One Man's Family
Genre | soap opera |
---|---|
Country of origin | United States |
Language(s) | English |
Written by | Carlton E. Morse |
Original release | April 29, 1932 April 24, 1959 | –
No. of episodes | 3,256 |
One Man's Family is an American radio soap opera, heard for almost three decades, from 1932 to 1959. Created by Carlton E. Morse, it was the longest-running uninterrupted dramatic serial in the history of American radio.[1] Television versions of the series aired in prime time from 1949 to 1952 and in daytime from 1954 to 1955.[2]
Radio
One Man's Family debuted as a radio series on April 29, 1932 in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco, moving to the full West Coast NBC network the following month, sponsored by Snowdrift and Wesson Oil. On May 17, 1933, it expanded to the full coast-to-coast NBC network as the first West Coast show heard regularly on the East Coast. The show was broadcast as a weekly half-hour series (1933-1950) [sustained by Standard Brands from 1935 through 1949], then shifted to daily 15-minute installments, initially originating from the studios of San Francisco radio station KPO, NBC's flagship station for the West Coast, eventually moving to Los Angeles.[3]
Characters and story
The series employed a literary device with episodes divided into books and chapters. Spanning 27 years, the program presented 136 books with 3,256 chapters. Storylines were set in the
After 3,256 episodes, the radio series ceased production on April 24, 1959 (several sources give the date of May 8, 1959). One Man's Family was the longest-running serial drama in American radio broadcasting, edging out Ma Perkins (although Ma Perkins produced over twice as many episodes). Organist Paul Carson, who played the background music and the opening theme, "Destiny Waltz" (1932–41), composed the show's later theme, "Waltz Patrice" (aka "Patricia").[4] Among its other trademarks, episodes were introduced as if they were chapters from books.
Overseas
Two Australian versions of One Man's Family were broadcast in Australia in the late 1930s/early 1940s; in
Television
One Man's Family had the rare distinction of airing both in prime time and daytime television. The first TV version (November 4, 1949 - June 21, 1952) ran in prime time once a week for a half-hour and reverted the stories back to the 1932 storylines.[6] Hazel was a 28-year-old who yearned for marriage, Cliff and Claudia were students at Stanford University, and Jack was ten years old. The prime time version focused on Fanny's attempts to mediate between her old-world husband and her independent-minded children.
In 1965, General Foods offered to sponsor another version of One Man's Family on NBC, but NBC passed and picked up Days of Our Lives instead.[7]
See also
- List of radio soaps
- List of longest-serving soap opera actors
- Michael Raffetto
References
- ISBN 9781476606903. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-6439-5.
- ^ a b Starr, Kevin. The Dream Endures: California Enters the 1940s . Oxford University Press, 1997.
- ^ "Waltz Published" (PDF). Radio Life. January 16, 1944. p. 9. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 0-345-35344-7.
- ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
Sources
- Walter P. Sheppard, One Man's Family: A History 1932 to 1959 and a Script Analysis 1932 to 1944, University of Wisconsin, 1964 (doctoral dissertation; available through University Microfilms). "Some Notes on 'One Man's Family,'" article drawn from the dissertation, Journal of Broadcasting, Vol. XIV, No. 2 (Spring 1970).