The Aldrich Family (Henry Aldrich)

Teenage Situation Comedy (1939 - 53)

"Hen-reeee! Henry Aldrich!"

When Clifford Abbott's play What a Life (1938, Biltmore Theatre, 538 performances) opened, it was a critical as well as popular success. There was so much buzz about the show that Rudy Vallee hired Abbott to pen some sketches using characters from the play for his Royal Gelatin Hour program on NBC Radio. As popular as the play had been originally, the 1982 revival was a flop, critic Mel Gussow wrote in the New York Times that "Next to What a Life, Leave It to Beaver is Molière."

The difference in reception for the two productions may have been a change in attitudes towards teenagers. The play follows the misadventures of Henry Aldrich, a likable teen with all the grace and enthusiasm of a floppy-eared pup dashing across a linoleum floor; he may wind up tripping over his own feet but he will come up smiling!

In 1982, the last of the Baby Boomers were graduating from high school and Generation X was about to discover the Internet and change all the rules. In 1938, America was pulling itself out of the Great Depression and it was the Greatest Generation graduating from high school. Of course, they were not the Greatest Generation yet, they were still busy tripping over their own feet, but that lack of grace from teens seemed more acceptable, even expected.

The sketches written for The Royal Gelatin Hour were an even bigger hit than the What a Life play had been, and The Aldrich Family was further adapted for a 39-week run on The Kate Smith Hour. When the time came to select a 1939 summer replacement for The Jack Benny Program on Sunday nights, The Aldrich Family seemed like a natural fit. When Jack got back from vacation that fall, the Aldrich's were welcomed to their new home on Tuesday nights by Jack's sponsor, General Foods.

The role of Henry Aldrich on the radio went to Ezra Stone, who had been in the original Broadway production of What a Life, although he did not play Henry. Stone would leave the show in 1942 to join the Army and was replaced by Norman Tokar who would also contribute several scripts to the program and go on to direct TV's Leave It to Beaver. Dickie Jones and Raymond Ives would also play the part before Ezra Stone returned from the Service in 1945. Stone finally outgrew the part in 1952 and Bobby Ellis became the last actor to play Henry.

The Aldrich Family set the pattern for the entire genre Family Sitcoms to come. A middle-class family, Henry had an older sister, Mary, who would often steal attention away from her younger sibling. Henry and his best friend, Homer Brown, were at the age when they realized that there was a difference between boys and girls and nearly old enough to know why that is a wonderful thing. The home at 117 Elm St in Centerville, USA, was Sam and Alice Aldrich's castle, but they couldn't always keep Homer from storming the gates. Alice was played by Agnes Moorehead when the series debuted.

In addition to the radio program, Paramount released a series of eleven B-grade Henry Aldrich films between 1939 and 1944, and The Aldrich Family appeared on NBC TV from October 1949 through the 1953 season.  So put on your hard hat and get ready for the punchline, because Henry is:

"Coming Mother!"