The Great Gildersleeve

RKO Great Gildersleeve films: Gildersleeve's Bad Day (2943), Gildersleeve On Broadway (1943), and Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944). He also released three children's records: Stories for Children, Told in His Own Way by the Great Gildersleeve (1945), Children's Stories as Told by the Great Gildersleeve (1946), and a second volume of Stories for Children, Told in His Own Way (1947).





Peary and crew starred in fourGreat Gildersleeve films: The Great Gildersleeve (1942),(2943),(1943), and(1944). He also released three children's records:(1945),(1946), and a second volume of(1947).

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was a radio sitcom and one of the first spin-offs. It was tremendously popular in theand led to four feature films and threerecords.The series centered on(nicknames includedor just"), a lovable windbag who first appeared onin 1939. OnFibber McGee and Molly he was McGee's antagonist armed with a catchphrase ("You're a haaard man, McGee!"). He was originally expertly played byGildersleeve was so popular that he soon got his own show, The Great Gildersleeve, which debuted onon 31 August, 1941. It was sponsored bywhose advertisements promoted theirmargarine -- a weird, oily yellow spread that people turned instead of butter during thebut strangely continued to eat after butter was affordable again). On The Great Gildersleeve, the titular character retained some of his pomposity and general man-childishness but was made more likeable. And whereas he had a wife on Fibber McGee, on his own he was a lifelong bachelor and much of the plot revolved around his awkward romantic pursuits.The show was set in the small town of, where Gildersleeve inherited his late brother-in-law's estate and orphaned niece () and nephew () -- making him a bit of a mid-century forerunner to. The household was rounded out by Gildersleeve's cook and housekeeper,. At the series' debut, Gildersleeve ran a girdle-manufacturing company but his character was soon recast as Summerfield's water commissioner.The series is one of the few sitcoms of the era that for the most part holds up very well today. Whereas other comedies at the time such as, andwere rooted the vaudeville tradition and bore more similarity to revues or sketch comedies, the humor sitcoms like, andseem comparatively modern (at least to me) as the genre's formula hasn't changed much in the last 75 years or so. One notable exception to the show's timelessness is the characterization of Birdie, the black housekeeper whose stereotypical portrayal is occasionally wince-inducing.When The Great Gildersleeve began, it was written by, who mined for laughs from Birdie's (played by) apparent stupidity and impolitely loud speaking voice. Around the third season, however, as other writers came on board (including, and the great-- father ofand grandfather of) Birdie was increasingly depicted as the true brains of the household.was originally played byand later(who's incidentally still with us) and. Over the course of the series, she grew up, got married and moved out (to a house next door)., on the other hand, remained the same age throughout and was played by-- a famous child star who in real life never went through puberty -- supposedly because his mother had him castrated. Much of the show's humor revolved around his and Gildy's relationship (Leroy's catchprases of "Ah, you kiddin'?" and "Aw, for corn's sake!" usually came right before or after Gildersleeve's rumbling delivery of "Leeeroy!")Gildersleeve's friends were), pharmacist), and barber). In the fourth season, the friends -- along with) -- formed a clique known as, whose chief activities involved singing(this was the, after all). Aside from his work, the Jolly Boys, and raising the kids, Gildersleeve pursued numerous love interests -- almost marrying on three occasions -- most memorably tobelleThe show jumped the shark, as it were, in 1950 when as a result of one of's famous talent raids, Peary leftand signed a seven-year contract with their rival, believing that the show would come with him. Kraft, however, refused to sanction the move and replaced him with. Waterman version of Gildersleeve sounds uncannily like that of Peary -- although Waterman refused to emulate Peary-as-Gildersleeve's signature laugh which was once described by a critic as "a national phenomenon almost as awe-inspiring as." Waterman was fine as Gildersleeve -- it's nearly impossible to differentiate him from Peary -- but there are noticeably fewer laughs after 1950.Meanwhile, over at CBS, Peary starred asaka "Honest Harold the Homemaker" on. It was remarkably similar to The Great Gildersleeve made moreso with the frequent reuse of plot devices and similar characters -- not just Honest Harold but his foil,, who was an obvious substitute for Judge Hooker. Its setting,, was just like Summerfield. Without an estate to manage or children to raise, however, more of the plot revolved around romantic pursuits although Harold came off as a bit of a sleaze. Though enjoyable, it never came close to reaching the highs of The Great Gildersleeve and was cancelled in 1954.Back at NBC, the Waterman Gildersleeve drifted aimlessly. Marjorie and Judge Hooker disappeared on several occasions for long periods and new characters were regularly introduced and just as quickly dropped. In 1954 the series was reduced from half an hour to just fifteen minutes. The following year it transitioned to television and aired for 39 episodes, ending its run in 1956. The radio version ended in 1957.Recordings ofshows are filed in'ssection.