AFTER THE SUMMER OF 1949,
Radio Comedy Was Never The Same!
First heard on radio in 1938, Bob Hope had one of radio’s most popular comedy shows.The wisecracking, the fast one-line put-downs (usually of himself), the deadpan, dry style delivered with absolute precision — these all were Bob’s trademarks. His Pepsodent-sponsored comedy show on NBC radio garnered millions of weekly listeners.
Every year when it was time for Hope and his gang to take their summer vacation, NBC had its hands full finding a suitable replacement for 13 weeks.
In 1949, NBC turned its eye toward Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis as Hope’s summer replacement. Dean and Jerry were popular nightclub performers with sold-out crowds everywhere they played. NBC offered them Bob Hope’s vacated time slot and committed to one of the biggest buildups ever given to a pair of newcomers to radio comedy. Dean and Jerry didn’t disappoint and proved that they could dish out their distinctive brand of zanyism over the airwaves in a big way.
The Martin & Lewis Show was more than just Martin’s golden voice and Lewis’ “kidding on the square.”The network insisted on a weekly celebrity guest, the likes of which included Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Bing Crosby and even Bob Hope himself.
The weekly budget was a pricey $10,000, but after a short while, the series attracted a sponsor, and executives at NBC patted themselves on the back for establishing a hit show that also became a financial success. With that kind of budget, NBC could afford Norman Lear, the comedy genius later responsible for All in the Family and Sanford and Son, as a writer for the show.
The success of the radio series led to Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis also appearing as monthly hosts for NBC’s Colgate Comedy Hour, a highly rated television show. NBC used the television program to cross-promote the radio program, even recycling some of the radio sketches for the television counterpart.
Film producer Hal Wallis jumped on the Martin and Lewis bandwagon, signing the boys to a multi-picture film contract.Their film comedies were box office gold, catapulting them to megastardom. With meteoric success on radio,TV and films, Martin and Lewis proved they were masters of all three commercial media.