Bright Horizon

Bright Horizon is an old-time radio soap opera in the United States. It was broadcast on CBS August 25, 1941 - July 6, 1945.[1] The program initially had an alternate title, The Story of Michael West.[2]

Bright Horizon

Other names	The Story of Michael West
Genre	Soap opera
Running time	15 minutes
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Starring	Richard Kollmar Robert Griffin Joseph Julian Sammie Hill Joan Alexander
Announcer	Marjorie Anderson Paul Luther John Harper Roland Winters Grace Russell
Written by	James Hart Elizabeth Hart John M. Young Ted Maxwell Stuart Hawkins Kathleen Norris
Directed by	Henry Hull Charles Powers Day Tuttle Ralph Butler Walter Allison Tibbals
Produced by	Day Tuttle
Original release	August 25, 1941 – July 6, 1945
Sponsored by	Swan Soap

Format

Bright Horizon was a spinoff of the Big Sister radio program. To help with the transition, Alice Frost, who played Ruth Wayne in the original series, was heard in the first episodes of the spinoff.[3] Michael West, the main character in the new program, was a singer on Big Sister. With the switch to Bright Horizon, he continued singing but also used his law degree "and gradually became more involved in a law career, at one time considering a run for governor."[4]

In 1942, a review of the program in Billboard said, in part:

The quality is none too high on Bright Horizon, ... but at least the 15 minutes on the shot caught had enough action to sustain a sort of infantile interest, and the acting level was for the most part surprisingly high.[5]

Bright Horizon was sponsored by Lever Brothers, advertising Swan Soap.[2]

Personnel

Characters in Bright Horizon and the actors and actresses who portrayed them are shown in the table below.

Character	Actor
Michael West	Richard Kollmar Robert Griffin[6] Joseph Julian
Carol West	Sammie Hill Joan Alexander
Larry	Frank Lovejoy
Margaret McCarey	Lesley Woods
Bobby	Ronald Liss
Barbara	Renee Terry
Keith Richards	Lon Clark
Lily	Alice Goodkin
Bonnie	Audrey Totter
Charles McCarey	Richard Keith
Penny	Will Geer[1]
Edith Browning	Helen Claire[1]
Bobby	Ronny Liss[1]

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

Others heard on the program were Skip Homeier,[7] Jackie Grimes, Santos Ortega and Chester Stratton.

Announcers were John Harper, Roland Winters, Grace Russell,[1] Paul Luther[5] and Marjorie Anderson. The organist was John Gart.[3] Day Tuttle was the producer.[8] Henry Hull, Charles Powers, Day Tuttle, Ralph Butler[1] and Walter Allison Tibbals[9] were the directors. Writers were James Hart, Elizabeth Hart, John M. Young, Ted Maxwell, Stuart Hawkins and Kathleen Norris.[1]

Sequel

After Bright Horizon's last broadcast, "the program was extended for a few months, with the name changed to A Woman's Life."[4]

See also

• List of radio soap operas

References

1. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2019-09-17. Bright Horizon, soap opera.
2. "Network Accounts" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 18, 1941. p. 65. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
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. 52.
4. Reinehr, Robert C.; Swartz, Jon D. (2010). The A to Z of Old Time Radio. Scarecrow Press. p. 47. ISBN 9781461672074. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
5. "Comment". Billboard. October 3, 1942. p. 8. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
6. "Four-Way Pickup". Billboard. March 4, 1944. p. 12. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
7. Lesser, Jerry (July 18, 1942). "Radio Talent: New York". Billboard. p. 7. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
8. "Y & R Lists New Fall Assignments" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 28, 1944. p. 114. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
9. "Our Respects" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 14, 1955. p. 22. Retrieved 7 January 2017.