Margaret Frances "Peg" Lynch (November 25, 1916 – July 24, 2015) was an American writer, actress, and sitcom creator. The BBC dubbed her, “the woman who invented sitcom”.
Lynch created the radio and television sitcoms ''
Ethel and Albert'', ''
The Couple Next Door'', and ''The Little Things in Life''.
She created, wrote, starred in, and owned her own sitcom and she retained that ownership throughout her life. She wrote over 11,000 scripts for radio and television.
Early life
Lynch was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.
[ ] Her father died of the
Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...
when she was two years old, after which she and her mother moved back to
Kasson, Minnesota, where her mother resumed her job as an orthopedic nurse at the
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...
. When she was 10 years old she won a writing competition in a local newspaper.
Lynch graduated from the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
in 1937, majoring in English with an emphasis on writing and dramatics.
Radio
Lynch's start in radio began at age 15 when working part-time as a receptionist at the Mayo Clinic. She agreed to help out at
KROC
Kroc is a surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Janae Kroc (born 1972), bodybuilder and powerlifter
* Joan Kroc (1929–2003), American philanthropist
* Ray Kroc (1902–1984), American founder of McDonald's
See also
*Krock (disam ...
in Rochester, a radio station belonging to a classmate's father. At KROC she helped with writing copy and interviewing celebrities who were in town (usually to visit the Clinic) including
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...
,
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American soprano and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 film) ...
,
Knute Rockne and
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
. Soon after she graduated from college, she landed a job at
KATE Kate may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
* Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer
* Lauren Kate (born 1981), American author o ...
in
Albert Lea, Minnesota
Albert Lea ( ) is a city in Freeborn County, Minnesota, Freeborn County, in southern Minnesota. It is the county seat. Its population was 18,492 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
The city is at the junction of Interstates Intersta ...
, about 40 miles southwest of Rochester. She earned $65 per month as a
copywriter
Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...
. She wrote commercials, a daily half-hour woman's show, a weekly half-hour theater show, a weekly farm news program, and three 10-minute plays and two five-minute sketches per week.
''Ethel and Albert''
It was at
KATE Kate may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
* Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer
* Lauren Kate (born 1981), American author o ...
Radio that Lynch first introduced the husband and wife characters of Ethel and Albert, born as a three-minute "filler" sketch in her woman's show. The sketch was successful and adapted to sell products on the show. Lynch played Ethel and a station announcer played Albert.
After four months at KATE, Lynch moved to
WCHV in Charlottesville, Virginia, and then on to
WTBO in Cumberland, Maryland, in 1941, continuing to develop ''Ethel and Albert'' as she went, expanding it at WTBO into a five-times-per-week, 15-minute evening feature.
Willis Conover played Albert.
[ ]
In February 1944, Lynch moved to New York City. Within a month, she received an offer from
NBC radio to air her show. Lynch refused because it would require her to give up the ownership rights of ''Ethel and Albert''. Shortly after, she received an offer for a spot on
Blue Network
The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945.
Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the ...
. On April 17, 1944, ''Ethel and Albert'' was reborn as a five-day-a-week, 15-minute show on national radio. Lynch was asked to play Ethel, which she initially refused to do; however, after several actresses were auditioned and none found suitable, Lynch was signed to play the role.
Richard Widmark played the role of Albert for six months, followed by
Alan Bunce. Bunce co-starred with Lynch for the next twenty years in both ''Ethel and Albert'', and as their radio counterparts in ''The Couple Next Door''. The partnership lasted until Bunce died in 1965.
''Ethel and Albert'' continued as a fifteen-minute show until 1949, when it expanded to a half-hour.
The show moved into commercial television in 1950 as a ten-minute segment on ''The Kate Smith Hour'', and in April 1953 became a half-hour program on the NBC network. The show was well-received by both the public and the critics.
Margaret Hamilton was a friend of Lynch's and appeared regularly on the show, playing Albert's aunt. The show was well-received by both the public and the critics.
Kay Gardella of the ''New York Daily News'' wrote that ''Ethel and Albert'' was "generally regarded as the top domestic comedy on TV. The warm, realistic portrayals and situations of this stanza reflect the personality of its creator. Peg is completely down to earth, and so are her scripts".
Jack Gould
John Ludlow Gould (February 5, 1914 – May 24, 1993) was an American journalist and critic, who wrote commentary about television.
Early life and education
Gould was born in New York City into a socially prominent family and attended the Loomis ...
of ''The New York Times,'' has given credit to the show and its creator-writer when he wrote, "the author of ''Ethel and Albert'', of course, is Miss Lynch herself. She has lost none of her uncanny knack for catching the small situation in married life and developing it into a gem of quiet humor. The charm of ''Ethel and Albert'' is that they could be man and wife off the screen."
NBC cancelled ''Ethel and Albert'' in December 1954. The show was picked up by
CBS as the 1955 summer replacement for the
Spring Byington
Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was an MGM contract player who appeared in films from the ...
vehicle ''
December Bride'', and it was so popular that Lynch was offered her half-hour prime-time slot (sponsored by
Maxwell House). ''Ethel and Albert'' gained a devoted following across America, and in the fall of 1955, the show again switched networks, this time to
ABC, sponsored by
Ralston Purina. It remained there until May 1956. Lynch owned the rights to her program, and it was not limited to a single network. ''Ethel and Albert'' aired for the final time on television on May 25, 1956. However, the show continued on CBS radio, starting in 1957, with ''The Couple Next Door'' as its new title. Lynch and Bunce continued in the title roles, and Lynch remained as the show's sole writer. ''The Couple Next Door'' had a three-year run in a 15-minute five-day-a-week format, ending in 1960.
AT&T
AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
brought the couple back in a 1961 instructional semi-animated video called ''Mr. Digit and the Battle of Bubbling Brook'' that focused on all-numeric dialing. ''Ethel and Albert'' enjoyed revivals in 1963-64 on NBC Radio's
''Monitor'' with Bunce as Albert and in National Public Radio's ''
Earplay
''Earplay'' was the longest-running of the formal series of radio drama anthologies on National Public Radio, produced by WHA (AM), WHA in Madison, Wisconsin and heard from 1972 into the 1990s. It approached radio drama as an art form with scri ...
'' in 1973.
In 1975-76 Lynch wrote and starred in ''The Little Things in Life'' for ''Radio Playhouse'' with Bob Dryden in the role of Albert. Six episodes of ''Ethel and Albert'' were adapted by
Granada Television
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
in
Manchester, England
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, in 1979, titled ''Chintz'' and with a British cast.
Lynch continued to perform her comedy shows at Old Time Radio Conventions around the US up to 2013.
Private life
Lynch married Odd Knut Ronning (1918-2014), a Norwegian pulp and paper engineer in Manhattan on August 12, 1948. The couple had a daughter, Astrid Ronning King, who was also a writer and married to composer
Denis King. Lynch lived in
Becket, Massachusetts
Becket is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,931 ...
, and continued to write, revisiting the characters of Ethel and Albert as a couple in their nineties. She died on July 24, 2015, in Becket at the age of 98, following a sudden decline in health.
References
External links
*
*
Guide to the Peg Lynch papers and scripts at the University of OregonPhotos from the set of Ethel and Albert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Peg
1916 births
2015 deaths
American comedy writers
American television actresses
Writers from Lincoln, Nebraska
University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from Lincoln, Nebraska
People from Dodge County, Minnesota
21st-century American women