Saturday, December 22, 2018

25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas - Day 22: Campus Snowmen on Halls of Ivy (1951)

You would have thought that a guy who writes about Old Time Radio and works at a university would have featured the program Halls of Ivy before.  Well...you would have been wrong.  I am not sure why it has never crossed my path, and today is not a perfect fit, but there is no time like the present to introduce you to Dr. Hall and his wife and life at this prestigious institution of higher education.  You might here this (and many others) on Sirius/XM, you can listen to Greg Bell's Old time radio channel (#148).  He does a great job of showcasing great holiday themed episodes, especially as we get close to Christmas.

267/365/632 (March 5, 2010) - Giant Snowman at the University of Michigan's School of Law

Giant Snowman at the University of Michigan's School of Law (March 2010)

From 1950 to 1952, Halls of Ivy was a radio comedy that ran on the NBC Radio Network and was the brainchild of Don Quinn, the writer and co-creator of the Fibber McGee & Molly show.  The program would have a life on television as well (as did many programs during this time).  In both the radio and television versions, Ronald Colman (who was recently featured on Favorite Story adaptation of A Christmas Carol on Favorite Story) and his real life wife Benita Hume started as Dr. Hall and Mrs. Hall.  The program was sponsored by Schlitz Brewing (of Milwaukee) - a seemingly strange and/or appropriate sponsor for a program about higher education and college life.  The Digitial Deli article listed this as the set of characters in the program:
  • Ronald Colman as Dr. William Todhunter "Toddy" Hall, Ph.D., L.L.D., M.A., and President of Ivy College
  • Benita Hume [Colman] as Mrs. Victoria "Vickie" [Cromwell] Hall, former London Stage actress
  • Gloria Gordon as Penny, the Hall's first housekeeper and cook
  • Arthur Q. Bryan as Professor Joseph 'Joe' Warren
  • Alan Reed as Professor Heaslip of Ivy's English Department
  • Lee Patrick as Miss Goodsen, Dr. Hall's unbelievably efficient Personal Secretary
I will likely revisit this series as I start on my librarian series in January.

On December 19, 1951, the episode was known as "The Snowman."  There was a more identifiable Christmas episode in 1950, but it is not available (its about a kidnapping - so maybe that is just as well).  We open with Ronald Coleman admiring the fruits of his all-nighter at his desk - Ivy's annual report.  It is a masterpiece and what a year at Ivy College.  The endowment is up.  Enrollment is up.  Everything is looking up!  So when he was happy to be done with the report, he was surprised to see that the sun was up.  Working in his office all night, Dr. Hall completely lost track of the time.  And the weather.  It had snowed overnight and the tradition on campus was that students would build snow men on the professor's lawns in a size proportional to their popularity.  Much to his surprise and fear, he realized that there was no snowman on his lawn.  None at all.  There must be some mistake?  Is his role as an administrator sapping his abilities as a teacher?  Is he too connected to the administration of the school to be disconnected from their core mission?  So much to talk about when he strolls down faculty row with his wife.

It is not exactly a Christmas episode - but why not.  You get a new show and it is a nice one.  I hope you get a large snowman on your front walk this winter.

The Snowman from Halls of Ivy (December 19th, 1951)



Here are some links to programs relating to Halls of Ivy:
25 More Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2018) & Other Links
Another 25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2017) 
25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2016) 

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2015) & Other Links

25 Days of Old Time Radio Christmas (from 2014)
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