Old Time Radio Shows

Radio Drama "died" on Sept 30, 1962, with the closing broadcasts of Suspense! and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar . When CBS canceled these two series, the Golden Age of Radio ended, a victim of the increasing influence of Television. To quote Fibber McGee and Molly 's Old Timer, “That ain't the way I heared it...” The rise of television expediated the demise radio drama as a commercial endeavor in the United States, but radio drama (or "Audio Theater") is simply too effective as a storytelling medium to die away altogether. There are still markets that regard  Radio Drama highly, even when it competes with Television. Radio Drama, Soap Operas, and Comedy Programing remain a staple of British radio. In parts of the world that were slower to get television, such as South Africa and the Australian Outback, Radio Drama held on as a readily accessible form of electronic entertainment, although often subsidized. In the US, radio drama held on in a few out...

Ma Perkins was not the first radio program to use continuing story lines to build a loyal audience. It was not the first serial drama to be directed at housewives during daytime broadcast hours, it was not the first show whose characters dispensed "country wisdom", it was not even the first show of the sort to come from the " Hummert Radio Factory ". It was, however, one of the very first radio shows sponsored by a Proctor & Gamble product, Oxydol, and Oxydol was, that's right, soap. Formed when a candle maker and his soap maker brother in law realized that they were competing for the same resources in 1837, P&G was one of the first American companies to realize the value of branding and advertising. One of the company's major successes was supplying soap and candles to the Union Army during the Civil War. They made it a point to stamp the crates carrying their products with their 'moon and stars' logo, and soldiers from around the country...

Spoofs are probably as old as language itself, dating from the times when the tribal elder told stories around the campfire. Then, just as now, the best spoofing probably took place when the elder's back was turned! As radio drama established itself into dominant genre forms, the forms became the target of parody and ridicule. Unlike some more modern spoofs, most radio parodies are good natured and have a distinct lack of condescending tone. Soap Operas  were an early money maker for the radio networks, appealing to house wives who would use the stories to keep them company while they were doing their house work (this was a great advantage of Radio Soaps over the later TV Soap Operas- the dishes would pile up and diapers could go unchanged while the house wife was trapped in front of the TV, but with a Soap on the radio, she could let her tears fall directly into the dishwater and not miss any of the story!) The melodramatic elements of Soap Operas made them an easy target ...