Betty and Bob

Betty and Bob is a radio soap opera.[1] The soap opera followed the lives of Betty and Bob Drake. Betty was a secretary who falls madly in love with her boss, bachelor Bob Drake. The two wed and each day, the subject matter dealt with everything from love to hate, jealousy to divorce, murder to betrayal, and collusion to insanity.[1]

Betty and Bob
GenreSoap opera
Running time15 minutes
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
SyndicatesBlue Network
CBS
NBC
StarringElizabeth Reller
Don Ameche
Edith Davis
Created byFrank Hummert
Anne Ashenhurst
Written byRobert Hardy Andrews
Produced byFrank and Anne Hummert
Original releaseOctober 10, 1932 (1932-10-10) – March 15, 1940 (1940-03-15)
No. of series8
Opening themeSalut d'Amour
Sponsored byGeneral Mills' Wheaties and Bisquick

The program was the first radio program produced by future daytime radio monarchs Frank and Anne Hummert.[2] The program also began a long partnership between the Hummerts and scriptwriter Robert Hardy Andrews.[3]

The program originally starred Elizabeth Reller and Don Ameche in the title roles of Betty and Bob Drake. The role of Bob Drake is credited as the role that made Ameche the "first radio sex symbol".[4] But during the program's eight-year run, four other actresses, including Arlene Francis,[5] portrayed Betty[1]:82 and seven other actors, including Les Tremayne, portrayed Bob.[6][7]

According to author John Dunning, ratings for the soap opera plummeted after the addition of the Drake's son Little Bobby. "Raymond William Stedman speculates that listeners refused to accept bickering and jealousy when a child was involved."[1] Little Bobby died of pneumonia and the Drakes divorced. But ratings never did pick up again. The last few years of the program centered on how Betty and Bob grieve over the loss of their son, Bob's relationship with his new girlfriend Pamela Talmadge (portrayed by Ethel Kuhn), and Bob's time in and out of a mental institution.

The program premiered on the Blue Network on October 10, 1932. The program moved to CBS then to NBC's Red Network where the series finished on March 15, 1940. The program was sponsored by both the Wheaties and Bisquick divisions of the General Mills company.

Cast and characters

Broadcast history

NOTE: The most frequent time slot for the series in bold text.

  • Weekdays at 3:00-3:15 pm on the Blue Network: October 10, 1932—May 29, 1936
  • Weekdays at 10:00-10:15 am on CBS: June 1, 1937—May 27, 1938
  • Weekdays at 2:00-2:15 pm on NBC: May 30, 1938—March 15, 1940

References
  1. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. pp. 81-82. ISBN 978-0-1950-7678-3. Retrieved September 23, 2015. betty and bob, soap opera.
  2. ""Betty & Bob" Old Time Radio Soap Opera". Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  3. Thurber, James (May 15, 1948). "Soapland I - O Pioneers!". The New Yorker: 34–47. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  4. Sterling, Christopher H. (2004). Encyclopedia of Radio 3-Volume Set. Routledge. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-1354-5649-8. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  5. "What's New from Coast to Coast" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 13 (6): 6–9. April 1940. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  6. Swartz, Jon D.; Reinehr, Robert C. (2007). Historical Dictionary of Old Time Radio. Scarecrow Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-8108-6422-1. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  7. Swartz, Jon D.; Reinehr, Robert C. (2010). The A to Z of Old Time Radio. Scarecrow Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4616-7207-4. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
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