The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957), initially written by Leonard L. Levinson, [1] was arguably the first spin-off program in broadcast history. Built around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio situation comedy Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest success in the 1940s. Actor Harold Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off and later in a quartet of feature films released at the height of the show's popularity. On Fibber McGee and Molly, Peary's Gildersleeve was a pompous windbag who became a consistent McGee nemesis ("You're a haa-aa-aa-aard man, McGee!" became a Gildersleeve catch phrase). But he also became a popular enough windbag that Kraft Foods — looking primarily to promote its Parkay margarine spread — sponsored a new series with Peary's Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (the character was given several conflicting first names on Fibber McGee and Molly, and on one episode of that show revealed his middle name as Philharmonic) as the central, slightly softened, and slightly befuddled focus of a lively new family.

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A Date with Judy was an American radio program during the 1940s. It was a teenage comedy that began as a summer replacement for Bob Hope's show, sponsored by Pepsodent and airing on NBC from June 24 to September 16, 1941, with 14-year-old Ann Gillis in the title role. Dellie Ellis portrayed Judy when the series returned the next summer (June 23–September 15, 1942). Louise Erickson took over the role the following summer (June 30–September 22, 1943) when the series, sponsored by Bristol Myers, replaced The Eddie Cantor Show. Louise Erickson continued as Judy for the next seven years, as the series, sponsored by Tums, aired from January 18, 1944 to January 4, 1949. As the popularity of the radio series peaked, Jane Powell starred as Judy in the MGM movie, A Date with Judy (1948). Co-starring with Powell were Elizabeth Taylor, Wallace Beery, Robert Stack, and Carmen Miranda. Ford Motors and Revere Cameras were the sponsors for the final season of the radio series on ABC from October 13, 1949 to May 25, 1950. A Date with Judy was also a comic book (based on the radio program) published by National Periodical Publications from October-November 1947 to October-November 1960.

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Big-nosed and boisterous, Durante was a vaudeville favorite who remained a hit in the early days of radio and TV. Originally a saloon piano player, he combined his ragged musical talents with a rumpled charm and endless jokes about his nose, a mighty instrument which earned him the nickname "Schnozzola" or just "the Schnoz." The 1935 stage musical Jumbo paired Durante with an elephant and boosted his career; he was a popular guest on the radio shows of stars like Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, and eventually hosted his own shows as well. Durante's dese-and-dose New York accent was much parodied by impressionists of the day. He had a musical hit with the novelty tune "Inka Dinka Doo" and his famous sign-off phrase was "Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."

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The Marx Brothers were a team of sibling comedians that appeared in vaudeville, stage plays, film, and television. Born in New York City, the Marx Brothers were the sons of Jewish immigrants from different parts of Germany (Plattdeutsch was the boys' first language). Their mother, Minnie Schönberg, hailed from Dornum in East Frisia, Germany, and their father Simon "Frenchie" Marrix (whose name was anglicized to Sam Marx) from Alsace, now a part of France. The family lived in the Upper East Side of New York City between the Irish, German and Italian Quarters.

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Jack Benny (February 14, 1894 in Chicago, Illinois – December 26, 1974 in Beverly Hills, California), born Benjamin Kubelsky, was an American comedian, vaudeville performer, and radio, television, and film actor. He was one of the biggest stars in classic American radio and was also a major television personality. Benny may have been the first standup comedian, as the term is known, as well as one of the first to work with what became the situation comedy. He was renowned for his flawless comic timing and (especially) his ability to get laughs with either a pregnant pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated "Well!". In hand with his dear friend and great "rival" Fred Allen — their long-running "feud" was one of the greatest running gags in comedy history — Benny helped establish a basic palette from which comedy since has rarely deviated, no matter how extreme or experimental it has become in their wake.

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The Life of Riley was one of several blue-collar, ethnic sitcoms popular in the 1950s. Chester A. Riley was the breadwinner of an Irish-American nuclear family living in suburban Los Angeles. Although most of the program took place within the Riley household, his job as an airplane riveter sometimes figured prominently in weekly episodes. Riley's fixed place in the socio-economic structure also allowed for occasional barbs directed at the frustrations of factory employment and at the pretensions of the upper classes. After The Life of Riley was canceled, blue-collar protagonists like Riley would not reappear until premiered in the 1970s. A pilot for The Life of Riley starred Herb Vigran and was broadcast on NBC in 1948. Six month later, the series appeared on NBC with Riley played by Gleason; however, Riley's malapropisms and oafish behavior were poorly suited to Gleason's wisecracking nightclub style. Bendix, who had played Riley on radio and in a movie version, was originally unable to play the part on television due to film obligations. When he did assume the role, however, he became synonymous with the character.

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Disorder in the Court (1936) The stooges are witnesses at a trial where their friend, a dancer at a nightclub where they are musicians, is accused of murder. The stooges manage to disrupt the proceedings but save the day when they discover the real murderer's identity

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Duffy's Tavern, an American radio situation comedy (CBS, 1941-1942; NBC-Blue Network, 1942-1944; NBC, 1944-1952), often featured top-name stage and film guest stars but always hooked those around the misadventures of the title establishment's malaprop-prone manager, Archie, played by the writer/actor who created the show, Ed Gardner. In the show's familiar opening, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," either solo on an old-sounding piano or by a larger orchestra, was interrupted by the ring of a telephone and Gardner's New Yorkese accent as he answered, "Duffy's Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin'. Duffy ain't here---oh, hello, Duffy." Duffy, the owner, was never heard (or seen, when a film based on the show was made in 1945 or when a bid to bring the show to television was tried in 1954). But Archie always was---bantering with Duffy's man-crazy daughter, Miss Duffy (played by several actresses, beginning with Gardner's real-life first wife, Shirley Booth); with Eddie, the waiter/janitor (Eddie Green); and, especially, with Clifton Finnegan (Charlie Cantor), a likeable soul with several screws loose and a knack for falling for every other salesman's scam. The show featured many high-profile guest stars, including Fred Allen, Mel Allen, Nigel Bruce, Bing Crosby, Boris Karloff, Veronica Lake,Peter Lorre, Tony Martin, Gene Tierney, Arthur Treacher and Shelley Winters. As the series progressed, Archie sllipped in and out of a variety of quixotic, self-imploding plotlines---from writing an opera to faking a fortune to marry an heiress. Such situations mattered less than did the show's quietly clever depiction of earthbound-but-dreaming New York city life and its individualistic, often bizarre characters.

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The series detailed the adventures of Britt Reid, debonair newspaper publisher by day, crime-fighting masked hero at night, along with his sidekick, Kato, a Filipino of Japanese descent. A widespread urban legend has been the claim that the show's writers switched from one nationality to the other immediately after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, but the first disappeared well before direct U. S. involvement in the war, and the latter was not initially given until much later, with nothing more specific than "Oriental" being said in the interim. (When the characters were used in the first of a pair of movie serials, the politically perceptive producers of 1939 had Kato's nationality given as Korean.) Britt Reid is a blood relative of The Lone Ranger. The character of Dan Reid, who appeared on the Lone Ranger program as the Masked Man's nephew, was also featured on the Green Hornet as Britt Reid's father, making the Green Hornet the grand-nephew of the Lone Ranger. Originally, the show was to be called "The Hornet", but the name was changed to "The Green Hornet" so that it could be copyrighted. The color was chosen because green hornets were reputed to be the angriest. Jim Jewell directed the series until 1938. Jewell's sister, Lee Allman (Lenore Jewell Allman) wanted to play a part in a radio series at WXYZ so Jim had her written into The Green Hornet. She was the only actress to play Lenore Case, Britt Reid's secretary, during the entire run of the series. "Casey" was aware of her boss's double life, but only in the later years of the run. Similarly, another well known confidante, Police Commissioner Higgins, did not come into existence until near the end of the series.

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The Great Gildersleeve (1941-1957) was arguably the first spin-off program, as well as one of the first true situation comedies (as opposed to sketch programs) in broadcast history. Built around a character who had been a staple on the classic radio sit-com, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve enjoyed its greatest success in the 1940s. Actor Harold Peary played the character during its transition from the parent show into the spin-off, and later in a quartet of feature films released at the height of the show's popularity. On Fibber McGee and Molly, Peary's Gildersleeve was a pompous windbag who became a consistent McGee nemesis ("You're a haa-aa-aa-aard man, McGee!" became a Gildersleeve catch phrase). But he also became a popular enough windbag that Kraft Foods — looking primarily to promote its Parkay margarine spread — sponsored a new series with Peary's Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve (the character was given several conflicting first names on Fibber McGee and Molly, and on one episode of that show revealed his middle name as Philharmonic) as the central, slightly softened, and slightly befuddled focus of a lively new family.

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The Boston Blackie radio series, starring Chester Morris, began June 23, 1944, on NBC as a summer replacement for The Amos 'n' Andy Show. Sponsored by Rinso, the series continued until September 15 of that year. Lesley Woods appeared as Blackie's girlfriend Mary Wesley, and Harlow Wilcox was the show's announcer. On April 11, 1945, Richard Kollmar took over the title role in a radio series syndicated by Frederic W. Ziv to Mutual and other network outlets. Over 200 episodes of this series were produced between 1944 and October 25, 1950. Other sponsors included Lifebuoy Soap, Champagne Velvet beer and R&H beer. While investigating mysteries, Blackie invaribly encountered harebrained Police Inspector Faraday (Maurice Tarplin) and always solved the mystery to Faraday's amazement. Initially, friction surfaced in the relationship between Blackie and Faraday, but as the series continued, Faraday recognized Blackie's talents and requested assistance. Blackie dated Mary Wesley (Jan Miner), and for the first half of the series, his best pal Shorty was always on hand. The humorless Faraday was on the receiving end of Blackie's bad puns and word play.

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"The Battle of Midway," directed by John Ford, provides a relatively brief account of the Japanese attack of American ships at Midway atoll. The film is comprised mostly of authentic footage from the battle, with dramatic narration by Henry Fonda. "Behind every cloud, there may be an enemy," he intones as American fighter pilots search the sky. The rest of the film mocks Emporer Tojo of Japan and portrays him as ruthless, bombing hospitals and churches as he tries to conquer the Pacific.

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In addition to his landmark radio work, Bud Colyer was the first person to portray Superman in motion pictures, once again lending his voice when the Man of Steel made his big-screen debut in animated cartoons. These innovative science fiction spectaculars remain among the most technically polished examples of the "short film" art form. Launched in September 1941 with the release of the initial entry, Superman, the cartoons were produced by Max Fleischer. The Fleischer studio was initially based in New York and was famous for its rambunctios, rough-and-ready presentation of characters like Betty Boop and Popeye. The studio had just relocated to an enlarged modern facility in Florida. Joe Shuster drew the model sheets for Lois Lane, Clark Kent, and Superman. The first cartoon was received to critical acclaim and was nominated for an Academy Award. The Superman shorts look like feature films, complete with tracking shots and a stunning variety of camera angles, each of which necessitates a new background. Artists duplicate real illumination, molding the characters with light and dark, and providing them with dramatic shadows. The films move at an accelerating pace, with cuts coming faster and faster toward the climaxes, propelled by Sammy Timberg's dynamic musical scores. Special effects involving fires, rays, and explosions set the screen ablaze. The second cartoon, The Mechanical Monsters, was released near the end of 1941. It features Superman battling an army of gigantic, flame-spewing, flying robots in a series of sensational scenes. Later special effects extravaganzas include The Bulleteers, in which an airborn torpedo smashes through the skyscrapers of Metropolis, and The Magnetic Telescope, in which an astronomer's harebrained invention sends an asteroid hurtling earthward. When not struggling with mad scientists, Superman takes on ferocious forces of nature like gorillas (in Terror on the Midway) or dinosaurs (The Arctic Giant). In 1942 Paramount Studios acquired Fleischer Studios and gave it the new name of "Famous Studios." They produced the last 8 of the 17 shorts and continued the series until 1943.

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This article is about the comic book superhero Robin as he appears in other media, such as films, television and radio. Dick Grayson, the first Robin, is generally the Robin which is portrayed. For decades, Robin rarely appeared withh Batman. The only exceptions have been animated stories featuring Robin as a member of the Teen Titans. Furthermore, from the 1940s to 1980s, Grayson was generally portrayed as being a teenager or adult. This was somewhat different from comic books, as Grayson started out at the age of eight. Also from the 1940s to 1980s, Robin has appeared in the clalsic comic book suit of Grayson. However, since the 1990s, Dick Grayson's original "pixie" outfit has been avoided in other media. Instead, Robin usually wears a costume similar to the original uniform of Tim Drake, the third and current Robin in the comics. Drake, who was introduced near the end of the 1980s, has only been identified as the secret identity of Robin once in other media.

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There were several radio adaptations. Gasoline Alley during the 1930s starred Bill Idelson as Skeezix Wallet with Jean Gillespie as his girlfriend Nina Clock. Jimmy McCallon was Skeezix in the series that ran on NBC from February 17 to April 11, 1941, continuing on the Blue Network from April 28 to May 9 of that same year. The 15-minute series aired weekdays at 5:30pm. Along with Nina (Janice Gilbert), the characters included Skeezix's boss Wumple (Cliff Soubier) and Ling Wee (Junius Matthews), a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. Charles Schenck directed the scripts by Kane Campbell. The syndicated series of 1948-49 featured a cast of Bill Lipton, Mason Adams and Robert Dryden. Sponsored by Autolite, the 15-minute episodes focused on Skeezix running a gas station and garage, the Wallet and Bobble Garage, with his partner, Wilmer Bobble. In New York this series aired on WOR from July 16, 1948 to January 7, 1949.

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Popeye made his first animated appearance in Betty Boop Meets Popeye the Sailor (1933), one of several cartoons in which the popular Fleischer cartoon star met various comic strip characters, in hopes that some might prove popular enough to merit cartoon series of their own. The trial balloon didn't fly with Henry or The Little King, but it did with Popeye. The same year saw the release of I Yam What I Yam, the first of a long series of animated shorts in which Popeye received top billing. The Fleischer Studio was taken over by Paramount Pictures in 1942, and renamed Famous Studios. Although it never achieved the heights of the Fleischer quality, Famous continued the Popeye series until 1957. In that year, the entire package of 228 cartoons started appearing on television. During the 1960s, more short Popeye cartoons were made as TV originals. These were mass-produced in several animation studios, all over the world, and varied in quality. Many cartoon aficionados consider these to have diluted the product, and hold that the original Fleischer cartoons are the best.

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This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.

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This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.

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This Is Your FBI was a radio crime drama which aired in the United States on ABC from April 6, 1945 to January 30, 1953. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover gave it his endorsement, calling it "the finest dramatic program on the air." Producer-director Jerry Devine was given access to FBI files by Hoover, and the resulting dramatizations of FBI cases were narrated by Frank Lovejoy (1945), Dean Carleton (1946-47) and William Woodson (1948-53). Stacy Harris had the lead role of Special Agent Jim Taylor. Others in the cast were William Conrad, Bea Benaderet and Jay C. Flippen.

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Gunsmoke is a long-running American radio and television Western drama created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories took place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The radio version ran from 1952 to 1961 and is commonly regarded as one of the finest radio dramas of all time. The television version ran from 1955 to 1975 and is the second longest running prime time fictional television program, its record surpassed only by the Disney anthology television series, which, though essentially the same in every incarnation, has appeared on TV under several titles.