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The Raleigh Cigarette Program
| Other names | The Raleigh Cigarette Program Starring Red Skelton The Red Skelton Show (see below) |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Syndicates | NBC |
| Starring | Red Skelton Ozzie Nelson Harriet Nelson Wonderful Smith |
| Announcer | Truman Bradley |
| Written by | Edna Stillwell Jack Douglas Benedict Freedman John Fenton Murray Sol Saks |
| Directed by | Keith McLeod |
| Produced by | Keith McLeod |
| Original release | October 7, 1941 – June 6, 1944 |
| No. of series | 3 |
| Sponsored by | Raleigh cigarettes |
The Raleigh Cigarette Program (alternatively known as The Raleigh Cigarette Program Starring Red Skelton) was an American old-time radio comedy program that starred comedian Red Skelton.
Skelton was, at the time, an up-and-coming comedian who made it big with an appearance on The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour (a.k.a. The Rudy Vallée Show), in 1937 and for hosting Avalon Time on NBC for several months after the departure of country singer Red Foley in 1939.[1]
Other principal performers on the program included actors Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and comedian Wonderful Smith. Ozzie Nelson was the bandleader on the program while Harriet served as the program's vocalist and in the female leads, even, on occasion, serving as Skelton's comic foil. Smith served as Skelton's antagonist on the program.[2]
Skelton introduced his famous catchphrase "I dood it!" on this program along with his popular long-running characters "Clem Kadiddlehopper" and "Junior, the mean widdle kid".[3]
The program originally premiered on October 7, 1941, on NBC. The program was a hit in the ratings airing Tuesday nights at 10:30 for its entire three season run. The program was cancelled after Skelton was drafted into World War II. The final broadcast of the show aired on June 6, 1944. The program spun off The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet which premiered on CBS in October of that year.
The program was sponsored by the Raleigh cigarettes division of the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company.[4]
- ^ "Red Skelton on Radio". www.redskelton.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. p. 568. ISBN 978-0-1950-7678-3. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ^ "Raleigh Cigarette Program". oldtimeradiolover.com. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ "Raleigh Cigarettes". www.thewellstonloop.com. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
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