This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 120: Radio and The Harvest (1936 - 1954)

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Hal Peary spent the 1940s starring on radio and in films as Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve. Gildersleeve began as a character on Fibber McGee and Molly. Peary joined the cast in 1937, first playing every kind of bit part imaginable.

In the late 1930s, he approached Don Quinn with an idea for a recurring role. He wanted to play a pompous windbag who himself ran the biggest bluff in Wistful Vista. He thought it the perfect foil for McGee. Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve’s first appearance was on September 26th, 1939.

The Great Gildersleeve became radio’s first major spinoff series, debuting on NBC on August 31st, 1941.

In Summerfield, he was guardian to niece and nephew, Marjorie and Leroy Forrester. Marjorie was studious and curious and seldom gave Gildy trouble. Leroy, age 12, was the wiseguy. The household also had a voice for common sense, Birdie Lee Coggins, introduced in September.

By the autumn of 1943 Peary had become a film star.

The radio show’s rating peaked with a 16.3 in 1944. It was notable because the program served as a Sunday lead-in to The Jack Benny Program. A 16.3 was the highest rating ever for a program airing at 6:30PM.

Peary played the character through the rest of the decade, but in 1949 and 1950, Jack Benny, Amos N’ Andy, Red Skelton, Bing Crosby, and Burns and Allen all jumped to CBS. Peary jumped with them.

There were two problems, he didn’t own the Gildersleeve character, and Kraft foods wasn’t interested in making the jump.