Fibber McGee & Molly

Fibber McGee & Molly was a long-running American radio comedy program that aired from 1935 to 1959. The show was a situation comedy that centered around the misadventures of a working-class couple, Fibber McGee and his wife Molly, who lived in the fictional town of Wistful Vista. The series was created by the husband-and-wife team of Jim and Marian Jordan, who portrayed the title characters. Over the course of its 24-year run, Fibber McGee & Molly became one of the most popular and enduring radio series of its time, ranking as the country’s top-rated radio show during the 1940s.

The show’s humor largely revolved around Fibber McGee’s tall tales and boastful nature, which often got him into trouble, and Molly’s patient, common-sense approach to dealing with her husband’s foibles. The series featured a large ensemble cast of recurring characters, as well as numerous peripheral characters that were never seen but frequently mentioned. In addition to the Jordans’ performances, the show was known for its clever writing, well-timed punch lines, and running gags.

The Stars

Jim Jordan and Marian Jordan were the stars of Fibber McGee & Molly, portraying the title characters. Jim Jordan played Fibber McGee, a habitual storyteller and the central figure of the series, while Marian Jordan played his Irish-born wife Molly, who served as the “straight woman” of the duo. Marian Jordan also played the part of Teeny, the little girl who showed up frequently to pester McGee. Over the course of the show’s run, the Jordans’ performances evolved, with both actors eventually adopting more naturalistic, Americanized dialects.

Supporting cast: Gale Gordon as the pompous Mayor LaTrivia. Bill Thompson played many roles including The Old Timer. Arthur Q Bryan as Doc Gamble. Harold Peary was Throckmorton P Gildersleeve. These supporting players often had their own recurring catchphrases and running gags that contributed to the show’s humor.

Announcers: Harlow Wilcox (1935 - 1953) and John Wald (1953 - 1956),

Writers: Donald Quinn who also created the show, Phil Leslie, Ralph Goodman, Keith Fowler, Tom Koch, Joel Kane and Len Levinson

Key Dates

• Fibber McGee & Molly premiered on NBC on April 16, 1935, and ran as a stand-alone series until March 23rd,1956.
• The show then continued as a short-form series as part of the NBC weekend program Monitor from June 1st,1957 to September 6th,1959, bringing the total run of the series to 24 years.
• In 1937, Marian Jordan took a protracted absence from the show due to a battle with alcoholism, which was publicly attributed to “fatigue.” During this period, the show was retitled Fibber McGee and Company, with scripts written to work around Molly’s absence.
• The series made the transition to television in 1959, with a new cast and production team, but this TV version was both a critical and commercial failure, lasting only one season before being canceled.

Other Information

Fibber McGee & Molly was sponsored throughout its run by various companies, including Johnson’s Wax, Pet Milk, and Reynolds Aluminum. The show’s theme songs, “Save Your Sorrow (For Tomorrow)” and “Wing to Wing,” became familiar to listeners over the decades.

The series spawned two successful spin-off shows: The Great Gildersleeve, featuring the character of Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, and Beulah, which eventually starred Hattie McDaniel and Ethel Waters. The Jordans themselves also occasionally appeared on other programs, such as an episode of the radio drama Suspense in 1949 and an episode of Lux Radio Theater entitled Mama Loves Papa.

It was written and created by Don Quinn who had also written Smack-out.

The show made good use of running gags. Probably the best remembered is McGee’s junk-filled closet, which always crashed down on anyone that happened to open the door.

Despite the failure of the 1959 TV adaptation, the Fibber McGee & Molly franchise has endured, with the pilot episode and several other TV episodes entering the public domain. The show’s memorable characters, catchphrases, and running gags have continued to resonate with old-time radio enthusiasts and nostalgia fans over the decades since its original run.

Fibber is good, clean entertainment that despite being well over half a century old still has the ability to make you chuckle.