The Aldrich Family

The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (July 2, 1939 – April 19, 1953),[1] was also presented in films, television and comic books.Time magazine found the play "short on plot" but noted: Chief amusement centres in Henry Aldrich (Ezra Stone), a cross between Penrod and Willie Baxter, who attends classes mainly in the principal's office.With a talent for head-on collisions, always ingenious, never crafty, always there with an answer, never with the right one, brash, bouncing, rumpled, rattled, rueful by turns, Henry grows into that rare thing on the stage—a person ...When Rudy Vallee saw the play, he asked Goldsmith to adapt it into some sketches for his radio program, and this was followed in 1938 by a 39-week run of a sketch comedy series on The Kate Smith Hour with Stone continuing in the role of Henry.After finding an audience with Smith's listeners, The Aldrich Family was launched in its own series as a summer replacement program for Jack Benny[4] in NBC's Sunday night lineup, July 2, 1939, and it stayed there until October 1, 1939, when it moved to Tuesday nights at 8 p.m., sponsored by General Foods's popular gelatin dessert Jell-O, which also sponsored Jack Benny at the time.Other characters – including Mrs. Aldrich, Henry's sister Mary, and his best friend Homer Brown – were portrayed by multiple actors as well, a practice not uncommon in radio but unusual for television, where cast changes are more noticeable.The program garnered some adverse publicity when film and radio veteran Jean Muir was signed to play Mrs. Aldrich in the second season, which was to begin on August 27, 1950.Shortly before Muir's scheduled premiere, right-wing groups accused the actress of being a Communist sympathizer (her name appeared in Red Channels, a pamphlet listing the names of performers allegedly involved in left-wing activities), and General Foods, the show's sponsor, cancelled the first episode of the new season, replacing her with Nancy Carroll a week later, when the series returned on September 3.After General Foods ended their sponsorship in the spring of 1951, Campbell Soup Company became the new sponsor when the series moved from Sundays to Friday nights that fall.
Jackie Kelk (left) as Homer Brown and Ezra Stone as Henry Aldrich on the air, 1947.
Kelk with Dick Jones, who played Henry from 1943 to 1944.
Henry Aldrich – Boy Scout (1944)
Jackie Kelk, who played Homer Brown on the radio show, and Mary Malone as Mary Aldrich in the television program, 1951.
situation comedyClifford GoldsmithBroadwayWhat a LifeGeorge AbbottEddie BrackenBetty FieldButterfly McQueenEzra StoneTime magazinePenrodWillie BaxterRudy ValleeThe Kate Smith HourGeneral FoodsJell-OGrape NutsSustaining programJack BennyBob HopetelevisionWorld War IINorman TokarLeave It to BeaverDickie JonesBobby EllisInternet ArchiveHouse JamesonKatharine RahtCharita BauerHomer BrownJackie KelkJack GrimesJohn FiedlerAgnes MooreheadHarry Von ZellDan SeymourDwight WeistCenterville, New YorkB moviesParamount PicturesLife with HenryHenry Aldrich for PresidentHenry Aldrich, EditorHenry and DizzyHenry Aldrich Swings ItHenry Aldrich Gets GlamourHenry Aldrich Haunts a HouseHenry Aldrich, Boy ScoutHenry Aldrich Plays CupidHenry Aldrich's Little SecretBrackettWilderJackie CooperJimmy LydonOlive BlakeneyJohn LitelCharles SmithThe Aldrich Family (television series)Kenneth NelsonJean Muirright-wingCommunistRed Channelsleft-wingNancy CarrollCongressional committeeCampbell Soup CompanyMarcia HendersonNielsen ratingsFiresign TheatreDon't Crush That Dwarf Hand Me the PliersDell ComicsNewspapers.comAFI Catalog of Feature FilmsUniversity of Maryland librariesDigital Comic Museumformer programmingTwenty QuestionsBarney Blake, Police ReporterCamel News CaravanKraft Television TheatreLights OutMary Kay and JohnnyOne Man's FamilyThese Are My Children