The ''Joy Boys'' was a popular daily

improvised comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

radio show in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, between 1955 and 1974 that launched the broadcast careers of the program's co-hosts

Willard Scott Willard Herman Scott Jr. (March 7, 1934 – September 4, 2021) was an American weather presenter, radio and television personality, actor, narrator, clown, comedian, and author, whose broadcast career spanned 68 years, 65 years with the NBC br ...

and

Ed Walker Ed Walker may refer to: * Ed Walker (radio personality) (1932–2015), American radio personality * Ed Walker (American football) (1901–1972), American football player and coach of football and basketball * Ed Walker (American veteran) (1917–20 ...

. The two did various skits and

satirized Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposing or ...

prominent people of the day, such as Scott's character "Arthur Codfish" (mocking

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days ...

). They both regularly parodied

NBC-TV The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's '' Huntley-Brinkley Report'' with their own zany "Washer-Dryer Report". Walker told an interviewer years later that the duo imitated some 20 voices in all. Scott and Walker teamed as co-hosts on WRC-AM, the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an network af ...

in Washington, beginning July 11, 1955. Initially, the program was titled ''Two at One'' and aired at 1 p.m. The term Joy Boys originated when they adopted a brief song of that title, set to the " Billboard March" as their theme music:"Where did the theme music come from?"
-- The Joy Boys - History ''We are the Joy Boys, of radio,''
''We chase electrons to and fro-o-o-o...'' Later, the ''Joy Boys'' became a nightly feature at 7 p.m. on WRC. In a 1999 article recalling the ''Joy Boys'' at the height of their popularity in the mid-1960s, ''The Washington Post'' said they "dominated Washington, providing entertainment, companionship, and community to a city on the verge of powerful change". One of their many running gags was "As the Worm Turns", a spoof of the television soap opera, ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

''. Walker, who was totally blind since birth, said that growing up "radio was my comic books, movies, everything". On the ''Joy Boys'' program, Scott would sketch a list of characters and a few lead lines setting up the situation that Walker would commit to memory or note on his

braille typewriter Braille ( , ) is a tactile writing system used by blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone devices. Braille can be writte ...

. Scott and Walker formed a professional and personal bond which continued up to Walker's death. Scott said in his book, ''The Joy of Living'', that they were "closer than most brothers". The ''Joy Boys'' moved from WRC to another Washington radio station, WWDC (now

WQOF WQOF (1260 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Washington, D.C., and serving the Washington Metropolitan Area, Washington metro area with a Catholic radio format. Owned and operated by Relevant Radi ...

), in October 1972, where it was heard until the show's final broadcast on October 26, 1974. The show was sold in syndication that year. Their parody of

Masterpiece Theatre ''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on PBS on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these ...

's ''Six Wives of Henry VIII'', which they called ''Masterpuss Theater'' had a one-week airing on consecutive nights on

KBYU-FM KBYU-FM (89.1 MHz) is a classical music radio station run by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. It is known on-air as Classical 89. It is a production of BYU Radio. It transmits at an effective radiated power of 32 kW. Its transmi ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

, in 1973.

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

has released some of the ''Joy Boys'' radio broadcasts of the 1960s on

CDs CDS, CDs, Cds, etc. may refer to: Finance * Canadian Depository for Securities, Canadian post-trade financial services company * Certificate of deposit (CDs) * Counterfeit Deterrence System, developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence ...

. The Joy Boys'

roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...

of WRC newsman

Bryson Rash Bryson Brennan Rash (August 18, 1913November 12, 1992) was an American journalist who reported on radio and television for CBS, NBC, and ABC affiliates. He was ABC's White House correspondent from 1942 through 1956, thereafter reporting from Was ...

, when he became president of the

National Press Club A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...

in Washington, D. C. in 1963, was released on a CD, ''Is Bryson Rash?''.

References

{{reflist

External links

Interview with Ed Walker (University of Maryland video)

''The Joy Boys'' tribute site

''The Joy Boys'' YouTube channel, with airchecks

Joy Boys
Documentary produced by

WETA-TV WETA-TV (channel 26) is the primary PBS member television station in Washington, D.C. Owned by the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, it is a sister station to NPR member WETA (90.9 FM). The two outlets share stu ...

American comedy radio programs