''Hop Harrigan'' 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 ...

juvenile adventure program. It was broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from August 31, 1942, until August 2, 1946, and on Mutual from October 2, 1946, until February 6, 1948.

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

began sponsoring the program on October 2, 1944; it had previously been unsponsored.

Format

The

Hop Harrigan Hop Harrigan (also known as The Guardian Angel and Black Lamp) is a fictional character published by All-American Publications. He appeared in American comic books, radio serials and film serials. He was created by Jon Blummer, and was a popular h ...

character originated in '' All American Comics'', and the radio program was adapted from that publication. Harrigan was a young aviator, and most of the show's plots dealt with his battles with the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

during World War II. At age 18, Harrigan was not much older than the show's target audience of young listeners. In his book, ''Radio Crime Fighters: Over 300 Programs from the Golden Age'', Jim Cox wrote that Harrigan's "detecting and crime fighting enthralled the adolescents for whom it was intended, creating a loyal following that clung to every new action-packed crisis." The program was produced in cooperation with the Air Training Corps of America and was endorsed by the Office of the Adjutant General of the Army.

Personnel

Chester Stratton initially had the title role in the program. Albert Aley played Harrigan later. Mitzi Gould played Harrigan's girlfriend. The only other character appearing regularly was Tank Tinker, Harrigan's mechanic, who was played first by

Ken Lynch Kenneth E. Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was an American radio, film, and television actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been bes ...

and later by

Jackson Beck Jackson Beck (July 23, 1912 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's '' The Adventures of Superman''Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. . Pp. 1 ...

. Announcers were

Glenn Riggs Glenn Everett Riggs (July 24, 1907 – September 12, 1975) was an American radio announcer. Early years Riggs was the youngest of two children born to parents Edwin E. (April 15, 1874–August 1, 1968) and Pearl Riggs on July 24, 1907 in E ...

, Dresser Dahlstead, and

Vic Perrin Victor Herbert Perrin (April 26, 1916 – July 4, 1989)Cox, Jim (2007). ''Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether fr ...

. Directors included Jay Clark, Jack Johnstone, Allen Ducovny, and Jessica Maxwell. Writers included Aley, Bob Burtt, and Wilfred Moore. Producers included Harry Ingram.

Popularity

In the program's second month on the air, the staff of ''Hop Harrigan'' received 124,264 letters as people wrote in for premiums that were offered to listeners. The program had two organizations for young fans—the All American Flying Club and the American Observation Corps.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Logs

Log of episodes of ''Hop Harrigan'' from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio LogsLog of episodes of ''Hop Harrigan'' from Old Time Radio Researchers GroupLog of episodes of ''Hop Harrigan'' from radioGOLDINdex.com

Streaming

Episodes of ''Hop Harrigan'' from Internet ArchiveEpisodes of ''Hop Harrigan'' from Old Time Radio Researchers Group LibraryEpisodes of ''Hop Harrigan'' from Zoot Radio
1942 radio programme debuts 1948 radio programme endings 1940s American radio programs ABC radio programs Mutual Broadcasting System programs American radio dramas Radio programs based on comic strips