''Forever Ernest'' is an American
old-time radio
The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...
situation comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
. It was broadcast on
CBS from April 29, 1946, to July 22, 1946,
replacing ''
'' on the CBS schedule.
It was also carried on
CFRB
CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West.
CFRB is a c ...
in Canada.
Ernest, the title character, is a shy, fearful clerk at a pharmacy. He goes out of his way to help people — an attribute that his girlfriend, Candy, wishes he would change, because she thinks people take advantage of him. Most episodes focus on Ernest's attempts to please Candy. The other main character is fast-talking Duke, Ernest's friend who often gets him into trouble.
In his first regular role on radio,
Jackie Coogan
John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films.
Charlie Chaplin's film classic '' The Kid'' (1921) made him one of the first child stars in t ...
played the title character, with
Lurene Tuttle
Lurene Tuttle (August 29, 1907 – May 28, 1986) was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile a ...
as Candy and
Arthur Q. Bryan
Arthur Quirk Bryan (May 8, 1899 – November 30, 1959) was an American actor and radio personality. He is best remembered for his longtime recurring role as well-spoken, wisecracking Dr. Gamble on the radio comedy ''Fibber McGee and Molly'' and f ...
as Duke.
Dick Joy
Dick Joy (December 28, 1915 – October 31, 1991) was an American radio and television announcer. A journalism major at the University of Southern California, he went on to become well known on network radio and television.
Early years
Joy's in ...
was the announcer. Harry Kronman was the director, and
John Guedel was the producer.
Billy May
Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), '' The Mod Squad'' (1968), ''Batman'' (with ''Batgirl'' them ...
and his orchestra provided the music.
Rupert Pray, Leonard Soll, and Daved DeKoven were the writers.
[
''Forever Ernest'' was sponsored by ]Bromo-Seltzer
Bromo-Seltzer was a brand of antacid formulated to relieve pain occurring together with heartburn, upset stomach, or acid indigestion. It originally contained sodium bromide and acetanilide, both toxic substances which were eventually remo ...
.[
]
References
1946 radio programme debuts
1946 radio programme endings
1940s American radio programs
CBS Radio programs
American comedy radio programs
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