Just Plain Bill
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:26 pm
On the Air: Sept. 19, 1932-June 16, 1933, CBS, 6:45 p.m. ET; June 19, 1933-1935, CBS, 7:15 p.m. Nighttime performances were discontinued in 1935. The daytime version was added Oct. 16, 1933, CBS; 1935-June 12, 1936, CBS, 11:45 a.m.; Sept. 14, 1936-March 15, 1940, NBC, 10:30 a.m.; March 25, 1940-July 31, 1942, NBC Blue, 3:45 p.m.; Sept. 14, 1942-June 29, 1951, NBC, 5:30 p.m.; July 2, 1951-March 25, 1954, NBC, 5 p.m.; Sept. 26, 1954-July 1, 1955, NBC, 5 p.m.; July 4, 1955-Sept. 30, 1955, 3:45 p.m.
Bill Davidson: Arthur Hughes ... Nancy Davidson Donovan: Ruth Russell (1932-51), Toni Darnay (1951-55) ... Kerry Donovan: James Meighan ... Wiki Donovan: Sarah Fussell, Madeleine Pierce ... Elmer Eeps: Joe Latham
Announcer: Andre Baruch, John Cornell, Fielden Farrington, Ed Herlihy, Roger Krupp
Theme Songs: "Darling Nellie Gray" (early opening and bridges); "Polly Wolly Doodle" (closing, also later opening)
Epigraph: "Now, to the many friends who wait for him ... we present Just Plain Bill, barber of Hartville, the story of a man who might be living right next door to you -- the real-life story of people just like people we all know."
Premise: The "haircutter of Hartville" just didn't cut it. The "barber of Hartville" seemed more fitting. Nor was the first name given to this series, "Bill the Barber," satisfying to the future Mrs. E. Frank Hummert. Anne S. Ashenhurst, one of the serial's creators, replaced the title with "Just Plain Bill." So why would homemakers be inspired by the story of a small-town barber anyway? Because Bill Davidson, a good-natured, soft-spoken, homespun country philosopher, sensitive to the needs of friends and relatives, offered level-headed advice to help them straighten out their tangled lives. Listeners identified with people like themselves, just as the serial's familiar epigraph espoused. Here was a man among them who was all-wise and all-heart. He gave reassurance that even when the clouds are darkest, there is a silver lining if one searches diligently for it. The dilemmas he solved frequently focused on his little family: his daughter, Nancy; her lawyer-husband, Kerry Donovan; and Bill's grandson, Wiki. Leaving fiction behind, however, the most significant thing about this show was the distinction it held in the annals of radio soap opera. Debuting in 1932, "Just Plain Bill" was easily the first serial to make a lasting impression on far-flung audiences. It continued doing so for 23 years -- initially as a nightime feature and soon as a daytime quarter-hour. Against this classic series many of its followers came to be measured, with some lacking the quality that made it an enormous favorite.
Memorable line: "You have to stand up to evil and fight it. You have to be ready for it when it strikes, and never give in to it. If you do them things, ... you can never be whipped by evil men." (Even though Bill's English was sometimes atrocious, he got his point across.)
Bill Davidson: Arthur Hughes ... Nancy Davidson Donovan: Ruth Russell (1932-51), Toni Darnay (1951-55) ... Kerry Donovan: James Meighan ... Wiki Donovan: Sarah Fussell, Madeleine Pierce ... Elmer Eeps: Joe Latham
Announcer: Andre Baruch, John Cornell, Fielden Farrington, Ed Herlihy, Roger Krupp
Theme Songs: "Darling Nellie Gray" (early opening and bridges); "Polly Wolly Doodle" (closing, also later opening)
Epigraph: "Now, to the many friends who wait for him ... we present Just Plain Bill, barber of Hartville, the story of a man who might be living right next door to you -- the real-life story of people just like people we all know."
Premise: The "haircutter of Hartville" just didn't cut it. The "barber of Hartville" seemed more fitting. Nor was the first name given to this series, "Bill the Barber," satisfying to the future Mrs. E. Frank Hummert. Anne S. Ashenhurst, one of the serial's creators, replaced the title with "Just Plain Bill." So why would homemakers be inspired by the story of a small-town barber anyway? Because Bill Davidson, a good-natured, soft-spoken, homespun country philosopher, sensitive to the needs of friends and relatives, offered level-headed advice to help them straighten out their tangled lives. Listeners identified with people like themselves, just as the serial's familiar epigraph espoused. Here was a man among them who was all-wise and all-heart. He gave reassurance that even when the clouds are darkest, there is a silver lining if one searches diligently for it. The dilemmas he solved frequently focused on his little family: his daughter, Nancy; her lawyer-husband, Kerry Donovan; and Bill's grandson, Wiki. Leaving fiction behind, however, the most significant thing about this show was the distinction it held in the annals of radio soap opera. Debuting in 1932, "Just Plain Bill" was easily the first serial to make a lasting impression on far-flung audiences. It continued doing so for 23 years -- initially as a nightime feature and soon as a daytime quarter-hour. Against this classic series many of its followers came to be measured, with some lacking the quality that made it an enormous favorite.
Memorable line: "You have to stand up to evil and fight it. You have to be ready for it when it strikes, and never give in to it. If you do them things, ... you can never be whipped by evil men." (Even though Bill's English was sometimes atrocious, he got his point across.)