Lionel Barrymore on the Radio

 (This post is part of the Barrymore Trilogy Blogathon hosted by In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood)

Lionel Barrymore & Agnes Moorehead,
the stars of Mayor of the Town

Today when people think of radio in the United States, music or talk shows likely to come to mind. That having been said, there was a time when scripted dramas and comedies were regularly heard on American radio. It was the era of Old Time Radio, when the radio networks (NBC, CBS, Mutual, and later ABC) aired a wide variety of programmes, from dramas to game shows. From the early Twenties to the early Fifties, radio was the dominant mass communications medium in the United States. It should then come as no surprise that some of the biggest stars of stage and screen had very extensive careers in radio. Among these was Lionel Barrymore.

Not only did Lionel Barrymore make many guest appearances on radio shows, but he even starred in his own radio shows. From 1942 to 1949 he starred as the mayor of the title on the comedy-drama Mayor of the Town. Mr. Barrymore was hardly the only big name star in the cast of the show. Agnes Moorehead played his housekeeper Marilly. Of course, Lionel Barrymore was much more than the star of Mayor of the Town. Mr. Barrymore composed the theme for the show and acted as something of a story editor.

Following Mayor of the Town, Lionel Barrymore starred on a syndicated radio show based on a property with which he had already long been associated. Lionel Barrymore had played Dr. Kildare's mentor Dr. Gillespie in MGM's series of "Dr. Kildare" movies. After Lew Ayres (who played Kildare) left the series, Lionel Barrymore continued in a series of films in which Dr. Gillespie was the main character. It was then natural that Mr. Barrymore should reprise his role as Dr. Gillespie for the syndicated radio show The Story of Dr. Kildare. Lew Ayres returned in the role of Dr. Kildare. It appears that The Story of Dr. Kildare debuted on September 27 1949 on Chicago station WGN. The series ran until 1952.

In addition to Mayor of the Town and The Story of Dr. Kildare, Lionel Barrymore also starred in a radio adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol that aired each year on CBS on Christmas Day from 1934 to 1953. There would only be two years in which Lionel Barrymore did not play Scrooge on the broadcast. The first was in 1936 when Mr. Barrymore's wife had died. His brother John Barrymore played the role of Scrooge that year. The second time was in 1938 when Lionel Barrymore was ill and the role of Scrooge was taken over by Orson Welles. Lionel Barrymore was so popular in the annual broadcasts of A Christmas Carol that he was MGM's first choice to star in their 1938 film adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Unfortunately Mr. Barrymore's arthritis flared up and the part was ultimately played by his friend Reginald Owen.

Lionel Barrymore also appeared on a regularly scheduled radio show that aired on the Armed Forces Radio Service. Mr. Barrymore had wanted to do something for those in the military during World War II. At the same time he loved classical music. It was then that Mr. Barrymore hosted Concert Hall on the Armed Forces Radio Service. The show debuted on August 17 1944 and aired until 1949.

Lionel Barrymore not only hosted Concert Hall on the Armed Forces Radio Service, but he also hosted the radio version of The Hallmark Hall of Fame. The Hallmark Hall of Fame was in some respects a continuation of Hallmark's earlier radio show, Hallmark Playhouse. It debuted on February 8 1953 and ran until March 27 1955. It would be on The Hallmark Hall of Fame that Lionel Barrymore would play Scrooge for the last few times.

Of course, over the years Lionel Barrymore made numerous guest appearances on various radio shows. In fact, he made multiple appearances on such shows as Lux Radio Theatre, Command Performance, Screen Guild Theatre, Family Theatre, and The Cavalcade of America. Not all of Mr. Barrymore's guest appearances were on radio dramas, as he appeared on variety shows as well. He guest starred on The Rudy Vallee Sealtest Show (on which his brother John was a regular) multiple times. He also appeared on Kraft Music Hall and Mail Call.

In the Thirties and Forties Lionel Barrymore was nearly as well known for his work in radio as he was his work in film. In fact, Mr. Barrymore has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One is for his work in motion pictures. The other is for his work on radio. Fortunately, much of Lionel Barrymore's work in radio has survived to this day, so that individuals can still enjoy episodes of Mayor of the Town and The Story of Dr. Kildare, as well as his many guest appearances on radio shows.