The Gumps is an American radio sitcom broadcast from 1931 until 1937, mostly on

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...

based on the popular Sidney Smith newspaper comic strip '' The Gumps''. It was the first radio adaptation of

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

Concept

The Gumps are portrayed as a cranky couple. The biographer of writer

Irwin Shaw Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: '' The Young Lions'' ...

describes them as the "

Archie Bunker Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathemati ...

and

Edith Bunker Edith Bunker is a fictional character on the 1970s sitcom ''All in the Family'' (and occasionally ''Archie Bunker's Place''), played by Jean Stapleton. She is the wife of Archie Bunker, mother of Gloria Stivic, mother-in-law of Michael "Meathea ...

of their day."

History

The show first aired on WGN Chicago from 1931 until November 5, 1934. From 1934 until 1937 it aired on

. WGN executive Ben McCanna believed that a dramatic serial could work on radio just as it did in newspapers. When he approached Gosden and Correll to adapt ''The Gumps'' to radio, they declined and instead devised their own characters for the 1926–27 radio serial, ''

Sam 'n' Henry ''Sam 'n' Henry'' was a radio series performed by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll that aired on Chicago radio station WGN from 1926 through 1928. The ten-minute program is often considered the first situation comedy. Gosden and Correll rewor ...

''. After reworking these characters for ''

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio sho ...

'' in 1928–29, while borrowing certain elements from ''The Gumps'', they were on their way to becoming millionaires, and the radio serial format they created soon became the model for many other serialized radio dramas. After ''The Gumps'' were finally heard on WGN in 1931, the series moved to CBS for a four-year run (1934–1937), produced and directed by Himan Brown with scripts by

. Shaw had been scripting the '' Dick Tracy radio series'', when Brown asked him if he thought he could write comedy. Brown later said, "He was sensational". Karo Syrup and Pebeco toothpaste/tooth powder were the sponsors.

Cast

* Andy Gump: Jack Boyle (actor),

Wilmer Walter Wilmer or Wilmers may refer to: Places *Wilmer, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community * Wilmer, Louisiana, United States, an unincorporated hamlet *Wilmer, Texas, United States, a city * Wilmer, British Columbia, Canada, a settleme ...

* Min Gump: Dorothy Denvir,

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

* Chester Gump: Charles Flynn (actor), Lester Jay,

Jackie Kelk John Daly "Jackie" Kelk (August 6, 1923 – September 5, 2002) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for portraying the role of Homer Brown on the radio series '' The Aldrich Family'' ...

* Tilda the maid: Bess Flynn

Legacy

According to historian Elizabeth McLeod in the "Andy Gump to Andy Brown" section of her popular culture essay, and her book, ''The Original Amos 'n' Andy'',McLeod, Elizabeth, "The Original Amos 'n' Andy": Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, and the 1928–43 Radio Serial'' (McFarland, 2005). "The Gumps" comic strip was the forefather of radio and TV sitcoms and serialized dramas. It was also the first radio show based on a comic strip.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gumps, The American comedy radio programs 1931 radio programme debuts 1937 radio programme endings CBS Radio programs Radio programs based on comic strips Radio programs about families