The Adventures of Topper

The Adventures of Topper

Roland Young as Cosmo Topper (from the film Topper Returns)
Country United States
Language(s) English
TV adaptations Topper
Starring Roland Young
Announcer Richard Kollmar
Air dates June 7, 1945 to September 13, 1945
Sponsored by Post Toasties cereal
Maxwell House coffee

The Adventures of Topper is a radio situation comedy in the United States. It was broadcast on NBC June 7, 1945 - September 13, 1945,[1] as a summer replacement for Dinah Shore's program.[2]

Format

The 30-minute program was based on characters created by novelist Thorne Smith. Cosmo Topper, a businessman, bought the house that had been inhabited by George and Marian Kerby before they died. He had no idea that the Kerbys' ghosts haunted the house. Confusion arose because only Topper could see the ghosts, leading his wife to wonder why he spoke to people who apparently were not there.[3]

David C. Tucker, in his book, The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms, cited the program's ghost-based premise as one reason for its lack of success: "As noted by Variety's reviewer, however, a comedy centered on the antics of appearing and disappearing ghosts 'reads good on paper and was even enhanced in the film treatment,' but played less well on radio, resulting in a show he found 'singularly unfunny.'"[4]

The program was sponsored by Post Toasties cereal and Maxwell House coffee.[5]

Personnel

Characters in the program and the actors who played them are shown in the table below.

Character Actor
Cosmo Topper Roland Young
Malvena Topper
or Henrietta Topper[1] 		Hope Emerson
George Kerby Paul Mann
Tony Barrett[1]
Marian Kerby Frances Chaney
Heliatrope Bob Corley
Mr. Borris Ed Latimer

Source: Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows,[3] except as noted.

The announcer was Richard Kollmar.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Pp. 15-16.
  2. ↑ House, Helen (April 30, 1945). "Sponsors Prepare for Summer Season" (PDF). Broadcasting. p. 15. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 17.
  4. ↑ Tucker, David C. (2015). The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms. McFarland. p. 94. ISBN 9780786487325. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  5. ↑ 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. 10.

Streaming

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