It's Higgins, Sir

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It's Higgins, Sir
Genrecomedy
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
SyndicatesNBC
StarringHarry McNaughton
Written byPaul Harrison
Directed byPaul Harrison
Original releaseJuly 3 
September 25, 1951

It's Higgins, Sir is a radio comedy program in the United States with Harry McNaughton as the title character. [1] It had a limited run on NBC in 1951 [2] as a summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show. [3]

The program's premise was that among an American family's bequests from a British relative was a butler, Higgins. Episodes "focused on the attempts of the English butler to adjust to life in America and to his new employers, and of the family to adjust to having a butler." [4]

Others in the cast besides McNaughton were Vinton Hayworth, Peggy Allenby, Charles Nevil, Pat Hosley, Denise Alexander, [1] Ethel Wilson and Adelaide Klein. [4] One website commented, "It's McNaughton that drives the programme with his fantastic comedic timing, and the rest of the cast does an amazing job in helping him to shine." [5]

Although Higgins didn't last beyond the summer of 1951, two subsequent television programs had links to the show. A website pointed out the connections:

A year and a half later in 1953, NBC premiered the family sitcom, My Son Jeep , using the same musical score as Higgins and in one episode, it was mentioned that the Roberts family were neighbors to the Allison Family. More directly, [there was] Our Man Higgins starring Stanley Holloway as the butler to the McRoberts family. [2]

References

  1. 1 2 Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 351. ISBN   978-0-19-507678-3 . Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Radio Review: It's Higgins, Sir". The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  3. "Old Time Radio Classics Broadcast Archives". Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Classics. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Terrace, Vincent (1981), Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930–1960. A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. ISBN   0-498-02393-1. p. 132.
  5. "There's no mister, it's just Higgins, sir!". Claytonology. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.