The Aldrich Family

The Aldrich Family was a popular radio teenage situation comedy that aired from July 2, 1939 to April 19, 1953. The creation of playwright Clifford Goldsmith.

The series centered around the misadventures of the awkward adolescent Henry Aldrich and his family and friends in the fictional town of Centerville, USA. The show’s opening exchange, with Henry’s mother calling “Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee Hen-ree Al-drich!” and Henry responding in a breaking adolescent voice “Com-ing, Mother!”, became one of the most famous signature sounds in radio history.

Over the course of its long run, The Aldrich Family was also adapted for films, television, and comic books, helping to establish it as a prototype for the teen-oriented situation comedies that would follow.

The Stars

The actor who brought Henry Aldrich to life on the radio was Ezra Stone, who originated the role on Broadway in Goldsmith’s play What a Life. Stone continued in the role until 1942 when he entered the Army for World War II.

He was succeeded by Norman Tokar, best known for his later work directing the television hit Leave It to Beaver, who helped write many of the Aldrich episodes. Other actors who portrayed Henry over the years included Dickie Jones, Raymond Ives, and Bobby Ellis.

Henry’s best friend Homer Brown was played by Jackie Kelk, while other regular cast members included House Jameson and Katharine Raht as Henry’s parents Sam and Alice, Charita Bauer as his sister Mary, and Mary Shipp as his girlfriend Kathleen Anderson.

Key Dates

• The Aldrich Family debuted on July 2, 1939, as a summer replacement program for Jack Benny on NBC’s Sunday night lineup.
• It soon moved to Tuesday nights, sponsored by General Foods’ Jell-O, where it remained until May 1940.
• The show then shifted to Thursdays until July 1944.
• It Aired on CBS from September 1944 to August 1946, with Grape Nuts and Jell-O as sponsors.
• It returned to NBC from September 1946 to June 1951.
• It had a final run as a sustaining program on Sundays from September 1952 to April 1953.

Other Information

Earning $3,000 a week, Clifford Goldsmith was the highest-paid writer in radio at the time, and The Aldrich Family became a top-ten ratings hit within two years of its debut, landing solidly alongside other popular radio comedies like Jack Benny and Bob Hope.

The show also inspired a series of eleven “B-movies” produced by Paramount Pictures between 1939 and 1944, featuring actors like Jackie Cooper, Jimmy Lydon, and Olive Blakeney.

In 1942, the character of Sam Aldrich was named “radio’s outstanding father” by the National Father’s Day Committee.

A comic book series published by Dell Comics also ran for 22 issues from 1950 to 1954.

While the radio series is now in the public domain and available for download, the television adaptation that aired from 1949 to 1953 is also remembered for the controversy surrounding the casting of actress Jean Muir as Mrs. Aldrich, which led to her being replaced after just one episode due to accusations of Communist sympathies.

The Aldrich Family_ left an indelible mark on the landscape of American radio and helped pave the way for the teen-centric sitcoms that would become a staple of television in the decades that followed.