According to some sources, since Peary didn’t have an ownership stake in the show, he left the role, which had brought him much acclaim, hoping to translate his star power into another program. Although reports at the time were that Peary was bored with playing Gildy, the character he played in his new show, Honest Harold, was almost beat for beat Gildersleeve under a new name. It lasted one season.
One of the reasons why Kraft Foods wasn’t willing to move The Great Gildersleeve over to CBS was that they already had a replacement for Peary waiting in the wings. Actor Willard Waterman was cast in the role of Gildersleeve after Peary departed from the show. Waterman and Peary knew each other from their days working in Chicago and Waterman’s and Peary’s voices were quite similiar.
Yet while Waterman was able to effortlessly match Peary’s exact mannerisms and character tics when he assumed the role as Gildersleeve, Waterman refused to recreate Peary’s signature laugh on and off the air because he believed that belonged exclusively to Peary but it didn’t prove necessary to do so. While Peary’s NBC show faltered and died after one season, the actor taking over Gildy found success all his own with his own take on the character. Waterman would play Gildersleeve through the end of the show in 1957.
Tune in to find out just what sort of love and trouble Gildy gets into, in this collection of twelve original broadcasts of The Great Gildersleeve, Volume 31, complete with Kraft Foods commercials and restored to sparkling digital quality.
#388 Gildy Is Worn Out From Late Dating
Wednesday, January 10, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#389 A Nervous Expectant Father
Wednesday, January 17, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#390 A Shower for Marjorie
Wednesday, January 31, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#391 Day Off for Peavey - 30th Anniversary
Wednesday, February 7, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#392 Throwing Snowballs
Wednesday, February 14, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#393 Marjorie's Baby’s Arrive
Wednesday, February 21, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#399 Bullard Needs Boat Access
Wednesday, April 4, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#400 Gildy Worried That Kids Want to Leave
Wednesday, April 11, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#401 Leroy in Love With Marcelle
Wednesday, April 18, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#402 Leroy's Pony
Wednesday, April 25, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#421 Golf Date With the Mayor
Wednesday, December 5, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
#422 Leroy Selling Christmas Trees
Wednesday, December 12, 1951 - 30:00 - NBC, sponsored by Kraft
