Myrt and Marge (radio)
Encyclopedia
Myrt and Marge was a popular radio program during the period 1932-1946. It was created by Myrtle Vail
based on anecdotal stories of her vaudeville career.
area, after having spent several years as a vaudeville
performer (often with her husband, George Damerel), basing it almost entirely on her own vaudeville experiences. She took the idea to the Wrigley
chewing gum makers, who had yet to sponsor a radio show, naming her lead characters Myrtle Spear and Marge Minter (playing on the company's best-known gum), while casting herself as Myrtle and her real-life daughter Donna Damerel as Marge, with Myrt the elder, experienced chorus girl taking young, inexperienced, and innocent Marge under her wing. Wrigley liked the idea and Myrt & Marge debuted in late 1931. Originally a prime-time entry, the show proved so popular with women that it was moved to daytime programming.
The soap tracked the doings and undoings of the two close friends with some of the usual soap opera twists (kidnappings, organized crime, murder) and injected a degree of comedy into a genre not usually known at the time for wit. In later years the show was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive-Peet
, who promoted its Super Suds laundry detergent among other products on the show.
, who had been seen as a streetwalker in His Girl Friday
, but after just a few months with Mack playing the role, Myrt & Marge ended in 1942.
Myrtle Vail attempted to revive the show in 1946, in a syndicated version that sometimes included updated re-writes of the original scripts, according to radio historian John Dunning. But the new Myrt & Marge was a short-lived rating failure, however, and the one-time favourite disappeared quietly in 1947.
Approximately 110 episodes of Myrt & Marge survive, most from the 1946-47 syndication revival but three—including, somehow, the show's pilot episode—from its 1930s heyday are known to survive as well.
Myrtle Vail (January 7, 1888—September 18, 1978), sometimes credited as Myrtle Damerel, was an American actress and writer who was a radio
fixture with the show.
Tragedy had earlier struck Myrt & Marge directly. In 1933, Vail was injured seriously in an automobile accident, forcing her to turn the show's writing over to a colleague named Charles Thomas, who wrote a storyline having Myrt kidnapped by gangsters, allowing Vail to recuperate completely.
, starring Vail and Demerel turned the show into a vehicle for the Three Stooges
, as well as their former front man Ted Healy
. Myrt Spear's touring vaudeville revue is full of talent and bound for Broadway, but low on funds. Conniving and lecherous producer Mr. Jackson (Thomas Jackson
) helps the show so he can romance the young star, Marge Minter. Myrt, and Marge's boyfriend Eddie Hanley (Eddie Foy Jr.), step in to save the revue and Marge. Ted Healy, Moe
, Larry
and Curly
are stagehands with hopes to join the show, and deal with the antics of backstage crasher Bonnie Bonnell.
Myrtle Vail
Myrtle Vail , sometimes credited as Myrtle Damerel, was an American actress and writer who was a radio fixture from 1932-1946 thanks to the popular soap opera Myrt & Marge, playing the elder half of the title as well as having created and written the show.-Radio Show:Vail thought of the idea while...
based on anecdotal stories of her vaudeville career.
Characters and story
Vail thought of the idea while living in the ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area, after having spent several years as a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer (often with her husband, George Damerel), basing it almost entirely on her own vaudeville experiences. She took the idea to the Wrigley
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
The William Wrigley Jr. Company is a company headquartered in the Wrigley Building in Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded on April 1, 1891, originally selling products such as soap and baking powder. In 1892, William Wrigley, Jr., the company's founder, began packaging...
chewing gum makers, who had yet to sponsor a radio show, naming her lead characters Myrtle Spear and Marge Minter (playing on the company's best-known gum), while casting herself as Myrtle and her real-life daughter Donna Damerel as Marge, with Myrt the elder, experienced chorus girl taking young, inexperienced, and innocent Marge under her wing. Wrigley liked the idea and Myrt & Marge debuted in late 1931. Originally a prime-time entry, the show proved so popular with women that it was moved to daytime programming.
The soap tracked the doings and undoings of the two close friends with some of the usual soap opera twists (kidnappings, organized crime, murder) and injected a degree of comedy into a genre not usually known at the time for wit. In later years the show was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive-Peet
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
, who promoted its Super Suds laundry detergent among other products on the show.
Casting change
Damerel died, in 1941, while giving birth to her third son. Damerel had done a Myrt & Marge performance hours before going into labor. Vail was quoted (by Movie-Radio Guide) as saying she believed her daughter had wanted it that way and that the show should not die, she wrote Marge out of the script for the time being, depicting her as hiding in the hills until a murder could be resolved, and set about casting a new Marge. The role finally went to Helen MackHelen Mack
Helen Mack was an American actress. Mack started her career as a child actress in silent films, moving on to Broadway plays, and touring the vaudeville circuit. Her greater success as an actress was as a leading lady in the 1930s...
, who had been seen as a streetwalker in His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, an adaptation by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur of the play The Front Page by Hecht and MacArthur...
, but after just a few months with Mack playing the role, Myrt & Marge ended in 1942.
Myrtle Vail attempted to revive the show in 1946, in a syndicated version that sometimes included updated re-writes of the original scripts, according to radio historian John Dunning. But the new Myrt & Marge was a short-lived rating failure, however, and the one-time favourite disappeared quietly in 1947.
Approximately 110 episodes of Myrt & Marge survive, most from the 1946-47 syndication revival but three—including, somehow, the show's pilot episode—from its 1930s heyday are known to survive as well.
Myrtle Vail
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...
fixture with the show.
Tragedy had earlier struck Myrt & Marge directly. In 1933, Vail was injured seriously in an automobile accident, forcing her to turn the show's writing over to a colleague named Charles Thomas, who wrote a storyline having Myrt kidnapped by gangsters, allowing Vail to recuperate completely.
Adaptations
A film adaptation by Universal StudiosUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, starring Vail and Demerel turned the show into a vehicle for the Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
, as well as their former front man Ted Healy
Ted Healy
Ted Healy was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. He is chiefly remembered today as the original creator of the Three Stooges, but had a successful stage and film career of his own.- Early life :...
. Myrt Spear's touring vaudeville revue is full of talent and bound for Broadway, but low on funds. Conniving and lecherous producer Mr. Jackson (Thomas Jackson
Thomas Jackson
Thomas Jackson, Tom Jackson, or Tommy Jackson may refer to:* Thomas Jackson , English theologian, and President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford...
) helps the show so he can romance the young star, Marge Minter. Myrt, and Marge's boyfriend Eddie Hanley (Eddie Foy Jr.), step in to save the revue and Marge. Ted Healy, Moe
Moe Howard
Moses Harry Horwitz , known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades...
, Larry
Larry Fine
Louis Feinberg , known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American comedian and actor, who is best known as a member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.-Early life:...
and Curly
Curly Howard
Jerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz , better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and vaudevillian. He is best known as a member of the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges, along with his older brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard, and actor Larry Fine...
are stagehands with hopes to join the show, and deal with the antics of backstage crasher Bonnie Bonnell.