Myrt and Marge (radio series)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Myrt and Marge
CBS Radio
Don Lee Network[1]
StarringMyrtle Vail
Donna Damerel (1932-1941; her death)
Helen Mack (1941-42; 1946)
Created byMyrtle Vail
Written byMyrtle Vail
Recording studioChicago
Original releaseNovember 2, 1931 (night)
January 4, 1937 (daytime) –
1946[2]
Sponsored byWrigley, Colgate-Palmolive

Myrt and Marge is an American

radio serial which aired from November 2, 1931 to March 27, 1942 on CBS Radio and the Mutual Broadcasting System.[3] It was created and written by its main star, actress Myrtle Vail
.

Characters and story

The soap tracked the doings and undoings of the two close friends, Myrtle Spear (Myrtle Vail) and Marge Minter (Donna Damerel, later Helen Mack) with some of the usual soap opera twists (kidnappings, organized crime, murder) and injected a degree of comedy into a genre not usually known at the time for wit.

Development and production

Myrtle Vail thought of the idea while living in the

Wrigley
chewing gum makers, who had yet to sponsor a radio show, naming her lead characters Myrtle Spear and Marge Minter (playing on the company's best-known gum), while casting herself as Myrtle and her real-life daughter Donna Damerel as Marge, with Myrt being the elder, experienced chorus girl taking young, inexperienced, and innocent Marge under her wing. (In the pilot, Marge was said to be Myrt's daughter.) Wrigley liked the idea and Myrt & Marge debuted in late 1931.

Originally a prime-time entry, the show proved so popular with women that it was moved to daytime programming. The cast was described in a 1931 trade publication article as being "one of the largest casts in radio. Thirty actors and musicians take part in most of the presentations, and no member of the cast plays a double role."[4] In later years the show was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive-Peet, who promoted its Super Suds laundry soap among other products on the show.

In 1933, Vail was seriously injured in an automobile accident, forcing her to turn the show's writing over to a colleague named Charles Thomas. Thomas wrote a storyline in which Myrt was kidnapped by gangsters, allowing Vail to recuperate completely. Donna Damerel died on February 15, 1941, aged 28, while giving birth to her third son. She had done a Myrt & Marge performance hours before going into labor.[5]

Vail was quoted (by Movie-Radio Guide) as saying she believed her daughter would not have wanted the show to die. She wrote Damerel's character out of the script for the interim, with the character of Marge hiding in the hills until a murder could be resolved, and set about casting a new Marge.[citation needed] The role finally went to film actress Helen Mack, who was chosen from more than 200 applicants for the role.[6] After just a few months with Mack playing the role, Myrt & Marge ended in 1942.[citation needed]

Vail attempted to revive the show in 1946, in a syndicated version starring Vail and Mack, which sometimes included updated re-writes of the original scripts, according to radio historian John Dunning. However, the new show was a short-lived ratings failure, and the one-time favorite disappeared quietly in 1947. Approximately 110 episodes of Myrt & Marge survive, most from the 1946-47 syndication revival. Three — including the show's pilot episode — from its 1930s heyday are known to survive as well.[5]

Adaptations

A film released by

Three Stooges, as well as their former front man Ted Healy. In the film, Myrt Spear's touring vaudeville revue is full of talent and bound for Broadway, but low on funds. Conniving and lecherous producer Mr. Jackson (played by actor Thomas E. Jackson) helps the show so he can romance the young star, Marge Minter. Myrt, and Marge's boyfriend Eddie Hanley (Eddie Foy Jr.), step in to save the revue and Marge. Ted Healy, Moe, Larry and Curly are stagehands with hopes to join the show, and deal with the antics of backstage crasher Bonnie Bonnell.[citation needed
]

References

  1. ^ "Wrigley vs. Amos 'n' Andy" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 1, 1931. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  2. ^ Archive.org; accessed December 14, 2014.
  3. . Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  4. ^ "Myrt and Marge Cast" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 1, 1931. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Myrt and Marge, Archive.org; accessed December 14, 2014.
  6. Newspapers.com
    .