Fibber McGee and Molly
Radio Comedy Series
For three decades, the consummate comedians Jim Jordan name, Fibber replied, “Herman Gibbletripe—and this is my (1896–1988) and his wife Marian Driscoll (1898–1961) imi- wife Clara”). Mayor LaTrivia (Gale Gordon), outside the tated and mocked the habits of middle-class American home- McGees’ home an effective orator, dissolved into babble at the owners. They began as musicians and vaudevillians. These McGees’. He boasted that the City Council had opposed him, theatrical experiences, plus several radio series, prepared them but he had “stuck to [his] guns.” Both Fibber and Molly con- for the initial broadcast of Fibber McGee and Molly on Tues- founded him by asking why an elected official needed weap- day, 16 April 1935. (The show lasted in various forms until ons, suggesting that he might have been more successful if he 1959.) The Jordans and their writers, mainly Don Quinn and had not threatened them, and finally warning him that guns later Phil Leslie, wisely preserved what worked. During the should not be tolerated. 1940s, fans always voted it one of their favorite programs. Fibber reacted to aristocrats with a peculiar mixture of Expressions like “Fibber McGee’s closet” percolated into pop- envy—which prompted get-rich projects to find a substitute for ular speech. So did tag lines like Molly’s (Marian) “T’aint sugar or turn paper back into cloth—and disdain. Despite all funny, McGee,” Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve’s (Hal Peary) the wealth of grand dames like Abigail Uppington (Isabel Ran- “You’re a haaard man, McGee,” and the Old Timer’s (Bill dolph) and Millicent Carstairs (Bea Benedaret), Fibber com- Thompson) “That’s pretty funny, Johnny, but that ain’t the mented that the latter “acts like a coquettish dray horse.” He way I heerd it.” (Fibber McGee’s overstuffed closet became an admired clothing store dummies for their “nonchalant, super- American icon, probably for two reasons: it symbolized the cilious, haughty” look: “It takes six generations of money in unpredictable fullness of the McGees’ world, and its sound of the family to achieve an expression like that.” Molly personal- falling hip boots, mandolin, Aunt Sarah’s picture, and moose ized his sociological dictum: “Yes, it’s strange how often a head—a triumph of sound effects—consoled listeners who had vacant face goes with a full pocketbook, which ought to give a similar storage problem. A replica may be seen at the you a very expressive countenance.” Museum of Broadcasting in Chicago.) Because he never seemed to work and borrowed tools with- Their modest home at 79 Wistful Vista attracted visitors out returning them, McGee’s own income remained ambigu- from a wide variety of social, economic, and ethnic back- ous. He yearned for money so much that he ripped apart their grounds. Such conviviality required explanation because antique sofa to find $20,000 hidden by an ancestor—$20,000 McGee was often uncivil, arguing with bankers and bus driv- Confederate, that is. The appearance of a maid on some ers and department store managers, a dynamo of precarious shows, variously called Beulah (played by a man, Marlin Hurt) amiability. Luckily, Molly moderated his bumptious unconviv- or Lena (Gene Carroll, also a man), hinted that he was pros- iality so that their many callers simultaneously experienced the perous; the appearance of a renter, Alice Darling (Shirley contradictory ideals of defensive homeowner and welcoming Mitchell), a gabby factory worker, on other episodes suggested hostess. that he needed spare cash. The general impression was of a The perilous balance of discourtesy and diplomacy allowed household relatively secure in the economic parade. McGee to insult guests and still retain their friendship. Doc Located in the middle of the middle class, McGee often was Gamble (Arthur Q. Bryan) often received the master’s barbs. bested by those whom snobs would have considered beneath One time the doctor looked forward to a vacation he said concern. When Ole Swenson (Dick LeGrand), the Swedish jan- would leave him “ship shape.” Ever the deflator of other peo- itor at the Elks’ Club, said his boy in the submarine service was ple’s fantasies, McGee agreed that the doctor already looked on a secret mission, McGee paraphrased loftily, “Sub rosa, like a great big “stern wheeler.” In keeping with the American eh?” Ole calmly torpedoed the hifalutin’ Latin with, “No, sub- spirit of fair play and the aesthetic rule that helplessness is not marine.” Likewise, the recently immigrated Nick DePopoulous funny, Doc returned these insults with agility. Once he scolded (Bill Thompson) steamrolled over “Fizzer,” telling his own McGee for being too cheap to buy a proper suit, dubbing Fib- tales with nonstop, heavily accented malapropisms. ber a “rhinestone Jim Brady” and “our little Lucius Booby in Far from being disturbed by unpredictable standards for that pin-stripe awning he uses for a sport coat.” social deportment, people in McGee’s universe enjoyed the Similarly, other drop-ins to their parlor had positions that anarchy. Wallace Wimple (Bill Thompson), the hen-pecked would ordinarily merit respect but instead received imperti- victim of “Sweetie Face,” his “big, old wife,” just wanted to nence. Policemen were called “lugans” and “larrigans,” told to be alone with his bird book. To avoid her abuse, Wallace take off their hats, and given false information (asked his secretly rented a room under the name “Lancelot Eisenhower 590 fibber mcgee and molly
Fibber McGee and Molly Courtesy Radio Hall of Fame fibber mcgee and molly 591
Dempsey”—a name, he explained dreamily, that “just Nick Depopoulous (1936–59) Bill Thompson appealed to me somehow. It’s such a brave name.” Widdicomb Blotto Bill Thompson Two final visitors show how the give-and-take of their Horatio K. Boomer (1936–59) Bill Thompson peculiar hosting rituals eliminated barriers. After Fibber read a Old Timer (1937–59) Bill Thompson bedtime story to Teeny (Marian), the precocious little neighbor Wallace Wimple (1941–59) Bill Thompson girl, she asked, “What’s a ‘dell’?” Fibber: “Oh, it’s a kind of Wallingford Tuttle Gildersleeve Cliff Arquette shady nook in the woods where green things grow.” Teeny: Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve Harold Peary “You mean like dell pickles.” Announcer Harlow Wilcox, ever (1939–59) touting the benefits of Johnson’s Wax, delivered his pitches Mayor LaTrivia (1941–59) Gale Gordon despite McGee’s interruptions. Foggy Williams Gale Gordon Just as the program democratically blurred social distinc- Alice Darling (1943–59) Shirley Mitchell tions, the language too evaded rules. McGee frequently deliv- Beulah (1944–59) Marlin Hurt ered such tongue-tangling monologues as: Mrs. Millicent Carstairs Bea Benaderet Silly Watson Hugh Studebaker When I worked in the big mill there, I was quite the Uncle Dennis Ransom Sherman dude. ‘Mill Dude McGee’ I was known as. Mill Dude Lena Gene Carroll McGee, a magnificent mass of muscle and manly man- Announcer (1935–53) Harlow Wilcox ners mesmerizing the maidens in the Midwest and men- Announcer (1953–56) John Wald tioned most every month in many of the men’s magazines as the mirror and model for male millinery Producers/Directors merchants, meticulous material manufacturers, and mis- Cecil Underwood, Frank Pittman, Max Hutto cellaneous members of the metropolitan mob, mighty and magnetic from November through May. Programming History NBC Blue April 1935–June 1936 Individual words, like manners, evolved into new forms. After NBC Red June 1936–1938 getting Mayor LaTrivia’s goat, Fibber bragged to Molly, “He NBC March 1938–September 1959 sure gets worked up, don’t he? He was just liver with rage.” Further Reading MOLLY: You mean livid, Dearie. Griswold, J.B., “Up From Peoria,” The American Magazine FIBBER: Go on, livid is a girl’s name, like Livid De 133 (March, 1942) Haviland. Price, Tom, Fibber McGee’s Closet: The Ultimate Log of MOLLY: That’s Olivia, Performances by Fibber McGee and Molly 1917–1987: A FIBBER: Oh, don’t kid me, Snookie. Olivia’s a country Celebration of the 52nd Anniversary of Fibber McGee and in South America. Molly and Jim’s 70 Years in Show Business, 2 volumes, Monterey, California: Thomas A. Price, 1987 During another episode, Fibber skipped from “subtle to subti- Price, Tom, Performance Logs of Marian + Jim Jordan, #s 1– tle to scuttle to shuttle to chateau.” Such celebrations of social 10, 1917–1980, Monterey, California: Thomas A. Price, and linguistic independence during decades of Depression, war, 1980 (Contains logs of Air Scouts, 1927–1929; The Smith and tumultuous recovery that required national conformity Family, 1927–1932; Farmer Rusk’s Top O’Morning, 1931– explain the enduring appeal of Fibber McGee and Molly. 1932; Several Short Series, 1931–1934; Smackout, 1931– 1935; Appearances and Specials, 1917–1980; Marquette, JAMES A. FREEMAN The Little French Girl, 1931–1932; Mr. Twister, Mind Trickster, 1932–1933; Kaltenmayer’s Kindergarten, 1932– See also Gordon, Gale; Situation Comedy; Sound Effects; 1935; Fibber McGee and Molly, 1935–1959) Vaudeville Stumpf, Charles, and Ben Ohmart, Fibber McGee’s Scrapbook, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania: BearManor Media, 2002 Cast Stumpf, Charles, and Tom Price, Heavenly Days! The Story of Fibber McGee Jim Jordan Fibber McGee and Molly, Waynesville, North Carolina: Molly McGee Marian Jordan The World of Yesterday, 1987 Teeny Marian Jordan Yoder, Robert M, “The McGee’s of Wistful Vista,” The Mrs. Abigail Uppington (1936–59) Isabel Randolph Saturday Evening Post 221 (April 9 and 16, 1949)