Genre | Teenage situation comedy |
---|---|
Running time | 30 minutes |
Country of origin | United States |
Language(s) | English |
Syndicates | NBC ABC |
TV adaptations | A Date with Judy |
Starring | Ann Gillis Paul McGrath Margaret Brayton Dellie Ellis Stanley Farrar Louise Erickson Joseph Kearns John Brown Bea Benaderet Georgia Backus Lois Corbet Myra Marsh |
Announcer | Ken Niles |
Created by | Aleen Leslie and Jerome Lawrence |
Written by | Aleen Leslie |
Directed by | Tom McAvity, Helen Mack |
Produced by | Tom McAvity, Helen Mack |
Original release | June 24, 1941 – May 4, 1950[1] |
A Date with Judy is a comedy radio series aimed at a teenage audience which ran from 1941 to 1950.[2]
The series was co-created by Jerome Lawrence and Aleen Leslie, and based on Leslie's “One Girl Chorus” column in the Pittsburgh Press. Lawrence left the show in 1943.
The show began as a summer replacement for Bob Hope's show,[3] sponsored by Pepsodent and airing on NBC from June 24 to September 16, 1941, with 14-year-old Ann Gillis in the title role. Mercedes McCambridge played Judy's girl friend.[3] Dellie Ellis (later known as Joan Lorring) portrayed Judy Foster when the series returned the next summer (June 23 – September 15, 1942).
Louise Erickson, then 15, took over the role the following summer (June 30 – September 22, 1943) when the series, with Bristol Myers as its new sponsor, replaced The Eddie Cantor Show for the summer. Louise Erickson continued in the role of Judy over the next seven years as the series, sponsored by Tums, aired from January 18, 1944, to January 4, 1949. Ford Motors and Revere Cameras were the sponsors for the final season of the radio series on ABC from October 13, 1949, to May 4, 1950. Richard Crenna costarred on the series.
The series was so popular CBS developed a rival program Meet Corliss Archer featuring Janet Waldo, which also enjoyed a long run and proved to be equally successful.