Mayor of the Town (radio program)
Mayor of the Town is a radio comedy-drama in the United States. From September 6, 1942, to July 3, 1949, it was broadcast at various times on NBC, CBS, ABC and Mutual.
Format
Lionel Barrymore starred as the unnamed mayor of Springdale, a community typical of those in other radio programs of the era, such as Summerfield in The Great Gildersleeve and River's End in Dr. Christian. Stories dealt with typical small-town situations that involved the mayor. The mayor's housekeeper, Marilly, and his ward, Butch usually played key roles in episodes. One old-time radio reference noted the similarity of Mayor of the Town's plots to those of The Great Gildersleeve, citing "the grumbling but kindly mayor interacting with a number of interesting town characters."A 1947 review of the program in the trade publication Billboard had little positive to say. The writer opined that except for selling the sponsor's product, Mayor of the Town "is otherwise devoid of merit." By way of explanation, he added, "From its very inception, almost every phase of 'Mayor of the Town' is the most palpable of contrivance; stock characters, stock plot and the lowest grade of corn."
In contrast, radio historian John Dunning commented that Mayor of the Town "gave a realistic portrait of rural living." "Often the stories were coming-of-age pieces," he wrote, "focusing on the mayor's special relationship with Butch."
Personnel
In addition to Barrymore, Moorehead and Binyon, actors on Mayor of the Town included Gloria McMillan, Priscilla Lyon and Bill Wright. Dunning noted that Barrymore's involvement went beyond his acting. "He insisted on meticulous attention to detail, even though others were in charge of production. Barrymore had a way of knowing what lines were wrong and why."The announcer was Frank Martin. Wilbur Hatch led the orchestra. Music directors were Gordon Jenkins and Bernard Katz. Con Maffie played organ for the show.
Arthur Trask was producer and director; Jack Van Nostrand. also directed. Writers were Howard Blake, Leonard St. Clair, Howard Breslin, Charles Tazwell, Jean Holloway and Erna Lazarus.