Aldrich Family
The Joe Hehn Memorial Collection
The Aldrich Family was one of radio's longest running and popular family situation comedies, debuting in 1939 and leaving the air in 1953. The opening of the progam had its famous line of Henry Aldrich's mother calling him home with "Hen-reeeeeeeeeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!" and Henry responding with "Com-ing, Mother!" Henry was a good natured boy making his way through adolescence and his relationships with family, friends, and neighbors. The Henry character was a minor one in the Broadway play "What a Life" in 1938. He was played by Ezra Stone, who would be associated with the Aldrich role throughout the run of the series, and beyond. Other actors played Henry when Stone was in the service and at periods of the program. The series began after being a popular regular feature on the variety programs of Rudy Vallee and Kate Smith. Then, in summer of 1939, The Aldrich Family was the summer replacement for Jack Benny. It became a fixture on radio after that successful run. * * * These recordings are part of the Joe Hehn Memorial Collection. Mr. Hehn (1931-2020) was a pioneering collector of radio recordings when the hobby emerged in the 1960s. Digitizing his collection of reel tapes and discs is the effort of a wide range of North American volunteers, and includes assistance of some international collectors. The groups supporting this effort with their funds, time, technology and skills are the Old Time Radio Researchers and a small group of transcription disc preservationists who refer to themselves as the "The Knights of the Turning Table."
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.