The Parker Family
The Parker Family was an American radio soap opera broadcast from 1939 to 1944.
Characters and story
Leon Janney, a child star in films in the 1930s, starred as Richard Parker, a teenage boy growing up in a small midwestern town. Janney (whose character was nicknamed "Richard the Great") also narrated the series, and his character's chronic misunderstandings formed the basis of the stories. Richard lived with his father Walter (Jay Jostyn) and mother Helen (Linda Carlon-Reed, later Marjorie Anderson), as well as his twin sister Nancy (Mitzi Gould) and younger sister Elly (Patricia Ryan). Harry Clark and Hugh James were the announcers.[1]
Don Becker created and produced the program, with Chuck Vincent and Oliver Barbour as directors.[1] Priscilla Kent was the writer.[2]
The program was sponsored by Woodbury Soap[3] and Ipana toothpaste.[3]: 98 The theme song was Deep Purple.[1]
Airdates and availability
The Parker Family aired weekly on CBS from July to October 1939, then switched to NBC Blue (today's ABC), running until April 10, 1944. An experimental video version was aired on NBC-TV on May 9, 1941, with Janney and Gould reprising their radio roles. The soap was also part of a slate of programs (which included a middleweight title fight between Billy Soose and Ken Overlin) shown to a group of 1,200 people at the New Yorker Theatre as an experiment in "theatre television".[4]
Only one episode exists: the one airing on September 21, 1939, and thus preserved on the WJSV broadcast day recordings.
References
- ^ a b c Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 532–533. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ "Parker Family Begins Friday Night on KSCJ". Sioux City Journal. April 25, 1943. p. 23. Retrieved April 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Cox, Jim (2008). Sold on Radio: Advertisers in the Golden Age of Broadcasting. McFarland. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-7864-5176-0. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- ^ 1,200 See 1st Test of Big-Screen Television, New York Daily News, May 10, 1941, p. M10
- v
- t
- e
- Adopted Daughter (1939–41)
- Against the Storm (1939–52)
- Amanda of Honeymoon Hill (1940–46)
- Arnold Grimm's Daughter (1937-1942)
- Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories (1937–55)
- Aunt Mary (1944–61)
- Bachelor's Children (1935–46)
- Backstage Wife (1935–59)
- Betty and Bob (1932-1940)
- Big Sister (1936–52)
- Brenda Curtis (1939-1940)
- Bright Horizon (1941-1945)
- The Brighter Day (1948–56)
- Clara, Lu, 'n Em (1930–42)
- Dan Harding's Wife (1936–38)
- David Harum (1936–50)
- Girl Alone (1935–41)
- The Goldbergs (1929–50)
- The Guiding Light (1937–56)
- Helpmate (1941-44)
- Hilltop House (1937-57)
- Jane Arden (1938–39)
- John's Other Wife (1936-42)
- Joyce Jordan, M.D. (1938-55)
- Judy and Jane (1932–35)
- Just Plain Bill (1932–55)
- Kitty Keene, Incorporated (1937–41)
- Life Can Be Beautiful (1938–54)
- Lone Journey (1940-52)
- Lonely Women (1942–43)
- Lorenzo Jones (1937–55)
- Ma Perkins (1933–60)
- Myrt and Marge (1931–42)
- The O'Neills (1935–43)
- One Man's Family (1932–59)
- Our Gal Sunday (1936–59)
- Painted Dreams (1930–43)
- The Parker Family (1939-44)
- Pepper Young's Family (1932–59)
- Perry Mason (1943–55)
- Portia Faces Life (1940–53)
- The Romance of Helen Trent (1933–60)
- Rosemary (1944–55)
- Second Husband (1936-46)
- The Second Mrs. Burton (1946–60)
- Stella Dallas (1937–55)
- The Story of Mary Marlin (1934-52)
- Those We Love (1938-45)
- Today's Children (1933-50)
- Valiant Lady (1938-52)
- Wendy Warren and the News (1947-58)
- When a Girl Marries (1939–57)
- Young Doctor Malone (1939–60)
- Young Widder Brown (1938–56)
- Your Family and Mine (1938–40)
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