Nostalgia USA March 2016 Nostalgia USA MARCH ISSUE | Page 7

Radio Series Premiere

Duf f y?s Tavern Premiere
March 1,1940
Listen to Duffy' Tavern Show
Duffy?s Tavern was a popular American radio situation comedy which
ran for a decade on several networks (CBS, 1941?1942; NBC-Blue
Network, 1942?1944; NBC, 1944?1951), concluding with the December
28, 1951 broadcast.
The program often featured celebrity guest stars but always hooked
them around the misadventures, get-rich-quick schemes and romantic
missteps of the title establishment?s malaprop-prone, metaphor-mixing
manager, Archie, portrayed by Ed Gardner, the writer/ actor who
co-created the series. Gardner had performed the character of Archie,
talking about Duffy?s Tavern, as early as November 9, 1939, when he
appeared on NBC?s Good News of 1940. In the familiar opening, ?When
Irish Eyes Are Smiling,? performed either solo on an old-sounding piano
or by a larger orchestra, was interrupted by the ring of a telephone and
Gardner?s New Yorkese accent as he answered, ?Hello, Duffy?s Tavern,
where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin?. Duffy ain?t
here? oh, hello, Duffy.?