One Man's Family

One Man’s Family is an American radio soap opera, heard for almost three decades, from 1932 to 1959. Created by Carlton E. Morse, it was the longest-running uninterrupted dramatic serial in the history of American radio.

The radio series centered on the lives of the Barbour family, a well-to-do stockbroker named Henry Barbour, his wife Fanny, and their five children - Paul, Hazel, the twins Clifford and Claudia, and Jack. The storylines were set in the Sea Cliff area of San Francisco, California, an area familiar to San Franciscan Carlton E. Morse. The dialogue included many specific references to San Francisco, including the Golden Gate Bridge, which the Barbours could see from their rear living room window or their garden wall.

The series employed a literary device with episodes divided into books and chapters. Spanning 27 years, the program presented 136 books with 3,256 chapters, making it the longest-running serial drama in American radio broadcasting, edging out Ma Perkins (although Ma Perkins produced over twice as many episodes). Organist Paul Carson composed the show’s themes, including the opening “Destiny Waltz” (1932–41) and the later “Waltz Patrice” (aka “Patricia”).

The Stars

The main stars of One Man’s Family included J. Anthony Smythe as Henry Barbour, Minetta Ellen as Fanny Barbour, Michael Raffetto as Paul Barbour, Bernice Berwin as Hazel Barbour, Barton Yarborough as Clifford Barbour, Kathleen Wilson as Claudia Barbour, and Billy Page as Jack Barbour. The series featured a large ensemble cast that portrayed the various members of the Barbour family and their extended circle.

Key Dates

• One Man’s Family debuted as a radio series on April 29, 1932 in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco, moving to the full West Coast NBC network the following month, sponsored by Snowdrift and Wesson Oil.
• On May 17, 1933, it expanded to the full coast-to-coast NBC network as the first West Coast show heard regularly on the East Coast.
• The show was broadcast as a weekly half-hour series from 1933 to 1950, then shifted to daily 15-minute installments, initially originating from the studios of San Francisco radio station KPO, NBC’s flagship station for the West Coast, eventually moving to Los Angeles.
• After 3,256 episodes, the radio series ceased production on April 24, 1959 (several sources give the date of May 8, 1959).

Other Information

One Man’s Family had the rare distinction of airing both in prime time and daytime television. The first TV version ran in prime time once a week for a half-hour from November 4, 1949 to June 21, 1952, reverting the stories back to the 1932 storylines. In 1965, General Foods offered to sponsor another version of One Man’s Family on NBC, but NBC passed and picked up Days of Our Lives instead.

Two Australian versions of One Man’s Family were broadcast in the late 1930s/early 1940s, one in Sydney on 2CH and one in Melbourne on 3XY. The Melbourne version featured 3XY announcer Carl Bleazby, who later appeared in the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s popular TV series Bellbird.

One Man’s Family was the longest-running uninterrupted dramatic serial in the history of American radio. It was known for its literary style, with episodes presented as chapters from books, and its detailed depictions of San Francisco. The series developed a devoted following over its nearly three decades on the air.