episodes of Fibber McGee and Molly
Newspaper ad for the show "The Johnson Wax Program with Fibber McGee and Molly" (the show's full spoonsored name) is one of the rare radio programs which has achieved a kind of immortality. Well after the series petered out in the mid-1950s, people still respond to the words "Fibber McGee's Closet," even if they've never heard the original.
Jim and Marion Jordan honed their comedy timing early on, first in small-town vaudeville, and later local Chicago programs like "Smackout." Fibber McGee and Molly also had to evolve -- a listen to the very first show from 1935 reveals an almost unrecognizable set of characterizations. It took a year or two for the couple to settle in Wistful Vista, and a few more years to bring out the supporting cast (like the Great Gildersleeve) and the recurring gags (the closet didn't appear until 1940) that would make it a weekly favorite.
Listeners today will find the show a time capsule, full of corny jokes, dated references, and as many now-obscure topical moments as any wartime Looney Tunes cartoon. But there are also genuine good feelings and a true sense of happiness in the episodes. The fact that one man, Don Quinn, singlehandedly wrote most of the episodes is a real achievement.
Click on a script title below to view it: