Meet Corliss Archer
Encyclopedia
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
's Golden Age
Old-time radio
Old-Time Radio and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the primary home entertainment medium in the 1950s...
, ran from January 7, 1943 to September 30, 1956. Although it was CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's answer to 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 popular A Date with Judy
A Date with Judy
A Date with Judy was a comedy radio series aimed at a teenage audience which had a long run from 1941 to 1950.The show 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...
, it was also broadcast by NBC in 1948 as a summer replacement for The Bob Hope Show
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
. From October 3, 1952 to June 26, 1953, it aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, finally returning to CBS. Despite the program's long run, less than 24 episodes are known to exist.
Characters and story
Priscilla Lyon and Janet WaldoJanet Waldo
Janet Waldo is an American actress and voice artist with a career encompassing radio, television, animation and live-action films. She is best known in animation for voicing Judy Jetson, Penelope Pitstop and Josie McCoy in Josie and the Pussycats...
successively portrayed 15-year-old Corliss on radio. Lugene Sanders also played Corliss briefly on radio and in the Meet Corliss Archer television show.
Perpetually perky, breathless and well-intentioned, Corliss is constantly at the side of her next-door neighbor and boyfriend, Dexter Franklin (Bill Christy, Sam Edwards
Sam Edwards
Sam Edwards was an American actor. His most famous role on TV was as the banker in the TV series Little House on the Prairie.-Biography:Born into a showbusiness family, his first role was as a baby in his mother's arms...
). Clumsy, nerdy Dexter, a sweet but constant bungler with a nasal voice, is best remembered for his trademark phrase, "Holy cow
Holy cow
Holy cow may refer to:* Holy cow , an exclamation of surprise* Cattle in religion, particularly in Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Ancient Egyptian religion* Bull , as it pertains to ancient mythology-Proper names:...
!" and his braying call, "Heyyyy, Corrrrrliiiiiss!"--frequently delivered from the hedge separating their houses.
Harry Archer, Corliss' father, is a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who tolerates Dexter only when he wants to use him to prove the superiority of the male gender. Gruff but gentle, he was played by both Fred Shields and Frank Martin. Janet Archer, Corliss' mother, was played by Irene Tedrow
Irene Tedrow
Irene Tedrow was an American character actress in stage, film, television and radio. Tedrow is also the mother of actress Enid Kent.-Career:...
, Monty Margetts, and Gloria Holden
Gloria Holden
-Early life:Gloria Holden came to America as a child. She attended school in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and later studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.-Theater:...
. She is calm and understanding with her daughter and her husband, both of whom sometimes try her patience.
Other frequent characters include Mildred Ames, a good friend of Corliss (played by Bebe Young and Barbara Whiting); Mildred's irritating younger brother Raymond (Tommy Bernard, Kenny Godkin); and Corliss' rival, Betty Cameron (Delores Crane).
Meet Corliss Archer was written by F. Hugh Herbert
F. Hugh Herbert
Frederick Hugh Herbert was a playwright, screenwriter, novelist, short story writer, and infrequent film director....
, who first introduced the character and her friends in the magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
story "A Private Affair," the first of a series of stories. Kiss and Tell was a 1943 play that was adapted for a 1945 film starring Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
. The 1949 sequel, A Kiss For Corliss, was re-released in 1954.
Television
Like many other radio shows, Meet Corliss Archer made the leap to television with live performances in 1951 and 1952, and from 1954 to 1955, as a syndicated television show starring Ann BakerAnn Baker
Ann Baker is a former American television and film character actor.-Career:Baker appeared in eight films and television programs between 1947 and 1959. Her three film appearances include: Rhythm in a Riff , Men of the Fighting Lady playing Mary, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers as a town girl...
and Mary Brian
Mary Brian
Mary Brian was an American actress and movie star who made the transition from 'silents' to 'talkies'.-Early life:...
. One of the show's unique features was the occasional cut to a comic-book style drawing, with an announcer's commentary, that illustrated the current story situation. This technique was used several times during each show. The program was produced by Ziv Productions
Ziv Television Programs
Ziv Television Programs, Inc. was an American television syndication and production company, producer of popular syndicated TV programs in the 1950s.- History :...
. Several episodes of the Ziv version are available on DVD. Some episodes are also available at the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
.
Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan is a former child actor turned American radical feminist activist, writer, poet, and editor of Sisterhood is Powerful and Ms. Magazine....
portrayed Corliss in a live telecast of Kiss and Tell on The Alcoa Hour
The Alcoa Hour
The Alcoa Hour is a live anthology television series sponsored by Alcoa and telecast in the United States from 1955 to 1957. The series was seen Sundays on NBC at 9pm.-Overview:...
(August 5, 1956) with Warren Berlinger
Warren Berlinger
Warren Berlinger is an American character actor, with both Broadway runs and over a thousand television appearances to his credit.-Personal life:...
as Dexter.
Comics
Radio listeners had to use their imaginations to visualize Corliss, her friends and her town. However, those imaginations got a boost in 1948 when the Meet Corliss Archer comic book, published by Fox Feature SyndicateFox Feature Syndicate
Fox Feature Syndicate was a comic book publisher from early in the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. Founded by entrepreneur Victor S...
, appeared for a run of three issues from March to July 1948. Al Feldstein
Al Feldstein
Albert B. Feldstein is an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. Since retiring from Mad, Feldstein has concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife...
, later the editor of Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
, was a key writer and illustrator of the Meet Corliss Archer comic book. Film strips and radio microphones on the front cover indicated the tie-ins and media crossovers. Janet Waldo was depicted on the front cover twice, as herself and as Corliss.