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The Joan Davis Show Radio Program

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The lead photo from LIFE magazine's four-page spread on Joan Davis' million dollar contract with Swan (October 1945)

Premiere LIFE Magazine ad for Swan Soap featuring its sponsorship of The Joan Davis Show

Harry Von Zell served as both Joan Davis' foil and Swan Soap's commercial spokesman for The Joan Davis Show

LIFE Magazine ad of February 25th 1946 for Swan Soap featuring its sponsorship of The Joan Davis Show

Joan Davis and Harry Von Zell in a Swan Soap ad

LIFE Magazine ad of March 25th 1946 for Swan Soap

Popular crooner Andy Russell served as both the variety anchor for The Joan Davis Show as well as Joanie's love interest in the situation comedy series.

Background

The Lever Brothers Company was one of the Golden Age of Radio's largest and most prolific sponsors from the era's inception. Throughout the era Lever Bros. promoted its soap and detergent lines of Rinso, Lifebuoy, Lux, Swan, and Dove, its Pepsodent tooth powder and toothpaste, its Spry shortening, its Lipton Tea, and its Trim Hair Tonic over virtually every significant Radio genre of the era:

1930 Rinso Talkie Time
1931-1934 The Goldbergs
1934 Bring 'em Back Alive
1934 Eddy Duchin
1934-1937 Amos 'n' Andy
1934-1955 Lux Radio Theatre
1935 Al Pearce and His Gang
1936 Laugh with Ken [Murray]
1936-1939 The Rinso Program
1936-1946 Big Sister
1937-1952 Big Town
1938 Candid Woman
1938 Mickey Mouse Theater
1938 The Get Together Program
1938-1948 The Pepsodent Program
1939 Mr. District Attorney
1939 The Lifebuoy Program
1939-1949 Man About Hollywood
1940 Meet Mr. Meek
1940-1942 Grand Central Station
1941 A Date with Judy
1941 Bringing Up Father
1941 Hollywood Premiere
1941 Saturday Morning Vaudeville Theater
1941 Well, I Swan [Burns and Allen]
1942 Bright Horizon
1942 Mayor of the Town
1942 The Bob Burns Show
1942 Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou
1943 Broadway Bandbox
1943 Life with Fred Brady
1943 The Johnny Mercer Music Shop
1943-1950 Amos 'n' Andy
1944 Boston Blackie
1944 Charlie Chan
1944 The Charlotte GreenWood Show
1944-1946 The Man Called X
1945 A Woman's Life
1945 Dunninger the Mentalist
1945 Philo Vance
1945 The Joan Davis Show
1946 Kiss and Make Up
1946 The Jack Kirkwood Show
1947 Hop Harrigan
1947-1949 Call the Police
1947-1949 My Friend Irma
1948 Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories
1948 Junior Miss
1948 Meet Corliss Archer
1948 The Whistler
1949 Breakfast with Burrows
1949-1954 Broadway Is My Beat
1950 Granby's Green Acres
1950 Hit the Jackpot
1950 Too Many Crooks
1951 Joyce Jordan, M.D.
1951 Lone Journey
1951 Meet Millie
1952 House Party
1952 Romance
1953 The Crime Files of Flamond

Englishman William H. Lever and his brother James entered the soap manufacturing business in 1885 with their acquisition of a sizeable soap works located in Warrington, a borough of Cheshire, England located on the banks of the Mersey River. By 1888 the Lever brothers and chemist William Watson were shipping 450 tons per week of their free-lathering 'Sunlight Soap' line.

Lever Brothers expanded into the United States and Canada by 1900, marketing their Vim, Lifebuoy and Lux lines of bar soap and soap flakes. One of the first genuinely multinational corporations, the international parent company became Unilever in 1930 in a merger with the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The American arm of the international conglomerate remained Lever Brothers Company.

Swan Soap and CBS bet $1,000,000 on Joan Davis

The Joan Davis Show premiered over CBS on September 3rd, 1945 in a Monday night prime-time slot. The industry buzz over Ms. Davis' record-breaking deal with Swan Soap virtually ensured a successful launch, and LIFE magazine's four-page spread on Joan Davis certainly helped to prime the pump for the series. From the October 1st, 1945 issue of LIFE magazine:

RADIO COMEDIENNE

Million-dollar contract crowns
slapstick career of Joan Davis

A big nose, a squeaky voice and a body that acts as though she can't do a thing with it have combined to make Joan Davis the highest-paid woman comic in the history of radio. For her current half hour on CBS (Monday, 8:30-9 p.m. EWT) Swan Soap pays Miss Davis $1,000,000 a year. Her rise to these remarkable financial heights started four years ago when she got a job as a comic with Rudy Vallee and John Barrymore on the Sealtest hour. When Barrymore died and Vallee enlisted in the Coast Guard, skeptics thought the Sealtest program was finished. To their surprise, Joan Davis' wacky comedy not only carried the program by itself, but shot popularity skyward.
Joan Davis, who looks back on an early life of vaudeville, takes her prosperity in her rubber-kneed stride. She lives in a modest Colonial-style house near Hollywood where one of her main concerns is bringing up her 12-year-old daughter, Beverly, who resembles her uncannily in looks, voice and flair for comedy.

There was every good reason to believe that Swan Soap [Lever Bros.], and CBS would recoup their million dollar investment in Joan Davis. She'd already demonstrated her comedic Radio talents for four years, her films were almost always well received, and to sweeten the deal, CBS and Swan gave her popular song stylist Andy Russell as a second-banana and vocalist. Produced and directed by the highly successful Dick Mack, Joan and Andy were further supported by Verna Felton, Shirley Mitchell, Wally Brown, and pitchman/foil, Harry Von Zell.

A situation comedy and variety vehicle, The Joan Davis Show was premised on Joan Davis as the owner of 'Joanie's Tea Room,' the location from which most of the series' situations emanated. Very much leveraging the success of Duffy's Tavern (1941-1952), Joanie's Tea Room served as a meeting place of sorts for most of the series' characters. It also served as a venue for many of Joanie's often elaborate efforts to promote the humble Swanville eatery. And yes, in addition to naming the town Swanville, The Joan Davis Show writers worked all manner of Swan Soap connections in and through every script, much after the fashion of Swan Soap's far more popular Well, I Swan (1941), starring George Burns and Gracie Allen.

In an effort to keep things in the family, Joan's young daughter Beverly Wills also appeared in some of the programs. The writing for The Joan Davis Show was, in our humble opinion, the series' weakest link. Joan Davis' husband Si Wills wrote much of her dialogue with support from Jay Summers, Jack Harvey and Nat Linden. The 'family connection' didn't much help the series' writing.

From the November 27th, 1946 edition of the Canton Repository:

THE rules and regulations for female radio comics are now fairly well established and more or less undeviating. The radio comedienne must be brassy voiced, energetic, full of unpredictable enthusiasms and mildly sex-starved, though not enough to get into difficulties with the censors. Joan Davis (CBS 8:30 p.m. Mondays) doesn't violate these precepts to any great extent but is possibly a little better at it than her contemporaries.

The Joan Davis show is situation and, in a sketchy way, character comedy of a sort that will remind you strongly of Mack Sennett. Most of the characters might have walked right out of the Sennett comedies. Also, there are a lot of policemen around and Miss Davis usually gets mixed up with them.

Surrounding Miss Davis, whose outlines you must recognize, are her Cousin Cornelia, an irascible, dictatorial lady who thinks Joan is a nincompoop and says so; Cousin Selenus (I think that's how it's spelled) who IS a nincompoop; a rich girl called Barbara Willoughby who is a sort of female Hubert Updike III; a man who never finishes a sentence, and wally, Joan's boy friend.

I MENTION ALL of these people because I'd like to make a synopsis of a Joan Davis plot, all of which are as thick as molasses and almost as wildly improbable as some of Shakespeare's comedies. On a recent program, for instance, Miss Davis, who runs a restaurant on this show, gets into an argument with Cousin Cornelia and later blurts out something about an accusation that "cut Cousin Cornelia like a knife."

Somehow this is construed as meaning she has cut Cousin Cornelia WITH a knife. Just about this time, Cousin Cornelia goes back to mother or anyway goes someplace else. Then--now follow along closely here--Miss Davis buries some old bones from her restaurant kitchen in her backyard. Well, sir, just about this time, Wally decides to go fishing and while digging for worms, he comes upon the bones.

Now pay attention, it starts to get complicated here. Miss Davis has been having some sort of mental disorder and has called in a psychiatrist who diagnoses it as Cousin Cornelia trouble. He teaches her to say, "Cousin Cornelia is no more," as mental therapy. Then Wally (Are you still listening?) comes in and hears this curious sentence you can imagine the reaction of a man who has just dug up all those bones. Murder!

STICK AROUND, this is just beginning. A casual acquaintance drops in and leaves his gorilla skull with Joan. (I don't know where he got it either; just something kicking around the house.) Well, Joan, puts it in the hall closet where she keeps all her skulls and there Wally comes on it. "Yow!" he howls. "Cousin Cornelia! I'd recognize that face anywhere."

So he buries the skull to protect his beloved, but a dog digs it up and then Miss Willoughby, a snob about homicide, calls the police. Miss Davis is charged with murder but Cousin Cornelia shows up in the nick of time to fix everything until next week, same time, same station. As you'll notice there is almost as much plot as "Gone With the Wind," all in half an hour.

Another plot in my Joan Davis collection revolved around a Cadillac she won in a limerick contest. The license plates were inadvertently placed upside down which made it a hot car. Again she landed in the hoosegow, and that's enough about plots for now.

MISS DAVIS PERFORMS these shenanigans with humor and a certain amount of style. She is a sort of female Bert Lahr without that great man's zest for the ridiculous. Her special knack is a vast and startling range of emotions. She can jump from rage to tears to glee all in one sentence. If the material is a little ridiculous, the blame is not entirely hers.

Incidentally, Miss Davis is sponsored by Swan soap, which is one of the marvels of the age. This soap has so many virtues that one announcer can't handle all of them. He is assisted by a Greek chorus of housewives. It goes something like this:

Announcer: There is a difference between an ordinary fiddle and a fine handmade violin. Yes, there is a difference in soaps too. As one housewife says . . .

First Housewife: Swan is an utterly different soap.

Announcer: Yes, Swan IS an utterly different soap.

Second Housewife: My face feels so fresh, so bright, so young after using Swan.

Third Housewife: I can always be sure of this--Swan agrees with my skin.

First Housewife: Swan is an utterly different soap.

Announcer: yes friends, Swan IS an utterly different soap. No other soap can give you all these advantages. Yes, Swan rinses away so thoroughly. And Swan lasts longer, too, because it doesn't leave excess soap dish goo.

Yes, friends, Swan has everything, or almost everything. The only claim they don't make is that it'll get the dirt off.

The Joan Davis Show was structured well enough, and the supporting cast's performances were as good as could be expected, given the lackluster writing. Andy Russell delivered as expected to the swoons and cheers of his millions of female fans of the era. And Harry Von Zell's running [away] 'romance' with Verna Felton as Mrs. Rosella 'Hippy' Hipperton, made for amusing long-running gags. But sadly, in spite of Swan Soap's aggressive and elaborate ad campaign prominently featuring Joan Davis, the series ran out of gas at the end of its second season of thiry-nine episodes.

Series Derivatives:

The AFRS

Genre:

Anthology of Golden Age Radio Situation Comedy

Network(s):

CBS; The AFRS

Audition Date(s) and Title(s):

Unknown

Premiere Date(s) and Title(s):

45-09-03 01 Title Unknown
45-09-30 01 Title Unknown

Run Dates(s)/ Time(s):

45-09-03 to 47-06-23; CBS; Seventy-eight, 30-minute programs; Monday evenings

Syndication:

Sponsors:

Lever Brothers [Swan Soap]

Director(s):

Dick Mack [Producer/Director]

Principal Performers:

Joan Davis, Andy Russell, Harry Von Zell, Verna Felton, Shirley Mitchell, Jack Carson, George Jessel, Herb Butterfield, Wally Brown, Dick Lane

Recurring Character(s):

Mrs. Rosella 'Hippy' Hipperton III [Verna Felton]

Protagonist(s):

None

Author(s):

None

Writer(s)

Jay Summers, Jack Harvey, Si Wills, Nat Linden

Music Direction:

Paul Weston and His Orchestra
Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmy Hixon and the Teenagers [AFRS Music Fill]

Musical Theme(s):

"Joan Ain't Got Nobody"

Announcer(s):

Harry Von Zell

Estimated Scripts or
Broadcasts:

Episodes in Circulation:

Total Episodes in Collection:

Provenances:

RadioGOLDINdex, Hickerson Guide.

Notes on Provenances:

The most helpful provenances were the log of the RadioGOLDINdex and newspaper listings.

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The Joan Davis Show Program Log
Date	Episode	Title	Avail.	Notes
45-08-27	--		--	45-08-27 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Merry Life of Mary Christmas--WBBM
45-09-03	1	Title Unknown	N	45-09-02 Wisconsin State Journal Monday 7:30 p.m. Joan Davis Show (WBBM): new program with Joan as proprietor of a tearoom, with singing star Andy Russell, and comedian Harry von Zell, Verna Felton and Shirley Mitchell. 45-09-03 New York Times New York Times - 8:30-8:55--Joan Davis Show: With Andy Russell, Harry von Zell, Others--WABC (Premiere).
45-09-10	2	Joan the Fortune Teller	N	45-09-10 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): poses as fortune teller and almost ruins the local bank. 45-09-10 Mason City Globe-Gazette "POSING as a fortune teller, Joan Davis rives some tea-leaf reading that almost ruins the local bank and sends Wall street into a tailspm, on KGLO-CBS' sparkling new "Joan Davis Show," Monday at 7:30 p. m. Involved in the hilarious proceedings are Harry von Zell, Verna Felton and Shirley Mitchell. Singer Andy Russell has a hand in the mess too, but soothes the nervous ones with his celebrated baritone voice.
45-09-17	3	Joan Goes To Court	N	45-09-17 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): a cup of tea leads Joan to court.
45-09-24	4	Queen of the Swanville Centennial	N	45-09-24 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): is contender for title of Queen of Swanville Centennial;" Andy Russell sings "I Wish I Knew."
45-10-01	5	Andy's New Job	N	45-10-01 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): helps Andy Russell get a new job to earn money for college.
45-10-08	6	Fire Prevention Week	N	45-10-08 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): observes Fire Prevention Week.
45-10-15	7	The Local Crime Wave	N	45-10-15 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): is engulfed in a local crime wave.
45-10-22	8	Andy Auditions for Atomic Film Studios	Y	45-10-22 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): gets Andy Russell a film job; Andy sings "How Deep Is the Ocean."
45-10-29	9	Joan Runs For Mayor	N	45-10-29 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): runs for mayor.
45-11-05	10	Harry Von Zell For Mayor	N	45-11-05 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): calls upon George Jessel to make keynote speech for her candidate for mayor, Harry Von Zell.
45-11-12	11	Joanie's Gate-Crashing Technique	N	45-11-12 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): invents a new gate-crashing technique for football games.
45-11-19	12	Turkey Trouble	N	[Thanksgiving program] 45-11-19 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): sells turkeys and gets into trouble.
45-11-26	13	Joan the Heiress	N	45-11-26 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): discovers she's an heiress.
45-12-03	14	Joan and The Gang Go Hunting	Y	45-12-03 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): closes up her tea room to go on a hunting trip.
45-12-10	15	Joan Shops for Red Underwear	Y	45-12-10 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): and Andy Russell go Christmas shopping together and start the town buzzing.
45-12-17	16	The Holiday Rush	N	45-12-17 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): holidays bring a rush of trade to Joan's tea room.
45-12-24	17	Joanie's Christmas Fantasy	Y	[Christmas program] 45-12-24 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): has a Christmas dream.
45-12-31	18	Credit Problems	N	[New Years program] 45-12-31 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): tries to buy a party gown on credit.
46-01-07	19	Joan and Barbara Swap Love Pranks	Y	46-01-07 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): finds a new love at the Lonely Hearts club; Andy Russell sings "Symphony."
46-01-14	20	Title Unknown	N	46-01-14 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis WBBM
46-01-21	21	Andy's Wife and Nine Russell Sprouts	Y	46-01-21 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): musters her wiles to catch Andy Russell.
46-01-28	22	Harry Speaks at Ladies Literary Society Luncheon	Y	46-01-28 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): is called upon to mend the breach when a famed author fails to arrive for annual meeting of literary society.
46-02-04	23	The Swanville Gold Rush	Y	46-02-04 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): is caught in a gold rush.
46-02-11	24	Joanie Hints For Birthday Gifts	Y	[Valentine's Day program] 46-02-11 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): hints for a birthday party.
46-02-18	25	The Tea Room's Register Comes Up $300 Short	Y	46-02-18 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): probes a shortage of $300 in her bank balance.
46-02-25	26	The U.N.O. Banquet at Joanie's Tea Room	Y	46-02-25 New York Times 8:30-8:55--Joan Davis Show: Andy Russell--WABC.
46-03-04	27	Joanie Almost Gets Her Man	N	46-03-04 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): almost gets her man.
46-03-11	28	Joanie and the Gang Have Memory Problems	Y	[Tax Season program] 46-03-11 Wisconsin State Journal - 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): loses sleep over Andy Russell.
46-03-18	29	The Tea Room Counterfeit Ring	N	46-03-18 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): has prosperity and trouble as counterfeiters set up a press in her tea room basement.
46-03-25	30	Turning the Tearoom Into A Hacienda	N	46-03-25 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): decides to turn her tearoom in to a hacienda.
46-04-01	31	The Chocolate Éclair Business	N	46-04-01 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): sets up a chocolate éclair business as a tearoom sideline.
46-04-08	32	Title Unknown Joanie the Fortune Teller	N	46-04-08 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): impersonates a seer to talk Mrs. Hipperton into a loan to save the tea room. 46-04-08 New York Times 8:30-WABC--Joan Davis Show, With Andy Russell, Harry Von Zell
46-04-15	33	Title Unknown Joanie Impersonates A Fortune Teller	N	46-04-15 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): impersonates a fortune teller, in postponed story.
46-04-22	34	Goona, the Gorilla	N	46-04-22 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): Goona, the gorilla, finds Joan charming.
46-04-29	35	Joanie Goes On A Treasure Hunt	N	46-04-29 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): goes on a treasure hunt.
46-05-06	36	Joanie Loses Queen of May Contest	N	46-05-06 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): loses out on Queen of May contest.
46-05-13	37	Tea Room Shortages	N	46-05-13 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): shortages hit Joan's tea room.
46-05-20	38	Joanie Takes Up the Fiddle	N	46-05-20 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): takes up fiddle playing.
46-05-27	39	Joanie Closes the Tea Room	Y	[Rehearsal]
46-05-27	39	Joanie Closes the Tea Room	N	46-05-27 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): closes her tearoom with final broadcast of season.
46-06-03	--		--	46-06-03 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 Crime Photographer--WBBM

46-09-23	--		--	46-09-23 Wisconsin State Journal 7:00 Radio Theater--WBBM
46-09-30	1	Title Unknown	N	46-09-30 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): returns with Si Wills, Wally Brown, Verna Felton, Sharon Douglas and Pat McGeehan.
46-10-07	2	Title Unknown	N	46-10-07 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
46-10-14	3	Title Unknown	N	46-10-14 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
46-10-21	4	Joanie Loses Her Memory	N	46-10-21 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
46-10-28	5	Joanie Gets Her Memory Back	N	46-10-28 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): regains her lost memory.
46-11-04	6	Title Unknown	N	46-11-04 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
46-11-11	7	Title Unknown	N	46-11-11 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
46-11-18	8	Joanie Enters A Safe-Driving Contest	N	46-11-18 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): enters safe-driving contest.
46-11-25	9	Title Unknown	N	46-11-25 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
46-12-02	10	Title Unknown	N	46-12-02 New York Times 8:30-WCBS--Joan Davis Show: Wally Brown, Verna Felton, Sharon Douglas, Si Wills.
46-12-09	11	Title Unknown	N	46-12-09 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
46-12-16	12	Title Unknown	N	46-12-16 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
46-12-23	13	Joanie is The Queen of Comedy	N	46-12-23 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): Eddie Cantor crowns Joan Davis as "queen of comedy" for fourth consecutive year.
46-12-30	14	Joanie and the Pawn Ticket	N	46-12-30 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): redeems a pawn ticket.
47-01-06	15	The Song of the Careless Driver	N	47-01-06 Mason City Globe-Gazette Joan Davis (7:30 pm) "The Song of the Careless Driver" is Joanie's offering on a program dedicated to the cause of safety on the highways..'Miss Davis will be.presented with a medal in recognition of her efforts on behalf of safe driving. 47-01-06 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): receives award for aid in safe driving campaign.
47-01-13	16	Joanie the Muscle-builder	N	47-01-13 Mason City Globe-Gazette Joan Davis (7:30 pm) Joanie enrolls in what she thinks is a charm school, then discovers to her dismay that she has wandered into Jack Oakie's muscle-building emporium. Jack Meakin's orchestra and the Delta Rhythm Boys provide the music. 47-01-13 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): with Jack Oakie.
47-01-20	17	Title Unknown	N	47-01-20 Mason City Globe-Gazette Cupid's Backfire (7:30 pm) Joan Davis continues her efforts to arouse romantic interest in Dr. Crenshaw on the "Joan Davis Show." However, her efforts to direct Cupid's aim produce an interesting backfire. 47-01-20 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): does satire on "Queen for a Day," with Fred Brady, comedian, guest.
47-01-27	18	The Mystery of the Missing Baby	N	47-01-27 Mason City Globe-Gazette Joan Davis (7:30 pm) Comedian Walter O'Keefe plays a "private eye" when he appears as the guest with the queen of comedy on the "Joan Davis Show." Called in to solve the mystery of the missing baby, the glib Walter manages to place Joanie directly behind the 8 ball. 47-01-27 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): Walter O'Keefe drops into Joan's tearoom in guise of private detective.
47-02-03	19	Joanie's Income Tax Refund	N	47-02-03 Mason City Globe-Gazette Joan Davis (7:30 pm) When Joanie receives a refund on her income tax, she becomes so bewildered she sends for an investment counselor. The fiscal traffic cop is Walter O'Keefe making his second guest appearance on the show. 47-02-03 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): Walter O'Keefe solves Joan's tax problems.
47-02-10	20	Title Unknown	N	47-02-10 New York Times 8:30-WCBS--Joan Davis Show: Wally Brown, Verna Felton, Sharon Douglas, Si Wills; Richard Lane, Guest.
47-02-17	21	Joanie Romances Joel McCrea	N	47-02-17 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): schemes to win Joel McCrea's affection.
47-02-24	22	Title Unknown	N	47-02-24 New York Times 8:30-WCBS--Joan Davis Show: Wally Brown, Verna Felton, Sharon Douglas, Si Wills, Allyn Joslyn, Guest.
47-03-03	23	Title Unknown	N	47-03-03 New York Times 8:30-WCBS--Joan Davis Show: Wally Brown, Verna Felton, Sharon Douglas, Si Wills; Ransom Sherman, Guest.
47-03-10	24	Title Unknown	N	47-03-10 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
47-03-17	25	Title Unknown	N	47-03-17 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): and Bill Thompson (Wallace Wimple of Fibber McGee program).
47-03-24	26	Title Unknown	N	47-03-24 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): Bill Thompson, comedian, makes delayed visit.
47-03-31	27	Dr. Crenshaw Pops the Question	N	47-03-31 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): Dick Lane, comedian, guest; Dr. Crenshaw finally proposes to Joan.
47-04-07	28	Joanie Wants to Elope	N	47-04-07 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): decides on a quick marriage; guest Alan Reed (Falstaff Openshaw).
47-04-14	29	Joanie Goes House Hunting	N	47-04-14 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): Billy De Wolfe, comedian, helps Joan with house-hunting in preparation for her marriage.
47-04-21	30	Title Unknown	N	47-04-21 Wisconsin State Journal 7:30 Joan Davis WBBM
47-04-28	31	Title Unknown	N	47-04-28 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 Joan Davis WBBM
47-05-05	32	Title Unknown	N	47-05-05 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 Joan Davis WBBM
47-05-12	33	Title Unknown	N	47-05-12 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 Joan Davis WBBM
47-05-19	34	Title Unknown	N	47-05-19 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 Joan Davis WBBM
47-05-26	35	Joanie Heads for The Altar	N	47-05-26 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): prepares for wedding with help of Alan Reed and Lionel Stander.
47-06-02	36	Title Unknown	N	47-06-02 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 p.m.--Joan Davis (WBBM): goes to the altar.
47-06-09	37	Title Unknown	N	47-06-09 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 Joan Davis WBBM
47-06-16	38	Title Unknown	N	47-06-16 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 Joan Davis WBBM
47-06-23	39	Title Unknown	N	[Final Program; replaced by My Friend Irma] 47-06-23 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 Joan Davis WBBM
47-06-30	--		--	47-06-30 Wisconsin State Journal 6:30 My Friend Irma WBBM

The Joan Davis Show Radio Program Biographies

Madonna Josephine Davis Vaudeville, Stage, Radio, Film and Television Comedienne (1907-1961) Birthplace: St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A. Radiography: 1942 Rudy Vallee Sealtest Show 1942 Command Performance 1943 Groucho Marx Audition For Pabst Beer 1943 Sealtest Village Store 1943 Camel Comedy Caravan 1943 Duffy's Tavern 1943 Kraft Music Hall 1944 Mail Call 1944 Eddie Cantor Show 1944 Elgin Christmas Day Greeting To America 1945 The Pepsodent Show 1945 Guest Critic Series 1945 Joan Davis Show 1946 Birds Eye Open House 1946 March Of the Movies 1946 Stars In the Afternoon 1947 Here's To Veterans 1947 Joan Davis Time 1949 Sealtest Variety Theater 1949 Leave It To Joan 1950 The Big Show 1951 Stars On Parade 1951 Martin and Lewis Show 1957 A Tribute To...The Memory Of Humphrey Bogart 1957 Recollections At Thirty To the Rear March	Joan Davis circa 1947	From the May 23rd 1961 edition of the Ogden Standard-Examiner: 'Scatterbrain' Joan Davis Dies On Coast After Heart Attack FINAL CURTAIN: Comedienne Joan Davis, 53, one-time runner-up to Bob Hope and Jack Benny as the highest paid radio star, died today of a heart attack at Desert Hospital, Palm Springs, Calif. The noisy, grimacing actress was admitted to the hospital late Monday. With her when she died early today were her mother and a Roman Catholic priest. Miss Davis was born June 29, 1907, at St. Paul, Minn., to train dispatcher Leroy Davis and his wife, Nina. While best known in radio, the actress, who frequently portrayed the ungainly, frustrated female type, appeared in many motion, pictures, including "George White's Scandals," and "Love and Hisses." She entered pictures in 1934 as a hillbilly in a Mack Sennett short subject, "Way Up Thar." She easily made the transition to television, starring in the "I Married Joan" series with Jim Backus. After a long career in vaudeville, Miss Davis satirized the song, "My Jim," on a Rudy Vallee program to win her first nationwide attention. She appeared in an Abbott and Costello picture "Hold That Ghost," then became the highest paid woman on the radio with a network contract at $1 million a year. She married her vaudeville partner, Si Wills, in 1931 and their daughter, Beverly, later appeared with her in the television series. Miss Davis divorced Wills in 1947.

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The Joan Davis Show Radio Program

Background

Swan Soap and CBS bet $1,000,000 on Joan Davis

The Joan Davis Show Program Log

The Joan Davis Show Radio Program Biographies