The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy Radio Program

Background

NBC introduces The Fabulous Dr. Thaddeus Q. Tweedy

An obvious effort to leverage Frank Morgan's most popular characterizations over the years, the quixotic, selectively absent-minded Doctor of Philosphy, Thaddeus Q. Tweedy seemed the perfect amalgam of Morgan's various film personae. A tenured Professor of Philosophy at his previous college, Dr. Tweedy got the boot for repeatedly flunking star players of the school's football team. The last straw was his flunking the entire backfield of Willowitz, Mankiewitz, Horowitz and Stinkowitz. The president of the college suggested that Dr. Tweedy pursue a recent opening with Potts College, in Pottsfield.

Enroute to Potts College, Tweedy inadvertently insults Miss Tilcy (Nana Bryant), the Headmistress of Potts College, who happens to be traveling on the same train. Originally a girls' college of long standing, within a couple of episodes--again owing to Dr. Tweedy's misadventures--Dr. Thaddeus Q. Tweedy finds himself installed as the Dean of Men. That unlikely position was created for him after persuading the founding family of Potts College to go co-ed, the better to capitalize on the thousands of G.I.s pursing the G.I. Bill of Education.

As the series progresses, Dr. Tweedy acquires a tramp as his valet, Welby Skinkle (Harry Von Zell), the friendship of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Potts (Gale Gordon), and a dog named Baldy. The show continues to trace the charming and humorous misadventures of Dr. Tweedy for a total of twenty-six scripts.

Recorded, transcribed and broadcast from Hollywood, the sponsor's commercial spots came out of New York. The American Tobacco Company (Pall Mall Cigarettes) was the series' sponsor for the entire run of The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy. John 'Bud' Hiestand announced the Hollywood segments and Don Hancock was the Pall Mall spokesperson out of New York.

The producers and writers tinkered with the formula for the relatively short series several times over its broadcast run. Premiering as a summer replacement for The Jack Benny Program, it was originally scheduled for only seventeen episodes, but as the series progressed it seemed likely that the series might well extend into the fall season after Jack Benny's return. A number of the early episodes carried a 'topic', such as 'love', 'money', 'horses', 'fashion', etc', and at the close of each installment, Frank Morgan would give his 'thought of the day.' That format was more infrequently employed upon Jack Benny's return to The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy's spot in the Sunday lineup.

After NBC moved The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy to Wednesday evenings, the series appears to have repeated the scripts and/or performances of thirteen of the previous episodes until the broadcast of New Year's Day, 1947. From that point forward, the series introduced another seven new scripts intermixing them with further repeats of the first seventeen episodes.

The series weaves together a rich tapestry of characters in the course of its short run. So much so that before the series left the air, Frank Morgan was talking to a couple of interested studios about making a feature film version of The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy. In the final analysis, the series seemed a plausible enough premise to spawn at least two other highly successful programs: Our Miss Brooks in 1948 and The Halls of Ivy in 1950. And indeed, Gale Gordon appeared in both the Radio and Television versions of Our Miss Brooks and was a recurring character in The Halls of Ivy.

In the end, Frank Morgan's loss was Eve Arden and The Colmans' gain--as well as the millions of Radio fans that enjoyed both subsequent programs. Neither Our Miss Brooks nor The Halls of Ivy could hope capture the flamboyance, blustery tone, and quick-witted resourcefulness of Dr. Thaddeus Q. Tweedy. They'd have needed Frank Morgan for that.

The Entertainment World lost Frank Morgan in 1949, but his brilliance lives on in his hundred or so Film roles and the thousands of his Radio appearances throughout the Golden Age of Radio.

Series Derivatives:

Notes on Provenances:

The most helpful provenances were the log of the radioGOLDINdex, the orginal Foote, Cone and Belding scripts, and newspaper listings.

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