Drene Time
Encyclopedia
Drene Time was a 30-minute radio variety show starring Don Ameche
and singer-actress Frances Langford
as co-hosts, airing on NBC
's Sunday night schedule (10-10:30pm Eastern) in 1946-47.
The series was sponsored by Procter & Gamble
's Drene Shampoo, and the announcer was Tobe Reed. Drene Time usually opened with Langford singing a big band-style arrangement. Then Ameche and Langford would slip into comedy, often aided by co-star Danny Thomas
, in routines involving Thomas' frustration that Ameche was less of an actor than Thomas.
After another musical number and a commercial spot for Drene Shampoo, Ameche and Langford appeared as the Bickersons
for the final 15 minutes of the show. The Bickersons segment, at that time, was titled, "The Honeymoon's Over."
The program featured the music of Carmen Dragon
and His Orchestra. Also in the cast was Gale Gordon
. The series was written by Philip Rapp
and produced by Carlton Alsop. The first official broadcast was September 8, 1946, featuring Ameche, Dragon, Langford and Thomas. That broadcast started with Don explaining the new variety format to Carmen and Frances, after which she sang "Sooner or Later", which was later adapted for the film Dick Tracy (1990).
An early audition show of July 31, 1946 featured a different cast: Don Ameche, guest Sylvia Sidney
, announcer Truman Bradley
, Joseph Lilley and His Orchestra, Pinky Lee
, Jim Backus
, the Swing Choir, Jonelle James, Earle Ross
and announcer Marvin Miller
.
Don Ameche
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.-Personal life:...
and singer-actress Frances Langford
Frances Langford
Julia Frances Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades.-Birth:...
as co-hosts, airing on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Sunday night schedule (10-10:30pm Eastern) in 1946-47.
The series was sponsored by Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
's Drene Shampoo, and the announcer was Tobe Reed. Drene Time usually opened with Langford singing a big band-style arrangement. Then Ameche and Langford would slip into comedy, often aided by co-star Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, in routines involving Thomas' frustration that Ameche was less of an actor than Thomas.
After another musical number and a commercial spot for Drene Shampoo, Ameche and Langford appeared as the Bickersons
The Bickersons
The Bickersons was a radio comedy sketch series that began in 1946 on NBC, moving the following year to CBS where it continued until 1951...
for the final 15 minutes of the show. The Bickersons segment, at that time, was titled, "The Honeymoon's Over."
The program featured the music of Carmen Dragon
Carmen Dragon
Carmen Dragon was an American conductor, composer, and arranger who in addition to live performances and recording, worked in radio, film, and television.Dragon was born in Antioch, California...
and His Orchestra. Also in the cast was Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfisted bank executive Theodore J. Mooney, on Ball's second television situation comedy, The Lucy Show...
. The series was written by Philip Rapp
Philip Rapp
Philip Rapp was a film and television director and screenwriter. He wrote for Eddie Cantor and for a brief period, wrote film scripts for Danny Kaye. Rapp is perhaps best known as the creator of Baby Snooks and The Bickersons...
and produced by Carlton Alsop. The first official broadcast was September 8, 1946, featuring Ameche, Dragon, Langford and Thomas. That broadcast started with Don explaining the new variety format to Carmen and Frances, after which she sang "Sooner or Later", which was later adapted for the film Dick Tracy (1990).
An early audition show of July 31, 1946 featured a different cast: Don Ameche, guest Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
, announcer Truman Bradley
Truman Bradley (actor)
Truman Bradley was an actor and narrator in radio, television and film.Bradley began his career in the 1930s as a radio broadcaster. With a voice well-suited for that medium, his career evolved into voice acting and narration. He was the host of the 1950s TV series Science Fiction Theater...
, Joseph Lilley and His Orchestra, Pinky Lee
Pinky Lee
Pincus Leff , better known as Pinky Lee, was an American burlesque comic and host of a children's television program, The Pinky Lee Show, in the early 1950s.-Biography:...
, Jim Backus
Jim Backus
James Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
, the Swing Choir, Jonelle James, Earle Ross
Earle Ross
Earle Ross was an American radio and film actor.While in school he became interested in dramatics and was usually cast as a villain or an old man because of his unusual voice characteristics. In 1908 he worked with Colonel Bill Selig in his first 5-reel movie film The Holy Cross...
and announcer Marvin Miller
Marvin Miller (actor)
Marvin Elliott Miller was an American film and voice-over actor. Possessing a deep, baritone voice, he began his career in radio in St. Louis, Missouri before becoming a Hollywood actor...
.