The Aldrich Family, a popular radio teenage situation comedy (July 2, 1939 – April 19, 1953),[1] was also presented in films, television and comic books. In the radio series' opening exchange, awkward teen Henry's mother called, "Hen-ry-y-y-y! Hen-ry Al-drich!", and he responded with a breaking adolescent voice, "Com-ing, Mother!"[2]
The creation of playwright Clifford Goldsmith, Henry Aldrich began on Broadway as a minor character in Goldsmith's play What a Life.[3] Produced and directed by George Abbott, What a Life ran for 538 performances (April 13, 1938 to July 8, 1939). The Broadway cast included Eddie Bracken, Betty Field and Butterfly McQueen. The actor who brought Henry to life on stage was 20-year-old Ezra Stone, who was billed near the bottom as the 20th actor in the cast. Stone was also employed as the play's production assistant.
Time magazine found the play "short on plot" but noted:
Chief amusement centres in Henry Aldrich (Ezra Stone), a cross between Penrod and Willie Baxter, who attends classes mainly in the principal's office. With a talent for head-on collisions, always ingenious, never crafty, always there with an answer, never with the right one, brash, bouncing, rumpled, rattled, rueful by turns, Henry grows into that rare thing on the stage—a person ...
- ^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. pp. 21–22. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "RADIO ROUND-UP: Miscellaneous Catchphrases |".
- ^ Warren, Jill (June 1953). "What's New from Coast to Coast" (PDF). Radio-TV Mirror. 40 (1): 6. Retrieved 28 November 2014.