Lassie (radio program)
{{Short description|American radio juvenile adventure series (1947–1950)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox radio show
| show_name = Lassie
| image = Pal as Lassie 1942.JPG
| imagesize = 240px
| caption = Pal as Lassie (1942)
| other_names =
| format = Juvenile adventure
| runtime = 15 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| home_station =
| television =
| presenter =
| starring = Pal
| announcer = Charlie Lyon
| creator =
| writer = Harry Stewart
| director = Hobart Donovan
| senior_editor =
| editor =
| producer = Frank Ferrin
| exec_producer =
| narrated = Rudd Weatherwax
| rec_location =
| rem_location =
| oth_location =
| first_aired = {{Start date|1947|06|08}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1950|05|27}}
| num_series =
| num_episodes =
| audio_format =
| opentheme =
| othertheme =
| endtheme =
| sponsor =
| website =
| podcast =
}}
Lassie is an American old-time radio juvenile adventure program. It was broadcast on ABC from June 8, 1947 until May 30, 1948, and on NBC from June 5, 1948, until May 27, 1950.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi5wPDBiGfMC&dq=%22Lassie,+juvenile+adventure%22&pg=PA389 |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |page=389|edition=Revised |access-date=2019-11-09}}
Format
Although the program was titled Lassie, the dog's name varied from episode to episode because she wandered from place to place helping both people and animals, and the people the canine encountered used various names.{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows|date=1999|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc.|isbn=978-0-7864-4513-4|page=192}} Episodes of the show captured the essence of Eric Knight's book, Lassie Come-Home.{{cite book |last1=Coren |first1=Stanley |title=Born to Bark: My Adventures with an Irrepressible and Unforgettable Dog |date=2011 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781439189214 |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tey_IlNTAXcC&dq=Lassie+radio&pg=PA8 |accessdate=30 November 2018 |language=en}}
Personnel
Lassie was portrayed by Pal, the male dog that played Lassie in early films about the canine character. Trainer Rudd Weatherwax{{cite book |last1=Paietta |first1=Ann Catherine |last2=Kauppila |first2=Jean L. |title=Animals on Screen and Radio: An Annotated Sourcebook |date=1994 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810829398 |page=323 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rpTeSKkdTE4C&dq=Lassie+ABC&pg=PA323 |accessdate=30 November 2018 |language=en}} cued him to whine, bark, and pant at appropriate times. Additional sounds for Lassie and other dogs were provided by Earl Keen, an animal imitator.
Weatherwax narrated the program,{{cite news |title=No Stand-in |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/47-OCR/1947-05-12-BC-OCR-Page-0092.pdf |accessdate=30 November 2018 |work=Broadcasting |date=May 12, 1947 |page=92}} and Charlie Lyon was the announcer. John Duffy was the organist. Frank Ferrin, Harry Stewart, and Hobart Donovan were producer, director, and writer, respectively.
Critical response
A review of the initial NBC episode in the trade publication Variety said that the show was "nicely produced ... and scripted okay".{{cite magazine |date=June 9, 1948 |page=36 |title=The Lassie Show |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety170-1948-06/page/n91/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=January 20, 2024 }} The review said that the show "should interest lovers of dogs if the constant hammering for the product can be toned down."
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Radio}}
=Logs=
- [http://www.otrsite.com/otrsite/logs/logl1051.htm Partial log of episodes of Lassie from Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs]
- [http://www.otrr.org/FILES/Logs_txt/Lassie.txt Partial log of episodes of Lassie from Old Time Radio Researchers Group]
- [http://www.radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=The+Lassie+Show Partial log of episodes of Lassie from radioGOLDINdex]
=Streaming=
- [http://www.dumb.com/oldtimeradio/radio/1994//Lassie.html Episodes of Lassie from Dumb.com]
{{Lassie}}
Category:1947 radio programme debuts
Category:1950 radio programme endings
Category:1940s American radio programs
Category:1950s American radio programs
Category:Radio programs about animals
Category:Radio programs adapted into television shows