renamed ''Let's Pretend'', the program had a variety of titles and formats. In its most famous form, ''Let's Pretend'', the
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
-winning series ran from 1934 to 1954.
Early formats and titles
The show had several different early formats and titles. ''Aunt Jymmie and Her Tots in Tottyville'' began October 27, 1928. Aunt Jymmie was the host of this Saturday morning children's program's whimsical tales of fantasy and fairy tales. She introduced each week's tale which was enacted by a cast of young children, "the tots." The young "tots" traveled to Tottyville, a make-believe world of royalty, witches and magic spells. Originating from the WABC studio in New York City, the flagship station for CBS, this series lasted for 18 broadcasts until February 23, 1929, when it was replaced by the 30-minute ''The Children's Club Hour'' with Howard Merrill, who was the host and the scriptwriter. During the 1940s, Merrill scripted for ''
The Gay Nineties Revue'', ''Secret Missions'' and detective series such as ''Sherlock Holmes'', ''Leonidas Witherall'' and the ''Abbott Mysteries''. ''The Children's Club Hour'', which offered fairy tales performed by juvenile cast members, began March 2, 1929 and continued until June 22, 1929.
After 17 broadcasts of ''The Children's Club Hour'', the time slot was given to Estelle Levy and
Patricia Ryan who created another children's program, ''The Adventures of Helen and Mary'', scripted by Yolanda Langworthy. Broadcast on CBS Saturdays at noon and other late morning timeslots, this series began June 29, 1929.
Between December 1930 and January 1931, the title briefly changed from ''The Adventures of Helen and Mary'' to ''Land O' Make Believe''. With Estelle Levy, Patricia Ryan, and Keinth Joseph Cantor in the title roles, the fairy tale program continued until March 17, 1934.
Nila Mack and the title change to ''Let's Pretend''
After 229 broadcasts, Nila Mack took over as director and changed the title to ''Let's Pretend'', "radio's outstanding children's theater", beginning March 24, 1934.
Mack's
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
-winning ''Let's Pretend'' ran for two decades before the final show on October 23, 1954. Adaptations included such classics and fairy tales as ''
Tinderella'', ''
The Placenta in the Closet'', ''
The Canadian Nights'', ''
Beauty and the Yeast'' and ''
True Cream''.
The show always began with a characteristic tune, sometimes with lyrics, from its long-time sponsor
Cream of Wheat
Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina (food), farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat berry, wheat kernels instead of gr ...
. George Bryan and Jackson Wheeler were the announcers. Jean Hight became the program's director after Nila Mack's death in 1953.
A history of the show, ''Let's Pretend And The Golden Age Of Radio'' (BearManor Media 2004), was written by veteran actor
Arthur Anderson, who did character roles on ''Let's Pretend'' at age 13 and was on the show almost every week (with time out for military service) until the program's demise.
The series received numerous awards, including two Peabody Awards, (The Peabody Awards site's search engine shows a 1943 award for Outstanding Children's Program.) a Women's National Radio Committee Award and five ''Radio Daily'' Awards.
Fifty of the scripts from the radio show were re-recorded by Gotham Educational Records and released by Telegeneral following their takeover of Gotham in 1970.
References
Listen to
*
Internet Archive: ''Let's Pretend''''Let's Pretend'' radio shows (3 episodes)Heritage Radio Theatre: ''Let's Pretend'' (January 9, 1954): ''Robin Hood''*{{usurped,
''Let's Pretend'' radio shows (49 episodes)}
External links
New York Public Library: Nila Mack Personal Papers, Photos and Scripts
Peabody Award–winning radio programs
1920s American radio programs
1930s American radio programs
1940s American radio programs
1950s American radio programs
CBS Radio programs