As an Old
Time Radio
hobbyist, I am often asked, "What is your favorite Old Time Radio
Program?"
I would be hard pressed to designate any program as my absolute
favorite but,
certainly, The Great Gildersleeve would be a front runner for that
honor should
I be forced to choose. At the very least I would have to consider it
one of my "desert
island" programs. The show's longevity alone is testimony to it's
broad-based appeal, beginning life in the months just prior to
America's entry
into the Second World War and continuing through the decline of network
radio
through the mid fifties.
Broadcasting's first
bona fide spin-off, the program follows the exploits of Throckmorton P.
Gildersleeve as he leaves Wistful Vista, where he was the perfect foil
for
Fibber Mcgee and takes on the stewardship of the estate of his niece
and
nephew, Marjorie and Leroy Forrester. The
Gildersleeve Project began as
one
hobbyist's effort to acquire and share this wonderful program with all
OTR
enthusiasts who enjoy this kind of wholesome family
entertainment. At one time, the MP3 encodes appearing on this
page were considered the gold standard. Partly as a result of
shose efforts, today,
Gildersleeve programs in MP3 format are ubiquitous on the web.
All of the shows previously available here are now available on
archive.org. Or you can use this page
to link to the programs on that site. Wayback.net and the
Gildersleeve Project continue to work to improve
the quality
of programs available to the OTR collecting community. From time
to time
these improved recordings will be made available through traditional
clubs,
online sharing groups and other means that may develop in the future.
I hope you find your visit to this site informative and pleasant. Please click on the links below to learn more about the Great Gildersleeve or to visit one of our recommended OTR sites.
The Original
Gildersleeve Project Program encodes on Archive.org
Elizabeth Thomsen's Gildersleeve Page