Fibber McGee and Molly - The Lost Episodes, Volume 5

Fibber McGee and Molly - The Lost Episodes, Volume 5 - 10 hours [Audio CDs] #RA074

10 hours - Audio CD Set

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Fibber McGee and Molly, The Lost Episodes
Volume 5

"That's my favorite room, Mr. McGee: the kitchen..."

Jim and Marion Jordan as "Fibber McGee and Molly" - 1952

Jim and Marion Jordan as "Fibber McGee and Molly" - an institution on NBC Radio for over twenty yearsIn the thirty-year history of "Fibber McGee & Molly," the McGee's counted some truly memorable characters among their assorted friends and neighbors: the Old Timer, Wallace Wimple, Mayor LaTrivia, and Doc Gamble, to name but a few. What's always interested this author is that, to my knowledge, there was only one prominent character acknowledged to be next-door neighbor to Fibber and Molly: Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve...and even his stint in Wistful Vista lasted only two years before he moved to greener sitcom pastures in neighboring Summerfield. So, apart from the periodic visits from little girl neighbor Teeny, who apparently lived across the street, and perfunctory mentions of the never-heard Toops family (Mort, Mabel, and Willie), listeners of both yesteryear and today are left to wonder why living next-door to the McGee's was such an undesirable proposition.

With Fibber and Molly's change to a quarter-hour format, however, it didn't take long for a "For Rent" sign to be put up outside the house next-door and for the McGee's to say 'hello" to a newlywed couple, Lester and Sally Nelson. Since many of the show's earlier regulars disappeared in the fifteen-minute series due to budgetary concerns, the Nelsons -- played by Robert Easton and Mary Lou Harrington -- were a most welcome addition to the cast. Sally's appearances on the program would be sporadic at best, but Les was often pressed into service as a ready-made foil for Fibber -- often becoming ensnared in one of McGee's self-created catastrophes or acting as sounding board whenever Fibber was in a crisis. Actor Bob Easton played Lester Nelson as an amiable boob, offering never-heeded advice and often chuckling at his own cleverness in a most endearing fashion. Easton, at the time of his "Fibber McGee & Molly" hitch, was just coming into his own as a valuable character actor; one of those unsung performers who's recognizable on sight, even if one does have difficulty putting a name to his face.

Robert Easton in a typical supporting role, circa 1952

Robert Easton in a typical supporting role, circa 1952

He was born Robert Burke (Easton was his mother's maiden name) on November 23, 1930 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, although he spent his formative years in San Antonio, Texas picking up the laconic drawl that would serve him well as an actor. He demonstrated a good deal of precocity as a child, becoming one of radio's renowned "Quiz Kids", and later, while studying at the University of Texas in 1949, was asked to join the prestigious scholastic fraternity Phi Eta Sigma. It was about this time that he appeared in his first movie, "Undertow" (1949); he would receive his first screen credit in John Huston's "The Red Badge of Courage" in 1951.

Character actor Robert Easton, shown here in one of his typical television roles, portrated Fibber's neighbor Lester Nelson as an amiable boob, always willing to encourage McGee in one of his harebrained schemes.After finishing "Courage", Easton was on the Universal Studios lot one day when he was approached by producer Howard Christie about a small role in the Abbott & Costello comedy "Comin' Round the Mountain" (1951). Easton landed the part of Luke McCoy, a minor character whose line "I'm tetched...I got kicked in the head by a mule" struck him as so funny that he suggested to director Charles Lamont he make it "a running gag as I met new people, as if it was my claim to fame." For better or worse, it was characters like Luke that would become Robert Easton's stock-in-trade: slow-witted hicks that he played to perfection in films like "Feudin' Fools" (1952), "The Raid" (1954), and "The Kettles in the Ozarks" (1956), and on TV shows like "My Little Margie" and "Gunsmoke", where he memorably portrayed Chester Goode's thick-as-a-plank brother Magnus.

Easton had a healthy career in radio as well, appearing frequently on programs like "Inheritance" and doing memorable guest shots on "The Harold Peary Show" and "Meet Millie." What is generally not known about this talented performer is that he later went on to become a master of dialects, supplementing his hillbilly parts with appearances as diverse in the 1961 feature film "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" and a two-part "Get Smart" episode in which he portrayed a German-accented character known as Maestro. Easton would soon earn the nickname "the Henry Higgins of Hollywood" because of his outstanding work as one of the motion picture business' in-demand dialect coaches, working on films as diverse as "Scarface" (1983), "Good Will Hunting" (1997), and "The Last King of Scotland" (2006).

You'll have the chance to experience the origins of this fine actor in this fifth volume of a new series of Radio Archives collections transferred from the long-lost original NBC Reference Recordings of the series. We invite you to listen to forty more full-length programs that, for the most part, have not been heard since they originally aired over fifty years ago. An additional bonus is their sparkling audio quality; thanks to the innovations of the digital age, these classic shows can now be heard at a level of clear and crisp high fidelity that far exceeds what was available to the average listener in 1954. The result is shows that sound - and are - just as bright, fresh, and entertaining as they were when first heard, a real tribute to the time, talent, and devotion to quality that went into their production.

Old Vic
Tuesday, October 5, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Tums and Better Farming Magazine

Wedding Belle
Wednesday, October 6, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Arrid Deodorant and RCA Victor

Great Day in the Morning
Thursday, October 7, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, RCA Victor and Better Farming Magazine

A Member of the Family
Sunday, October 10, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance and Better Farming Magazine

Mr. District Attorney
Monday, October 11, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Murine and RCA Victor

The Way of All Pants
Tuesday, October 12, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance and Carter’s Little Liver Pills

A Little Money in My Pocket
Wednesday, October 13, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, RCA Victor and Better Farming Magazine

Skate of Independence
Thursday, October 14, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Murine and Better Farming Magazine

Let Them Eat Pancake
Sunday, October 17, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance

Bon Ton Soup
Monday, October 18, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, RCA Victor and Better Farming Magazine

He Said, She Said
Tuesday, October 19, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance and Arrid Deodorant

The Face is Familiar
Wednesday, October 20, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, RCA Victor and Better Farming Magazine

You’re Quite a Captain, Kid
Thursday, October 21, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Murine and Better Farming Magazine

The Hard Kernel of Truth
Sunday, October 24, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Murine and Better Farming Magazine

The Streets are Paved with Bold
Monday, October 25, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance and RCA Victor

Poor Circulation
Tuesday, October 26, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Carter’s Little Liver Pills and Better Farming Magazine

Who’s the Boss?
Wednesday, October 27, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance and RCA Victor

The Street With New Name
Thursday, October 28, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Better Farming Magazine and Murine

Mother Gamble
Sunday, October 31, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance

Paper, Mister?
Monday, November 1, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Dial and RCA Victor

Call of the Wild Duck
Wednesday, November 3, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, RCA Victor and Dial

Everything’s Ducky
Thursday, November 4, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance and Dial

It’s a Gas!
Sunday, November 7, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance

But You Can’t Choose Your Relatives
Monday, November 8, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Dial and RCA Victor

Mighty Like a Moose
Tuesday, November 9, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Viceroy Cigarettes and Murine

Gerry-Rigged
Wednesday, November 10, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, RCA Victor and Dial

Time Is of the Nonsense
Thursday, November 11, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance and Dial

Cleanliness is Next to Impossible
Sunday, November 14, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance

Stock in Trade
Monday, November 15, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Dial and RCA Victor

Paper Clipped
Tuesday, November 16, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance

Kind of a Brag
Wednesday, November 17, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, RCA Victor and Dial

The Art of the Deal
Thursday, November 18, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Dial and Murine

An Offer He Might Refuse
Sunday, November 21, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance

Fibber McGee, Kingmaker
Monday, November 22, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Dial, and RCA Victor

Keyed Up
Tuesday, November 23, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Viceroy Cigarettes and Murine

How’s That For a Topper?
Wednesday, November 24, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, RCA Victor and Dial

For Which We Are About to Receive
Thursday, November 25, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Dial and American Motors

Sales Resistance
Sunday, November 28, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, RCA Victor and American Motors

Ribbon of Darkness
Monday, November 29, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Dial and RCA Victor

A Hard Day’s Nightmare
Tuesday, November 30, 1954 - 15:00 - NBC, sponsored by Prudential Insurance, Viceroy Cigarettes and RCA Victor

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