Let's Pretend

Last updated

Arthur Anderson with others in the cast of Let's Pretend Letspret.jpg
Arthur Anderson with others in the cast of Let's Pretend

Let's Pretend, created and directed by Nila Mack, was a CBS radio series for children. Prior to being renamed Let's Pretend, the program had a variety of titles and formats. In its most famous form, Let's Pretend, the Peabody Award-winning series ran from 1934 to 1954.

Contents

Early formats and titles

The show had several different early formats and titles. Aunt Jymmie and Her Tots in Tottyville began October 27, 1928. Aunt Jymmie was the host of this Saturday morning children's program's whimsical tales of fantasy and fairy tales. She introduced each week's tale which was enacted by a cast of young children, "the tots." The young "tots" traveled to Tottyville, a make-believe world of king and queens, princesses, witches and magic spells. Originating from the WABC studio in New York City, the flagship station for CBS, this series lasted for 18 broadcasts until February 23, 1929, when it was replaced by the 30-minute The Children's Club Hour with Howard Merrill, who was the host and the scriptwriter. During the 1940s, Merrill scripted for The Gay Nineties Revue , Secret Missions and detective series such as Sherlock Holmes, Leonidas Witherall and the Abbott Mysteries. The Children's Club Hour, which offered fairy tales performed by juvenile cast members, began March 2, 1929 and continued until June 22, 1929.

After 17 broadcasts of The Children's Club Hour, the time slot was given to Estelle Levy and Patricia Ryan who created another children's program, The Adventures of Helen and Mary, scripted by Yolanda Langworthy. Broadcast on CBS Saturdays at noon and other late morning timeslots, this series began June 29, 1929.

Between December 1930 and January 1931, the title briefly changed from The Adventures of Helen and Mary to Land O' Make Believe. With Estelle Levy, Patricia Ryan, and Keinth Joseph Cantor in the title roles, the fairy tale program continued until March 17, 1934.

Nila Mack and the title change to Let's Pretend

After 229 broadcasts, Nila Mack took over as director and changed the title to Let's Pretend, "radio's outstanding children's theater", beginning March 24, 1934.

Mack's Peabody Award-winning Let's Pretend ran for two decades before the final show on October 23, 1954. Adaptations included such classics and fairy tales as Cinderella , Sleeping Beauty , The Arabian Nights , Beauty and the Beast and Rumpelstiltskin .

The show always began with a characteristic tune, sometimes with lyrics, from its long-time sponsor Cream of Wheat. George Bryan and Jackson Wheeler were the announcers. Jean Hight became the program's director after Nila Mack's death in 1953.

A history of the show, Let's Pretend And The Golden Age Of Radio (BearManor Media 2004), was written by veteran actor Arthur Anderson, who did character roles on Let's Pretend at age 13 and was on the show almost every week (with time out for military service) until the program's demise.

The series received numerous awards, including two Peabody Awards, (The Peabody Awards site's search engine shows a 1943 award for Outstanding Children's Program.) [1] a Women's National Radio Committee Award and five Radio Daily Awards. [2] [ self-published source ]

Fifty of the scripts from the radio show were re-recorded by Gotham Educational Records and released by Telegeneral following their takeover of Gotham in 1970. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends</i> American animated television series

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC television networks. Produced by Jay Ward Productions, the series is structured as a variety show, with the main feature being the serialized adventures of the two title characters, the anthropomorphic flying squirrel Rocket J. ("Rocky") Squirrel and moose Bullwinkle J. Moose. The main antagonists in most of their adventures are the two Russian-like spies Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, both working for the Nazi-like dictator Fearless Leader. Supporting segments include "Dudley Do-Right", "Peabody's Improbable History", and "Fractured Fairy Tales", among others. The current blanket title was imposed for home video releases more than 40 years after the series originally aired and was never used when the show was televised; television airings of the show were broadcast under the titles of Rocky and His Friends from 1959 to 1961 on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons on ABC, The Bullwinkle Show from 1961 to 1964 on Sunday evening and then late Sunday afternoon on NBC, and The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show as repeats from 1964-73 on Sunday mornings on ABC and in syndication following this.

<i>Guiding Light</i> American radio and television soap opera

Guiding Light is an American radio and television soap opera. Guiding Light aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio between January 25, 1937, and June 29, 1956. With 72 years of radio and television runs, Guiding Light is the longest-running soap opera, ahead of General Hospital, and is the fifth-longest-running program in all of broadcast history; only the American country music radio program Grand Ole Opry, the BBC religious program The Daily Service (1928), the CBS religious program Music and the Spoken Word (1929), and the Norwegian children's radio program Lørdagsbarnetimen (1924–2010) have been on the air longer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Charles Daly</span> American journalist and game show host (1914–1991)

John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly was an American journalist, host, radio and television personality, ABC News executive, TV anchor, and game show host, best known for his work on the CBS panel game show What's My Line?

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daytime Emmy Awards</span> American TV award

The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Daytime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first ceremony was held in 1974, expanding what was originally a prime time-themed Emmy Award. Ceremonies generally are held in May or June.

<i>The Original Amateur Hour</i> American radio series that later moved to television

The Original Amateur Hour is an American radio and television program. The show was a continuation of Major Bowes Amateur Hour, which had been a radio staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its master of ceremonies, left the show in 1945 and died the following year. He was ultimately succeeded by Ted Mack, when the show was brought into television in 1948.

<i>Meeting of Minds</i> 1977 [[Television in the United States|United States]] TV series or program

Meeting of Minds is a television series, created by Steve Allen, which aired on PBS from 1977 to 1981.

Simon Lythgoe is a British film and television producer. Shows he has produced include Meet Me Next Christmas , American Idol, Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings, So You Think You Can Dance. He was born in England and educated at Felsted School, St. Alban's College and National Film School in Beaconsfield, England. He is the son of theatre director Bonnie Lythgoe and television executive Nigel Lythgoe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Anderson (actor)</span> American actor (1922–2016)

Arthur John Miles Anderson was an American actor of radio, film, television, and stage.

<i>Studio One</i> (American TV series) Television program (1948–1958)

Studio One is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948, and ended on September 29, 1958, with a total of 467 episodes over the course of 10 seasons.

Laurence Edward LeSueur was an American journalist and a war correspondent during World War II. He worked closely with Edward R. Murrow and was one of the original Murrow Boys.

<i>Ford Theatre</i> Television and radio series

Ford Theatre, spelled Ford Theater for the original radio version and known, in full, as The Ford Television Theatre for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. At various times the television series appeared on all three major television networks, while the radio version was broadcast on two separate networks and on two separate coasts. Ford Theatre was named for its sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, which had an earlier success with its concert music series, The Ford Sunday Evening Hour (1934–42).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nila Mack</span> American actress (1891–1953)

Nila Mack was the creator and director of Let's Pretend, the long-running CBS radio series for children. She served as the Director of Children's Programs for CBS from 1930 to 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William N. Robson</span> American radio director

William N. Robson was an American director and producer of radio programs.

<i>Dr. Christian</i> American radio and TV medical drama

Dr. Christian is a radio medical drama series with Jean Hersholt in the title role. It aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from November 7, 1937 to January 6, 1954. Two years after the conclusion of the long-running radio program, the series was adapted for television on 1956 where it aired in syndication also through CBS on the Ziv Television production company until 1957, with a younger "Dr. Mark Christian" portrayed by Macdonald Carey as Dr. Paul's nephew.

The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are a regular series of weekly broadcasts on network radio of full-length opera performances. They are transmitted live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network airs the live performances on Saturday afternoons while the Met is in season, typically beginning the first Saturday in December, and totaling just over 20 weekly performances through early May. The Met broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical music program in radio history, and the series has won several Peabody Awards for excellence in broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miriam Wolfe</span> American-Canadian actress, director, producer and writer (1922–2000)

Miriam Wolfe was an American actress, director, producer and writer, who worked in theatre, television and radio from the 1920s to the 1950s. She is mainly remembered for her character roles on radio's weekly Let's Pretend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireene Wicker</span> American actress

Ireene Wicker was an American singer and actress, best known to young radio listeners in the 1930s and 1940s as “The Singing Lady”, which was the title of her radio program. She added the second 'e' in her first name on the advice of an astrologer.

Marilyn Erskine is an American actress who started performing at the age of three on radio, and has since appeared in radio, theater, film and television roles from the 1920s through the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheila Nevins</span> American television producer

Sheila Nevins is an American television producer and former head of MTV Documentary Films division of MTV Entertainment Studios. Previously, Nevins was the President of HBO Documentary Films. She has produced over 1,000 documentary films for HBO and is one of the most influential people in documentary filmmaking. She has worked on productions that have been recognized with 35 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, 42 Peabody Awards, and 26 Academy Awards. Nevins has won 31 individual Primetime Emmy Awards, more than any other person. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Peabody Awards.

References

  1. ""Let's Pretend" for Outstanding Children's Program". Peabody Awards. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. Sher, Aubrey J. (2013). Those Great Old-Time Radio Years. Xlibris Corporation. p. 68. ISBN   9781483679099 . Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  3. "Gotham Educational Records to Telegeneral". Cash Box. 1970-02-14. p. 32. Retrieved 2023-12-14 via Internet Archive.

Listen to