50 Years of American Comedy
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FRED ALLEN SHOW, THE / aka TEXACO STAR THEATER - Take It or Leave It
| Air Date/Released | Sunday, February 28, 1943 |
|---|---|
| Station/Studio | CBS (radio) |
| Host/Star | Fred Allen |
| Featuring | Joe Besser (Solo) |
Fred Allen's long-running radio series was at its most popular in this ½-hour format for Texaco, with its iconic "Allen's Alley" feature. Fred Allen's trademark was his sharp wit and topical humor.
Opening with jokes and banter with sidekick Portland Hoffa (Fred's wife), the episode quickly moves on to Allen's Alley where the regular residents John Doe, Mrs. Mulligan, and "poet" Falstaff Openshaw offer their opinions on the new government ration books. Fred and Portland's discussion of the coming Spring is interrupted a few times by a misplaced radio actor (Joe Besser) with prop guns blazing who thinks he's in THE LONE RANGER's broadcast studio. Fred's planned comedy play "Who Killed Carmelita Feingold?" is interrupted by Phil Baker, who hijacks the broadcast with a spoof of his own quiz show TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, with contestant Socrates Mulligan, and more interruptions by the lost Besser. Al Goodman's orchestra and vocalists Hi Lo Jack and the Dame perform "Weep No More My Lady."
Phil Baker costarred with Ted Healy for two years in the Broadway revue A NIGHT IN SPAIN (1927 - 1928), and again for a year in BILLY ROSE'S CRAZY QUILT (1931 - 1932).
This episode's gag of Baker hijacking the show was inspired by some real events. Allen's show preceded Baker's quiz show, and several times had run overtime into Baker's timeslot. This episode's gag plot was created to give Phil "revenge."
Cast: Fred Allen (Host), Jimmy Wallington (Announcer), Phil Baker, David Ross, Portland Hoffa-Allen (Portland Hoffa), John Brown (John Doe), Minerva Pious (Mrs. Socrates Mulligan), Alan Reed (Falstaff Openshaw), Charlie Cantor (Socrates Mulligan), Joe Besser (LONE RANGER actor), Al Goodman (Orchestra), Hi Lo Jack and the Dame (Vocalists)
This episode's gag of Baker hijacking the show was inspired by some real events. Allen's show preceded Baker's quiz show, and several times had run overtime into Baker's timeslot. This episode's gag plot was created to give Phil "revenge."
Cast: Fred Allen (Host), Jimmy Wallington (Announcer), Phil Baker, David Ross, Portland Hoffa-Allen (Portland Hoffa), John Brown (John Doe), Minerva Pious (Mrs. Socrates Mulligan), Alan Reed (Falstaff Openshaw), Charlie Cantor (Socrates Mulligan), Joe Besser (LONE RANGER actor), Al Goodman (Orchestra), Hi Lo Jack and the Dame (Vocalists)
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