Hal Peary credited noted actor John Barrymore with being responsible for The Great Gildersleeve. Six months after Fibber McGee and Molly moved to California, Peary was back in Chicago, where he met Barrymore while the latter was in a play. When Barrymore asked why he’d left Hollywood, Peary stated he was so versatile, he couldn’t find enough to occupy him. Barrymore told him that seeking versatility was a mistake, that the character he played on the radio show that would become Gildy was the funniest thing Barrymore had heard on the air. Peary returned to Hollywood and negotiated for that character to appear weekly on the show. Thus, Gildersleeve was born.

 

It made perfect sense, when Peary moved the character Barrymore had encouraged him to create to his own show, to be sure Gildy had a sparring partner to equal McGee. Enter, in the show’s first episode no less, Judge Horace Hooker, as played by Earle Ross. What began as an argument over a lower berth grew into a hilarious back and forth series of arguments that proved to be some of the show’s funniest moments. Continual thorns in one another sides, Gildy and Judge Hooker sparred for years, but also proved to be good friends when necessary.

 

Another integral character in Gildy’s supporting cast was The Widow Ransom. Shirley Mitchell got the role, in a way, accidentally. Hal Peary dropped into to see Dinah Shore. Shirley Mitchell, recently moving from Chicago, was living with Shore. It is debated that it was either Shore or her secretary using a Southern accent that caught Peary’s attention. Mitchell then proceeded to put on a Southern accent and asked ‘How about me?’ The Widow Ransom, according to Peary, had been found.

 

Listen in as Gildy, Judge Hooker, Birdie and everyone else in Summerfield make laughter and life happen in the twelve original broadcasts of The Great Gildersleeve, Volume 21, complete with Kraft Foods commercials and restored to sparkling digital quality.