S4 Ep. 76: Fibber McGee and Molly

·1 hr 1 min·5 clips

How did a husband-wife comedy team from Peoria create radio's longest-running sitcom, only to have the FCC ban a nightly salutation to his absent wife?

The episode opens with host Greg Fordyce introducing Fibber McGee and Molly as one of radio's earliest and longest-running situation comedies, created by husband-wife team Jim and Marion Jordan from Peoria, Illinois. It notes the show's national debut on NBC Radio in 1935 and its influence on studio sitcoms with live orchestras and audiences. The host mentions Marion Jordan's leaves due to alcoholism, during which the show was renamed Fibber McGee and Company, and Jim Jordan's nightly 'Good night, Molly' salutation that the FCC ordered stopped. The first broadcast from October 24, 1944, begins with a commercial for Johnson's Self-Polishing Glow Coat before transitioning into the comedy. Fibber McGee is upset about a $15.66 discrepancy in his bank statement, accusing the bank of theft. T. Orville Drake arrives, repaying a $4 bus loan from six years ago, and impresses the McGees with his honesty and wealth, including a cigar with his initials. Drake reveals he's a mining engineer and sells Fibber three shares of tungsten mining stock for $105. Characters like boarder Alice Darling and announcer Harlow Wilcox appear, with Wilcox delivering a wax commercial. Dr. Gamble visits, deduces Drake is a con artist using psychological principles, and Fibber realizes he never signed the check for the stock, making it invalid. The second broadcast from May 22, 1951, starts with a Pet Milk commercial about the Fultz quadruplets. Fibber McGee runs a red light while driving to a drugstore with Molly and decides to turn himself in to the police. The police chief refuses to fine him because no one witnessed the crime, and Molly's testimony is inadmissible. Fibber escalates to the mayor, who jokes about 'passing the buck,' and hires lawyer Ipso J. Facto, who confuses him with a cat burglar. The story concludes with Fibber discovering the police chief is part of his Parrot Teachers Association, a club teaching English to parrots at a pet shop. The episode ends with host Greg Fordyce signing off and promoting the next show.

As heard by us

A pair of Fibber McGee and Molly broadcasts turns homefront chatter and domestic mix-ups into crisp old-radio comedy.

Two Fibber McGee and Molly broadcasts give this episode its center, with a brisk setup that follows Jim and Marion Jordan from Peoria to Smack Out on WENR in Chicago, then on to their NBC Radio debut in 1935.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when you want wartime parlor talk to slide into a squeaky-dresser joke.

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